WALTER E. DEMSEY JR
Home Of Record:
GLENDORA
County:
Camden
Status:
Missing In Action
Rank:
SP4
Branch Of Service:
Army
Country Of Incident:
LAOS
Date of Casualty:
February 18, 1971
Date of Birth:
September 17, 1949
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WALTER EDWARD DEMSEY JR
SP4 - E4 - Army - Regular
101st Airborne Division
His tour began on Feb 18, 1971
Casualty was on Feb 18, 1971
In LZ, SOUTH VIETNAM
Hostile, died while missing, HELICOPTER - CREW
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND
Body was not recovered
Panel 05W - Line 115
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Walter E. Demsey, Jr. was born on September 17,
1949. His home of record is Glendora, NJ.
Walter entered the US Army where he attained the rank of Specialist 4(SP4).
Walter remains listed as missing in action since February 18, 1971.
The story begins on February 18, 1971. The crew was stationed at Camp Eagle
with the 101st Airborne Comencheros. The crew that day was pilot George
Berg, co-pilot Gerald Woods, crew chief Walter Demsey, and door gunner Gary
Johnson flying a UH-1H helicopter. On that day, the crew was flying out of
Phu Bai, the mission was to extract a Special Forces team located just over
the Vietnamese border in Laos. The Special Forces team was on an
information-gathering mission on the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The team was
monitoring the trail, when an enemy soldier was spotted with a bike,
carrying documents. Shots were fired, the soldier was killed, and the
documents were recovered.
The shots alerted the enemy in the area and a fire-fight broke out. The team
called for an emergency extraction. Four choppers were sent in and all four
made a pickup and returned safely to Phu Bai. Three Special Forces team
members still remained to be picked up, my brother’s crew elected to return
and make the final pickup.
Daylight was beginning to fade and the weather in the pickup zone was
closing in. The chopper proceeded down the ridgeline of the west wall of the
Ashau Valley in the clouds moving to the west to the pickup site just inside
of Laos. The three remaining Special Forces personnel (Ronald Watson, Allen
Lloyd, and Sam Hernandez) were picked up with the enemy firing at the
chopper the whole time. The chopper headed to the east towards the Ashau
Valley at tree top level, dragging the Special Forces team who were on ropes
through the trees. The chopper crossed over the west wall ridgeline and Sam
Hernandez’s rope broke, dropping him 40 feet to the jungle floor. The
chopper continued to head east into the Ashau Valley for 600 feet when the
chopper made a U-turn, crashing into the west wall and bursting into a ball
of flames. Sam survived the fall and was shaken up but was not injured, he
didn’t see or hear the chopper go down and started an E&E for the night.
Written by David Demsey, Brother
Synopsis (from the POW Network) as to the circumstances behind being listed
as MIA:
WO Gerald E. Woods, pilot; WO George P. Berg, aircraft commander; SP4 Gary
L. Johnson, door gunner; SP4 Walter Demsey, crew chief; were assigned to
Company A, 101st Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. On February
18, 1971, their UH1H was dispatched as part of a flight of four on an
emergency patrol extraction mission on the West Side of the A Shau Valley in
Thua Tin Province, South Vietnam. The patrol to be rescued included Sgt.
Allen R. Lloyd, Capt. Ronald L. Watson and SFC Samuel Hernandez, part of
Special Operations Augmentation, Command & Control North, 5th Special Forces
Group.
The team was assigned to MACV-SOG (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
Studies and Observation Group). MACV-SOG was a joint service high command
unconventional warfare task force engaged in highly classified operations
throughout Southeast Asia. The 5th Special Forces channeled personnel into
MACV-SOG (although it was not a Special Forces group) through Special
Operations Augmentation (SOA), which provided their "cover" while under
secret orders to MACV-SOG. The teams performed deep penetration missions of
strategic reconnaissance and interdiction which were called, depending on
the time frame, "Shining Brass" or "Prairie Fire" missions.
