February 20, 2007
Sgt. John Howard Bailey, USMC
I’m wearing Sgt. Bailey’s name on my wrist. The information on my memorial bracelet is sketchy. He was a US Marine and he died on May 1, 1967. It did not feel right to me, to wear his name and know nothing about him. How does that honor his memory? Wasn’t he more than just a name? Shouldn’t someone, somewhere know who he was and what happened to him? Having exhausted all of the research tools I have available to me, I can only tell you a little more.
John H. Bailey’s hometown was Docena, Alabama when he enlisted in the Marines. Is that where he was born? Are his parents still alive, and do they still live there? Maybe he had a brother or sister who still cherishes his memory. Is there a statue or a plaque somewhere in that town, honoring the local football hero who died so long ago in Viet Nam? Maybe he was a nerd instead, and someone still has the blue ribbons he won for a science fair project. Or was he just a run-of-the-mill, very average guy that didn’t make much of an impression on anyone? No, that’s not so, because he’s made an impression on me. Here are the things that I know:
He was born on July 5, 1947. That’s the year my parents married. He shared a birthday with someone who came along many years later that is very precious to me.
He was caucasian.
He was a protestant.
He was single.
He was nineteen.
He served in Company M, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division .
That’s the sum total of what I know about his life. Except for the last few minutes. I’ve found out more about his death than about who he was.
Sgt. Bailey started that day as a patient in the 1st Hospital Company, Chu Lai, Quang Tin Province, South Vietnam. One account says he was there because of injuries. Another says that he and the other Marines who would be evacuated with him were all suffering from parasitic diseases. History has a way of getting muddled, doesn’t it? A CH46A Sea Knight helicopter, call sign “Buffalo City 2-2,” whose crew of four was from HMM-165, MAG-36, 1st Marine Air Wing, was assigned to transport Sgt. Bailey and others to the hospital ship USS Sanctuary. Fate placed all of the patients on litters in the first of two helicopters. Sgt. Bailey and twelve other ambulatory patients were placed aboard the second, Buffalo City 2-2. The helicopter and crew had already put in a full day, starting at 5:00 that morning. It was after dark when they lifted off at Chu Lai.
The first helicopter arrived at their destination around eleven that night and off-loaded their patients while Buffalo City 2-2 circled nearby. As new patients were loaded onto the first copter, the second prepared to land. The co-pilot began to dump excess fuel in accordance with S.O.P. The first tank emptied. The second didn’t. Did this upset balance and maneuverability? We know that engine #1 failed. As they were trying to restart it, engine # 2 died. It should not have turned into a disaster. The aircraft was set down gently on the sea. It should have stayed afloat long enough for everyone to evacuate. It didn’t.
The helicopter tipped in eight to ten foot swells. The gunners door was open and water flooded in. The helicopter bagan to sink less than thirty seconds after tipping. Most of those on board were able to swim out and find the surface, swimming quickly away to avoid being dragged down to the bottom. Within mere moments, only one wheel of the helicopter remained visible above the waves, several survivors clinging to it. Before they could release their hold, the copter sank, and they with it. The survivors were quickly plucked out of the water by rescue craft launced from the USS Sanctuary. The first helicopter, Buffalo City 2-1, returned to the ship, off-loaded its patients, and assisted in the rescue. The search continued into the night and resumed the next day. No survivors were found after those first eleven, who were rescued almost immediately. On May 2, 1967, John Bailey, Stan Corfield, Roger Gaughan, Hilario Guajardo, Carl Smith and Duwayne Soulier were listed as Killed in Action/Body Not Recovered.
Thus ends the story of Sgt. John H. Bailey.
Most of this information comes from Task Force Omega, Inc. There are a few other refences that will come up if you google Sgt. Bailey’s name, but this one is the most complete. The link will take you to the longer version of the story of that dark night.
My ex is named John, and he served as a medic in Viet Nam.
My family name is Bailey.
My father served in the 1’st Marines in the Pacific during World War II.
Connections, tenuous at best. A commercial opportunity first introduced me to Sgt. Bailey. Does that cheapen the experience? I don’t think so. While selecting a name for my memorial bracelet I spotted the coincidences I’ve noted above and decided to wear his name. I did not expect to experience any more than “this is a man who lived, and who died for all of us.” That’s overwhelming in and of itself, and should have been enough. Yet his story compels me to want to know more - to know him. It’s a hopeless task, of course. So little is available in the public realm. I can’t know if a sweetheart waited at home for him, or if his mother died of a broken heart when she heard the news. Did he leave his beloved first car behind when he shipped out? Was there a dog who watched the door for his return? Maybe I’ll never know what he wanted to do with the rest of his life, had he lived. I can only put the story out there one more time, in one more place. It’s possible that, in this information age, someone may see what I’ve written and come forward to tell me, to share with the world more of the story of John Bailey. It’s more likely that that won’t happen. There is only one thing that I know for sure. I have pledged to keep his memory alive. I will put on a bracelet bearing his name each morning. I’ll think of him when I do, and I’ll send him a bit of aloha for his sacrifice. I’ll share what I know of him when people see our bracelet, the one that he and I share, and want to know about it. He’s become much more than a name to me.
[tags]Viet Nam War, memorial, heroes[/tags]
Posted by skeet @ 3:51 pm • Society & culture, Home & Family
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February 20th, 2007 at 4:40 pm, Beth Says:
OMG, that has to be the most compelling story I have ever read. Being from Alabama it makes me proud to have such a hero born here. The Viet Nam war began long before I was born. I would like to thank you for sharing this information. It will be something I will never forget.
March 10th, 2007 at 9:45 am, Cass Knits! Sweaters and socks and wool, OH MY! Yarns about knitting and family Says:
[…] presents Sgt. John Howard Bailey, USMC posted at skeet’s stuff. This is an incredible tribute to one amazing man. I promise, you […]