THE WALL OF FACES

Specialist Four Kenneth Wayne Shamblin, Served with F Troop, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Aviation Brigade, United States Army Vietnam. Montani Semper Liberi !

Dear Sp4 Kenneth Shamblin, Thank you for your service as a Flight Qualified UH-1 Helicopter Repairer. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. It is another new year. Time moves quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.

On the remembrance of your 70th birthday, your sacrifice is not forgotten.

HOOAH

SP4 Kenneth W. Shamblin was a flight-qualified helicopter mechanic serving with F Troop “Centaurs,” 4th Cavalry, 1st Aviation Brigade. On April 21, 1971, SP4 Shamblin was the crew chief on a U.S. Army helicopter OH-6A (tail number 68-17175) from Battery E (Aviation), 82nd Artillery, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) on a reconnaissance mission in Cambodia when the aircraft was fired on by a hostile ground force with automatic weapons. At least one round entered the cockpit of the helicopter, fatally injuring SP4 Shamblin. The aircraft was able to continue flight and diverted to the nearest friendly medical facility. [Taken from vhpa.org, armyaircrews.com, and coffeltdatabase.org]

I was less than 4 years old when he died. Yet somehow, I remember the night, days before he left for Vietnam, at my great grandmother's house. He was taking pictures of me and my cousin, Nita. It was an old box camera. Every Veteran's day, I think of him, but this is the first time I've googled his name.I'm glad to see others remember him. I would love to know more about him.