David Bard Wainwright

First Lieutenant
254TH MED DET, 498TH MED CO, 43RD MED GROUP, 44TH MED BDE
Army of the United States
26 March 1942 - 04 October 1967
Port Byron, Illinois
Panel 27E Line 051

44TH MED BDE

498TH MED CO
Army Aviator

DFC, Air Medal, ArComm, National Defense, Vietnam Service, Vietnam Campaign

The database page for David Bard Wainwright

14 May 2008

David has been gone many more years than he walked this earth, yet I remember him constantly. We never served togther but went through ROTC at Wichita State about the same time.

He was a year ahead of me. We were members of an honorary military fraternity "Scabbard and Blade." He was a great guy. He pulled beer at the most popular campus haunt and dated one of the cutest girls on campus. He was also a cadet colonel. All in all he was a big man on campus in every sense of the word.

His death was a great loss to the military. He would certainly have been a career man and would have ended up with stars on his shoulders. Just ask one of his subordinates who got two, MG Greg Gile, USA (Ret).

When ever I feel low I ask myself what Dave would do if were given this day to live and all at once rain or strain doesn't seem so problematic. The Wall is covered with thousands of David Bard Wainwrights. They are all missed by their loved ones; this is mine.

And, when I look at the Wall I realize that it could easily have been him looking at my name rather than me looking at his. He would not have forgotten me. I will not forget him.

From a college classmate and Scabbard and Blade brother,
John Fleming
freethrowguru@yahoo.com

A Note from The Virtual Wall

Five men from the 254th Medical Detachment died when UH-1D tail number 65-12848 crashed during a bad-weather medevac attempt near Tuy Hoa on the night of 04 Oct 1967:
  • 1LT Lawrence Gallego, Papaaloa, HI, pilot;
  • 1LT David B. Wainwright, Port Byron, IL, copilot;
  • SP5 Willie F. Green, Cleveland, OH, crew chief;
  • SP5 Roland A. Nielsen, Monahans, TX, medic; and
  • SP4 Ronald A. Martin, Cheswick, PA, gunner.

Lt. Wainwright graduated from Wichita State University in 1966 as a distinguished military graduate of the ROTC program. He was a physical education major and a member of the WSU Spirit Squad. The David Bard Wainwright Memorial Scholarship was established at Wichita State University by his wife, Mrs. Sharon Wainwright, to encourage students who major in education.




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With all respect
Jim Schueckler, former CW2, US Army
Ken Davis, Commander, United States Navy (Ret)
Memorial first published on 14 May 2008
Last updated 08/10/2009