THE WALL OF FACES

Clyde Ray Welch

Distinguished Flying Cross
AWARDED FOR ACTIONS
DURING Vietnam War
Service: Navy
Rank: Commander
GENERAL ORDERS:
All Hands (February 1968)
CITATION:
(Citation Needed) - SYNOPSIS: Commander Clyde Ray Welch (NSN: 0-542235), United States Navy, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (Posthumously) for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight as a pilot during operations over hostile North Vietnamese territory on 22 October 1966.

On October 26, 1966, there was a flare fire aboard the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany operating in the Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of Vietnam. Two sailors were re-stowing unexpended MK-24 Mod 3 flares when one was accidentally dropped. The igniter had not been reset to SAFE. As it fell, the safety lanyard was inadvertently pulled, actuating the flare. For reasons known only to him, one of the sailors picked up the armed flare, threw it into the magazine locker, and closed the door. Some 2.75-inch rocket warheads loaded with Composition B were stowed in the locker. Shortly after the flare ignited in the locker, the intense heat caused a 2.75 rocket warhead in the locker to detonate, sending fire and smoke into the hangar bay. This was followed by a second warhead explosion that spread fire throughout the entire hangar deck and in the forward portion of the ship. Finally, heat caused a liquid oxygen tank to explode. Before the fires were completely under control, 44 sailors had died (43 from asphyxiation and one from burns) and 156 had been injured. Beside the material damage to the ship, two helicopters and an A-4E aircraft were destroyed and three A-4E aircraft were damaged. The estimated cost of the material damage was $11 million. The following officers and men of Oriskany died in or as a result of the fires: CDR Jack H. Harris, CDR Richard E. Donahue, CDR Harry W. Juntilla (DOW 10/31/66), LCDR William J. Garrity Jr., LCDR Walter F. Merrick, LCDR Omar R. Ford, LT Frank M. Gardner, LTJG Dewey L. Alexander, LTJG Ramon A. Copple, LTJG James B. Hudis, LTJG James A. Kelly Jr., LTJG Franklin M. Tunick, BM3 Donald W. Shanks, BM3 Alvin M. Shifflett Jr., SN Robert L. Dyke, SN James K. Gray, SN James A. Lee, FN William Walling, AA Greg E. Hart, CDR Rodney B. Carter, LT Lloyd P. Hyde, LTJG William R. Clements, CDR George K. Farris, LCDR James A. Smith, LT John F. Francis, CDR John J. Nussbaumer, AZAN David A. Liste, LCDR Clement J. Morisette, LT Clarence D. Miller, LTJG Thomas E. Spitzer, ENS Ronald E. Tardio, CDR Clyde R. Welch, LCDR Daniel L. Strong, LTJG James L. Brewer, LTJG William A. Johnson, LCDR Norman S. Levy, LTJG Cody A. Balisteri, LTJG William G. McWilliams III, ENS Charles W. Boggs, LT Josslyn F. Blakely Jr., LT Julian D. Hammond Jr., LTJG Gerald W. Siebe, LTJG James R. Welsh, and ENS Daniel O. Kern. [Taken from insensitivemunitions.org and virtualwall.org]

Dear CDR Clyde Ray Welch, 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

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your service to our country and for the sacrifice of your precious life.

It is a privilege to be able to honor you for standing up for what was right and for the courage that you demonstrated.

I know that there are many who say that the loss of your life was in vain and that the Vietnam War was a senseless war, but for this American that is not true. What you did for the freedom of others was not in vain but has always been and will always be an example of good and honor today and for generations to come.

You will never be forgotten by me and I will honor your name and your sacrifice all my days.

In honor of your Angel Day I leave this poem for you:

“Some people come into our lives and quickly go.
Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts.
And we are never, ever the same.” ~ Unknown

1951 graduate of the Naval Academy.

Served aboard a frigate in Korean War.

Got his wings at Naval Air Station Pensacola.

Stationed at the Alameda Naval Air Station with the “Flying Redcocks.“

Later headed squadrons out of Miramar and Lemoore (Miramar was a Master Jet Station in the 1950’s)

In 1969, Miramar’s Master Jet school was renamed “Top Gun.”

10-26-66 While resting after a mission over Vietnam, fire on the U.S.S. Oriskany claimed his life along with the lives of many other pilots and personnel.

Final Resting Place
Section 13 Site 16335
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, Virginia