17 Oct 2003 Melvin E. Johnson was a 21 year old Navy Seabee when he died in an airplane crash in the mountainous area near DaNang, South Vietnam. He was enroute home after serving his year in-country. He had moved to Everett, Washington, from Minot (ND) to live with his brother after his 1964 graduation from Minot High School. He joined the Everett Naval reserves, Construction Battalion 13-5, and worked for the H. O. Seiffert Company in Everett. His military records show his Home of Record as Lombard, Washington, but there is no town or city in Washington named Lombard. When Melvin Johnson entered the service he was living on Lombard Avenue in the City of Everett, Washington. He is buried in Minot, North Dakota. Melvin Johnson is remembered on Faces From The Wall , a website dedicated to honoring the Washington State men whose names are on the Vietnam Memorial Wall.

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall On 08 Oct 1967 the weather in the area around Danang was horrific, with low clouds, ground fog, and rain. The poor weather was the direct cause of death for 28 US servicemen as the result of two aircraft accidents, both the result of flying into rock-filled clouds. The first involved a Navy E-1B early warning aircraft, call sign Sea Bat 700, which was based aboard USS ORISKANY. Sea Bat 700 completed a mission over the Gulf of Tonkin and then diverted ashore to Chu Lai Air Base for a logistics matter. After refueling, the E-1B proceeded north toward Danang, intending to go over water there toward USS ORISKANY. Sea Bat 700 didn't make it; it collided with a mountaintop about ten miles northwest of Danang, killing the five Navy men aboard. The second accident was even worse. An Air Force C-130B (tail number 61-2649) with five aircrewmen and 18 US servicemen as passengers departed Phu Bai for the short hop to Danang. About 10 minutes into the flight the aircraft hit an 1850 foot peak about 150 feet below the summit. When the wreckage was located two days later it was learned that all aboard had been killed. The toll in this accident was 8 soldiers, 4 sailors, 5 Marines, and six airmen (5 crew, one passenger).

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