|
|
 |
 |
|
| Name: | Harry Medford Beckwith III |
| Rank/Branch: | E5/US Army |
| Unit: | D Troop, 3rd Squad, 5th Cavalry, 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division |
| Date of Birth (DOB): | 18 August 1948 (Ft. Dix NJ) |
| Home City of Record: | Flint, MI |
| Loss Date: | 24 March 1971 |
| Country of Loss: | South Vietnam |
| Loss Coordinates: | 164602N 4063355E (XD668543) |
| Status (in 1973): | Killed/Body Not Recovered |
| Category: | 4 |
| Acft/Vehicle/Ground: | OH58A |
| Refno: | 1735 |
| Other Personnel in Incident: | James P. Ross (survived and was rescued); William E. Neal (body recovered). |
| Source: | Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 September 1990 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 1998. |
| Remarks: | |
| Synopsis: | |
| LAM SON 719 was a large offensive operation against NVA communications lines in Laos. The operation called for ARVN troops to drive west from Khe Sanh, cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail, seize Tchpone and return to Vietnam. The ARVN would provide and command the ground forces, while U.S. Army and Air Force would furnish aviation airlift and supporting firepower. The 101st Airborne Division commanded all U.S. Army aviation units in direct support of the operation. Most of the first part of the operation, begun January 30, 1971, was called Operation DEWEY CANYON II, and was conducted by U.S. ground forces in Vietnam.
The ARVN were halfway on February 11 and positioned for the attack across the Laotian border. On 8 February, ARVN began to push into Laos. The NVA reacted fiercely, but the ARVN held its positions supported by U.S. airstrikes and resupply runs by Army helicopters. President Nguyen Van Thieu ordered a helicopter assault on Tchepone, and the abandoned village was seized March 6. Two weeks of hard combat were necessary for the ARVN task force to fight its way back to Vietnam. On March 24, a OH58A light observation helicopter (serial #69-16136) was lost near the border of South Vietnam and Laos in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. The aircraft, flown by CW2 James P. Ross, was departing from its squadron forward command post at Ham Nhi for a visual reconnaissance mission. Onboard the aircraft were Sgt. Harry M. Beckwith III, the tailgunner, and SP4 William E. Neal, crew member. Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft was hit by enemy automatic ground-to-air fire and crashed in enemy surrounded area. Within minutes, the aircraft exploded and burned. A UH1 helicopter was sent immediately to the crash site, and a team of aero-rifle platoon members was inserted to secure the area and to rescue any survivors. Once on the ground, the infantrymen encountered heavy enemy fire, but were able to secure the aircraft. They found CW2 Ross near the aircraft, and he indicated to Sgt. Somora, section leader of the rifle platoon, that both the other crew members were dead, and that nothing could be done to help them due to the enemy in the area and the extent of the aircraft fire. A total search of the area was not made. The remains of two crewmen were put into an extraction helicopter by infantrymen of the 101st Airborne Division. After takeoff, another helicopter came into the landing zone about 100 meters behind the body-carrying helicopter. Before he could land, he saw something fall out of the departing helicopter, which turned out to be Sgt. Beckwith's body, wrapped in a poncho liner. The chase helicopter, a Cobra, swept in and attempted to get a location of where the body had fallen, but because of the distance, and the fact that the poncho liner color blended with the terrain and foliage, no definite fix could be obtained. The pilot of the chase Cobra reported that he saw ashes and a floppy poncho liner, indicating that there was almost nothing in it, fall from approximately 1150 feet. Searches during the next two days were unsuccessful. On April 7, 1971, another visual search flight was made over the area of the incident, but with no results. It was concluded that because of the wind conditions, the lightness of the poncho liner, and the fact that it had literally become part of the terrain, further attempts would be futile. [Note: A Michigan newspaper published a brief account of Beckwith's loss in about 