To the calm, Mother Earth's
Waiting breast;
Duty done, Like the sun:
Going West.
Posted on 05/28/2009 11:55:25 AM PDT by Schnucki
They pledged to leave no man behind, so for 43 years the mystery of what happened to Huey 808 has tortured veterans of the First Air Cavalry.
The helicopter and its four-man crew failed to return from a routine mission in December 1965, soon after braving enemy fire at the battle of Ia Drang, America's first great clash of arms in Vietnam.
Pilots spent months scouring the jungle looking for traces of a crash site, and for years afterwards, comrades of the lost crew made trips to the steamy hill villages of the Central Highlands looking for clues to what happened.
Four decades on, their prayers have finally been answered.
A specialist US military unit has returned to Vietnam to excavate a jungle crash site. It found the missing aircraft, and will return the remains of its crew for burial in Arlington National Cemetery, alongside thousands of other servicemen who perished in America's longest war.
Shirley Haase, 63, brother of Donald Grella who was 25 when he died, said: "This is fantastic news after all these years of being tormented by not knowing what happened to them.
"The loss of my brother has been with me for every day of 43 years. At last we have a chance of knowing what really happened."
The crew were heroes in one of America's bloodiest battles, which started when 450 infantrymen landed by helicopter in jungle clearings only to discover they were surrounded by an entire North Vietnamese division of 2,000 men.
It was the bravery of the helicopter crews, who at terrible risk flew supplies and reinforcements in and casualties out, that kept the soldiers alive.
The battle was immortalised by Hollywood in 2002 in a film called We Were Soldiers Once... And Young starring Mel Gibson as infantry commander Lieutenant Colonel
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
I’m glad for the families.
ping
God bless them all
They were lost for a long time.
Welcome home men, I pray that you and your loved ones can finally find peace now.
God bless these men and their families.
Prayers for the families.
43 years. It doesn’t seem that long ago.
God Bless their families. Sounds strange but they should stroll through the families picture book. It isn’t as painful after they come home.
I love this movie. It is the best acting that Gibson and Sam Elliott, IMO, ever did and it truly represents the courage and valor of the men of the 7th Air Cavalry.
bttt
Rest In Peace!
Ping! I didn’t realize there was a helicopter crew missing in the aftermath of the LZ-XRay mission!
One of the few dvd’s I own.
Perhaps of interest to you.
Yeh, it is. I was in 2/7 in 66 and 67
Huey 808 has tortured veterans of the First Air Cavalry. The helicopter and its four-man crew failed to return from a routine mission in December 1965, soon after braving enemy fire at the battle of Ia Drang, America's first great clash of arms in Vietnam... A specialist US military unit has returned to Vietnam to excavate a jungle crash site. It found the missing aircraft, and will return the remains of its crew for burial in Arlington National Cemetery... The crew were heroes in one of America's bloodiest battles, which started when 450 infantrymen landed by helicopter in jungle clearings only to discover they were surrounded by an entire North Vietnamese division of 2,000 men. It was the bravery of the helicopter crews, who at terrible risk flew supplies and reinforcements in and casualties out, that kept the soldiers alive.
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