Vietnam veteran full of life despite nine months of torture (See update in #90)

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal ^ | Saturday, November 11, 2006 | Ray Westbrook

[Parmy]

Murtha would do well if he were just 1% of this man.

[Interesting Times]

I think I'll run this story by a few POWs to see what they say...

[jordan8]

He doesn't mention his rank, didn't you have to be an officer to be a Marine Corps chopper pilot? He also doesn't mention the type of helicopter he flew. Lifting 13 guys plus the crew with a Huey might just be possible but is highly unlikely (read virtually impossible), and anyone who would hover while shooting in Chinook has a death wish. No unit mentioned. And the old Chinese water torture! Beating you with a fan belt was more the NVA style. This one needs to go to one of those stolen valor groups for verification.

[Orange1998]

Come on.... I take this man for his word. I can't doubt a Hero.

[WestTexasWend]

"This one needs...verification."

Sadly, I have to agree...I'll e-mail the reporter.

Not only is Lee not in the POW list, but there's no McCoy matching those details listed on The Wall.

Also, a search on his name/location turns up a match listing his age at 58, too young for all this.

Will post anything further.

[stylin19a]

no bill mccoy on the virtual wall either....

[stylin19a]

how soon we forget Ronald Reagan's words of wisdom..

[ErnBatavia]

There are a few discrepancies that I noted during reading.

In Vietnam, virtually all helicopter pilots were Warrant Officers - none were enlisted. The mention of boot camp and drill instructors puzzled me.

The part about five months off as a body escort got me wondering also. I was in the Marine Corps in '66 - '68, and actually have no memory of body escorts at all being a trend at that time....I could be wrong, though.

[corlorde]

Can't doubt it huh? Why isn't Bill McCoy on the wall? I tried Bill and William, from Alabama, 1966. When I type Dennis Franklin Lorden, my uncle KIA, he comes right up.

Bill McCoy: No Service Members Have Been Found

http://thewall-usa.com/search.asp

[jordan8]

Army pilots were Warrant Officers, but I'm guessing that Marines were officers.

[jordan8]

And that more of those Marine pilots were probably Captains and Majors than Lieutenants.

[corlorde]

So we must conclude that either:

1) A great travesty has occurred, and Bill must be put on the wall asap, for his sacrifice and service

2) Mr. Lee or the reporter has the name wrong

3) The story is BS

[Interesting Times]

A preliminary check with some former POWs sent up red flags. They passed the article to the POW Network, which specializes in this sort of validation. I also forwarded it to Jug Burkett, author of Stolen Valor. We'll see what they find out.

[PAR35]

Thanks for the reality check on this story. Copy editors used to check facts. I'll hit this thread again in a few days to see how it sorts out.

[Gritty]

Now, there is a real man!

[usmcobra]

Bill McCoy is a fictional character from W.E.B. Griffith's The Corps Novels.

[Interesting Times]

Was the fictional McCoy also a Marine helicopter pilot killed at DaNang? How about the "grand wizard" stuff?

[RaceBannon]

5 Purple Hearts???

[usmcobra]

No he was a Brig Bunny.