My walk today was dedicated in honor of:
Army LTC Robert Lee Alexander, Age 38 of Greenville, TN.
KIA Oct. 31, 1969 Vietnam
He served with the 1st Cavalry Division, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry, Headquarters Company
He is honored at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall on Panel 16W, Line 7
Robert is buried at the US Military Academy at West Point,class of 1953.
On October 31, 1969, a U.S. Army helicopter UH-1H (tail number 66-16650) from Company B, 229th Aviation Battalion, was on a Command and Control (C&C) mission in Tay Ninh Province, RVN, when it experienced a transmission failure beside Nui Ba Den Mountain and crashed, killing ten U.S. personnel.
The aircraft had been on the mission all that morning and had shut down at the Tay Ninh V.I.P. helipad at approximately 8:30 AM to await its full complement of passengers. Details of the flight after that point are limited. The next contact the aircraft had was between 9:30-9:45 AM when a mayday call was received. An AH-1G helicopter gunship and two scout OH-6A helicopters flying in the area monitored the call and witnessed the aircraft impact with the ground. All the witnesses stated that the main rotor blades of 650 had stopped when they first established visual contact. The UH-1H was between 300-500 feet AGL at this time. The aircraft impacted at a steep angle and exploded on impact.
We had a great 9.43 Mile walk this morning. We did a walk out in the country and then on the way back we walked the Maryetta Trail. I will post video of it later. It was amazing. I want to thank everyone who honked, waved, and saluted in helping me honor this hero.
Army LTC Robert Lee Alexander will not be forgotten !
