Luis Gallegos Holguin
Chief Warrant Officer
61ST AHC, 223RD AVN BN, 17TH AVN GROUP, 1ST AVIATION BDE, USARV
Army of the United States
Oxnard, California
May 19, 1950 to October 30, 1978
(Incident Date January 03, 1971)
LUIS GALLEGOS HOLGUIN is on the Wall at Panel W5, Line 22

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09 Mar 2006

I have had the honor of adopting Luis Holguin through Operation Just Cause.

Words can never express the heartfelt appreciation I have for the men and women who have given all to protect this country's freedom, and mine.

You'll never be forgotten.

Trish Edwards
cherokeeroses71@hotmail.com

Still Patrolling the Perimeter
by Gary Jacobson

Ghostly soldiers march by one-by-one
Husband, father, brother, son
Hup ... hup ... hup ... go passing men guarding the Wall
Still patrolling the perimeter after these years all.

These men who fear no death
Possess the Wall in spirit and breath
Protecting spirits hover ever near
Patrol in timeless bravery here...

The air hangs silently ... but for trampling feet
Watching mothers bawling tears bittersweet
Others at the memorial bow their head
Give hallowed honor to these marching dead.

A young girl heartbreakingly cried
I wish my father hadn't died
I loved him so
Why didn't he wait till older I grow?

Remember them ... the liberty they wrought
Freedoms with sacred sacrifice they bought.
Salute these heroes marching strong and brave
Honoring lives their father's gave.

Nearby veterans come to attention
Tears in their eyes in solemn admiration
Respectfully in memorial shed rivers of tears
At the heart of a nation their memory sears.

They fought for you ... they fought for me
Their spirit is what kept America free
With love of country they boldly avow
Nam's sweat and blood upon their mighty brow.

See them file by, young as yesterday
Still looking for enemies in this wild fray
Visions of honor and duty swirling in their head
To this land of the free, they've led.

As they pass by, they look back now and then
On a world they gave their lives for, way back when.
Have we made progress on peace they fought for
For which they gave their lives for ... in awful war?

What have we learned
In many years pages one-by-one turned
Since we put those men on that Wall...?
Have we learned anything ... anything at all?

Gary Jacobson
ï¿ 1/2 November 2005


 
10 Nov 2006

I didn't know CWO Luis G. Holguin but in 1972 when I returned home after my 3rd tour, I was fortunate to acquire a POW-MIA bracelet with his name on it. I still have it but only wear it (it's getting pretty thin) on special occasions like Veterans' and Memorial Days. He is not forgotten and I often wonder about his wherabouts. I too believe that some of our brothers were still alive and not returned to us after the war.

Jimmie Gonzalez Jr.
Sergeant Major (Ret)
sgmgonzalez@gmail.com


 

A Note from The Virtual Wall

At about 0900 03 Jan 1971 a U-6A BEAVER (serial #52-25884) departed Qui Nhon on an administrative support flight to Ban Me Thuot, South Vietnam, carrying crewmen from the 61st AHC to collect replacement helicopters for the company. The helicopter crewmen would then fly the helicopters back to Qui Nhon.

At 1120 hours, with the U-6 about 14 miles southeast of Phu Cat, radio and radar contact with the plane was lost. Because the pilot, Captain F. A. Rhodes, had announced plans to remain overnight at Ban Me Thuot, no immediate search was made. When search efforts were begun on 5 January, no trace of the aircraft or its seven occupants could be found. Formal search efforts ended on 9 January 1971.

Seven men were aboard the U-6:

All seven men were placed in MIA status. As time progressed, the Secretary of the Army approved Presumptive Findings of Death for them (on the dates in parentheses) and their status was changed to "Died while Missing". Their remains have not been repatriated.

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