Six Ft. Belvoir Soldiers Electrocuted

Edward F. Howrey, a prominent lawyer in the DC area and an owner of Oak Hill Mansion, donated land for the construction of a Little League field. That field became known as Howrey Field and is adjacent to Canterbury Woods Park. The field is located between Wakefield Chapel Road and Glen Park Road.

On Friday, 1 June 1967, six soldier volunteers from Fort Belvoir were erecting a 40 foot long metal flag pole at the field when they lost control of the pole and the pole fell onto a 7200 volt powerline. The six soldiers were instantly killed by electrocution.

Major General Robert F. Seedlock said: “These fine soldiers made the supreme sacrifice in a tragic accident in following out the Army’s dedicated philosophy that soldiers are always a part of assisting in the community in which they happen to be stationed. Working on an authoirzed community relations project, these men made the sacrifice in a dedicated civic action operation just as though they had been involved in Vietnam”

The soldiers that were killed were:

PVT. Paul D. Briggs
PVT. Anthony B. Evans
PFC. Marvin D. Harrison
PVT. Charles R. Oliver
SPC. 4 Kenneth G. Steiner
PVT. Charles M. Whaley