HONORED ON PANEL 48W, LINE 56 OF THE WALL
TERRY ALAN HOFFMAN
WALL NAME
TERRY A HOFFMAN
PANEL / LINE
48W/56
DATE OF BIRTH
CASUALTY PROVINCE
DATE OF CASUALTY
HOME OF RECORD
COUNTY OF RECORD
STATE
BRANCH OF SERVICE
RANK
ASSOCIATED ITEMS LEFT AT THE WALL
REMEMBRANCES
LEFT FOR TERRY ALAN HOFFMAN
POSTED ON 8.22.2000
POSTED BY: Harvey Britt, Major, USMC, Ret
After 25 years a Marine Corporal comes home from Viet Nam
On 8/19/68 I was shot down. There were 5 of us on my helicopter and none of us were injured. Terry was flying as crew chief in the helicopter behind me. They came down to rescue me and my crew. Before they could land his helicopter was destroyed in the air when it was violently struck by large caliber enemy fire. The fuselage and rear portion landed in what I can only describe as a burning heap. Of the other 4 crewmen on board two were seriously wounded and two were killed in the crash. Terry could not be found and because of combat conditions an intensive search was not possible. Terry was officially listed as one of the many Missing In Action victims of the Viet Nam War.
Things remained that way, his family enduring the constant agony of not knowing what had become of Terry, until 1989 when a Vietnamese peasant turned in some articles that might have belonged to Terry. A search was conducted over the next three years and Terry's remains were positively identified in 1993. He had apparently died in the raging fire at the time of the crash.
He was brought home and a massive funeral was held for him in his home town of Danville, Indiana on July 4th, 1994.
In the Squadron where he was serving when we lost him, Terry was regarded as a Marine's Marine. I'd like to honor Terry with this poem.
Friends ain't supposed to die until
they're old.
And friends ain't supposed to die
in pain.
No one should die alone when he is
twenty one.
And living shouldn't shouldn't make you
feel ashamed.
I can't believe how young we were
back then.
One thing's for sure we'll never be that
young again.
We were daring young men with hearts
of gold.
But, some of us never did
get old.
Semper Fi, Marine
Things remained that way, his family enduring the constant agony of not knowing what had become of Terry, until 1989 when a Vietnamese peasant turned in some articles that might have belonged to Terry. A search was conducted over the next three years and Terry's remains were positively identified in 1993. He had apparently died in the raging fire at the time of the crash.
He was brought home and a massive funeral was held for him in his home town of Danville, Indiana on July 4th, 1994.
In the Squadron where he was serving when we lost him, Terry was regarded as a Marine's Marine. I'd like to honor Terry with this poem.
Friends ain't supposed to die until
they're old.
And friends ain't supposed to die
in pain.
No one should die alone when he is
twenty one.
And living shouldn't shouldn't make you
feel ashamed.
I can't believe how young we were
back then.
One thing's for sure we'll never be that
young again.
We were daring young men with hearts
of gold.
But, some of us never did
get old.
Semper Fi, Marine
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POSTED ON 6.18.2000
POSTED BY: Harvey Britt
From the Squadron Summary
The crew of 152566 consisted of Capt Rocky Darger, Aircraft Commander; 1Lt
Ken Bradley, Copilot; CPL Terry Hoffman, Crewchief; CPL John Hutchison,
Gunner; and CPL Patrick Miles, Gunner. They were the number two aircraft in
a flight of 23 aircraft assigned the mission of extracting a battalion which
had been inserted in a combat assault north of Gio Lin the day before. The
battalion had come under heavy artillery fire from guns in North Vietnam. The
decision was made to extract the unit. Capt. Darger was initially assigned as
Flight Leader, but relinquished command of the flight to Major Harvey Britt
who had participated in the insert, which Darger had not. The plan was to
approach the LZ at approximately 100 feet to provide some cover from the
artillery fire by using the low hills which parallel the river in the DMZ. As the
lead aircraft approached the landing zone he was shot down; all crew
members survived. Darger assumed command and dispatched the remainder
of the flight to Dong Ha while proceeding to attempt to rescue the downed
crew. Approaching again at a low altitude 152566 received a direct hit from a
heavy artillery round and crashed. The two pilots were ejected from the
aircraft and survived, while the crew in the cabin was killed. The aircraft was
consumed by fire. The pilots were rescued by a Marine Recon Team. 1Lt Ken
Bradley was seriously injured and had to be medevaced to the U. S. Capt.
