Sergeant First Class Michael John Wallace

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Sergeant First Class Michael John Wallace

• Born November 21, 1939

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Michael was born in the town of Ann Arbor,
Michigan.
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He was married and had a son, John. He also had
a younger sister, Kathy (left), who was several
years younger than him.
4

• Michael joined the Army, and was posted to the
  1st Cavalry Division, 11th Aviation Group, 228th
  Aviation Battallion (Assault Helicopter Company),
  Company ' B .

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His battalion was assigned to Camp Evans on
January 31, 1968
Camp Evans was the staging area for all
operations in the A Shau Valley.
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At the time of his death, Michael was serving as
Crew Chief of a Chinook helicopter (CH-47) such
as this one
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The exciting times were the ones where we would
use the UH-1H for what it was designed to be used
for in Vietnam, as an assault ship carrying the
infantry into battle or to be extracting them
from a battle. It was during these times that the
pilots and the back seater crews would not think
about the ships maintenance but completely relied
on the helicopter to do what it was told to do
when it was told it. No sudden vibrations, no
power fluctuations. It had to work flawlessly
every time. It was the back seat crewmembers, the
crew chief and the gunners responsibility to
ensure that the pilots had a ship that would
handle and perform the way they needed it to
perform. This was an assumption. Frank
Drinkwine
8
The A Shau Valley, also called the Valley of
Death, was the launch point of the notorious Tet
Offensive, and a known communist stronghold The
province the A Shau Valley is in, Thua Thien, had
the highest numbers of KIAs known in any province
in Vietnam
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Everything about the A Shau was eerie, even the
way it rained there. Rain clouds didnt have to
form up and march their way into that place, they
were just always there, waiting to loose a thick
downpour the kind unleashed if you pissed
somebody off in the Old Testament. Were talking
major flood! I remember thinking that no clouds
could possibly hold that much water. -- Larry
Chambers
10
Operation Lam Son 216 Aka Operation Delaware
April 19 to May 17, 1968 Location A Shau
Valley US Casualities 142 KIA 731 WIA 47 MIA
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The 1st Cav, during that week, as you know was
in terrible shape for flyable aircraft. One day,
there were more Cranes available for an early
morning mission than the 228 BN had Chinooks, but
that day was the exception. I really respected
the Chinooks and their crews during the time I
flew out of Evans - Ted Jenkins
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On a note about aircraft losses in the A Shau, I
know that at least 5 Chinooks were destroyed. The
two mentioned in earlier posts both went down in
flames on the first day. Grant Fossom
During Operation Delaware/Lam Son 216 enemy
gunners damaged 25 helicopters including 10 that
were shot down. Of those 10 losses, 4 were lost
within 5 kilometers of each other and had
aircrews or a passenger declared POW/MIA. This
area included the site where Michael J. Wallace
went missing.
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MIA April 19, 1968
The first day of Operation Lam Son 216
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On 19 April, then SP6 Anthony F. Tony Housh,
flight engineer and SP5 Michael J. Mike
Wallace, crew chief were part of the 5-man
aircrew onboard a CH47A helicopter (serial
66-19063) that was conducting a mid-day supply
mission. The Chinook was transporting a
sling-loaded 105mm howitzer to LZ Tiger. At
approximately 1300 hours, the helicopter
descended through the overcast and was on its
initial approach to the landing zone when it was
struck by enemy ground fire, caught fire and
began to burn. As the Chinook continued toward
the ground, the fire spread from aft to front.
When the Chinook was roughly 100 to 150 feet
above the ground, the gunner saw Tony Housh and
Mike Wallace jump from the crippled aircraft into
the jungle below. Within seconds the aircraft
crash landed a short distance away. The three men
who stayed aboard were rescued by another
helicopter.
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-battle descriptions-

This map shows where Michael Wallace was lost on
the way to LZ Tiger, also depicted
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Michaels Awards and Medals
Insigna of Company 228th ASHB, Michaels company
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In Memory Of
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Bibliography

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Websites
16 Mar. 2008 lthttp//www.history.army.mil/books/Vi
etnam/northern/nprovinces-ch6.htmgt. 16 Mar.
2008 lthttp//www.taskforceomegainc.org/B029mm.htmgt
. 18 Mar. 2008 lthttp//www.rjsmith.com/kia_tbl.h
tmlgt. 20 Mar. 2008 lthttp//www.patriotfiles.com/
index.php?nameNewsfilearticlesid461gt. 22
Mar. 2008 lthttp//blog.mlive.com/chronicle/2007/11
/TheWall.jpggt. 24 Mar. 2008 lthttp//www.first-te
am.us/journals/1stndx06.htmlgt. 8 Mar. 2008
lthttp//www.schickhappens.net/photogallery/ann_arb
or.jpggt.
10 Mar. 2008 lthttp//grunt44298065.blogspot.com/20
07/12/into-valley-of-death.htmlgt. 10 Mar. 2008
lthttp//lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/powquery.htmlgt. 10
Mar. 2008 lthttp//lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/powquery.html
gt. 10 Mar. 2008 lthttp//www.armyaircrews.com/chi
nook_nam.htmlgt. 10 Mar. 2008 lthttp//www.boeing.
com/history/boeing/chinook.htmlgt. 10 Mar. 2008
lthttp//www.flyarmy.org/panel/battle/68041900.HTMgt
. 10 Mar. 2008 lthttp//www.masher.org/page6.html
gt. 10 Mar. 2008 lthttp//www.vhfcn.org/ashau.html
gt. 10 Mar. 2008 lthttp//www.virtualwall.org/dw/W
allaceMJ01a.htmgt.
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Bibliography (Contd.)
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Songs
Books
Nodine, Anna. "Victory." By Anna Nodine.
Chambers, Larry. Death in the a Shau Valley.
Toronto, Canada The Ballantine Group, 1998.
Francillon, René J. Vietnam the War in the Air.
Hong Kong Aerospace Ltd., 1987.
More Websites
25 Mar 2008 lthttp//www.armytenmiler.com/Upload/im
ages/Army-Logo.gifgt.
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Memorial created by Anna Nodine Westlake High
School, Austin, TX Teacher Valerie Taylor