JOHN W ACOSTA
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HONORED ON PANEL 50W, LINE 16 OF THE WALL

JOHN WAYNE ACOSTA

WALL NAME

JOHN W ACOSTA

PANEL / LINE

50W/16

DATE OF BIRTH

10/12/1946

CASUALTY PROVINCE

PHUOC LONG

DATE OF CASUALTY

07/27/1968

HOME OF RECORD

NORTH LITTLE ROCK

COUNTY OF RECORD

Pulaski County

STATE

AR

BRANCH OF SERVICE

ARMY

RANK

SP4

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Contact Details

REMEMBRANCES

LEFT FOR JOHN WAYNE ACOSTA
POSTED ON 3.20.2021
POSTED BY: John Fabris

Thinking of you.....

"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
-Theodore Roosevelt, "Citizen in a Republic", April 23, 1910
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POSTED ON 7.3.2020
POSTED BY: Linda Richardson

My brother was your crew chief/gunner

I feel a connection to John Acosta. He and my brother, James Howard Young were gunners on that fateful Helicopter. Jimmy had just turned 19 in Feb and arrived in Vietnam on 2 Mar 1968. The helicopter went down on 27 Jul 1968. So he was in country five months. I don’t know when John began flying with Jimmy but wish I knew more about Jimmy’s time over there and any pictures he’s in. I would so appreciate any information that might help me. God bless you John Acosta and your family. I love that you have a lot of faithful friends that honor and cherish your memory.
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POSTED ON 5.17.2017

Final Mission of SP4 John W. Acosta

On July 27, 1968, a U.S. Army helicopter UH-1C (tail number 65-09564) from the 118th Assault Helicopter Company was shot down while providing close air support to a ground unit in Phuoc Long Province (III Corps), RVN. The aircraft was hit by unknown ground fire approximately 4 miles east of Tan An. The helicopter burst into flames and spiraled down and crashed. It appeared the flight control systems had been damaged in the attack and the pilots could not control the ship. The crew chief, PFC James H. Young, and gunner, SP4 John W. Acosta, were unable to exit the downed aircraft and perished inside the raging inferno. Both the aircraft commander, WO1 Marcus R. Asplund, and co-pilot, WO1 Michael R. Wilson, were able to get out, but were critically burned. They were evacuated to Camp Zama in Japan for treatment. Wilson died on August 11, 1968, succumbing to injuries and burns suffered in the incident. Asplund died two days later of pneumonia secondary to the burns he received. The remains of Young and Acosta were taken to a morgue in Saigon where they were identified and returned to the United States. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and vhpa.org]
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POSTED ON 7.8.2016
POSTED BY: Lucy Conte Micik

Remembered

DEAR SPEC 4 ACOSTA,

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. NOW, REST IN PEACE IN PARADISE.
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POSTED ON 12.7.2013
POSTED BY: Chaz Bergandi

CRAZ

Acosta was a good guy , always wore his platoon scarf around his neck. He was my Gunner on RED 9 , then went to the Bandits , came from the 173 rd Airbourne , 3rd Herd... HE was one of a kind , still miss him , and Simpson to . You Booth were Bandits you booth fought hard . May GOD GRANT YOU A PLACE IN ....HEAVEN because you spent your time in HELL!
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