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Does anyone know the whereabouts of Henry Hess who was with VMO-3 as a crewchief in 1968
Please Advise!
Semper Fidelis
Charle'
Posted : 2013-06-04 00:16
Re: Henry Hess
The old Detective is on the prowl again. I don't have video's of Hess, but i do have pictures. Rod Brittain and i have been trying to find Henry for a couple years now. I'll send you his photo's tonight.
Harry Lynch
Posted : 2013-06-05 13:17
Topic starter
Re: Henry Hess
HM lynch;37894 wrote: The old Detective is on the prowl again. I don't have video's of Hess, but i do have pictures. Rod Brittain and i have been trying to find Henry for a couple years now. I'll send you his photo's tonight.
Harry Lynch
Never stopped Harry. The reason is that Wm Jackson who accepted blame for the 'friendly fire' deaths of the two Marshal Hall recon team members was apparently unjustified told of hie responsibility for ther deaths by someone years after the incident. I found the recon patrol's unit platoon commander, Col. Jimmy W. Glenn USMC (Ret)who was a lieutenant at the time. Colonel Glenn had total recall of the incident and subsequent investigation and advised me that the incident was caused by a faulty mounting bolt in the nose turret M-60's on the Huey and not the fault of the Crew, the gunner or the co-Pilot who operated that nose turret. Henry Hess was, according to Wm Jackson his Crew Chief on that bird.
The CH-46's who participated in the actual insertion and extraction were from HMM 164 and the flight was commanded by Capt. Bob Godwin.
I went searching for the facts of this mission and noted that the two Marines, Leroy Huddleson and Kenneth Olznuck who B CO, 1ST BN, 4TH MARINES, 3RD MARDIV, III MAF were KIA in that extraction. I contacted both families of the KIA Marines to help them with some closure of what had happened.
One of the two Recon Marines Leroy Huddleson was buried in The Evergreen Cemetery in Miamiville Ohio. I located his Marine Brother George after finding that his grave marker had sunk below the surface and was in disrepair. In conjunction with other Marines living in the area, namely Kyle Smithson the proper permits were obtained, the marker was removed, refurbished and reset on a granite base and in a granite stone with a small ceremony by those who could attend.
The Marines who did most of the labor to restore the memorial and I are interested in finding Henry Hess for Wm Jackson and possibly ally any of his misconceptions of what happened on 19 Jan, 1968 during that ill fated mission.
The photo's are of the original marker after it cleaning it up in the cemetery, the one to its right is the refurbished, polished marker plate. The one in the middle is an in house memorial to Leroy. The one to its right are those Marines who attended the little dedication ceremony, George Huddleson wearing the Marine jacket. The far right photo is the one I use to post Memorials on Find a Grave, the Virtual Wall and other sites like Together We Served.
Semper Fidelis
Charle'
Posted : 2013-06-05 14:04
Re: Henry Hess
Here's Henry.
Posted : 2013-06-07 09:19
Topic starter
Re: Henry Hess
Thanks Harry, I had lost that one somewhere.
do you recall where in New York Henry was originally from of where he was when you saw or heard from him last?
_chuck
Semper Fidelis
Charle'
Posted : 2013-06-07 20:52
Topic starter
Re: Henry Hess (FOUND)
Working with a fellow researcher, Henry Hess was located. Her report to me is below.
Dear Marines,
I have good news and bad news. I was able to track down Mr. Hess and as I suspected, he no longer lives in NY and has retired to someplace warm. I spoke with him on the phone Thursday evening and did confirm that he is the man you are looking for. He went on to be a career Marine, retiring after 30 years in the Corps.
The bad news is that he has no recollection of the operation in question and your names meant nothing to him. He asked me not to share his contact information with anyone because he would like his privacy respected and in all honesty, doesn't think he can help you because he remembers nothing. I read to him all of the information that you shared with me and the general purpose of finding him and he seemed rather hesitant about the entire thing.
Having done this for many years, I can sense when I am intruding on someone's life and that is exactly how it felt to me. I hope you can understand my desire to respect his wishes. While I am respecting his wishes, I do have a card up my sleeve, so all hope isn't lost.
I have printed out the photos that you have of him from 'Nam and on Monday I will mail them to him, along with a note thanking him for speaking with me, sharing my contact information with him in case he changes his mind. There is an outside chance that when he sees the photos, something might trigger a memory and who knows - it is worth a shot at the very least. By cultivating his trust, I may be able to get somewhere with him.
I was elated when I found him - it only took me about two hours - and then quickly let down when he requested that I not share his personal information with you.
If I do hear from him, I will certainly let you all know. I am sorry this panned out like it did ... this happens sometimes.
If I can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me. I am always more than happy to assist Vietnam Marines in any way I can - it is a way to honor my 2nd cousin.
Warm Regards,
Mission accomplished and we respect Henry's wishes.
Semper Fidelis
Charle'
Posted : 2013-06-09 15:05