1986. This account stated that Beckwith had been aboard an observation helicopter when it was hit by rifle fire from Viet Cong guerrillas hiding in nearby trees. It further stated that Beckwith was shot running across a rice paddy in the Mekong Delta, and that his pilot was also shot, but escaped and was rescued. The Michigan story appears to be accurate except for Beckwith running across a rice paddy in the Mekong Delta. All military data indicate that Beckwith was lost in Quang Tri Province. As the Mekong Delta is some 350 miles south of Quang Tri Province, the "running across a rice paddy in the Mekong Delta" portion of the Michigan story must be discounted as inaccurate.] Losses were heavy in Lam Son 719. The ARVN lost almost 50% of their force. U.S. aviation units lost 168 helicopters; another 618 were damaged. Fifty-five aircrewmen were killed, 178 wounded, and 34 missing in action in the entire operation, lasting until April 6, 1971. Beckwith is one of nearly 2400 Americans still missing from the Vietnam war. Like Beckwith, some certainly died. However, since the end of the war, thousands of reports have been received that indicate that hundreds of Americans are still alive, held captive in Southeast Asia. The United States Government, although involved in talks with the Vietnamese since the end of the war, has been unable to bring home a single live prisoner. The Vietnamese, on the other hand, refuse to let the issue die, with the ultimate hope of normalizing relations with the west. The Americans who are still alive have been reduced to bargaining pawns between two nations. For their sakes, everything possible must be done to bring them home. The sacrifice of men like Harry Beckwith is mocked by the abandonment of their comrades. For the sake of our future fighting men and those who have given their lives in the defense of their country, we must see to it that we never again abandon our soldiers to enemy hands. Harry Beckwith came from a military family and planned a career in the Army. His father, Army Sgt. Major Harry M. Beckwith, Jr., was stationed in Saigon when his son was lost in 1971 on his third tour of Vietnam. While a tank commander at Cu Chi in 1968, Harry Beckwith was awarded the Silver Star for rescuing, despite his own serious injuries, three others pinned under a tank during an armored attack. |
|
All Biographical and loss information on POWs provided by OpJC have been supplied by Chuck and Mary Schantag of POWNET. Please check with POWNET regularly for updates. |
|
 |
| HARRY MEDFORD BECKWITH II
SGT - E5 - Army - Regular 5th Infantry Division Mechanized 22 year old Single, Caucasian, Male Date of Birth - Aug 18, 1948 From - FLINT, MICHIGAN His tour of duty began on Mar 24, 1971 Casualty was on Mar 24, 1971 in QUANG TRI, SOUTH VIETNAM HOSTILE, HELICOPTER - NONCREW AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND Body was not recovered Religion - PROTESTANT Panel 04W - - Line 72 |
Source: The VietNam Veterans' Memorial Wall Page. |
Next POW/MIA biography |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
|
| Home | Back | E-mail me | Library | My TOC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Sign My POW/MIA Guestbook
Read My POW/MIA Guestbook |
||||
Click here to adopt your own POW/MIA from Operation Just Cause (OpJC or OJC). Click here to go to the OpJC Comm Center for more information. All Biographical and loss information on POWs provided by OpJC have been supplied by Chuck and Mary Schantag of POWNET. Please check with POWNET regularly for updates. |
Anyone without Internet access may adopt a POW/MIA
by sending a SASE along with their state and branch preference to:
Operation Just Cause
P.O. Box 264
Stockholm, NJ 07460
I will participate in POW/MIA Internet Blackout Day on February 1, 2000.......What about you?
Please click on the banner above to learn more about POW/MIA Internet Blackout Day.
| Home | Back | Top | Library | My TOC |
Other graphics through the courtesy of OJC and POW/MIA Freedom Fighters.
Other graphics copyright and courtesy of Ron's Free Patriotic Web Graphics.
MIA/POW Flag Email Stamp Icon graphic courtesy of The American War Library.
Animated guestbook courtesy of Mike Shaikun's Animated Gif Collection.
Web page space courtesy of 50megs.com.
Guestbook courtesy of TheGuestBook.com