Jose D Melendez-GonzalezPrivate First ClassD CO, 1ST BN, 46TH INFANTRY, 198 INF BDE Army of the United States 07 April 1948 - 01 October 1968 Naguabo, Puerto Rico Panel 42W Line 061 |
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The database page for Jose D Melendez-Gonzalez
From a friend from C Co, 2nd Bn, 1st Trng Bde, |
A Note from The Virtual WallOn 01 October 1968 D Company, 1st Bn, 46th Infantry was engaged in the vicinity of the Thien Phuoc Special Forces Camp in Quang Tin Province. During the fight, attempts to medevac their wounded were hampered by heavy enemy fire on the helicopters. One attempt, flown by WO1 Reinis Fox, resulted in a downed helo. Reinis and his crew were picked up and volunteered to try again. On his second attempt Reinis got into the landing zone, reportedly loaded 9 wounded men aboard, and was shot down after take-off. Three wounded were recovered from the downed Huey, but the bodies of the dead could not be recovered at the time. As the day wore on the US soldiers were required to pull back, taking their wounded but unable to recover their dead from the ground action. US forces later reentered the area and recovered all their dead - 16 men. Two more died of wounds incurred in the action.The medevac helo loss is known to have resulted in eleven deaths:
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With all respect
Jim Schueckler, former CW2, US Army
Ken Davis, Commander, United States Navy (Ret)
Memorial first published on 13 Nov 2006
Last updated 08/10/2009