Virginia XXXV

 The Virginia Vietnam memorial is located in Newport News and gas an interesting story.  Read about it here.

More than 1300 Virginians made the ultimate sacrifice in 'nam: today three of them.

Aubrey Allen Bryan

SFC Aubrey Bryan was aboard a 'Chopper headed to a site on the border between Vietnam and Laos. His mission was to prepare for additional troops to arrive, the next day, to initiate a mission. His chopper was seen to crash by those on a fellow ship. The second chopper landed to render aide. The pilot and co-pilot of the downed ship were found alive and reported being "shot down." Bryan and all others were lost. The incident was changed to "non-hostile" status by those in charge. The suspicion is that it was an attempt to manipulate reported losses. The spring of 1968 is noted as a period of the heaviest losses in the war. The incident took place on April 10, 1968, in the Quang Tri Province.

Edward Garry Rankin

PFC Edward Rankin was lost to "hostile... small arms fire..." at Binh Duong Province on September 16, 1966, during Operation Atlantic City.

DAVID wAYNE sMITH

The following was taken from the remembrances pages attached to Davids Wall of Faces page at the VVMF's site.

"LOST IN THE FIRE ON THE USS FORRESTAL ON 29 JULY 1967

AOAN (Airman) DAVID WAYNE SMITH was lost in the fire on the USS FORRESTAL on 29 July 1967.

YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN

NOR SHALL YOU EVER BE

25 JULY 2002

29 JULY 1967

USS FORRESTAL FIRE

THE WORST ACCIDENT ABOARD A
UNITED STATES NAVY SURFACE
VESSEL SINCE WORLD WAR II

On 29 July 1967 the USS FORRESTAL was operating on Yankee Station off the coast of North Vietnam conducting combat operations.

This was the fifth such day of operations and at 10:52am the crew was starting the second launch cycle of the day, when suddenly a Zuni rocket accidentally fired from an F-4 PHANTOM into a parked and armed A-4 SKYHAWK.

The accidental launch and subsequent impact caused the belly fuel tank and a 1,000-pound bomb on the Skyhawk to fall off; the tank broke open spilling JP5 (jet fuel) onto the flight deck and ignited a fire.

Within a minute and a half, the bomb was the first to cook-off and explode, this caused a massive chain reaction of explosions that engulfed half the airwings aircraft and blew huge holes in the steel flight deck.

Fed by fuel and bombs from other aircraft that were armed and ready for the coming strike, the fire spread quickly, many pilots and support personnel were trapped and burned alive.

Fuel and bombs spilled into the holes in the flight deck igniting fires on decks further into the bowels of the ship.

Berthing spaces immediately below the flight deck became death traps for fifty men, while other crewmen were blown overboard by the explosion.

Nearby ships hastened to the FORRESTAL's aid.

The ORISKANY (CV 34), herself a victim of a tragic fire in October 1966, stood by to offer fire-fighting and medical aid to the larger carrier.

Nearby escort vessels sprayed water on the burning FORRESTAL and within an hour the fire on the flight deck was under control.

The crew heroically fought the fire and carried armed bombs to the side of the ship to throw them overboard for 13 hours.

Secondary fires below deck took another 12 hours to contain.

Once the fires were under control, the extent of the devastation was apparent.

Most tragic was the loss to the crew, 134 had lost their lives, while an additional 64* were injured, this was and still remains the single worst loss of life on a United States Navy vessel since the USS FRANKLIN (CV 13) was bombed in WW II.

The ship proceeded to Cubi Point in the Philippines for temporary repairs. In only eight days enough repairs were made that she could start the long trip back to her home port of Norfolk, Virginia for permanent repairs. On her way home she was capable of operating aircraft if needed.

FORRESTAL would spend seven months in the yards being repaired, she was re-built from the hanger up and forward to aircraft elevator number four, this accounts for about 1/5 the ships length and 5 decks.

On 8 April 1968 FORRESTAL was once again ready to take her place in the fleet, however she was never to return to Vietnam.

With over a dozen major detonations from 1,000 and 500 lb. bombs and numerous missile, fuel tank, and aircraft explosions no ship has ever survived the pounding FORRESTAL underwent that day, before or since. She and her crew proved the toughness and dangers associated with the

operation of super-carriers, this is one of her greatest legacies.

The USS FORRESTAL would go on to serve the United States for another 26 years during the height of the Cold War and see it through to its demise. She and her crew were always ready to go into battle again, the call never came, she served in war for 4 1/2 days but served to ensure peace for over 13,860.

FORRESTAL had truly served her purpose as 'First in Defense'."

*Other reports quote 161 injured.

Next time, on June 27th, we will return to Washington, so join me, as always, at 9 am.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen (now three) from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/or were lost in 'Nam, and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. 

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join the group.

Vermont XV

Vermont claims to be the first Government sponsored Vietnam memorial in the country. This may be open to some interpretation as we know that others predate it by some time. In many cases years. I guess what "Government sponsored" means could make a difference.

No matter, it honors 100 from the state and, today, we honor three from Johnson. Read more about this remarkable memorial here.

