Willie Wogan KIA 2/16/69

[Bill Farnie]

William Michael Wogan
Sergeant First Class
D CO, 1ST BN, 506TH INF RGT, 101 ABN DIV
Army of the United States
15 October 1947 - 17 July 1978
Glen Oaks, NY
Panel 32W Line 047

We had been in a short but vicious firefight, the third in as many days. We took an NVA Major prisoner, at least he was dressed as a Major. We found a clearing large enough for an LZ so we setup a defensive perimeter and called for a chopper to come pick him up and also a couple of slightly wounded men.

Willie Wogan guided the Huey in and helped get the wounded on board. The chopper lifted off and had just cleared the treetops when the LZ erupted with an explosion. The NVA had command detonated a 250lb bomb they had buried under the LZ.

There was nothing left of Willie except some pieces of his boot we found.


Side Note:
According to the Army ???? it was not absolutely certain that he had died when the bomb detonated (we knew better) and there was a remote possibility that he had been blown into nearby foliage but survived. Accordingly, Willie was classified as Missing in Action rather than Killed in Action. He was carried as MIA until 17 July 1978, when the Secretary of the Army approved a Presumptive Finding of Death and his status was changed to killed in action, body not recovered.