VETERAN'S HONOR PAGE + Other Military Info.

                                                    NEW INFORMATION POSTED!

                                         

This Page is a Tribute to the Veterans of the EHS Class of '56.

 

 

Letter from an airline pilot:

 

 He writes: My lead flight attendant came to me and said, "We have an H.R. On

 this flight." (H.R. Stands for human remains.) "Are they military?" I asked.

 

>> 'Yes', she said.

>>

>> 'Is there an escort?' I asked.

>>

>> 'Yes, I already assigned him a seat'.

>>

>> 'Would you please tell him to come to the flight deck. You can board him

>> early," I said..

>>

>> A short while later, a young army sergeant entered the flight deck. He was

>> the image of the perfectly dressed soldier. He introduced himself and I

>> asked him about his soldier. The escorts of these fallen soldiers talk about

>> them as if they are still alive and  still with us.

>>

>> 'My soldier is on his way back to Virginia ,' he said. He proceeded to

>> answer my questions, but offered no words.

>>

>> I asked him if there was anything I could do for him and he said no. I told

>> him that he had the toughest job in the military and that I appreciated the

>> work that he does for the families of our fallen soldiers. The first officer

>> and I got up out of our seats to shake his hand. He left the flight deck to

>> find his seat.

>>

>> We completed our pre-flight checks, pushed back and performed an uneventful

>> departure. About 30 minutes into our flight I received a call from the lead

>> flight attendant in the cabin. 'I just found  out the family of the soldier

>> we are carrying, is on board', she said. She then proceeded to tell me that

>> the father, mother, wife and 2-year old daughter were escorting their son,

>> husband, and father home. The family was upset because they were unable to

>> see the container that the soldier was in before we left. We were on our way

>> to a major hub at which the family was going to wait four hours for the

>> connecting flight home to Virginia .

>>

>> The father of the soldier told the flight attendant that knowing his son was

>> below him in the cargo compartment and being unable to see him was too much

>> for him and the family to bear. He had asked the flight attendant if there

>> was  anything that could be done to allow them to see him upon our arrival.

>> The family wanted to be outside by the cargo door to watch the soldier being

>> taken off the airplane. I could hear the desperation in the flight

>> attendants voice when she asked me if there was anything I could do. 'I'm on

>> it', I said. I told her that I would get back to her.

>>

>> Airborne communication with my company normally occurs in the form of e-mail

>> like messages. I decided to bypass this system and contact my flight

>> dispatcher directly on a Secondary radio. There is a radio operator in the

>> operations control center who connects you to the telephone of the

>> dispatcher. I was in direct contact with the dispatcher. I explained the

>> situation I had on board with the family and what it was the family wanted.

>> He said he understood and that he would  get back to me.

>>

>> Two hours went by and I had not heard from the dispatcher. We were going to

>> get busy soon and I needed to know what to tell the family. I sent a text

>> message asking for an update. I saved the return message from the dispatcher

>> and the following is the text:

>>

>> 'Captain, sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. There is policy on

>> this now and I had to check on a few things. Upon your arrival a dedicated

>> escort team will meet the aircraft.

>> The team will escort the family to the ramp and plane side. A van will be

>> used to load the remains with a secondary van for the family. The family

>> will be taken to their departure area and escorted into the terminal where

>> the remains can be seen on the ramp. It is a private area for the family

>> only. When the connecting aircraft  arrives, the family will be escorted onto

>> the ramp and plane side to watch the remains being loaded for the final leg

>> home. Captain, most of us here in flight control are veterans.. Please pass

>> our condolences on to the family. Thanks.'

>>

>> I sent a message back telling flight control thanks for a good job. I

>> printed out the message and gave it to the lead flight attendant to pass on

>> to the father. The lead flight attendant was very thankful and told me, 'You

>> have no idea how much this will mean to them.'

>>

>> Things started getting busy for the descent, approach and landing. After

>> landing, we cleared the runway and taxied to the ramp area. The ramp is huge

>> with 15 gates on either side of the alleyway. It is always a busy area with

>> aircraft maneuvering every which way to enter and exit. When we entered  the

>> ramp and checked in with the ramp controller, we were told that all traffic

>> was being held for us.

