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Vietnam Memorial Wall ~ Washington, DC
Wade Lynn Ellen Is Listed On The Vietnam Memorial Wall
Panel 01W ~ Line 5
With this tribute,
I proudly and respectfully honor Wade Ellen, the man
and
salute WO Ellen's valor as an American soldier.
WO Wade L. Ellen
Rank/Branch: W1/US Army
Unit: 57th Aviation Company, 52nd Aviation Battalion,
17th Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Brigade
Date of Birth: 25 October 1951 (Rocky Mount, NC)
Home City of Record: Norfolk, VA
Date of Loss: 24 April 1972
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Crash #: 1833
Loss Coordinates: ZB028208
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 3
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground
Personnel Involved In Incident:
Crew Of UH1H Helicopter, 52nd Aviation Battalion, 17th Aviation Group
....Lt. James E. Hunsicker, Pilot
....WO WADE L. ELLEN, Co-pilot
....SP4 Charles M. Lea, Crewmen
....SP5 Ricky V. Vogel, Crewmen
Maj. George W. Carter
Maj. Julius G. Warmath
Capt. John P. Keller
1Lt. Johnny M. Jones
SP4 Franklin Zollicoffer
Sgt. Walter H. Ward
Capt. Kenneth J. Yonan
Lt. Col. Robert W. Brownlee
Capt. Charles W. Gordon
ARVN Interpreter, Sgt. Cao Ky Chi
Synopsis Of Incident:
On the evening of April 23, 1972, Capt. Kenneth J. Yonan accompanied his ARVN counterpart to a water tower located on the northwestern edge of the Tanh Canh base camp compound near Dak To, Kontum Province, South Vietnam. Yonan was an advisor assigned to Advisory Team 22, MACV, and was assisting the ARVN
42nd Regiment based there.
At about 0530 hours on April 24, Capt. Yonan was still in the water tower when Viet Cong attacked the camp perimeter. Although tanks fired at and hit the
water tower, two other advisors spoke to Capt. Yonan after the firing and Yonan reported that he was not hit and planned to join the other advisors when it was
safe to do so. Radio contact was maintained with Yonan until 0730 hours. The other U.S. advisors began escape and evasion operations from the beleaguered compound.
Team 22 Advisors Maj. George W. Carter, Maj. Julius G. Warmath, and Capt. John P. Keller, were extracted by helicopter. The aircraft was a UH1H from the 52nd
Aviation Battalion, 17th Aviation Group, (serial #69-15715) and was flown by Lt. James E. Hunsicker. WO WADE L. ELLEN was the co-pilot of the chopper, and SP4 Charles M. Lea, and SP5 Ricky V. Vogel were crewmen. Other persons extracted included 1Lt. Johnny M. Jones, from the 52nd Aviation Battalion; SP4 Franklin Zollicoffer, from the U.S. Army Installation at Pleiku, and Sgt. Walter H. Ward, unit not specified.
The helicopter departed to the northwest from Dak To, but was apparently hit by enemy fire, as it crashed and burned on a small island in the Dak Poko River about 500 meters from the end of the dock to the runway. Because of the rolling terrain, personnel at the airfield did not see the aircraft impact. A pilot
flying over the wreckage reported that the helicopter was burning, but they could see no survivors. It was later discovered that five people did survive the crash - Warmath, Keller, Vogel, Ward and Lea. According to their statements, Hunsicker, ELLEN, Zollicoffer, Jones and Carter were all dead.
"We crashed at Dak To-2 Airstrip, about 2 clicks west
[of where the destroyed Dak To used to be]
as the Dak-Poko River bends north.
We crashed on the West bank right at the rivers bend."
Rick (Shakey) Vogel -- 08/29/03
Two other Team 22, MACV Advisors, Lt Col. Robert W. Brownlee and Capt. Charles W. Gordon, and their ARVN interpreter, Sgt. Cao Ky Chi, were in a bunker near
the airstrip approximately 4 kilometers to the west of the base camp when they were forced to withdraw under heavy enemy attack. They proceeded south of the
compound across the Dak Poko River, but Lt. Col. Brownlee became separated from the others as they were advancing up a hill. Sgt. Chi and Capt. Gordon called
out to him, but received no response. From the top of the hill, Sgt. Chi heard the enemy call out to someone in Vietnamese to halt and raise their hands. Sgt.
