Maj

Served as a CWO-2 with the 6th Platoon and the 281st in 1965-66. Major Baird was flying for a coal mining company in the PA area when he was killed in a helicopter accident, described as follows; “On January 18, 1995, about 1805 Eastern Standard Time, an Agusta A109C, N1WD, owned by Leffler Transportation Company and piloted by Charles E. Baird, was destroyed when it impacted in an open field near the Deck Airport, Jackson Township, Pennsylvania. The pilot and both company employee passengers were fatally injured. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed for the flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.”
Major Baird was living in the vicinity of Harrisburg, PA. at the time of his death.

ROLAND S. BATO

SSAN: 566-72-0018, Date of Birth: 27 Feb 1944, Date of Death: 14 Dec 2001
Last Known Residence: 91761 San Bernardino, Ontario, CA Certificate Issued: California

SAN: 459-88-4565, Date of Birth: 02 Feb 1950, Date of Death: Oct 1973, SSAN Issued: Texas. Bandit CE 69/70 Richard was killed in motorcycle accident in route to Ft Bragg, CA on Henry Harpster’s bike. Richard had borrowed Harpster’s bike to visit Paul Swol and during the trip he crashed head on into a van.

EUGENE H. BAXLEY

Date of death: 3 June or 3 July 2002 Reported by Don Creed
Svc Plt, 66 - 67, 34734 View Drive, Yucaipa, CA 92399, Tel: 909-797-4540

GILLES D. BELANGER
DOD: 23 March 1995

A C/E with the Wolf Pack, Gilles died in Holyoke, MA of various illnesses related to his military service. He is survived by his wife, Annette Belanger of Holyoke, MA

JOHN L. BILYEU

SSAN: 494-56-9679, Date of Birth: 15 May 1950, Date of Death: 16 Mar 1998,
Issued: Missouri. John Served in the 281st AHC from July of 1970 until Nov. 1970.

My father was John L. Bilyeu. Please let me know if you knew him and any other info on him would be great. He joined the army in Dec 1969 and left for Vietnam right after AIT. His first unit there was the 281st and then he moved on to the 135th AHC. He stayed in the Army for 20 years and retired as an E-7. I think he enjoyed it. He was married 3 times his last wife being from Germany. still living in Ozark MO he had 4 children 3 girls and 1 Boy. He was always very devilish. tall and thin. long neck. we always called him a red neck because his neck never tanned. only turned red....He died March 16,1998
Thank you, Heather (Bilyeu) Cooper, hooper@apecgas.com

Served as a Gunner, Crew Chief and Platoon Sergeant of the Wolf Pack from 1965 –1968. DOD: 27 September 2000
Sgt. Bitle was living in Hawaii at the time of his death. He is buried at the National Memorial Cemetery, Punchbowl, Hawaii. Please visit the Wolf Pack Web site for a memorial and pictures of SGT. Dave Bitle. Dave-Wolf Pack

JOHN BOLAS

John Died in September of 1983 as a result of cancer. he served in the 1st platoon (Rat pack) of the 281st AHC

FRANK OWEN BONNARENS
485-34-1638, ASN 07361,
DOD: 19 September 1968, DOB: 11 February 1932

Major Bonnarens came to the 281st as part of an infusion program and served as the second Platoon Leader of the 145th Aviation Platoon for approximately two month before returning to the states in 1966. He was a 14-year army veteran from Browning, MO serving his second tour in Vietnam at the time of his death, which was the result of a non-hostile aircraft accident (OH-6 # 67-16015).

Jim served as the platoon leader of the Wolfpack during 69-70. Jim and Bob George were very close friends in the 281st and remained so throughout their lives after Vietnam. Jim died of lung cancer attributed to Agent Orange, as did Bob George exactly nine days after Jim’s death. He was living at 32937, Satellite Beach, Bevard, FL, at the time of his death.

SSAN: 144-24-5208 Born: 08 Feb 1931 Date of death: 16 Oct 1978
Last Address: 76574 Taylor, Williamson County, TX
SSG Buckalew was the Wolf Pack Plt SGT during 1965 – 1966.

Flight; Mahlon Buckalew was a door gunner with the 6th Airlift Platoon "Fangs" in 65 and 66. When the 281st was formed, he was the Wolf Pack's first Platoon Sergeant and the guy who taught the fresh-off-the-boat gunners and crew chiefs how to handle an M-60. In May 66, Sergeant Buck single-handedly saved his crew, including me, in a nasty and quick firefight north of Tay Ninh. For that he was the first Intruder, and the first member of the 10th CAB, to be awarded the Silver Star.

His son found his name on our website and I've just received a couple of emails from his kids, which I'm pleased to pass along to all of you.

