Birth 22JUL38 Rank CWO Date of Death 12JAN66 P. of birth   Service Army (Reserve) Place offshore, S. Vietnam town of rec. Centralia Unit 197th AHC, 145th CAB, 1 AVN Bde Death Code Hostile Died Missing; Helicopter - Crew; Air Loss Crash - Sea Hometown Lewis service # W3350356 Panel 04EAST - 67 married Married Medals Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star (See list below) MIA -   Tour Date 07JAN65 Comment Vietnam Helicopter Cemetery Fort Lewis Cemetery, Fort Lewis WA

Robert Moffett Dowling received these medals: The Purple Heart, for wounds received in action which resulted in his death; the Bronze Star for Valor - for heroism in ground combat on 1 Jan 1966; the Distinguished Flying Cross - for heroism while participating in aerial flight in Viet Nam on 30 Sep 1965; eight oak leaf clusters to the Air Medal (each cluster signifying 25 combat aerial missions over enemy territory in support of ground forces); the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with palm - presented by the Republic of Viet Nam (in December) for heroic action against the enemy; and a company plaque presented by the officers and men of the 197th Armed Helicopter Company.

Lewis County's first casualty in the Viet Nam war
    Chief Warrant Officer Robert M. Dowling of Chehalis, was posthumously awarded four medals in an impressive ceremony 21 Apr (1966) at Fort Lewis. The medals were received by Dowling's widow, Mary, on behalf of her husband.
    Maj. General Arthur S. Collins, Jr, post and division commander at Fort Lewis, presented the medals and was himself impressed with the gallantry of the Lewis County serviceman. "This is the largest number of decorations I have had the privilege to present to one person at one time," the general said.
    Dowling died in Viet Nam 12 Jan 1966 from wounds received in action.
    The medals he received include: The Purple Heart, for wounds received in action which resulted in his death; the Bronze Star for Valor-for heroism in ground combat on 1 Jan 1966; the Distinguished Flying Cross-for heroism while participating in aerial flight in Viet Nam on 30 Sep 1965; eight oak leaf clusters to the Air Medal (each cluster signifying 25 combat aerial missions over enemy territory in support of ground forces, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with palms-presented by the Republic of Viet Nam (in December) for heroic action against the enemy, and a company plaque presented by the officers and men of the 197th Armed Helicopter Company.
    The acts of heroism which resulted in the medals for Dowling read like chapters out of a thrilling war novel. For example, this was the action that lead to the Bronze Star: "...Dowling distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 1 Jan 1966 while serving as co-pilot of an armed helicopter during combat operations near Tuy Hoa. When his helicopter was shot down by Viet Cong .30 caliber automatic weapons fire, Dowling suffered a badly sprained left hand and a severe blow to the head. Although he was seriously wounded he salvaged one grenade launcher and one rifle, and returned devastating fire in the Viet Cong automatic weapons position surrounding the crash site until his ammunition was expended. Then, with complete disregard for his personal safety, he exposed himself to the insurgent position and painfully made his way back to the downed aircraft to secure more ammunition. Refusing medical aid, he returned to his position and silenced a Viet Cong automatic weapon. When a rescue helicopter landed, Dowling provided deadly fire cover and refused to leave his position until the remainder of his crew was safely aboard the aircraft..."
    And an excerpt from the Distinguished Flying Cross award:"...Through his courage, dedication, and outstanding marksmanship, he contributed immeasurably to the successful completion of the mission which saved many lives..."
    The company award was in recognition of "outstanding performance of duty while logging 251.7 combat hours and 291 combat missions.
    Dowling attended Chehalis schools and graduated from W.F. West High School in 1956 and from Centralia College in 1958. He also attended the University of Washington and worked as a pilot for a number of business firms. Because he loved flying, he decided to make the U.S. Army his career and was commissioned a warrant officer when he joined in 1963. By then he had already fulfilled his military obligation by serving seven years in the Marine Corps Reserve. He was sent to Viet Nam from Fort Lewis in June, 1965.
    The helicopter pilot was married to Mary Garrison, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dayton B. Garrison, Centralia, in 1958. They have four children- Bonnie, 3; Susie, 4; Bobby, 5; and Laurie, 6.
    Attending the award ceremony at Ft. Lewis with the widow were her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Garrison; her husband's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Tad Dowling, Chehalis; David Dowling, Tacoma, a brother-in-law, and other relatives." (Daily Chronicle, Centralia WA, April 30, 1966)

