THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. We should be forever thankful for the sacrifices of you and so many others to ensure the freedoms we so often take for granted.

My children would have loved to have met you. My youngest, your niece, looks SO much like you. More so than anyone on either side of the family. Your mother would have been 100 years old this year. She was a very strong woman, but from the many conversations I had with her, I know that losing her first born was the worst thing she ever experienced.

Dear A1C Kenneth Johnson, Thank you for your service with the 77th Tactical Airlift Squadron. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. The time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.

Airman First Class Kenneth Lee Johnson, Served with the 772nd Tactical Airlift Squadron, 463rd Tactical Airlift Wing, 7th Air Force.

Operation Delaware, which began April 19, 1968, was intended to disrupt enemy activities in the western part of the A Shau Valley, Thua Thien Province, RVN. On April 25th, U.S. cavalry units air assaulted into the abandoned airstrip at A Loui. On the 26th, in weather with ceilings as low as 300-500 feet, U.S. Air Force C-130s from Cam Ranh Bay, Bien Hoa, and Tan Son Nhut were tasked with air-dropping supplies to the cavalrymen. The first 20 C-130s received antiaircraft fire, and seven of them were hit. The 21st C-130 (C-130B tail number 60-0298) was hit heavily by .51 caliber and 37mm AAA fire and its cargo was set afire. The pilot elected to attempt an emergency landing on the airstrip but hit trees on final, crashed, and exploded. When the burning wreckage cooled sufficiently, the bodies of five of the eight men were recovered. However, there was no trace of the pilot, navigator, or loadmaster. All eight men were classified killed in action. They included MAJ Lilburn R. Stow (BNR), CAPT James J. McKinstry Jr., MAJ John L. McDaniel (BNR), TSGT Russell R. Fyan, SSGT Beryl S. Blaylock, SGT Daniel J. O'Connor, SGT Larry R. Todd (BNR), and A1C Kenneth L. Johnson. (BNR = body not recovered) [Taken from the virtualwall.org]