THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrance from your wife Katy is especially poignant. As long as you are remembered you will remain in our hearts forever....

AO2 Clayton Mitch Blankenship is buried at Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens in Prosperity, WV.

Your sacrifice is not forgotten.

Non sibi sed patriae.

I am the daughter of Major Leroy I. Blankenship, KIA 1 Apr 69. Family history says that all Blankenships in the United States are descended from one common ancestor who immigrated from England to Virginia as an indentured servant in the early 1600's. As such, all 15 men on the Wall with the surname Blankenship are distant cousins. If you knew Clayton Mitchell or are related to him, you are welcome to contact me.

On October 24, 1972, the aircraft carrier USS Midway (CVA-41) was conducting flight operations in the Gulf of Tonkin. At 7:50 PM, a U.S. Navy Grumman A-6A Intruder from Attack Squadron 115 (VA-115) was returning to the Midway following a single-plane “seeding mission” in North Vietnam. As the Intruder landed aboard the carrier, a landing gear failure caused the aircraft to swerve sharply right into Navy personnel and other aircraft parked on the bow flight deck. The wayward aircraft came to a rest among the parked airplanes and burst into flames. There were mass casualties as a result of the crash. Fatally injured in the incident were AO2 Clayton M. Blankenship, AMSAN Daniel P. Cherry, AN Robert W. Haakenson Jr., and AA Robert A. Yankoski. LTJG Michael S. Bixel, the bombardier/navigator aboard the Intruder, either ejected himself or his seat fired during the crash landing, sending him over the side of the ship. An immediate air and surface search was started with three vessels and one helicopter to recover LTJG Bixel. No distress signals were heard, nor was he sighted at any time during the search. It was believed that Bixel did not pull free from his ejection seat and went down with the seat since no survival equipment (flotation gear, strobe light, pyrotechnic flares, or signal pistol) were detected. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org]

DEAR AVIATION ORDNANCEMAN BLANKENSHIP,
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AS AN AVIATION ORDANCEMAN 2ND CLASS ON THE U. S. S. MIDWAY. IT HAS BEEN FAR TOO LONG FOR ALL OF YOU TO HAVE BEEN GONE. WE APPRECIATE ALL YOU HAVE DONE, AND YOUR SACRIFICE. WATCH OVER THE U.S.A., IT STILL NEEDS YOUR COURAGE.. GOD BLESS YOU. MAY THE ANGELS BE AT YOUR SIDE. REST IN PEACE. MANY OF US HAVE BEGUN OUR JOURNEY TO EASTER. AND YOU ARE ALL IN OUR PRAYERS.