    Jesse Leroy HANCOCK

Birth 04NOV32 Rank SFC Date of Death 29JAN66 P. of birth   Service Army Place S. Vietnam town of rec. Seattle Unit Special Forces, B-52, Team Capitol Death Code Hostile, Ground Casualty - Gun, Small Arms Fire Hometown   service # 19368479 Panel 04EAST - 109 married Married Medals   MIA -   Comment   Tour Date 05JAN66 Cemetery

Birth 07SEP31 Rank MAJ Date of Death 01 Feb 66 P. of birth   Service Marines Place N. Vietnam town of rec. Puyallup Unit VMGR-152, 1STMAW FMFPAC Death Code Hostile, Died; Fixed Wing - Crew; Air Loss, Crash - Sea Hometown   service # 60899 Panel 04EAST - 127 married Married Medals   MIA - BNR Comment   Tour Date   Cemetery     Klickitat High School, Klickitat WA, 1949

(MIA records extracted from P.O.W. Network) Major Richard Andrew Alm was born 7 Sep 1931. He was one of 7 men who crewed a Lockheed C130 Hercules Tanker. On 1 Feb 66 during a refueling operation about 10 miles north of the island of Hon Co the tanker was hit by ground fire and crashed into the ocean. All crew onboard were considered to have died in the crash. No bodies were recovered.
For more details visit P.O.W. Network

    Walter PIPER Jr.

Birth 24NOV46 Rank PFC Date of Death 06FEB66 P. of birth   Service Army Place S. Vietnam town of rec. Spokane Unit 101st Abn Div, B Co, 2nd Bn, 502nd Inf Death Code Hostile Died; Ground Casualty; Gun Small Arms Fire Hometown   service # 19836142 Panel 05EAST - 07 married Single Medals Bronze Star MIA -   Comment   Tour Date 1 Jan 66 Cemetery Fairmount Memorial Park, Spokane WA

Pfc. Piper Loses Life in Viet Nam Pfc. Walter Piper Jr., 19, son of Mrs. Annie L. Dotson, E2204 Fourth, was killed Sunday in Viet Nam the Department of Army announced Friday. He enlisted in the Army paratroops last 19 Apr (1965), having attended Libby Junior High School and Ferris High School in Spokane. He was assigned to Company B, 2-502nd, First Brigade, 101st Airborne and was flown to the combat area the day after Christmas. He died of a bullet wound in his chest. The body will be flown to Spokane where burial is scheduled at the Veterans' section at Fairmount Memorial Park. (Spokesman Review, Spokane WA, 12 Feb 1966)

Medal Given Posthumously A Spokane Marine, killed in action 22 Jul 1966 in South Vietnam, recently was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V" Marine Corps officials said today. Pfc. Robert E. Stallings received the recognition for his achievements while serving with the 5th Marine Regiment in action on the date of his death. The medal with accompanying citation, was presented to his widow, Mrs. Renee Stallings, N7318 Excell Drive, in ceremonies held at a meeting of the Armed Services Committee of the Chamber of Commerce. Making the presentation was Major A. C. Ledbetter, former inspector instructor of the 5th 55 mm Howitzer Battery here. Also present were Pfc. Stallings' mother, Mrs. Gladys S. Jewett, N7507 Hughes Drive and his father, Harold E. Stalling. (Spokane Chronicle, Spokane WA, 5 Jan 1968)

McGinnis, Piper Killed
    Killed 7 Feb 1966 in Viet Nam was Pfc. Dale Richard McGinnis, 22, son of Alphine C. McGinnis, W2221 1/2 Riverside. The day before, 6 Feb (1966),Pfc. Walter Piper Jr. was killed. He was the son of Mrs. Annie L. Dotson, E2204 Fourth, and Walter Piper of Texas.
    Last September, S.Sgt. Duane C. Schell, 26, son of Mr. and Mrs. Carl J. Molke, E10410 Fourteenth, was killed. His widow and children live at Junction City OR.
   In August 1963 Lt. Timothy M. Lang, 26, who was reared in Spokane but whose family had moved to Seattle, was killed in Viet Nam (Spokane Review, Spokane WA, 9 Mar 1966)

Correction of the above article We believe this article was a "goof-up" by the newspaper... a Dale Richard McInnis died 7 Mar 1966 different state. We didn't find a newspaper retraction but did find a corrected article with no mention of McGinnis... Mistakes happened ... (a Darilee comment)

