THE WALL OF FACES

Maurice has a memorial stone in his honor at Hillcrest Memorial Park, Hermitage, Mercer County,PA.

CAPTAIN

MAURICE EDWIN GARRETT JR.

served as a

PILOT

with

TROOP A

2nd SQUADRON

17th CAVALRY REGIMENT

" FORWARD "

101st AIRBORNE DIVISION

" THE SCREAMING EAGLES "


Personnel in Incident:

1st Lieutenant
Danny Allen Cowan

( Killed, remains recovered )

Captain
Maurice Edwin Garrett Jr.

( Missing In Action )


Maurice Edwin Garrett Jr. wanted to fly from the time he was four years old.

He accomplished this goal by learning to fly in the private sector.

Garrett entered the United States Army in May 1966, and steadily advanced through the ranks and completed Military Police training.

Later he graduated from officer training at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Receiving his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in August 1967, Garrett was in Vietnam by November for his first tour of duty.

During his first tour, Garrett was a paratrooper.

He was wounded three times during this tour, receiving three awards of the Purple Heart, a Silver Star, and other military decorations.

He was also promoted to 1st Lieutenant.

Upon completion of his tour, Garrett was selected for flight training and trained on the Huey Cobra gunship, being promoted to the rank of Captain.

In December 1970, he returned to Vietnam as the commander of the helicopter squadron, Troop A, 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.

On 22 October 1971, Captain Maurice Edwin Garrett, Jr., pilot and 1Lt. Danny Allen Cowan, co-pilot / gunner, were aboard an AH1G helicopter ( serial #67-15752 ) as part of a " Hunter - Killer " team consisting of two AH1G helicopters, one OH6A and one UH1H.

The team departed Quang Tri and proceeded west on an armed visual reconnaissance mission.

Captain Garrett instructed the flight to hold on the eastern side of a ridge line while he continued westward into a valley to check weather that appeared marginal for team operations.

About one minute after entering the valley, Garrett reported the weather to be about 200 feet overcast, and continued his weather assessment flight.

About 5 minutes from the time he was last seen, Garrett reported that he was in the cloud and would return to Quang Tri on instruments.

He gave instructions for the rest of the flight to stay clear of his intended flight path.

Shortly afterwards, the aircraft apparently struck trees and continued for a short distance before crashing.

The aircraft impacted and exploded with such force that the only large identifiable aircraft part that was found was a vertical fin with part of the serial number.

Some parts of the cockpit section could be identified, but all were badly burned, smashed and scattered by the explosion.

1st Lieutenant Cowan's remains were found after a ground search was conducted of the area.

As no trace of Captain Garrett was found, it was determined that he was killed in the crash, and his body completely destroyed upon impact and explosion.

However, the thorough search failed to reveal any trace of Maurice Edwin Garrett -- no helmet, no watch, no dentures, no boot eyelets--nothing at all.

Even though the Garrett family was given three separate versions of the loss of their loved one, for years they were given hope that he could have survived.

Then in 1984, the Garrett family received word from a private source that their son was still alive.

They were among eight families who were so notified.

According to the United States this information is false, but the Garretts are not so sure.

And, in the back of their minds remains the seeming uncertainty surrounding the loss as indicated by the Army's three versions.

Whether Garrett survived is unknown.

For some of his comrades, however, there is ample reason for hope.

Mounting evidence indicates that hundreds of Americans were abandoned as prisoners of war at the end of the war and remain in captivity today.

For the honor of those who died in Southeast Asia as well as the honor of our country itself, those live Americans must be brought home.






YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN

NOR SHALL YOU EVER BE

I have not forgotten you. I chair the Adoption Committee for The National League of Families of Prisoners of War and Missing in Action in Southeast Asia. We will always remember the 1,889 Americans still unaccounted for in Southeast Asia and the thousands of others that lost their lives. We will not stop our efforts until all of you are home where you belong.

We need to reach the next generation so that they will carry on when our generation is no longer able. To do so, we are attempting to locate photographs of all the missing. If you are reading this remembrance and have a photo and/or memory of this missing American that you would like to share for our project, please contact me at:

Candace Lokey
PO Box 206
Freeport, PA 16229
[email protected]

If you are not familiar with our organization, please visit our web site at :

www.pow-miafamilies.org

Maurice, Today I did a search for you and found you here. The tears I have are for the loss of a friend, not for the everlasting peace that you now have. From a Brother and a nation, Thank You.......George