Fred Phillips

Subj: Mahlon Buckalew
Date: 10/16/2002 6:08:49 PM Pacific Daylight Time
From:
To: FredPhillips@aol.com

Hi Fred. Hope this email finds you in good health. My name is Irene Kelly (Buckalew) I'am the daughter of SGT. Mahlon Buckalew. My father died on October 16, 1978. I was 15 years old when he passed. He died of cancer. I miss him very much. He was a wonderful man. My brother "Sonny" happened to come across a website, he was looking for information on our father and was truly shocked when he saw your story. He has our father's silver star and purple heart and flag. He instantly called me and told me about your story, he was so happy and kind of scared, he was afraid to email you, and i told him that he should send you some information. I would like to send you some pictures of my dad if thats okay with you.

I was 5 years old when I met my father. He married my mother Ruth in Taylor, Texas. Together they had 5 children. Edward Allen Buckalew born in 1961 and died in 1989, Frances Irene Buckalew born in August 1963, Diane Marie Buckalew born in Oct 1970, Mahlon Ray (Sonny) Buckalew born in July 1968 and Dell Wayne Buckalew born in Jan 1972. My father had a scar on his right side of his face, just below his nose and on top of his upper lip, he told us kids that he was in an accident when he was little, he sustained a laceration while on a sled. I guess he did not want to tell us about his war injuries. He never really talked about the war, we were still young kids when he died. My mother does share some stories that he had told her. I would give anything to just be able to have had more time with him. He was ill for atleast 5 years before he died and he fought so hard to stay alive. He retired in 1968 and died 10 years
later. If you have any stories to share with me, I would really appreciate anything you
can send. If you would like some pictures, please let me know. Thank you,

Irene Kelly
PO Box 641
Granger, TX 76530

From: Mahlon68
To: Fred Phillips
Hello Mr.Phillips,
My name is Mahlon Buckalew jr.It was nice to know that someone remembered my father from the war.If you want to get in contact with me here is my e-mail address. mahlon68@aol.com

Subj: mahlon buckalew
Date: 10/21/2002 12:40:24 PM Pacific Daylight Time
From: diane_buck@hotmail.com
To: FredPhillips@aol.com

Hi Fred, my name is Diane Buckalew my brother Sonny called me up and told me about dad and the stories. I was so happy that someone remembered him. I went directly to the website. Thank you. I was a little girl when dad passed away I was only 7 yrs. old but I remember when dad would come home from work I would run to him and jump on his lap. I loved him so much and miss him dearly. My sister Irene was also excited and the rest of the family. We were in Taylor yesterday at moms they were going to gather dads pictures from the military. Thank you so much for remembering my dad, it made my day. Take care and god bless you and your family.

Diane Buckalew
2404 Dowd Ln.
Austin, Tx 78728
512-252-8460
diane_buck@hotmail.com

Subj: Re: Mahlon Buckalew
Date: 10/19/2002 7:21:59 PM Pacific Daylight Time
From: irenek@totalaccess.net
To: FredPhillips@aol.com
Sent from the Internet (Details)

Thanks for replying Fred. Sonny still thinks he's dreaming. Like I mentioned earlier, we were young when our father passed and we really never got to know him as well as we would have liked to. I do know one thing, he loved the water. He would load up us kids and the neighbor kids after a hard day at work and take us to Jonah River to swim. I do remember him telling me some stories when he was ill, he would reminisce and I vaguely remember him telling me about a young man that died in his arms, and I remember the sad face he had when sharing this with me. I know he had nightmares, he would on occasions wake us, and he would never have a recollection of his dreams/nightmares the following day.

Dad was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas and met my mother (Ruth) in Taylor, TX. They married and settled in Taylor. TX. Dad was born in New Egypt, NJ. His father Delmas passed in 1968 and his mother passed in 1976. Dad had two brothers and one sister. We met his brother "Shorty", we have never met our other uncle or aunt. Sonny and I have recently been doing ancestry research, and we have located our 3rd and 4th cousins. It's amazing what the internet can do these days. We are working on planning a trip to NJ to visit our fathers birthplace. We will be gathering some pictures and letters tomorrow, we will scan them and send them to you via e-mail. If you have any pictures, I would really love to see them.

I do know that father joined the service at the age of 17 - and retired at the age of 37. He was taken at an early age. Our mother never remarried.

I remember when I was 7 years old, it was late and my mother was just getting home from working a late shift, it was around 11pm - and we were sleeping and dad was asleep as well. As my mother approached the front door, she saw a man trying to break into our house through one of the bedroom windows, which was my bedroom window. She started to scream, my father awoke and the man ran down the hill. My mother called the policewhen she saw my father grab his rifle and chase the man. The robber to be ran down the hill into some woods and dad was running with his pajamas barely hanging on, I remember us kids laughing at the site of dad and his PJ's. When the police arrived, we asked them if they were going into the woods to help, the policemen stated that father would take care of it himself. As the police were telling us that father would take care of it, we heard 2 gunshots. Within a matter of minutes, my father appeared and told the policemen to "call for an ambulance - I just shot him in the ass". The policemen were afraid of my father, why we did not know. To make a long story short, my father crippled the man that tried to break into our home. Years later, we would see the man walking with an aid of a cane.

