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William Conrad Weiss, Jr Specialist
Four 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
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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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.
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: ·
UH-1H hull number 68-15663 from Bravo Company
crewed by o CW2 Richard C. Worthington, Bothell, WA, pilot, KIA/BNR o WO1 Robert
Lee Kirk, Las Vegas, NV, co-pilot, KIA o SGT Frank Sanchez Hernandez, Fresno CA, gunner, KIA/BNR o SP4
William Conrad Weiss, Jr., Hershey, PA, crew chief, KIA 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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