    Warren Gary PETERSON

Birth 02SEP47 Rank PFC Date of Death 10FEB66 P. of birth   Service Army Place S. Vietnam town of rec. Stanwood Unit 101st Abn Div, HHC, 1st Bn, 327th Inf Death Code Hostile Died; Ground Casualty; Multiple Fragmentation Wounds Hometown Stanwood service # 19832932 Panel 05EAST - 23 married Single Medals   MIA -   Tour Date 15NOV65 Comment Screaming Eagles Cemetery     Mt. Vernon High School, Mt. Vernon WA, 1965

Pfc. Warren G. Peterson,
18, Rt. 3 Stanwood, was killed in action in Viet Nam Feb. 10. Born 2 Sep 1947, he was educated in the Stanwood schools and graduated from Mount Vernon High School in June of 1965. Enlisting in the Army, he received his basic training at Fort Ord Ca and with the paratroops at Fort Benning GA. He went to Viet Nam 1 Dec 1965, with the Second Battalion, First Brigade, 101st Airborne Infantry. He leaves his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wilhelm Peterson, Rt. 3 Stanwood, and two brothers, Bill and his twin, Wayne Peterson, both at home. Funeral arrangements will be announced from Tiffany's Gunderson Funeral Home, Stanwood.

Pvt Peterson killed in action in Viet Nam News of the death of Pvt 1st Class Warren G Peterson brought to the Stanwood area the first known casualty in the Viet Nam War. Pvt. Peterson, age 18, was killed in action 9 (sic) Feb (1966), says the report. Born 2 Sep 1947 in Mount Vernon, he attended Stanwood schools and during his junior year in high school transferred to Mount Vernon High, from which he graduated in June 1965. After enlistment in the army he received basic training at Fort Ord CA and attended Paratrooper training at Fort Benning GA. Assigned to the 1st Brigrade, 101st Airborn Division, 2nd Battalion, he left for Viet Nam last December (1965). He is survived by his parents at Route 3, Stanwood; a twin brother, Wayne and another brother, Bill; both are at home. Funeral services will be announced later from Tiffany's Gunderson Funeral Home. (Stanwood News, Stanwood WA 17 Feb 1966)

    Watson WILLIS

Birth 11APR28 Rank SFC Date of Death 14FEB66 P. of birth   Service Army Place S. Vietnam Town of Record Cincinnati OH Unit C 2/27 of the 25th Div Death Code Hostile; Ground Casualty; Multiple Fragmentation Wounds Hometown   service # 14268421 Panel 05EAST - 37 married married Medals   Local Tacoma Tour Date 04JAN66 Comment 18 yr vet. Cemetery Fort Lewis Cem., Fort Lewis WA

Tacoman Dies in Viet Nam
    A Tacoman, Sgt. 1. C. Watson Willis, 37, was one of two Washington Army men killed in action this week in Viet Nam, according to the Defense Department.
    The news came in a telegram, delivered to the home of a friend, Mrs. Marshall L. Whiting, 3205 S. 94th St., where the sergeant's wife, Irmgard, and 11-year-old daughter have spent the past four weeks. Sgt. Willis was an Army career man due for retirement in a few months and left for Viet Nam on 3 Jan (1966) from Hawaii.
    "I was in the hospital being treated for an infection when the news came," said Mrs. Willis. "I don't remember much about the hours immediately afterward. I must have gone to pieces because they had to give me a shot."
    Because the news came before she had left for her sixth grade class at Southgate Elementary School, the daughter, Hannelore, was kept home from school by Mrs. Whiting. At first she was told only that her father was wounded. Now she knows the truth.
    The telegram said that Sgt. Willis was the victim of hostile mortar fire Monday. Later Mrs. Willis learned that probably he had died at once.
    Mrs. Willis's home is in Nuremberg, Germany, and the couple met and were married while the sergeant was stationed in that area. Sgt. Willis spent his early boyhood in Troy AL, and later moved with his family to Ohio.
    The Willises had been stationed in many places but Mrs. Willis said she is particularly found of Tacoma, where she lived while the sergeant was serving in Korea. They had been living in Hawaii before he was sent to Viet Nam.
    "I don't know what we'll do now," Mrs. Willis said Friday morning. "It is so hard to think or make plans. It all seems so cruel," she said, in her slight German accent, "so - unnecessary."
    In addition to his wife and daughter, Sgt. Willis is survived by two brothers, R. B. James, of Toledo OH and Clinton James of Troy AL; and two sisters, Mrs. Violet Moore, of Cincinnati and Mrs. Pearl Ruth, of Chicago. (Tacoma News Tribune, Tacoma WA, Friday, 18 Feb 1966)