On Feb. 19, 1971, a Special Forces team was inserted close to the crash site
in an attempt to rescue or recover any crew members. The team spotted Sam
Hernandez on the ground and picked him up. Sam had the documents that were
captured the day before with him. Sam was flown back to base. The team
located the crash site 600 ft. down from the top of the ridgeline, the
copperhead had been almost totally destroyed. Berg and Woods were found
still strapped in their seats, Johnson was found in a tree 30 ft. from the
site, and Demsey’s leg was found very close to the cargo compartment. It is
believed that Demsey was thrown from the chopper when it crashed and it
rolled over on him cutting the leg off and trapping the rest of his body
under the wreckage.
The team placed the remains into body bags on top of the wreckage. The
weather was closing in, the daylight was fading, and the decision was made
to leave the remains at the crash site and to stay over night near the crash
site. The team headed Northwest on the top of the ridgeline and passed a
cliff, the ropes were spotted hanging over the cliff with Watson and Lloyd
still attached to their ropes at the bottom. The team continued heading
Northwest for hill 1528 where they spent the night. The following morning
the team was preparing to return to the crash site when they were attacked.
The team suffered two wounded and a convey pilot, Larry Hull, crashed and
was killed. The team was extracted without the remains and the decision was
made not to return to the area because it was so “hot”. Some of the team
members on that mission were Charles Westley, Cliff Newman, and Charles
Danzer, all with the 5th Special Forces Group out of DaNang.
During the attempt to recover the patrol, Woods’ helicopter came under heavy
fire and had to leave the pick-up zone with Lloyd, Watson and Hernandez
attached to the three-staple rig. While in flight, the rope broke, and
Hernandez fell 30 to 40 feet, landing in double canopy jungle. He was
rescued the following day. The helicopter continued a short distance, and
was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire, crashed and burned.
Sources: David Dempsey (brother), POW Network and NJVVMF
WEBSITE by Walters brother, David
http://www.vietvet.org/demsey.htm
MESSAGES LEFT ON THEWALL-USA (as of 2/28/09)
** Note that some of these
messages are from years ago and there contact information may not be good
anymore **
R. Wayne Jones
redgeruner@aol.com
His gunner
7550 Mason Drive
Roanoke, VA 240185389 USA
Walt's Memorial
http://www.vietvet.org/demsey.htm
We worked with the very best CCN/SOG. I was too fortunate to believe and
Walt stayed too long. Walt Demsey saved alot of lives, both American and
Indigs. Not Walt nor anyone that died in that hell should be forgotten EVER.
God's speed Walt.
Monday, May 08, 2000
Fellow Eagle
THE BROTHERHOOD OF EAGLES SALUTES YOU. I know the perils you faced and the
strength you possessed. You stood tall, answered your country's call, and
gave all that you had for your brothers and country. You were part of the
greatest unit ever, and I'm proud to be of the same Brotherhood that you
served with honor and courage. You are not forgotten, nor will you ever be
forgotten, as you will remain forever in the memory of every Screaming Eagle
that has "Been There and Done That". We will all meet again when all of the
Eagles are called home. Continue to stand tall my brother, for you are still
in Eagle Country and now soaring with the elite. A Fellow Eagle, 2/506th (Currahee),
101st Airborne, RVN (A Shau Valley & DMZ), '68-'69.
Friday, September 17, 2004
If you would like
to add a story, comment, or contact, please email
CCVietnamKIA@gmail.com
Notes from The Virtual Wall
The six men who died in the crash of UH-1H tail number 68-15255 were
- A Co, 101st Avn Bn, 101st Abn Div
- CWO George P. Berg, Belford, NJ, pilot
- WO Gerald E. Woods, Salem, OR, copilot
- SP4 Walter E. Demsey, Glendora, NJ, crew chief
- SP4 Gary L. Johnson, Malibu, CA, gunner
- Recon Team "Intruder", CCN, MACV-SOG, 5th SF Grp
- CPT Ronald L. Watson, El Paso, TX
- SGT Allen R. Lloyd, St Charles, MN
The "Covey" forward air controller mentioned above was 1st Lt James Larry
Hull, 20th Tac Air Support Squadron, flying O-2A tail number 68-11001. SFC
William M. Fernandez of MACV-SOG's Command & Control North was aboard as an
observer. Both men were killed when the O-2 went down near Ban Pelou, about
55 miles west of Danang. A Special Forces team was inserted and recovered
SFC Fernandez' body, but 1st Lt Hull's body was trapped in the wreckage and
could not be recovered.
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