GERVAIS, DONALD PETER

RR announced - 05/22/2025

Name: Donald Peter Gervais
Rank/Branch: E5/US Army
Unit: Troop B, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division
Date of Birth: 20 July 1943
Home City of Record: Clarksville TN
Date of Loss: 01 May 1968
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 162105N 1070535E
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: OH6A
Refno: 1153

Other Personnel In Incident: Richard D. Martin; Warren T. Whitmire (both
missing)

Source: Compiled from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S.
Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families,
published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK in 2025.

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS:  Sgt. Donald Gervais, gunner; CPL Richard D. Martin, crewchief;
and WO1 Warren T. Whitmire, pilot comprised the crew of a OH6A helicopter on
a visual reconnaissance mission over the A Shau Valley in South Vietnam.

At 1800 hours, another aircrew saw Whitmire's aircraft crash into a ravine.
It appeared to the crew of the other aircraft that Whitmire's helicopter hit
a dead tree.  The other aircraft received gunfire as it flew closer to the
site.

Visual reconnaissance of the site was difficult because of enemy fire and it
was determined that search crews could not be inserted because of the
presence of enemy troops and rugged terrain.

An infantry platoon that was on the ground had encountered the enemy troops,
and had observed the crash through binoculars from 300 meters away.  The
platoon leader tried to move closer to the site, but encountered enemy
activity and had to withdraw.  Heavy enemy activity continued in the area,
making it impossible to reach the site again.

Gervais, Martin and Whitmire were declared Missing In Action.  As no one saw
them die, it is assumed that they could have survived.  Certainly, the enemy
should know their fate - alive or dead.

Since the war ended, thousands of reports have been received regarding
Americans still held captive in Indochina.  Is one of them Donald Gervais?
If so, what must he be thinking of us?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-------- Forwarded Message --------
Subject: Fwd: Louisiana Soldier Accounted For From Vietnam
Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2025 20:30:15 -0400 (EDT)
From: john molloy <hokahey76@comcast.net>

 
DPAA believes the Vietnamese commie BS and hands us the same crap.
Look at the attachments - newspaper article from 2013 refers to
Sgt. Gervais as a POW and the photo shows him as a POW.
We know the Vietnamese commies seed the crash sites to
appear cooperative and receive compensation.

John Molloy, OSJ
Chairman Emeritus
National Vietnam & Gulf War Veterans Coailtion

 

Newspaper unknown.

 

 
 05/22/2025
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Master Sgt. Donald P. Gervais, 24, killed during the Vietnam War, ...
 

Greetings,

 
Sept. 5, 2025
 
WASHINGTON-The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today
that U.S. Army Master Sgt. Donald P. Gervais, 24, of New Orleans, Louisiana,
killed during the Vietnam War, was accounted for May 16, 2025.
 
Gervais's family recently received their full briefing on his
identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be
shared.
 
In the spring of 1968, Gervais was assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion,
9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On May 1, he was the door gunner
on an OH-6A Cayuse helicopter on a reconnaissance mission over the A Shau
Valley, Republic of Vietnam. A nearby aircraft reportedly witnessed the
helicopter hit a dead tree and crash into a ravine. Due to enemy ground fire
and dense vegetation over the rough terrain, the aircraft was unable to
conduct a visual reconnaissance of the crash site. A nearby infantry platoon
attempted to investigate the area but were forced to withdraw when they
encountered enemy fire. On July 25, 1978, the U.S. Army changed Gervais's
status from Missing in Action to Killed in Action and posthumously promoted
him to the rank of Master Sgt.
 
From 1989 to 2010, joint teams investigated several locations possibly
associated with the crash and conducted multiple witness interviews,
including a former area military commander who stated that he saw bodies
after the crash but heard later that the helicopter, and presumably the
bodies as well, had been completely destroyed by United States bombing.
 
In June 2013, a team from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, a DPAA
predecessor organization, traveled to Thua Thien-Hue Province to interview
Truong Ngoc Huyen, a 12.7mm Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) Squad Leader at
the time of the incident. Huyen recalled that sometime between April 27 and
April 29, 1968, while he and his squad were in Hamlet 39, they observed a
"UTT" helicopter flying near their location, and they began to open fire.
Huyen identified a photograph of an OH-6 Cayuse. He recalled that the
helicopter had broken into two pieces, falling to the ground.
 
On June 5, 2013, the JPAC team interviewed Hoang The Phuong, a former Master
Sergeant, Assistant Recon Squad Leader, 23rd Company, Binh Tram 42. Phuong
recalled that, on approximately May 1, 1968, during an air cavalry assault
by U.S. forces, he witnessed Huyen's squad shoot down an OH-6, and the
following morning, he visited the crash site.
 
From April 2018 to October 2025, DPAA recovery teams conducted eight
excavations of the crash site, where they recovered osseous remains, life
support equipment, and aircraft wreckage, that was accessioned into the DPAA
Laboratory.
 
To identify Gervais's remains, scientists from DPAA used dental analysis, as
well as material evidence.
 
Gervais's name is recorded on the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial in
Washington, D.C., and the American Battle Monuments Commission's Courts of
the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu,
along with others who are unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War. A rosette
will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
 
Gervais's will be buried on a date yet to be determined. 
 
For family and funeral information, contact the U.S. Army Casualty office at
(800) 892-2490.
 
DPAA is grateful to the government of Vietnam for their partnership in this
mission.
 
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account
for Americans who went missing while serving their country, visit the DPAA
website at www.dpaa.mil or on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa,
https://www.linkedin.com/company/dodpaa, https://www.instagram.com/dodpaa/,
or https://x.com/dodpaa.
 
Gervais's personnel profile can be viewed at:
<https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000BTMsEAO>
https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000BTMsEAO.  
 
Read Gervais's initial ID announcement here:
<https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/ID-Announcements/Article/4193937/soldier-
accounted-for-from-vietnam-gervais-d/> Gervais.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

01/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000BTMsEA

MSG DONALD PETER GERVAIS

Return to Service Member Profiles

On May 1, 1968, an OH-6A Cayuse (66-7810) with a crew of three took off on a reconnaissance mission over A Shau Valley, South Vietnam. During the mission, another aircrew witnessed the OH-6A crash in a ravine. As the other aircraft approached the crash site to assess the situation, they came under enemy fire, and were forced to withdraw. A nearby ground unit observed the crash site from a distance, and reported seeing several enemy troops nearby, but no sign of any of the helicopter’s crew. Enemy presence in the area precluded further investigation of the site, and none of the helicopter’s crew was seen or heard from following the incident.

Master Sergeant Donald Peter Gervais, who joined the U.S. Army from Tennessee, was a member of Company B of the 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. He was the door gunner of the OH-6A and was lost along with the aircraft. Attempts to locate him or his remains following the end of hostilities were unsuccessful. Today, Master Sergeant Gervais is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Active Pursuit.

If you are a family member of this serviceman, DPAA can provide you with additional information and analysis of your case. Please contact your casualty office representative.

Service member profile discrepancy? Please help us ensure the accuracy of each profile by submitting documentation about a service member profile.