Chi believed the Viet Cong were speaking to Lt. Col. Brownlee. Gordon and Chi evaded capture and eventually made their way to safety.
A Vietnamese, who was captured and subsequently released, reported that he had talked to another prisoner who had witnessed Lt. Col. Brownlee's death. He was told that Lt. Col. Brownlee had killed himself with his own pistol when communist soldiers told him to raise his hands in an attempt to capture him.
Additional hearsay reports of his suicide were reported by another ARVN source.
Yonan never caught up with the others. For three days, helicopter searches were made of the area with no success. Ground search, because of the hostile threat in the area, was not practical.
In April 1988, the Vietnamese "discovered" the remains of Capt. Kenneth J. Yonan and returned them to the U.S. in a spirit of stepped-up cooperation on
the POW/MIA issue. For nearly 20 years, this 1969 West Point graduate was a prisoner of war - alive or dead. His family now knows with certainty that he is dead, but may never learn how - or when - he died.
In addition to the reports regarding Brownlee's death, a South Vietnamese soldier reported that he observed the capture of one "big" American from the
camp. Another report described the capture of a U.S. Captain stationed at the camp.
Since the war ended, reports and refugee testimony have convinced many authorities that not only do the Vietnamese possess several hundred sets of Americans' remains, more startlingly, they also control hundreds of living American prisoners.
**Note**
Dated: 08/29/03
Special thanks to Rick (Shakey) Vogel for giving me the correct crash and loss coordinates cited above. Rick and I have communicated via email, however, I look forward to the day when I meet this man in person. He is truly one of "My American Heroes". Welcome Home, Rick! God bless you always!
**Note**
While Ricky Von Vogel is only noted as "rescued", in reality, Sp5 Vogel was missing from April 24, 1972, until his return to military control May 6, 1972. During that time, despite severe wounds that included bullet wounds
and broken bones, he managed to escape and evade capture for almost 2 weeks until his rescue.
Ricky Vogel was awarded the Purple Heart and 3 Air Medals in addition to various Vietnam awards and decorations for his service. After his medical evacuation and recovery, he continued to serve his country until his discharge in 1974.
What follows is a message left in my guestbook on May 26, 2003.
It is a wonderful tribute and testiment to Wade Ellen
by a man who knew and loved Wade.
I feel it only fitting that it be posted here as well.
Thanks Bob
Wade Ellen was my best friend in Viet Nam.
We finally got scheduled for a mission to fly together at Ban Me Thout on April 24, 1972. It was getting late when Wade and I went to check the mission board for any last minute changes to the next day's missions. We were about to leave when a mission was posted to evacuate Tanh Canh base camp (near Dak To) early the next morning. Everyone knew what that meant.
Hunsicker, who had served his tour and was waiting on orders to go home, volunteered as pilot. Even though he was already scheduled for our mission, Wade knew this one was too important. There was going to be trouble and he had to help. He volunteered as co-pilot. We talked about getting the Ban Me Thout mission together next time it came up. It never occured to me that would be our last conversation.
I miss Wade and I'm glad to see that others haven't forgotten him. He was a great friend who was helpful and always thought of others first. I feel sad for all of the people that didn't get a chance to meet and become friends with Wade. They don't know what they missed.
Bob Strong, Atlanta, GA (May 26, 2003)
Wade Lynn Ellen also has a Rembrance Place on the Virtual Wall
This link will take you the Remembrance Site for Wade Lynn Ellen
Source:
Initial biographical & loss information on POW/MIAs provided by
Operation Just Cause has been supplied by Chuck and Mary Schantag of
POWNET.
Additional raw data from U.S. Government agency sources,
correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews
Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK 2000
Graphics By:
Skyline Designs
Doc's Graphics
Jeff Grote - The Virtual POW/MIA Bracelet
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