26 Jun 2008 Dale was a very special person, always happy and easy going. Dale cared for others even if he didn't really know them. His tour was over and he was waiting to go home when he volunteered to make one more run to save men he didn't even know. Dale never came back. He gave his life to save others. God will have a very special place for Dale L. Lambert in Heaven. Rest in peace, Dale, we will meet again. From a good friend, Donald L. Butts STSCS/SS USN Retired dsrv1@frontiernet.net

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall Fire Support Base VEGHEL was located in the eastern approaches to the A Shau Valley some 27 kilometers southwest of Hue. VEGHEL was a thorn in the NVA's side and they made concerted efforts to force the allied troops to withdraw. Between 20 and 24 April 1968, 27 US servicemen were killed on and near VEGHEL, including four men aboard UH-1D tail number 66-16490 which was hit by 23mm anti-aircraft fire while departing the FSB on 24 April and crashed in the jungles about 2 kilometers away. According to the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots' Assn database the four men, all from A Co, 101st Avn Bn, were: CWO Brian H. Philibert, Fort Worth, TX; WO Stuart A. Werner, Sacramento, CA; SP4 Ralph Fredenberg, Shawano, WI; and SP5 Buford G. Johnson, Winter Garden, FL. The crash was not survivable and the enemy presence around VEGHEL prohibited a ground search to recover the bodies ... but by September 1968 the situation had changed and US forces recovered the bodies. But there was a fifth person aboard the Huey - SP5 Dale L. Lambert from HQ Co, 2/502nd Infantry. Although not listed by the VHPA, SP5 Lambert went down in a helo incident on 24 April and was not recovered until the same date as the four men listed above. 66-16490 was the only helo lost in Thua Thien Province on 24 April and the only one whose crew was recovered in September - the conclusion seems inescapable. Military Rites for soldier Dale Lambert - Full military honors will be accorded Army Spec. 4. Dale Lambert, 22, of Nespelem, in funeral rites held at Sacred Heart Mission Monday morning. Spec. 4, Lambert, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Lambert of Nespelem, died while serving his country in Vietnam. Last April he was reported missing in action. On Sept. 30 (1968), the Defense Department announced he had been listed as dead from hostile action in Vietnam. Dale Lambert was born at Coulee Dam 9 Dec 1945. He lived in this area until joining the United States Army. Surviving besides his parents are a brother Glen Lambert, in the Army, stationed at Ft. Lewis, and his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. William Heron, Goldendale. He will be buried in the Catholic Cemetery here. William Barnes is in charge of arrangements. Wenatchee (WA) Daily World 6 Oct 1968 Courtesy of Darilee Bednar bookstorelady@prodigy.net Faces from the Wall Sacred Heart Cemetery, Okanogan County, Washington

Contact Us

© Copyright 1997-2019 www.VirtualWall.org, Ltd ®(TM)

Last update 08/15/2019.