MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. -- In the dim light of the Semper Fidelis Memorial Chapel at the National Museum of the Marine Corps, dozens of Marines and family members reunited to honor the memory of those who had fallen. Some wore suits, many had the traditional close-cropped Marine haircuts, there were long gray beards and symbols of their service, units, and loved ones. Regardless of their differences, they were united in their devotion and remembrance of fallen Marines.
Retired service members, Marines, and guests gathered on Aug. 14 to honor fourteen Marines and a Navy Corpsman from 1st Reconnaissance Battalion who died in a helicopter crash during the emergency extraction of a reconnaissance team on November 18, 1970. The crash occurred twenty-five miles south of Da Nang, Vietnam in the Que Son mountains. With cloud cover lower than the mountains they were surrounded by and monsoon weather further impeding their mission, the team crashed into the side of a mountain.
The memorial honored the members of the air crew and recon team Rush Act with a roll call and answering bell toll for each Marine and retired U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Wallace “Chip” Gregson read a brief eulogy. The ceremony ended with a 3-volley salute echoing across the museum grounds.
“The museum is really the perfect location for reunions,” said retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. James Lukeman, now the president and CEO of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, “and reunions are really important to Marines, especially as they get older. When you’re young, you don’t think about it as much, but as time goes on you want to bet back together with some of those people you served with.”
For many veterans, attending memorials for those who have fallen is a way of keeping their memories alive and honoring their sacrifices.
“We honor Marines who’ve fallen by never forgetting them,” said retired Marine Corps Col. Mike Fallon, a former 1st Reconnaissance Battalion patrol leader. “Today there are over forty reconnaissance Marines here at the chapel, all of them over seventy. Each of these Marines made their trip from Washington State, California, from Arizona… to honor [the fallen] fifty-five years later. They will never be forgotten.”
Among those killed in the crash was U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. William G. Leftwich Jr., commander of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion.
“He was a fine, fine gentleman,” said retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Earl Hailston, a former platoon commander in 1st Reconnaissance Battalion. “He was always ready to listen. He always had a great answer. He had an aura about him that made you want to follow the Marine and made you proud that you could be in the same organization that he was in.”
His sacrifice, service, and memory were honored in 1979 during the commissioning ceremony for the United States Navy’s newest destroyer, USS Leftwich. In honor of his service and leadership, the Marine Corps also presented the first Leftwich Trophy at the commissioning ceremony to Marine Corps Capt. Clyde Brinkley Jr. The annual award honors a Marine captain who displays outstanding leadership while serving with the ground forces of the Fleet Marine Force at the time of nomination.
Though the crash occurred fifty-five years ago and all the Marines in 1st Reconnaissance Battalion have since gone their own way or retired, the legacy of the Marines who passed has not faded from their memory. Their courage and sacrifice will not soon be forgotten.
“They gave up their lives and shut their book much earlier than any of us. And it’s our duty to live a life that upholds the standards for which they were willing to die,” said Hailston. “[Given] the sacrifice they made for their country, we should willingly make sacrifices on a daily basis for our country today.”
Date Taken: | 08.14.2025 |
Date Posted: | 08.15.2025 15:13 |
Story ID: | 545729 |
Location: | TRIANGLE, VIRGINIA, US |
Web Views: | 34 |
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