10 Jun 2000 I was married to Leslie Engelhart at the time of his death in Vietnam in 1967. I would like a page set up for him because his parents are now gone, and I want to make sure he will be remembered after I'm gone, as we had no children. Leslie's death was attributed to the helicopter he was a crew member in crashing into the China Sea upon take off from a small aircraft carrier. I'm not too sure what to say about Leslie, except that after 33 years, he is still missed by those who knew him. He felt what he was doing in Vietnam was his duty and never regretted being sent over there. He was a good man, as all the men and boys were who gave their "all". Thank you. Sharon Quintoa 29 May 2006 Leslie has two surviving brothers, Gregory and Maurice. He also has surviving nieces and nephews. From his wife, Sheri Quintoa sherpi20@msn.com

 

08 May 2004 Photo courtesy of Darilee Bodnar bookstorelady@prodigy.net Faces from the Wall

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall According to information from the Pop-A-Smoke site CH-46A BuNo 150936 of HMM-164 was taking off from the USS TRIPOLI when it suffered a power failure and settled into the water alongside. Two crewmen were lost, the pilot, Captain Gary T. Porter, and aircrewman Lance Corporal Leslie E. Engelhart. Strictly speaking, USS TRIPOLI (LPH-10) was not "a small aircraft carrier" - she was a built-to-purpose amphibious assault ship, capable of carrying, delivering, and supporting a Marine Battalion Landing Team. USS TRIPOLI was launched on 31 July 1965 and commissioned on 6 August 1966. After work-ups, she embarked two USMC helicopter squadrons for transport to Vietnam, departing San Diego on 1 May 1967. She arrived off Vietnam on 22 May, disembarked HMH-463 and VMO-6, and departed for Subic Bay in the Philippines to embark the Commanders of Amphibious Ready Group Bravo (Task Group 76.5) and Special Landing Force Bravo (TG 79.5). SLF Bravo consisted of BLT 3/3, built around the 3d Battalion, 3d Marines, and supporting elements to include the men and aircraft of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 164 (HMM-164). On 8 June, she departed Subic Bay for an extended tour of duty in Vietnamese waters. Her first operation, codenamed "Beacon Torch", began on 18 June when Marines of SLF "Bravo" were flown into the vicinity of Hoi An, located on the coast midway between the DMZ and the southern limit of I Corps tactical zone. Between 18 June and 2 July, BLT 3/3 operated ashore, while USS TRIPOLI provided logistic support, medical evacuation services for casualties, and a platform from which to launch air support missions by an embarked Marine helicopter attack squadron. On 2 July she received the Special Landing Force back on board and immediately headed north to the coast of Quang Tri province to answer a call for assistance from Marine Corps units near Con Thien which had suffered heavily from bombardments by North Vietnamese regulars.

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