Darger received multiple injuries, but was returned to a flight status in three
weeks. Two of the bodies of the crewmen were recovered at the time, but
the remains of Cpl. Hoffman could not be found, and he was presumed to
have been consumed by the flames. Information from Captain Rocky Darger,
pilot, HMM-262
Comments on Incident: (HOFFMAN - MIA)
Searching the KIA listing, I wanted to see if any of the names I knew were
on the list. One in particular, Cpl Terry A. Hoffman caught my attention. He is
the Uncle of one of my best friends, also currently serving in the Marine
Corps. For years, I heard stories about Cpl Hoffman, who was then listed as
Missing In Action. Then, around 1992, the Hoffman family received word that
Cpl Hoffman's remains had possibly been found. Sure enough, after analysis
of the remains in Hawaii, the family received word in 1994 that the remains
of Cpl Hoffman had indeed been found. So, nearly 26 years after the incident
that left Cpl Hoffman Missing In Action, he was buried with full military
honors, his family and many veterans present. That was 4 July 1994.
Submitted by Capt Brett Hart, HMM-162, friend of family.
Comments on Incident:
Loss Coordinates: N16 58 13 E106 59 35 (Quang Tri)
Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw data
from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families, published sources, interviews and CACCF = Combined Action
Combat Casualty File.
Other Personnel in Incident: Rocky Darger, pilot ? both pilot and co-pilot
survived, thrown free of wreckage.
I was the Commanding Officer of HMM-262 at Quang Tri in Vietnam beginning
in September 1968. I arrived just before the incident in which Terry Hoffman
lost his life, but did not assume command until a month later. I am currently
the historian of the HMM-262 Vietnam Association. Submitted by Albert N.
Allen LtCol USMC (Ret), HMM-262
He was a crewmember of CH-46 BuNo 152566 which crashed on land due to
hostile causes. His body was not recovered until 1994. He was officially
listed as Missing In Action for 26 years (HMM-262's only MIA). He was finally
interred by his family in 1994. He was not married. His race is officially listed
as Caucasian. His religion was Protestant. He had one years' service at the
time of his death.
Comments on Incident:
The following is a letter from Terry's Commanding officer to the historian of
the HMM-262 Vietnam Association:
I have been reading your messages with great interest and sometimes
sorrow. In the case of Terry Hoffman, he joined the squadron in March1968.
His body was not recovered from the burning wreckage even though a rescue
team searched the area. He was presumed consumed in the fire. The other
two crewman's remains were recovered. Both pilots were thrown clear of the
wreckage and survived. Rocky Darger was the pilot. It was sometime in 1991
or early 1992 that human remains and parts of a flight suit, boots, and a dog
tag of Terry Hoffman were turned in to the Vietnamese government by local
farmers. Until then they were afraid to but they were doing this for
humanitarian reasons. Forensic examination proved the remains were of Terry
Hoffman. On July 4, 1994, my wife Doris and I attended a memorial service
for Terry Hoffman in Danville, Indiana. He was buried with full military honors
and the whole town paid tribute to him. The Marine Corps Reserve provided
the honor guard, the Army provided a horse drawn caisson to carry the
remains to the family cemetery, and the Air Force National Guard provided 4
F-16s in a missing man formation fly by. It was sad but it was a privilege to
be there..." LtCol Melvin Steinberg, HMM-262
Ken Bradley, Copilot; CPL Terry Hoffman, Crewchief; CPL John Hutchison,
Gunner; and CPL Patrick Miles, Gunner. They were the number two aircraft in
a flight of 23 aircraft assigned the mission of extracting a battalion which
had been inserted in a combat assault north of Gio Lin the day before. The
battalion had come under heavy artillery fire from guns in North Vietnam. The
decision was made to extract the unit. Capt. Darger was initially assigned as
Flight Leader, but relinquished command of the flight to Major Harvey Britt
who had participated in the insert, which Darger had not. The plan was to
approach the LZ at approximately 100 feet to provide some cover from the
artillery fire by using the low hills which parallel the river in the DMZ. As the
lead aircraft approached the landing zone he was shot down; all crew
members survived. Darger assumed command and dispatched the remainder
of the flight to Dong Ha while proceeding to attempt to rescue the downed
crew. Approaching again at a low altitude 152566 received a direct hit from a
heavy artillery round and crashed. The two pilots were ejected from the
aircraft and survived, while the crew in the cabin was killed. The aircraft was
consumed by fire. The pilots were rescued by a Marine Recon Team. 1Lt Ken
Bradley was seriously injured and had to be medevaced to the U. S. Capt.