>>

>> 'There is a team in place to meet the aircraft', we were told. It looked

>> like it was all coming together, then I realized that once we turned the

>> seat belt sign off, everyone would stand up at once and delay the family

>> from getting off the airplane. As we approached our gate, I asked the

>> co-pilot to tell the ramp controller we were going to stop short of the gate

>> to make an announcement to the passengers. He did that and the ramp

>> controller said, 'Take your time.'

>>

>> I stopped the aircraft and set the parking brake. I pushed the public

>> address button and said, 'Ladies and gentleman, this is your Captain

>> speaking I have stopped short of our gate to make a special announcement.  We

>> have a passenger on board who deserves our honor and respect. His Name is

>> Private XXXXXX, a soldier who recently lost his life. Private XXXXXX is

>> under your feet in the cargo hold. Escorting him today is Army Sergeant

>> XXXXXXX. Also, on board are his father, mother, wife, and daughter. Your

>> entire flight crew is asking for all passengers to remain in their seats to

>> allow the family to exit the aircraft first. Thank you.'

>>

>> We continued the turn to the gate, came to a stop and started our shutdown

>> procedures. A couple of minutes later I opened the cockpit door. I found the

>> two forward flight attendants crying, something you just do not see. I was

>> told that after we came to a stop, every passenger on the aircraft stayed in

>> their seats, waiting for the family to exit the aircraft.

>>

>> When the  family got up and gathered their things, a passenger slowly started

>> to clap his hands. Moments later more passengers joined in and soon the

>> entire aircraft was

>> clapping. Words of 'God Bless You', I'm sorry, thank you, be proud, and

>> other kind words were uttered to the family as they made their way down the

>> aisle and out of the airplane.

>>

>> They were escorted down to the ramp to finally be with their loved one. Many

>> of the passengers disembarking thanked me for the announcement I had made.

>> They were just words, I told them, I could say them over and over again, but

>> nothing I say will bring back that brave soldier.

>>

>> I respectfully ask that all of you reflect on this event and the sacrifices

>> that millions of our men and women have made to ensure our freedom and

>> safety in these United States of AMERICA

>>

>> Foot note:

>>

>> I know everyone who has served their country who reads this will have tears

>> in their eyes, including me.

>>

>> Prayer chain for our Military... Don't break it!

>>

>> Please send this on after a short prayer for our service men and women.

>>

>> Don't break it!

>>

>> They die for me and mine and you and yours and deserve our honor and

>> respect.

>>

>> 'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect

>> us..bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us

>> in our time of need.. In Jesus Name, Amen.'

>> prayer  Request:

>>

>> When you receive this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our

>> troops around the world.. There is nothing attached. Just send this to

>> people in your address book. Do not let it stop with you. Of all the gifts

>> you could give a Marine, Soldier, Sailor, Airman, & others deployed in

>> harm's way, prayer is the very best one.

>>

>> GOD BLESS YOU!!!

 

                                                   

                                                 

There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010.

The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties.

The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth , Mass. Listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept. 7, 1965.

There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall.

39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.

8,283 were just 19 years old.

The largest age group, 33,103 were 18 years old.  

12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old.

5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.

One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old.

997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam .. 

1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam ..

31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.

 Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons.

 54 soldiers attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia . I wonder why so many from one school.

8 Women are on the Wall. Nursing the wounded.

244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall.

Beallsville , Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons.

West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall.

The Marines of Morenci - They led some of the scrappiest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. They enjoyed roaring beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National Forest . And in the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morenci's mining families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. Only 3 returned home.

The Buddies of Midvale - LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. They lived only a few yards apart. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field.

The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 ~ 245 deaths.

The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 - 2,415 casualties were incurred.

For most Americans who read this they will only see the numbers that the Vietnam War created. To those of us who survived the war, and to the families of those who did not, we see the faces, we feel the pain that these numbers created. We are, until we too pass away, haunted with these numbers, because they were our friends, fathers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters. There are no noble wars, just noble warriors.

Please pass this on to those who served during this time, and those who DO CARE!