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Post by daoleguy A.J. Hoehn (deceased) on Nov 10, 2007 1:48:46 GMT 9
This Sunday, November 11th, 2007, The Wall will be 25 years old. Funny how time flies by. It seems like only yesterday I was standing there on that first Veterans' Day in awe of the structure as it was dedicated. View The Wall and The Virtual Wall are two decent sites to see more or The Wall. Below are a few images I took at The Wall on the 20th Anniversary Ceremonies. The first one is of a guy I met there. He just stared at the granite and finally wept saying, "God I told him to be careful abd duck low" .Like the original dedication it was somber and like a church in the small grotto-like structure cut into the ground. I really want to go this year, it is a mere 2 miles away, but I am not sure I can make it due to my stroke earlier this year. It would be a bit too much to try alone I think. For those who have never visited, make it a prioroty on your list. It is definitely an expereince you will not forget. Oh, just as a note, while there, glance back Southeast at the Korean Memorial. If you look close you will see the last soldier in the V-Formation looking back over his shoulder directly at The Wall. It gave me goose bumps when I first noticed it. It also amazed me the first time I was able to Walk The Wall alone. Trust me that is a hard task by yourself. The names overwhelmed me, but even more the faces looking back at me as they walked told many stories. It was odd, in your heart you could feel who had gone and who was visting. The ever said phrase "Welcome Home" screamed out from other vets faces to me. I made it half way down the East Face and froze in tears. From nowhere a guy in an old fatigue jacket came up and walked with me silently the rest of the way. I never got his name, but I can say I felt like I had a real brother for those moments. I would be honored to walk The Wall with any of you visiting DC in the future. For those of you who still rumble around on your bikes, make a point of doing The Ride to The Wall in May over Memorial Day Weekend. That event is totally consuming. At my first Rolling Thunder I actually met up with a few guys I had not seen since SEA. Yeah, it got pretty drunk out that weekend, but was something I will always remember. I am not sure if you folks have heard this vid/tune, but give it a listen and watch. For My CountryAJ
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Post by Jeff Shannon on Nov 10, 2007 6:19:49 GMT 9
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Post by daoleguy A.J. Hoehn (deceased) on Nov 10, 2007 6:46:31 GMT 9
If I recall Charles D. King was stationed in Udorn and supported rescue for 105 and 101 guys there. On my site (Needing serious upgrades) www.lastpow.com you can learn a bit about two other guys lost there and still missing. Interesting stuff on them and the screw ups by the US and CIA getting them out. AJ
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Post by Jeff Shannon on Nov 10, 2007 21:31:58 GMT 9
Charles D. King
On Christmas Eve, 1968, an F-105, call sign "Panda 01", was shot down over Laos between the city of Ban Phaphilang and the Ban Karai Pass. Its pilot, Major Charles R. Brownlee, successfully ejected and his parachute drifted into an area known to be occupied by enemy troops. These troops had in the past aggressively pursued downed pilots and contested SAR efforts. Two HH-3E's, Jolly Green's 15 and 17, on airborne alert immediately proceeded to the incident site. Upon arrival, the Sandy's placed them in a high orbit. The on-scene commander discovered a parachute in the trees. Numerous attempts were made to raise Major Brownlee on his survival radio. It was late in the day and darkness quickly covered the jungle. There was no survival radio contact from Major Brownlee. The rescue helicopters did not have a night combat rescue capability and were ordered to return to NKP.
A first light SAR was organized to return to the area on Christmas Day. The crew of Jolly low (Jolly 17) were all volunteers: Lt. Col. William Cameron (aircraft commander), Captain Robert Heron (co-pilot), Sergeant Jerome Casey (flight engineer), and A1C Charles D. King (pararescueman). Once again the Jolly's were placed in a high orbit and the Sandy's began trolling for ground fire. Enemy troops did not take the bait. Not drawing any ground fire Sandy lead told Jolly low to attempt a pickup. As the helicopter came into a hover over the parachute, SGT Casey saw a man hanging from the parachute by his harness. The man was not moving and was hanging only a couple of feet off the ground. Sergeant King volunteered to descend on the forest penetrator to rescue the downed pilot. LtCol Camereron was not thrilled about the idea of lowering his PJ to the ground, but realized that it was the only way to rescue Major Brownlee. Just as King reached the ground, enemy troops began firing, first at the helicopter and then at the men on the ground. King freed Major Brownlee from his parachute and secured him to the penetrator. He signaled SGT Casey to reel them up.
