WERDEHOFF, MICHAEL RAY
Name: Michael Ray Werdehoff
Rank/Branch: E6/US Army
Unit: 478th Aviation Company (Heavy Helicopter), 11th Aviation Group, 1st
Cavalry Division
Date of Birth: 13 September 1942
Home City of Record: Toledo OH
Date of Loss: 19 April 1968
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 162127N 1070642E (YD0255095)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 4
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: CH54
Refno: 1132
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 2020.
Other Personnel In Incident: Arthur J. Lord; Charles W. Millard; Philip R.
Shafer, (missing on CH54, coordinates YD255095-LZ Tiger); Jesus A. Gonzales,
Douglas R. Blodgett, William R. Dennis; (missing from CH47A, coordinates
YD290105, pilot and co-pilot survived); Michael J. Wallace, Anthony F.
Housh; (missing from CH47, coordinates YD291087-LZ Tiger; pilot, co-pilot
and gunner survived)
REMARKS: CHOPPER CAUGHT FIRE - CRASHED
SYNOPSIS: On April 19, 1968 three Army helicopters were shot down in the A
Shau Valley of South Vietnam. All three were making supply runs to Landing
Zone Tiger in Quang Tri Province. Five men survived the three crashes, and
nine men remain missing.
The CH47A on which Douglas Blodgett was a crewman, William Dennis was flight
engineer, and Jesus Gonzales was crewchief was resupplying ammunition at the
LZ when it received small arms fire from the ground and crashed. The pilot
and co-pilot were able to crawl away, but the rest of the crew was never
found. They were declared Missing In Action.
The CH47 on which Anthony Housh was flight engineer and Michael Wallace was
crewchief was hit by 50 caliber and 37 mm ground fire on its approach to the
LZ. Housh and Wallace jumped from the aircraft from an altitude of 50-100
feet above the jungle canopy. The others were rescued. No trace of Housh and
Wallace was ever found. They were declared Missing In Action.
The CH54 "Flying Crane" on which Arthur Lord was aircraft commander, Charles
Millard pilot, Arthur J. Lord co-pilot, Michael Werdehoff flight engineer,
and Philip Shafer crewchief was carrying a bulldozer into the recently
re-secured LZ Tiger when the aircraft was hit and crashed. All the crew were
classified Missing In Action.
Thorough searches for the 3 helicopters were not immediately possible
because of the enemy situation. A refugee later reported that he had found
the wreckage of two U.S. helicopters, one with 3 sets of skeletal remains,
in Quang Tri Province. The U.S. Army believes this could correlate with any
of the three helicopters lost on April 19, 1968, but no firm evidence has
been secured that would reveal the fate of the nine missing servicemen.
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http://arlingtoncemetery.net/mrwerdehoff.htm WERDEHOFF, MICHAEL R MSG US ARMY |
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https://www.army.mil/article/214696/fort_sill_annual_memorial_run_remembers_fallen_service_members_gold_star_families
FORT SILL, Oklahoma (Dec. 6, 2018) -- For the first time Elfriede
Werdehoff of Lawton visited the tribute display which was an integral
part of Fort Sill's Eighth Annual Run for the Fallen Memorial 5K, Dec.
1. |
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https://www.kswo.com/2019/11/24/community-participates-th-annual-run-fallen/
Community participates in 9th annual Run for
the Fallen
LAWTON, Okla. (TNN) -Hundreds got out Saturday morning to participate in the 9th Annual Run for the Fallen. Participants ran a 5K around the golf course which started and ended at the Fort Sill Patriot Club. Memorials were placed on the bleachers in honor of fallen soldiers from Oklahoma.... |
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Lawton woman still waiting for veteran husband
to come home
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/4/lawton-woman-still-waiting-for-veteran-husband-to-/
Washington Times
10/04/2015
On POW/MIA Day in 1995, a stone went up at Fort Sill in
memory of Master Sgt. |
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02/2020
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000tokpZEAQ
On November 19, 2001, Joint Task Force–Full Accounting (JTF-FA,
now DPAA) identified the remains of Master Sergeant Michael Ray
Werdehoff, missing from the Vietnam War.
Master Sergeant Werdehoff entered the U.S. Army from Ohio and
was a member of the 478th Aviation Company (Heavy Helicopter),
11th Aviation Group, 1st Cavalry Division. On April 19, 1968, he
was the flight engineer aboard a CH-54 Tarhe (tail number
64-14205) on a supply mission to the Ashau Valley area of Quang
Tri Province, South Vietnam. While approaching the landing zone,
the aircraft was hit by enemy fire and exploded and crashed at
the base of a cliff, killing MSG Werdehoff. The location of the
wreckage and the active enemy presence prevented any search
efforts, and his body was not recovered at the time. In 1999, a
joint U.S./Vietnamese team investigated the crash site and
recovered human remains that were eventually identified as those
of MSG Werdehoff.
Master Sergeant Werdehoff is memorialized on the Courts of the
Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
If you are a family member of this serviceman, you may contact your casualty office representative to learn more about your service member.