William Roy Dennis
Staff Sergeant
A CO, 228TH ASLT SPT HELO BN, 11TH AVN GROUP, 1ST CAV DIV, USARV
Army of the United States
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
December 26, 1948 to March 29, 1977
(Incident Date April 19, 1968)
WILLIAM R DENNIS is on the Wall at Panel 50E, Line 46

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01 Oct 2000

REMEMBERED ACROSS THE YEARS

by a buddy,
Wade Kane
wadekane@gci.net

 

The Mission

Landing Zone Tiger was located in the upper reaches of the A Shau Valley. Following the initial air assaults to recapture the LZ, larger helicopters were needed for resupply. Three of the aircraft, all hampered by sling loads, were shot down as they approached the LZ:
  • CH-47A (tail number 64-13124, A Company, 228th Avn Bn) received small arms fire from the ground and crashed. The pilot and co-pilot were able to crawl away from the wreckage, but three other crewmen were not found:
    • SSG Douglas Randolph Blodgett, gunner
    • SP5 William Roy Dennis, flight engineer
    • SSG Jesus Armando Gonzalez, crew chief


  • CH-47A (tail number 66-19063, B Company, 228th Avn Bn) was hit by 37mm rounds in the aft pylon area during approach. The aircraft was in flames as it descended. The flight engineer and crew chief jumped while the aircraft was still 50 feet or more above the treetops. Their bodies were not found. The other three crewmen, although injured, survived the crash. Lost were
    • SFC Anthony F. Housh, flight engineer
    • SFC Michael J. Wallace, crew chief


  • CH-54A (tail number 64-14205, 478th Avn Company (Heavy Helicopter) was on approach to the landing zone when an explosion occurred in the cockpit. The aircraft crashed against a cliffside about a mile distant from the LZ. The crash was not survivable. Four men were lost:
    • MAJ Arthur James Lord, pilot
    • CW4 Charles Worth Millard, pilot
    • MSG Michael Ray Werdehoff, flight engineer
    • SP6 Philip Raymond Shafer, crew chief

At day's end, the heavy helicopter companies had five injured and nine missing in action. Four of the MIAs - Major Lord, CW4 Millard, MSG Werdehoff, and SP6 Shafer - have been repatriated; the five men from the two CH-47s remain among the missing as of 26 July 2002.


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