CWO Henry James William Tews holding his dress blue and green 'saucer' caps. CWO Tews, a maintenance officer, had gone to recover an UH-1D (tail number 66-16811) that had made a precautionary landing west of Ba To at the Special Forces camp at Gia Vuc. The UH-1D's crew had landed the aircraft because of noises from the transmission area after they had taken several hits from small arms fire. They were trying to get a Hook (Chinook recovery aircraft) in to lift it out. The Hook could not arrive in before dark so the choice was to leave the ship in the mountains and get mortared or try to fly it out. A brave and good pilot as evidenced by his award of the Distinguised Flying Cross and Bronze Star medals, CWO Tews inspected the aircraft, but missed noticing a bullet that entered the "hell-hole" hitting the transmission, determined the aircraft could make a one time 30 minute flight to LZ Bronco at Duc Pho. CW2 Tews flew alone in the aircraft. Enroute, at about 1000 feet, the transmission seized, and the aircraft crashed to the ground and burned. He died from his injuries and burns. Photo of Hank the day he received a Bronze Star medal. He was initially reported as "Missing Not as a Result of Hostile Action" on 3 January in newspapers in Texas and Idaho but the crash was located and his body recovered. He was reported dead on 5 January 1969 in the local area newspapers after his parents were notified of his recovery. Below is photo of Tews' crash site taken by Dave Lovett, 30 Dec 68 (Used with permission). Note the lack of damage to helicopter rotor blades, indicating they were not rotating at the time of impact. Chief Warrant Officer Henry "Hank" James William Tews was survived by mother Mary R., father William G "Bud" Tews (1911-2002), brother Clarence D. of Jerome, sister Mario O of Boise, and sister Ruth of Culdesac, all in Idaho. He was also survived by many aunts, uncles, and cousins from the Shoshone and Twin Falls area. Hank is buried with his father at Shoshone Cemetery, Shoshone, Lincoln County, Idaho. - - The Virtual Wall, March 6, 2019

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