We have so many stories to share. We have so many good memories of dad, and we know that he loved us. Anyway, its getting late and I hope to hear from you soon. Sonny and I will be sending you those pictures. Take Care. Irene

From: <FredPhillips@aol.com>
Subject: Mahlon Buckalew

Hello Irene and Sonny,
I was delighted to receive your emails. I knew your father well. We flew more than 100 missions together, including perhaps a dozen that involved firefights. On one of those, he saved our entire crew. But before I tell you about that day, here are a few other thoughts and memories, in no particular order ...

Your dad was the Sergeant in charge of the enlisted door gunners on the armed helicopters we flew. The average gunner was about 19 years old, somewhat crazy and definitely hard to handle. More than a few of those guys were psychotic. But every one of them would follow Sergeant Buck anywhere, anytime, without hesitation. In 30 years in the Army, I never knew another NCO that had as much respect from his soldiers.

Occasionally, I used to joke that what I most disliked about Vietnam was the fact that I couldn't get up and go out for donuts. One morning, while we were on a combat operation, miles from nowhere and living in tents in the woods, Sergeant Buckalew brought me a dozen donuts, still hot and fresh from the oven. He wouldn't say where, or how, he got them.

You mentioned that he had a Purple Heart. I'm almost certain he received it for wounds suffered in Korea, including the scar on his face.

Your father's Silver Star made the front page of the Stars and Stripes, the armed forces newspaper. It was the first awarded to a member fo the 281st Assault Helicopter Company or the 10th Combat Aviation Battalion. That unit, with a few thousand soldiers, had been in Vietnam for more than a year. Silver Stars, and higher decorations, were truly rare.

On Sergeant Buck's last night in Vietnam, he stopped by my hooch. We downed a couple of beers and he tried to thank me for writing the recommendation that got him the Silver Star, but I didn't need that. I tried to thank him for saving my life, but he wouldn't listen. Finally, we just polished off a few more beers and enjoyed each other's company. That was the last time I saw him. For the last 36 years, there has not been one single day when he hasn't crossed my mind. I miss him.

Here's what happened, on just one of the missions he flew:

I was the pilot of our Huey gunship. The co-pilot was Ed Carty, who was killed in a training accident about a year later. The crew chief (and left-side door gunner) was a new guy flying his first mission, named Long. Lately, we've tried to find him but haven't yet succeeded. Your father was the right-side door gunner.

Our mission was reconnaissance in an area called War Zone C, which was heavily wooded and had no friendlies, but lots of bad guys. When we spotted a dirt road through the trees with fresh tire tracks, I stupidly decided to fly down the middle of it to try and find somebody to shoot. At an altitude of about 50 feet, we came around a corner and there, about 100 yards in front of us, was a guy in black pajamas with an AK-47. He started shooting, and we were on top of him before anybody could return the fire. Something knocked my left arm off of the controls, and I remember thinking that we had just taken a hit through the cockpit. At about the same time, I saw muzzle flashes from man automatic weapon in a foxhole on the right side of the road, maybe 75 feet away, which stopped after a burst from Sergeant Buck's machine gun.

I began a turn to put some trees between us and the bad guy on the road, but the stick jumped out of my hand and the we rolled inverted. The aircraft's hydraulic system (like the power steering system on your car) had been hit and had failed.

At that point, we were out of control and upside down, 50 feet above the ground. Your father had been standing on the skid, outside the helicopter. Suddenly, the shooting stopped. I don't know how Ed Carty and I got the aircraft back under control, but we managed somehow. I looked back to see if everybody was OK, just in time to see your dad scramble back into the aircraft. He said he shot the bad guy after we had "turned left." I looked back and saw the dude who shot us, lying dead on the road. Mahlon Buckalew had just saved our lives.

Sergeant Buck was a stunning human being, and that's a fact. Recently, one of his underlings, Bill Perren, said of him: "He was a hell of a warrior." He will not be forgotten.

Maybe, we hope, some of his children will attend our next reunion. Any pictures you might have will be most appreciated. But for your father's breathtaking skill and courage, I wouldn't be here.

Fred Phillips

BOBBY D. BUMBALOUGH

SSAN: 412-74-0712, Date of Birth: 15 Oct 1944, Date of Death: 02 May 1990 SSN Issued in Tennessee. Last possible address: 211 3rd Avenue N, Baxter, TN 38544

SGT DAVID A. BUTCHER

SSAN: 232-32-8865, Date of Birth: 07 Jul 1928, Date of Death: 13 Feb 1998. Last residence: 33549 Lutz, Hillsborough, FL. SSAN Issued: West Virginia or North Carolina
David served in the 281st. AHC as a Maintenance NCO

SP4 JAMES L. BYERS
246-80-5405, RA 53524779

DOD: May 1977, DOB: 3 March 1947 Came to 281st 28 Dec 67 from the 61st Avn Co. Departed 281st 10 Aug 68, went to the 192nd Avn Co for the remainder of his tour under the Infusion Program. James was living at 27261 High Point, Guilford, NC at the time of his death.

Notes from The Virtual Wall