Glendora New Jersey

Demsey, Walter Edward Jr.
Army Specialist 4

Walter Edward Jr. Demsey, age 21, from Glendora, New Jersey, Camden county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, February 18, 1971
Death details: On February 18, 1971, a UH-1H Iroquois (tail number 68-15255) with four crew members took off as one of four helicopters on an emergency extraction mission for soldiers from a Special Forces camp located on the west side of A Shau Valley in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. Enemy troops fired on the Iroquois as it attempted to rescue the ground troops using a stable extraction rig, forcing the pilot to leave the area with three men still attached to the rigs. One of the troops on the extraction rigs fell off into the jungle and was eventually rescued. A short time after he fell, the helicopter was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire, which caused it to crash and burn with the four crew members and two rescued ground troops still inside. Specialist 4 Walter Edward Demsey Jr. entered the U.S. Army from New Jersey and was a member of Company A, 101st Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. He was the crew chief aboard this Iroquois when it crashed, and he was lost with the aircraft. Attempts to locate or identify his remains have been unsuccessful. Today, Specialist 4 Demsey is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com

Lazaro, Robert James
Army 2nd lieutenant

Robert James Lazaro, age 20, from Glendora, New Jersey.

Service era: Vietnam
Military history: 35th Infantry Regiment

Date of death: Monday, October 9, 1967
Death details: Silver Star citation: For gallantry in action while engaged in military operations against an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam. On 9 October 1967, Second Lieutenant Lazaro distinguished himself while serving as a Platoon Leader in Company A, 1st Battalion, 35th Infantry, conducting a search and destroy operation near Phuoc Son. When Company A made contact with a force of the North Vietnamese Army, an intense fire fight began and several men in his platoon were wounded in the initial burst of fire. Second Lieutenant Lazaro attempted to maneuver part of the point squad to the flank of the enemy but the heavy hostile fire forced him to withdraw. Immediately, he moved back to the main area of contact and then moved forward until he was in front of the wounded personnel. Second Lieutenant Lazaro stood up and began delivering intense and accurate fire on the enemy positions to his front. His effective fire kept the enemy pinned down long enough for the wounded and the dead to be evacuated. Firing constantly for a prolonged period, he expended his ammunition and could no longer deliver fire for his own protection. Still under enemy fire, he moved back to secure more ammunition and again move forward. Second Lieutenant Lazaro crawled to one of the wounded and dragged him back to a safe position, stopping only to fire back at the enemy. He was in the process of moving to assist and rally a group of his men when he was mortally wounded by enemy gunfire. Second Lieutenant Lazaro’s exceptional gallantry is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit on himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

Source: National Archives, 35th Infantry Regiment Association

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