THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. May you rest in eternal peace.

On October 31, 1968, a U.S. Army helicopter UH-1D (tail number 66-16524) from the 54th Signal Battalion, call sign Supercoach 524, departed Nha Trang Air Force Base at about 7:40 AM enroute to Qui Nhon via Dong Ba Thin and LZ Nha Trang West with courier and pay officers on board for the mission to deliver courier traffic and pay members to units at outlaying sights. Supercoach 524 made a momentary stop at Dong Ba Thin enroute to LZ Nha Trang West to deplane one passenger. The helicopter then departed LZ Nha Trang West at approximately 8:35 AM with a crew of four and six passengers. About five minutes later, Nha Trang Air Force Base tower received a "Mayday" call on guard channel stating, "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, this is Supercoach 524, five miles north of Nha Trang, going down by 100th Log Command, have severe lateral vibrations." The aircraft then crashed and burned. The following are the sequence of events believed to have occurred after takeoff from LZ Nha Trang West: it is believed that the pilot flew low-level through a saddle in the mountain range between LZ Nha Trang West and Ninh Hoa. As he was going through the saddle, he lost a part or all of a tail rotor blade which set up a vibration the pilot misinterpreted as a lateral. The pilot made a 180-degree turn to return to Nha Trang Air Force Base when the vibration set up by the unbalanced condition of the tail rotor made a major portion of the 90-degree gear box separate from the aircraft. When the tail rotor and gear box separated, the aircraft went into an extremely nose-low attitude, at which time the pilot went into autorotation. The helicopter went into a spin to the left, and just before impact, the main rotor came free of the main rotor mast and struck and sheared the tail boom just behind the cabin section. The main cabin section impacted the ground on a mountain side with a 45-degree slope covered in dense jungle. A post-crash fire occurred on impact and was so intense that the entire cabin section was consumed except for the engine, transmission gears, and main rotor mast. The tail rotor and the gear box could not be found due to dense jungle, rugged terrain and the area being unsecured. There were no survivors and the only witnesses were Republic of Korea soldiers about 750 meters from the scene of the accident. The lost crew members from Supercoach 524 included aircraft commander CW2 Steven I. Cavin, pilot WO1 Paul R. Driscoll, crew chief SP4 Donald H. Bartlett, and gunner SP4 Joseph M. Bowman; the lost passengers were SP4 Patrick B. Epps, 1LT Philip J. Battaglia Jr., 1LT Alfred R. Mahoney Jr., 1L Larry K. Hendee, SFC Faris E. Holland, and 1LT Donald F. Fletcher. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and vhpa.org]

Specialist Four Joseph Michael Bowman, Served with Company A, 54th Signal Battalion, First Field Force, United States Army Vietnam.

DEAR SPEC 4 JOSEPH BOWMAN,
THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE AS A HUEY, UH-1 HELICOPTER REPAIRER. TODAY IS ARMED FORCES DAY. MEMORIAL DAY IS APPROACHING, BUT ON ALL DAYS WE SHOULD HONOR YOU. 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. YOU ARE ALL IN OUR PRAYERS.

Dear SP4 Joseph Michael Bowman, 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