Only a few feet off the ground, Charlie King called on the radio, "I'm hit, I'm hit, pull up, pull up." Normally, the men on the penetrator would be hoisted clear of the trees prior to the rescue helicopter resuming forward flight. But enemy troops were hosing the helicopter with effective small arms fire. Staying in the hover until the two men cleared the tree tops would certainly result in the helicopter being shot down, crashing right on top of Major Brownlee and Airman King. Out of options and seriously battle damaged, Lt Col Cameron was forced to leave the stable hover. To optimize the chances of the men on the penetrator, he elected to ascend straight up. He hoped that this maneuver would lift the two men clear of the trees, prior to instituting forward flight. As the helicopter moved up, the hoist cable or the forest penetrator caught on a tree and the hoist cable snapped, dropping King and Brownlee about 10 feet to the ground. Badly injured from the fall and wounded by enemy small arms fire Airman King made one last radio call, "Jolly, get out of here, they're almost on top of me."
The seriously damaged helicopter was forced off the scene due to the intense ground fire. Enemy troops swarmed over Major Brownlee and Airman King. The Sandy's could not fire on the enemy because they would hit their own men.
Two days of searching and numerous radio calls from air rescue aircraft to Airman King went unanswered. He was declared missing in action and later promoted in sequence with other MIA's to Chief Master Sergeant. He was never heard from again. Charles Douglas King was officially declared killed in action on 5 December 1978. He was awarded the Air Force Cross posthumously. King was also awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal and Purple Heart for earlier rescue missions he participated in.
No news surfaced about King or Brownlee until February 1986, when a Lao refugee came to the United States and reported that he had witnessed King's capture, and watched as he was taken away in a truck. The refugee's story matched most details of King's loss incident. Less clear were the details of Brownlee's fate.
In 1993 US officials were allowed into the Central Army Museum in Hanoi, where personal items from American casualties were kept. They found an identification card with Charles Douglas King's name, service number and date of birth. A North Vietnamese witness was found who stated "a pilot was pulling up another pilot to the helicopter when the cable broke. Both pilots died."
The Air Force dedicated a building to the memory of Charlie King at Hickam AFB, Hawaii .
The following is from an unclassified document released by the Air Force on 27 March 2000:
The identification card belonging to Airman Charles D. King correlates with unresolved priority case 1348. Airman First Class King was a pararescue man who was lost while attempting to rescue a down pilot (unresolved case 1347) near Ban Lathama, Mahaxia District, Khammouan Province, on the morning of 25 December 1968. As Airman King and the unconscious pilot were being hoisted up to the helicopter on a jungle penetrator, enemy forces opened fire, scoring several hits on the helicopter and wounding Airman King. When the helicopter attempted to pull out of the area, the jungle penetrator snagged and the cable broke. Airman King and the pilot fell back to the ground. The intense enemy fire forced the helicopter crew to depart the area without Airman King or the pilot. Subsequent search efforts failed to locate the two men.
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Post by ma1marv on Nov 12, 2007 0:31:16 GMT 9
I had to share a moment with all of you fellow 6'rs. When I first saw "The Wall" it left me with quite an impression. I was so very taken by what was before me, that I sat on one of the nearby benches and had to write down these very words that came to me. I hope all of you have a very pleasant Veterans Day. (Sorry that the picture I chose with this would not transfer.) A salute to you all! Marv "Reflections" So many people filing by. So many people - they may never understand why, Or how, or even when. So many people will never give - like them. Young ones, old ones, red ones, blue ones, whites and blacks, and even new ones. Some never stop, some never remember, Some even avoid and rush towards forever. I wonder if they were in those shoes, in the mud, muck, rice and blood, if they could be on a wall such as this ------- One day.
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Post by daoleguy A.J. Hoehn (deceased) on Nov 12, 2007 2:37:19 GMT 9
MArv, excellent. For those of you wanting a rubbing off The Wall visit www.vietnamwall.org/ . It's done electronically, but is an exact match with the real deal. AJ
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Post by Jim on Nov 12, 2007 11:53:41 GMT 9
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Post by Jeff Shannon on Nov 12, 2007 16:09:49 GMT 9
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Post by pat perry on Nov 13, 2007 5:08:21 GMT 9
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Post by pat perry on Nov 13, 2007 5:13:41 GMT 9
Here's another one with many additional links. Veterans LinkPat Perry
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Post by pat perry on Feb 20, 2010 9:56:52 GMT 9
Vietnam Virtual Memorial web site - Thanks to Barney Barnes 456th FIS for sending this link. VET's, especially Viet Nam era Veterans. Someone sent me the link below which is a virtual wall of all those lost during the Viet Nam war with the names, bio's and other information on our lost comrades. It is a very interesting link and those who served in that time frame and lost friends or family can look them up on this site. Pass it on to other veterans who you think would like this. First click on a state......then when it opens ......... a name....... then it should show you a picture of the person or at least his bio and medals www.virtualwall.org/iStates.htmPat P.
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