THE WALL OF FACES

In 1965, PFC William F. Covey Jr. was a 25th Infantry Division artilleryman serving with B Battery, 2nd Battalion, 9th Artillery, 25th Infantry Division when he volunteered for the "Operation Shotgun" program to train as a gunner on UH-1 helicopters in Vietnam. One of the many hundreds of Division personnel who applied from a varied pool of MOS’s (military job descriptions), he was required to pass a Class III flight physical examination and psychological screening before acceptance into the program. The recruits then received training at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii in weapons use and the techniques of flying both daylight and night aerial missions. The successful recruits earned their flight wings and were attached to an aviation company serving in Vietnam. Covey completed his training with the Shotgun X group and was assigned to A Company, 82nd Aviation Battalion. On June 6, 1965, he was at Vung Tau Airfield preparing for a troop lift of Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) soldiers when he was critically injured in a ground accident involving a UH-1B helicopter. Reportedly, the crew chief noted a fuel leak and requested that the helicopter be shut down. Covey dismounted the aircraft and walked around the back when he was struck in the face by the tail rotor. After treatment in a Saigon area military hospital, he was medically evacuated to the U.S. Air Force hospital at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, CA. Covey expired there on June 30, 1965, from renal failure and his injury he sustained in Vietnam. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and information provided by Harold Woody (May 2022) and Sarah Covey (July 2022); obituary taken from The Willimantic Daily Chronicle (Willimantic, CT), July 1, 1965, courtesy of Tara L. Hurt, Archivist, J. Eugene Smith Library, Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic, CT]

Taken from The Willimantic Daily Chronicle (Willimantic, CT), July 5, 1965, courtesy of Tara L. Hurt, Archivist, J. Eugene Smith Library, Eastern Connecticut State University, Willimantic, CT.

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrance from Sarah Fraser and Elizabeth Covey is especially poignant and reflects their love for you and their anguish over your loss. As long as you are remembered you will remain in our hearts forever....

PFC William F. Covey Jr. is buried at New Willimantic Cemetery, Willimantic, Windham County, Connecticut.

Your sacrifice is not forgotten.

Rest in Peace brother.