THE WALL OF FACES

On May 1, 1967 CAPT J.Q. Nesmith, Jr. departed the First Hospital Company with two HMM-165 aircraft for a night Emergency Med-Evac to the hospital ship USS SANCTUARY. While on his approach the USS SANCTUARY, CAPT J.C. Tatum, CAPT Nesmith's wingman, lost both engines and auto-rotated into the water alongside the ship. CAPT Tatum successfully landed in the water and the CE, PFC T.S. Blosser, began assisting the med-evacs in their exit from the aircraft. CAPT Tatum was believed to be the last man to exit the aircraft, which he did with difficulty while the aircraft was approximately 20 feet underwater and sinking fast. Meanwhile, CAPT Nesmith had dropped his passengers aboard the USS SANCTUARY and was attempting to hoist one of the survivors out of the water, while also guiding the USS SANCTUARY's life boats to the scene with his searchlight. CAPT Nesmith managed to get one man into the sling but the hoist jammed and would not come up. Therefore CAPT Nesmith lifted the survivor out of the water and onto the ship’s deck; and after safely depositing the man aboard the USS SANCTUARY, he returned to the scene to assist the rescue boats by guiding them with his searchlight. CAPT Nesmith then, due to a low fuel state, had to return to Ky Ha. Meanwhile, HMM-165 began launching SAR flights to search for survivors, and Naval ships rushed to the scene to render assistance. Out of the 17 men aboard the aircraft, including three of the crew, only nine survivors were rescued from this tragic accident. Seven of the med-evacs, including SGT John H. Bailey, CPL Roger C. Gaughan, PFC Hilario H. Guajardo, and PFC Duwayne Soulier, plus the HMM-165 gunners, SSGT Stan L. Corfield and LCPL Carl A. Smith, were lost at sea. HMM-165 continued search operations throughout the night and the next day, but to no avail. The search was discontinued but renewed again during the night of the 2nd of May. The eight missing Marines are presumed to have been lost at sea. The above was taken from the HMM-165 Command Chronology. [Taken from vhpa.org]

Duwayne's picture is on my computer this week honoring the 45th anniversary of his loss while bravely serving our country. We share the same surname and I have adopted him as a most honorable relative. 45 years may seem like a lot but it is not for those who will never forget.
Semper Fi, my lost brother.

Picutre of Duwayne Soulier. On the VFW Wall in Red Cliff, WI VFW Post 8239.

FOREVER REMEMBERED

"If you are able, save for them a place inside of you....and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go.....Be not ashamed to say you loved them....
Take what they have left and what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own....And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind...."

Quote from a letter home by Maj. Michael Davis O'Donnell
KIA 24 March 1970. Distinguished Flying Cross: Shot down and Killed while attempting to rescue 8 fellow soldiers surrounded by attacking enemy forces.

We Nam Brothers pause to give a backward glance, and post this remembrance to you, one of the gentle heroes lost to the War in Vietnam:

Slip off that pack. Set it down by the crooked trail. Drop your steel pot alongside. Shed those magazine-ladened bandoliers away from your sweat-soaked shirt. Lay that silent weapon down and step out of the heat. Feel the soothing cool breeze right down to your soul ... and rest forever in the shade of our love, brother.

From your Nam-Band-Of-Brothers

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