THE WALL OF FACES

First Lieutenant Thomas David Gillaspy, Served with Battery A, 4th Battalion, 77th Artillery Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, United States Army Vietnam.

Your sacrifice is not forgotten.

HOOAH

A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam
And for a brief moment its glory
and beauty belong to our world
But then it flies again
And though we wish it could have stayed...
We feel lucky to have seen it.

Dear Lt Thomas Gillaspy,
Thank you for your service as a Field Artillery Unit Commander (Pilot.) Merry Christmas. It has been too long, and it's about time for us all to acknowledge the sacrifices of those like you who answered our nation's call. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.

On July 7, 1970, a U.S. Army helicopter AH-1G tail (number 68-15136) from A Battery (Dragons), 4th Howitzer Battalion, 77th Aerial Rocket Artillery, 101st Airborne Division, crashed during night aerial rocket artillery (ARA) mission possibly due to vertigo or target fixation. Both crewmen were fatally injured in the crash. The lost crewmen included CW2 Thomas W. Damm and 1LT Thomas D. Gillaspy. The aircraft was flying in support of ground troops west of Firebase Brick when the aircraft hit the ground while engaging enemy forces. When asked what he witnessed, the wingman reported, "He just flew it into the ground." CW2 Damm was originally assigned to B Battery, 4/77th ARA. After a few months he requested to be grounded for personal reasons. He was then transferred to A Battery where he was doing administrative work for a while. After a month or so he was needed back in the cockpit and started flying combat missions again. It was only after one or two missions back on flight status that he went out on this night mission. [Taken from vhpa.org, vvmf.org, and firemission.s5.com]