THE WALL OF FACES

I have not forgotten you. I chair the Adoption Committee for The National League of Families of Prisoners of War and Missing in Action in Southeast Asia. We will always remember the 1,889 Americans still unaccounted for in Southeast Asia and the thousands of others that lost their lives. We will not stop our efforts until all of you are home where you belong.

We need to reach the next generation so that they will carry on when our generation is no longer able. To do so, we are attempting to locate photographs of all the missing. If you are reading this remembrance and have a photo and/or memory of this missing American that you would like to share for our project, please contact me at:

Candace Lokey
PO Box 206
Freeport, PA 16229
[email protected]

If you are not familiar with our organization, please visit our web site at :

www.pow-miafamilies.org

I have never met you personally, but I have visited you many times at The Wall. You are right there with me when someone asks 'what's that bracelet for?' I tell your story over and over again. As a young Marine I chose your name for my bracelet because I was from Idaho and so are you. Since then you have never left my side. You are my companion in everything I have done in my life. You are my martyr. Thank you for your sacrifice. Semper Fi
-Robyn

Didn't know him but he died with my 7 friends.

CAPTAIN
CURTIS RICHARD BOHLSCHEID
PILOT
AGE 30

MAJOR
JOHN SANDERS OLDHAM
CO-PILOT
AGE 33

LANCE CORPORAL
JOSE JESUS GONZALEZ
CREWMEMBER
AGE 22

PRIVATE FIRST CLASS
THOMAS MICHAEL HANRATTY
CREWMEMBER
AGE 20


- HMM 265 / MARINE AIR GROUP 16 -


PRIVATE FIRST CLASS
CHARLES DENNIS CHOMEL
AGE 19

LANCE CORPORAL
DENNIS RAY CHRISTIE
AGE 20

LANCE CORPORAL
JOHN JOSEPH FOLEY III
AGE 20

LANCE CORPORAL
MICHAEL WILLIAM HAVRANEK
AGE 19

LANCE CORPORAL
JAMES WILLARD KOOI
AGE 18

CORPORAL
JIM EDWIN MOSHIER
AGE 23

PRIVATE FIRST CLASS
JAMES EDWARD WIDENER
AGE 18


- 3RD RECONNAISSANCE COMPANY -
- 3RD RECONNAISSANCE BATTALION -
- 3RD MARINE DIVISION -


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^


ON JUNE 6, 1967

CAPTAIN BOHLSCHEID WAS THE PILOT OF A

CH46A HELICOPTER INSERTING A SEVEN-MAN USMC

FORCE RECONNAISSANCE TEAM INTO A PREDESIGNATED

AREA 11.5 NAUTICAL MILES NORTHWEST OF DONG HA,

SOUTH VIETNAM, RIGHT ON THE DEMILITARIZED ZONE.

A TOTAL OF FOUR AIRCRAFT WERE INVOLVED IN THIS

MISSION, TWO CH46 AND TWO UH1E GUNSHIPS.

THE FLIGHT DEPARTED DONG HA AT ABOUT 1115 HRS

AND PROCEEDED TO THE INSERTION LOCATION.

THE TWO GUNSHIPS MADE LOW STRAFING RUNS OVER

THE LANDING ZONE TO CLEAR BOOBY TRAPS AND TO

LOCATE ANY ENEMY TROOPS IN THE AREA, HOWEVER,

NO ENEMY FIRE WAS RECEIVED AND NO ENEMY ACTIVITY

WAS NOTED OR OBSERVED.

THE LEAD HELICOPTER THEN BEGAN ITS APPROACH

TO THE LANDING ZONE BUT AT AN ESTIMATED ALTITUDE

OF BETWEEN 400 TO 600 FEET THE AIRCRAFT WAS

OBSERVED TO CLIMB ERRATICALLY, IN A SIMILAR

WAY TO AN AIRCRAFT COMMENCING A LOOP.

MACHINE GUN MEN HAD BEEN WAITING FOR THE

OPPORTUNE TIME TO FIRE ON THE HELICOPTERS.

PORTIONS OF THE TAIL ROTOR WERE SEEN TO SEPARATE

FROM THE HELICOPTER AND RADIO TRANSMISSIONS

RECEIVED THAT INDICATED THEY HAD BEEN HIT AND

WERE GOING TO TRY TO SET DOWN AWAY FROM THE

ACTION BUT AT THIS POINT THE HELICOPTER BECAME

INVERTED AND CONTINUED OUT OF CONTROL UNTIL

IT WAS SEEN TO CRASH BY A STREAM IN A STEEP RAVINE.

SUBSEQUENT EFFORTS BY GROUND UNITS TO REACH

THE CRASH SITE FAILED DUE TO A HEAVY BUNKER

COMPLEX SURROUNDING THE SITE. NEARBY GROUND UNITS

INSPECTED THE SITE FROM WITHIN 500 METERS

THROUGH BINOCULARS AND OBSERVED NO SURVIVORS.

FOR THE ELEVEN CREWMEN ONBOARD THE CH46A THIS

DAY THEIR DEATHS SEEMED A CERTAINTY AND THEY

WERE THEREFORE CLASSIFIED AS BEING

KILLED IN ACTION / BODIES NOT RECOVERED



YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN
NOR SHALL YOU EVER BE