Painting by artist Frank Morgan

REMARKS: Harry Beckwith came from a military family and planned a career in the Army.

His father, Army Sgt. Major Harry M. Beckwith Jr., was stationed in Saigon when his son was  lost in 1971 on his third tour of Vietnam.

While a tank commander at Cu Chi in 1968,  Harry Beckwith was awarded the Silver Star for
rescuing, despite his own serious injuries, three others pinned under a tank during an armored
attack.

The Bell OH58A Kiowa observation helicopter
arrived in Vietnam to replace the aging OH13 Sioux and OH23 Raven helicopters, and to
supplement the very popular OH6 Cayuse, better known by its nickname "Loach," which
arrived in-country shortly before the Kiowa. It was an unpopular replacement for the OH6
with most its pilots complaining about its lack of power and poor directional control in comparison with the Loach.

SYNOPSIS: LAM SON 719 was a large offensive operation against NVA communications lines in
Laos. The operation called for ARVN troops to drive west from Khe Sanh, cut the Ho Chi Minh
Trail, seize Tchepone and return to Vietnam.

The ARVN would provide and command the ground forces, while U.S. Army and Air Force
would furnish aviation airlift and supporting  firepower.

The 101st Airborne Division commanded all U.S. Army aviation units in direct support of the operation. Most of the first part of the operation, begun January 30, 1971, was called
Operation DEWEY CANYON II, and was conducted by U.S. ground forces in Vietnam.

The ARVN were halfway on February 11 and positioned for the attack across the Laotian
 border. On 8 February, ARVN began to push into Laos. The NVA reacted fiercely, but the
ARVN held its positions supported by U.S. air strikes and re-supply runs by Army
helicopters.

President Nguyen Van Thieu ordered a helicopter assault on Tchepone, and the abandoned village was seized March 6. Two
weeks of hard combat were necessary for the ARVN task force to fight its way back into
Vietnam.

On March 24, a OH58A light observation helicopter (serial #69-16136) was lost near the
 border of South Vietnam and Laos in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. The aircraft, flown by
CW2 James P. Ross, was departing from its squadron forward command post at Ham Nhi for a visual reconnaissance mission. Onboard the aircraft were Sgt. Harry M. Beckwith III,
 the tail-gunner, and SP4 William E. Neal, crew  member.

Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft was hit by enemy automatic ground-to-air fire and crashed in enemy surrounded area. Within
minutes, the aircraft exploded and burned. A UH1 helicopter was sent immediately to the
crash site, and a team of aero-rifle platoon members was inserted to secure the area and
to rescue any survivors.

Once on the ground, the infantrymen encountered heavy enemy fire, but were able to secure the aircraft. They found CW2 Ross near the aircraft, and he indicated to Sgt. Somora, section leader of the rifle platoon, that both the other crew members were dead, and that nothing could be done to help them due to the enemy in the area and the extent of the aircraft fire.

A total search of the area was not made. The remains of two crewmen were put into an
extraction helicopter by infantrymen of the 101st Airborne Division.

After takeoff, another helicopter came into the landing zone about 100 meters behind the  body-carrying helicopter. Before he could land, he saw something fall out of the departing helicopter, which turned out to be Sgt.
Beckwith's body, wrapped in a poncho liner.

The chase helicopter, a Cobra, swept in and attempted to get a location of where the body
had fallen, but because of the distance, and the fact that the poncho liner color blended with
the terrain and foliage, no definite fix could be obtained. The pilot of the chase Cobra reported that he saw ashes and a floppy poncho liner, indicating that there was almost nothing in it, fall from approximately 1150 feet.

Searches during the next two days were unsuccessful. On April 7, 1971, another visual search flight was made over the area of the incident, but with no results. It was concluded that because of the wind conditions, the lightness of the poncho liner, and the fact that it had literally become part of the terrain, further attempts would be futile.

[Note: A Michigan newspaper published a brief account of Beckwith's loss in about 1986. This account stated that Beckwith had been aboard
an observation helicopter when it was hit by rifle fire from Viet Cong guerrillas hiding in nearby trees. It further stated that Beckwith was shot running across a rice paddy in the
Mekong Delta, and that his pilot was also shot, but escaped and was rescued. The Michigan
story appears to be accurate except for Beckwith running across a rice paddy in the
Mekong Delta. All military data indicate that Beckwith was lost in Quang Tri Province. As the Mekong Delta is some 350 miles south of Quang Tri Province, the "running across a rice paddy in  the Mekong Delta" portion of the
Michigan story must be discounted as inaccurate.]

Losses were heavy in Lam Son 719. The ARVN lost almost 50% of their force.

U.S. aviation units lost 168 helicopters; another 618 were damaged. Fifty-five aircrewmen were killed, 178 wounded, and 34 missing in action in the entire operation, lasting until April 6,
1971.

Beckwith is one of nearly 2400 Americans still missing from the Vietnam war.