THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. I am heartened you returned home after the passage of so many years though I wish it had been under very different circumstances. May you rest in eternal peace.

Dear SSgt Charles Meldahl, Thank you for your service as a Chinook CH-47 Helicopter Repairer. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Another summer is coming to an end, and tomorrow is POW/MIA Recognition Day. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

I was the air Traffic Controller at Dong Ba Thin AAF (army airfield) on duty the day of Freight Train 053's departure from Dong Ba Thin and was the last person to speak to the crew by radio. I had handled the aircraft many times prior to its disappearance and enjoyed speaking to the pilots and crew. On the day of the crash weather was marginal with strong winds and rain. The flight consisted of 3 CH-47s but 2 turned back from the mission while FT 053 continued alone on toward Ban Me Thuot capital of Dac Lac Province in the Highlands of western South Vietnam. I last spoke to them while it was over the Ninh Hoa valley and in my last transmission advised the air crew to contact Ban Me Thuot Radio flight following when it neared BMT. Pilot affirmed my transmission and I wished them a safe flight. I was ever disappointed when the aircraft was noted Overdue and for years I advised various aircraft to keep looking for the lost crew and aircraft. I spent 4 years in Vietnam as volunteer ATC spending my time around Dong Ba Thin and later Ninh Hoa bases between 1968 and 1972. Never have they been forgotten and will ever be in my thoughts. A brave crew that no doubt I shared a beer or 2 with at our base EM club since my unit bunked near the 243rd ASHC compound. I was surprised to later hear that Charles Mendahl was from Monroe WA and I still live in Edmonds WA about 25 miles away from his home town. God Bless Chuck and his fellow crewmen. I salute them all each day.

The CH-47 "Chinook" helicopter was one of the workhorses of the Army's air fleet. As a cargo lift, the Chinook could carry up to 28,000 pounds on its external cargo hook, and is credited with the recovery of 11,500 disabled aircraft worth more than $3 billion. As troop carrier, the aircraft could be fitted with 24 litters for medical evacuation, or carry 33-44 troops in addition to the crew. On one occasion, a Chinook evacuated 147 refugees and their possessions on a single flight. The Chinook could be outfitted for bombing missions, dropping tear gas or napalm in locations fixed wing aircraft could not reach. The big bird could carry a large cargo of supplies. On October 20, 1968, aircraft commander CW3 Charles E. Deitsch, pilot WO1 Henry C. Knight, crewchief SP5 Charles H. Meldahl, flight engineer SP4 Jerry G. Bridges, and door gunner SP4 Ronald Stanton departed Dong Ba Thien Airfield, South Vietnam, in a CH-47A helicopter (serial #66-19053) on a resupply mission to Ban Me Thuot, South Vietnam. Deitsch radioed at 0700 hours on October 20 that his aircraft was over the Ninh Hoa Valley. That was the last anyone heard of the CH-47. At about 0800 hours, it was determined that the helicopter was overdue. An intensive search effort was made, but no wreckage was ever found of the CH-47, and search efforts were concluded on October 28. Villagers were later canvassed throughout the Ninh Ho Valley, and literature was distributed asking about the crash of the Chinook, but no new information was ever discovered. Between 1984 and 1994,Vietnamese residents and refugees offered information and material evidence potentially linked with the crash. In 1994, the crash site was located and in 1995, during the 33rd Joint Field Activity, the site was excavated, yielding additional information. In October 2000, the investigation was completed and it determined that all members of the crew went down with the helicopter and did not survive the crash. All of the crew was also identified through DNA. [Taken from pownetwork.org]

Dear SSGT Charles Howard Meldahl, sir

As an American, I would like to thank you for your service and for your sacrifice made on behalf of our wonderful country. The youth of today could gain much by learning of heroes such as yourself, men and women whose courage and heart can never be questioned.

May God allow you to read this, and may He allow me to someday shake your hand when I get to Heaven to personally thank you. May he also allow my father to find you and shake your hand now to say thank you; for America, and for those who love you.

With respect, and the best salute a civilian can muster for you, Sir

Curt Carter