    Reynaldo Roy CAVAZOS

Birth 25JUN47 Rank PFC Date of Death 18FEB66 P. of birth   Service Army Place S. Vietnam town of rec. Quincy Unit 1st Cav Div, B Co, 2nd Bn, 8th Cav Death Code Hostile Died; Helicopter-Crew; Air Loss Crash - Land Hometown   service # 19814651 Panel 05EAST - 46 married Single Medals   MIA -   Tour Date 20MAY65 Comment Vietnam Helicopter Cemetery Quincy Cem., Quincy WA

Soldier's Rites Today The body of Army Pfc. Roy Cavazos, first soldier from the Columbia Basin to die in the Viet Nam war, has been returned here and will be accorded burial with full military honors today at 10 a.m. at the Quincy Cemetery. A honor guard from Larson Air Force Base will assist in the ceremony. Private Cavazos was killed 18 Feb (1966) when a helicopter crashed and burned. He was with the 1st Air Cavalry Division and had been on duty only a month after recovering from injuries received in earlier action. Survivors include his mother, Mrs. Raquel Salinas, Quincy; his father, Alejandro Cavazos, Fresno CA; a brother, Alex, Quincy, and two sisters, Mrs. Diane A. Jaramillo, Quincy, and Mrs. Nora H. Leon, Minot ND. (Spokesman Review, Spokane WA, 10 Mar 1966, p. 1)

    Darrell Thomas "Tom" RAY

Birth 23AUG47 Rank PFC Date of Death 28FEB66 P. of birth   Service Marines Place Thua Thien, S. Vietnam Town of rec. Olympia Unit E Co, 2ND Bn, 1st Mars Death Code Hostile Died; Ground Casualty; Multiple Fragmentation Wounds Hometown   service # 2108299 Panel 05EAST - 90 married Single Medals Navy Cross MIA -   Comment   Tour Date   Cemetery New Tacoma Cemetery

The funeral service for Private First Class Darrell Thomas Ray, US Marine Corps, will be held at two o'clock Wednesday at the Forest Ward, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, in Tacoma. Burial will be in the New Tacoma Cemetery with full military honors. Darrell Thomas Ray was 18 years of age when he was killed in action in Viet Nam 28 Feb (1966). The body will lie in state at the Mountain View Funeral Home Tuesday from seven thirty o'clock until nine o'clock and at the Church Wednesday from twelve until two o'clock. Survivors include the parents, Mr. and Mrs. Darrell G. Ray; five sisters, Jean, Ann, Karen, Lisa, and Susan; two brothers, Owen and Mark, all at the family home in Tacoma; his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Glen Ray, and Mrs. Russell B. Petty, of Ogden UT, and H.J. Clark, Twin Falls ID. (The Olympia, Olympia WA 8 Mar 1966)

Tribute: Marines will name building for late Tacoma Hero The memory of a young Tacoma Marine who was killed in Vietnam more than 20 years ago, will be preserved by naming a Marine Corps building for him in Okinawa, Japan. Darrell Thomas (Tom) Ray, who was 18 at the time of his death 28 Feb 1966, was the son of Darrell G. and Elma Ray of 908 Alameda Ave., Fircrest. He was awarded the Navy Cross posthumously for his bravery in fighting near Phu Bai, an outpost near the northern border of South Viet Nam. Pfc Ray attended Olympia High School before joining the Marines in August 1964. He was assigned with the 1st Regiment of the 3rd Marine Div. He trained at Camp Pendleton CA., and went to Viet Nam shortly before Christmas in 1965. According to Marine Corps accounts of his death. PFC. Ray, an infantryman, was killed while attacking an enemy machine gun nest as his platoon took cover. He is one of six Marines killed in action who received the Navy Cross and who have had building names in their honor. The building to carry Ray's name is within an apartment complex at Camp Courtney on Okinawa. Final approval for the action will come from the Marine Headquarters in Washington, D. C., but only after agreement from Mr. and Mrs. Ray. Their confirmation was to be mailed today, Mrs. Ray said Sunday night. They don't know if they will be invited to attend the dedication but are planning to inquire. "There was a bill in Congress at the time to take 18-year-olds off the front lines, but it was not in time for us," Mrs. Ray said. (Tacoma News Tribune, Tacoma WA, 27 Oct 1988)