THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrances from family and friends are poignant. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us...

Dear EN2 Norman Byassee,
Thank you for your service as an Engineman. As we celebrate Labor Day, and enjoy our freedom, it is important for us all to acknowledge the sacrifices of those like you who answered our nation's call. Please watch over America, it stills needs your courage and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.

Norman it's been a long time since we saw each other.It's been no fun.I guess we never forget the good old days.You were my brother.May you rest in peace.

Norman, for years I have been looking for your name on the Wall, but I could not remember the spelling of your last name. My name is Terri Frausto Gonzales. We used to live in Litchfield Park. I remember you used to give my mom ten cents for tortillas. You loved them. I'm so happy I finally found your name. I will always Remember you and your family. You are America's Hero!!

On February 26, 1970, a U.S. Navy helicopter UH-34D (tail number 150223) from U.S. Naval Air Facility, Cam Ranh Bay, Detachment Tan Son Nhut, departed the Tan Son Nhut Airbase at approximately 0800H for its daily mission of shuttling mail and passengers to and from the ship and shore installations of the Navy River Forces to local airstrips where connections are established with C-117 aircraft also belonging to this detachment. The aircraft had completed two trips to the small strip at the hamlet of An Long in order to avoid an excess weight take-off from the USS Benewah (APB-35). The aircraft then landed at An Long Airstrip and loaded six passengers and 1050 lbs. of mail. The aircraft departed for the connecting airstrip at Long Xuyen and was noted by the radio controlling agency (Chau Duc radio) to have announced commencement of letdown very shortly before the accident. Approximately 6 miles north of Long Xuyen, An Giang Province, an unidentified Vietnamese civilian stated that he heard two explosion and observed the helicopter turn over two times then fail from the sky, impacting inverted in a dry rice field. The aircraft clock stopped at 1303H. At approximately 1345H at an ARVN outpost, a helicopter was reported to have crashed. An Giang Province TOC alerted an airborne Army observation aircraft which sighted the wreckage and reported its position. Flight service was alerted and rescue and recovery operations were initiated by the Army 164th Combat Aviation Group. Gunships were directed to the crash scene to secure the area, and within 45 minutes the Detachment Operations Officer, waiting at Long Xuyen, was at the site for the initial investigation of the wreckage and the removal of the bodies. By nightfall, all bodies save the pilot were removed. The next morning the Aircraft Accident Board arrived and a comprehensive on-site investigation was commenced. The remains of the pilot were removed. At approximately 1400H the removal of the wreckage from the crash site commenced utilizing an Army UH-1 and CH-47 helicopters. The wreckage was transported to Navy Binh Thuy for further shippage to Tan Son Nhut Airbase. All the UH-34D's components were present on the impact site. The main components (engine, transmission, clutch assembly, main rotor head, etc.) were submitted for tear-down analysis. Everything seemed to be normal save for the transmission. The transmission contained bits of newspaper and pieces of white plastic. The newspaper was coated with green and gold colored paint and the pieces of white plastic material were identified as parts of a plastic cover similar to that used on an aerosol paint spray can. Three crewmen and six passengers were lost in the crash. The lost crewmen included pilot LT Bernard L. LeFevre, co-pilot LJG Henry Hudson Jr., and crew chief ADR George A. Young. The six passengers were EM3 Ronald S. Bay, EN2 Norman K. Byassee, EN3 Robert L. Fallows, RM3 Frank B. Glendenning, EN2 David P. Hoffman, and CS3 Archie C. Wabschall III. [Taken from vhpa.org]