 

Wayne Eugene Byrne

PFC Wayne Byrne was lost on April 16, 1969. He had been in-country for about 6 weeks and was lost to "hostile...small arms fire" three days before his twentieth birthday.

Rollin Chesley Sargent jr.

MSG Rollin Sargent served not only in Vietnam, but, also, in WWII and Korea. He spent fourteen years serving his country. He was an advisor in Vietnam when he suffered a heart attack and was lost. He died at Quang Nam Province on October 22, 1964.

Kenneth G. Weightman jr.

A1C Kenneth Weightman, whose four brothers all served in the military or as First Responders, was killed by lighting from a freak thunderstorm on June 10, 1966. He was lost at Ninh Thuan.

All of these soldiers are from Johnson, Vermont and illustrate differing dangers of serving your country

Next time, on June 22, we will return to Virginia, so join me, as always, at 9 am.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen (now two) from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/or were lost in 'Nam, and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. 

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join the group.

Utah X

I mentioned in my last post, on Texas, that it had the distinction of having the third most losses in the war. Well, Utah holds a similar distinction.

Utah has the 5th most, per capita, participation in the effort. This as stated in the original post from Utah was especially unusual given the make-up of Utah's society. You can read the details about that here

Today, we will honor three of the 388 from the state who made the ultimate sacrifice.

George J. Economous

1LT George Economous was lost in Kontum Province on April 15, 1968. His records say he was lost to "hostile...small arms fire..." He was from Logan, Utah but was interred in Indiana. This is the

 sum total of everything I could find on an American hero. Appalling.

Ray Grant Jenkins

WO Ray Jenkins was refueling his helicopter at Soc Trang when the mortar attack began. He tried to get his chopper off the ground but took a direct hit from one of the more than 100 rounds falling from the sky. He was transported by ambulance but to no avail. He was lost on February 2, 1968. One of the many casualties of the infamous Tet offensive.

Randall Leroy Saunders

SP4 Randall Saunders was lost to "hostile... small arms fire at Quang Tri Province. He was lost on February 16, 1968, in the shadow of the Tet offensive. I know I whine about this all the time, but nobody seems to tell their stories in much detail Once in a while I run across something useful but not nearly enough. Who will tell their story? I fear that now; it is too late.

All of these lost heroes were from Logan, Utah.

Next time on June 17th, we will return to Vermont, so join me, as always, at 9 am.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen (now two) from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/or were lost in 'Nam, and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. 

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join the group.

Texas XXIII

Texas has the distinction of being the state that gave the third highest number of her sons and daughters lost in Vietnam (following California and New York,)

I have posted 22 previous times from Texas and, today, want to highlight and honor a few of her lost.

Texarkana Vietnam/Korea Memorial. You can read more about this multi-state memorial here.

Oddie C. Hailey

Sgt. Oddie Hailey was lost on June 23, 1967, in the Quang Ngai Province. However, there are conflicting reports about his death. VVMF calls his loss a "misadventure" which apparently is an euphemism for "friendly fire." Also stated is "mistaken for Viet Cong... shot" and other sites say killed by "multiple fragmentation wounds..." in "hostile action..."  

Howard Lee Elder

Sgt Howard Elder was lost to "small arms fire" in a "hostile" action in the Binh Dinh Province. He gave his all on July 8, 1970. Again, the lack of information is simply appalling.

Wayne Lee Harland

Sgt. Wayne Harland served his tour in 'Nam and decided to extend for an additional 6 months (I didn't know you could do that.) He was lost halfway through his extension. He was lost to "hostile'' "explosive device'' on May 1, 1968, at Binh Dinh.

Next time on June 12th, we will return to Utah, so join me, as always, at 9 am.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen ( now two) from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/or were lost in 'Nam, and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. 

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join the group.

Tennessee XI

The memorials at the Coffee County Courthouse honor those from many of our engagements. The following names were taken from the Vietnam memorial.

Richard Bradley

In a firefight that lasted approximately one minute eight Americans were wounded and PFC Bradley was killed. He was lost on June 19,1966, in the Thua Thien Province.

Hermann Ray Fletcher

In contrast to the above, Hermann Ray Fletcher was killed at Go Cong in a battle the cost us 19 heroes lost and 50 additional wounded. The battle lasted nearly 11 hours. PFC Fletcher and his 18 comrades were lost on January 10, 1968.

Kenneth Lee Kirkes

2LT Kenneth Kirkes was lost on February 9,1968, in the Quang Nam Province to "small arms fire...." Nothing else seems to be available.

Next time on Jun 7th, we will return to Texas, so join me, as always, at 9 am.

If you are following along at all, you will have seen that a number of you, like Joan from Wisconsin, Tony from Texas, Mike from Maryland, Ron from Florida, Tim from Virginia, Molly from Florida, Colleen ( now two) from Pennsylvania, Elli from Maryland, and Peg and Ray from Florida, among others, have responded to my request to send me memorials you have seen in your area or where you may have traveled. I even got one from Ireland! These submissions help expand the knowledge of how we have remembered the men and women who served and/or were lost in 'Nam, and you help to honor them. If you have any such photos, I would love to see them. Please send them along to the email at the left and I will gladly share them here. 

I hope all those listed here will encourage you to send along photos and join the group.