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William Conrad Weiss, Jr Specialist Four |
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05 Oct 2001
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John Fordyce: On
05/17/03 my youngest son (Jason) and I got to gather with Cindi (Weiss) Skinner
and presented her with the memorial plaque. The presentation was done in her
home. My son Jason did the presentation in his full-dress uniform and delivered
a short speech to Cindi, which went something like this:
On behave of the United States Army and the Lancer Association, we would
like to present this plaque to you in memory of your brother William Weiss Jr.
Although he is lost, he will never be forgotten.
He then took a
step to the rear and delivered a salute to Cindi. We then chatted a bit then
said our goodbyes. Cindi was a very wonderful lady and seemed very pleased the
gesture was made by the Lancers to honor her brother.
SP4 - E4 - Army - Regular
B Co,
158TH ASLT HELO BN, 101ST ABN DIV, USARV
23-year-old Single, Caucasian, Male
Born on Feb 23, 1947
From HERSHEY, PENNSYLVANIA
His tour of duty began on Dec 30, 1968
Casualty was on May 06, 1970
in QUANG TRI, SOUTH VIETNAM
HOSTILE, HELICOPTER - CREW
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND
Body was recovered
Religion
PROTESTANT
Panel 11W - - Line 118
Memorial service held in Vietnam:
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On May 6, 1970, the two aircraft from
Companies B and C, 158th Assault Helicopter Battalion (ASHB), were in a
flight of several other helicopters, laying a smoke screen on a landing zone
near enemy positions in the mountains west of Tun Tavern and LZ Langley in Quang Tri Province, South
Vietnam. Aircraft
15663 was crewed by aircraft commander CWO Richard C. Worthington, pilot WO1
Robert L. Kirk, crew chief SP4 William C. Weiss, and gunner SP4 Frank S.
Hernandez. On 16707 was aircraft commander CW2 Clifford E. Poe Jr., pilot WO1
Roger B. Baxter, crew chief SP5 Allen G. Kinne, and gunner Allen Nohl. Nohl
was a maintenance specialist there for the experience of the assault and was
flying in the crew chief's position (left side of the aircraft). He was the
only survivor. Both
aircraft were smoke ships. Their mission was to provide cover for the lift
aircraft by using oil generated smoke and CS gas. The ships were being
utilized in Landing Zone Miller (XD 973360). They collided while flying in
formation laying the smoke screen for a combat assault. CW2 Poe was leading,
with CW2 Worthington echelon right when they collided. CWO Poe made a turn to
avoid the CS gas and the rotor blades of his aircraft hit the gas bird about
the area of the fuel cell near the crew chief's position. The aircraft
exploded in mid-air. CWO Poe's aircraft hit the ground and started to burn.
Nohl, the maintenance guy, was ejected from the aircraft before it hit the
ground. Nohl
found that Poe was conscious and attempted to get him out of the aircraft.
The aircraft exploded and Nohl was knocked clear of the blast. Nohl confirmed
that CW2 Worthington's helicopter skid had struck the main rotor of his
helicopter. He indicated that he had not seen any hostile fire. A search
team was sent to the site on the same day (May 6) and found 2 bodies which
were identified as the remains of WO Kirk and SP4 Weiss. There were no signs
of anyone having left the crash site area. It was believed that there were no
other survivors of the crash. The
aircraft and personnel involved in this incident were:
The VHPA
accident reports are available for both 68-15663 and 66-16707. These pages will open in a new window. |
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At the
time of his death, Bill was survived by his parents, sister Cindy, and
maternal grandmother, Anna Marie Weiss (2nd wife of John) SP4
William Conrad Weiss, Jr., is buried in Gettysburg National Cemetery,
Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania. His mother, Loyetta Marsina
(Buffington) (1925-1995), and father William Conrad Weiss, Sr., (1913-1999)
are buried in Indiantown Gap National Cemetery Annville, Lebanon County,
Pennsylvania. William Sr. was a veteran of World War II.
He was
preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Elizabeth (Welter)
(1890-1928) and John Weiss (1882-1961), and maternal grandparents, Oscar M
Buffington (1895-1964) and Violet Isabelle (Thompson) Buffington (1900-1967).
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