Darger received multiple injuries, but was returned to a flight status in three
weeks. Two of the bodies of the crewmen were recovered at the time, but
the remains of Cpl. Hoffman could not be found, and he was presumed to
have been consumed by the flames. Information from Captain Rocky Darger,
pilot, HMM-262
Comments on Incident: (HOFFMAN - MIA)
Searching the KIA listing, I wanted to see if any of the names I knew were
on the list. One in particular, Cpl Terry A. Hoffman caught my attention. He is
the Uncle of one of my best friends, also currently serving in the Marine
Corps. For years, I heard stories about Cpl Hoffman, who was then listed as
Missing In Action. Then, around 1992, the Hoffman family received word that
Cpl Hoffman's remains had possibly been found. Sure enough, after analysis
of the remains in Hawaii, the family received word in 1994 that the remains
of Cpl Hoffman had indeed been found. So, nearly 26 years after the incident
that left Cpl Hoffman Missing In Action, he was buried with full military
honors, his family and many veterans present. That was 4 July 1994.
Submitted by Capt Brett Hart, HMM-162, friend of family.
Comments on Incident:
Loss Coordinates: N16 58 13 E106 59 35 (Quang Tri)
Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw data
from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families, published sources, interviews and CACCF = Combined Action
Combat Casualty File.
Other Personnel in Incident: Rocky Darger, pilot ? both pilot and co-pilot
survived, thrown free of wreckage.
I was the Commanding Officer of HMM-262 at Quang Tri in Vietnam beginning
in September 1968. I arrived just before the incident in which Terry Hoffman
lost his life, but did not assume command until a month later. I am currently
the historian of the HMM-262 Vietnam Association. Submitted by Albert N.
Allen LtCol USMC (Ret), HMM-262
He was a crewmember of CH-46 BuNo 152566 which crashed on land due to
hostile causes. His body was not recovered until 1994. He was officially
listed as Missing In Action for 26 years (HMM-262's only MIA). He was finally
interred by his family in 1994. He was not married. His race is officially listed
as Caucasian. His religion was Protestant. He had one years' service at the
time of his death.
Comments on Incident:
The following is a letter from Terry's Commanding officer to the historian of
the HMM-262 Vietnam Association:
I have been reading your messages with great interest and sometimes
sorrow. In the case of Terry Hoffman, he joined the squadron in March1968.
His body was not recovered from the burning wreckage even though a rescue
team searched the area. He was presumed consumed in the fire. The other
two crewman's remains were recovered. Both pilots were thrown clear of the
wreckage and survived. Rocky Darger was the pilot. It was sometime in 1991
or early 1992 that human remains and parts of a flight suit, boots, and a dog
tag of Terry Hoffman were turned in to the Vietnamese government by local
farmers. Until then they were afraid to but they were doing this for
humanitarian reasons. Forensic examination proved the remains were of Terry
Hoffman. On July 4, 1994, my wife Doris and I attended a memorial service
for Terry Hoffman in Danville, Indiana. He was buried with full military honors
and the whole town paid tribute to him. The Marine Corps Reserve provided
the honor guard, the Army provided a horse drawn caisson to carry the
remains to the family cemetery, and the Air Force National Guard provided 4
F-16s in a missing man formation fly by. It was sad but it was a privilege to
be there..." LtCol Melvin Steinberg, HMM-262
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read less