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Michael Allen Walker
Sergeant
A CO, 159TH ASLT SPT HELO BN, 101ST ABN DIV, USARV Army of the United States Scottsbluff, Nebraska October 11, 1948 to July 18, 1970 MICHAEL A WALKER is on the Wall at Panel W8, Line 29 |
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I only knew Mike a few weeks before his death. In that short time I can truly say he was a great person and a expectant father. He slept above me and we used to talk about our homes and family. We were both assigned to Chinook 810 as crewmembers. On July 18,1970 I was with him on a resupply mission to Firebase Ripcord in northwestern South Vietnam. Our Chinook took .51 caliber fire and due to Walker's fast reactions, he released the sling load of 105 ammo we were carrying so we wouldn't crash land on the artillery shells. That action saved his fellow crew members. We crashed landed and Walker died while trying to exit the helicopter. Everyone should remember him as an outstanding soldier and the father of a daughter Stacy born on that 20th of July. The world is a sadder place without Mike, he will be missed.
Sincerely,
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I still love and miss you, Mike.
Pati Henry |
A Note from The Virtual WallOn 18 July 1970 CH-47C tail number 68-15810 was resupplying Fire Base RIPCORD via a sling delivery - the cargo was contained within a net carried below the aircraft. As the CH-47 approached a hover it was hit by enemy fire, caught fire, rolled to one side, and crashed atop the Fire Base's 105mm artillery munitions dump. While only one of the crewmen was killed in the accident, another source indicates that one man on the gound, Sergeant William D. Rollason of Echo 2/501st Infantry, died as a result of the incident. The official Army and DoD casualty files indicate that Sergeant Rollason was killed by hostile 120mm mortar fire.The casualty database had Sergeant Walker coded as "non-crew" until Mr. Stanger initiated action with the Department of Defense to have the record corrected to reflect "crewmember" status. While The Virtual Wall's records have been corrected accordingly, other sources probably will continue to reflect "non-crew". It is noted that the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots' Association accident summary has SGT Walker correctly coded as a crewmember. |
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