I received one of the highlights of my search for information about my father, Gary Norman Young, last month.  A package came in the mail to me and guess what was in it? Dirt. Yup, you read right -- dirt.  Why is this dirt so special?  Because it came from Vietnam.  And not only did it come from Vietnam, it came from the exact location that my dad's chopper crashed.

Last summer, I was contacted by a Vietnam Veteran and former "Purple Fox" (Bill Stilwagen) who leads tours over in Vietnam.  During our conversations, he asked if I knew where the crash had happened.  I had the exact map coordinates from Courtney B. Payne, who as a 1stLt. was the leader of the Recovery Team, so I passed those along to him.  He wrote back and said that the area was quite a ways off of the tour that he was going to go on in the late summer, but if at all possible, he would try to get me some dirt from that area.

I hadn't spoken to him since and had thought that the attempt had failed.  But then I received his wonderful gift this past week. Enclosed was a letter explaining how he was able to do this...

I conveyed your story to the Marines on the tour and asked if I could take a detour to fulfill your request. Not only were they readily willing to stop, they wanted me to take as much time as was needed.  Then they all made the long trek to the site with me.

As you can see by the photos, the area is open and covered with rice paddies. Charlie Ridge is just to the north. The dikes were only about a foot thick and walking was a matter of good balance.  I used a GPS (global positioning satellite system device) with the help of an active duty Marine Corps Captain to locate the crash site. It pointed the way and made a tight circle around a small paddy where your Dad made the ultimate sacrifice. I placed a Marine Corps flag at the spot and a prayer was said. We all lingered at this place contemplating what had happened here not so very long ago.

Among those in attendance were three active duty Marines from Quantico; as well as Ron Huegel, a former reconnaissance Marine; Col. John Ripley of whom the book "The Bridge at Dong Ha" was written; and Tiger Dave Schwirian named so because of the tiger that tried to eat him while his squad lay in night ambush.

Providing this for you was an honor for me, Stephanie. It was an important and meaningful part of my life, as well as for those who were there with me.....

Bill also sent me photos of the Marine flag as they placed it in the paddy as well as him actually digging up the dirt for me.  In addition, I got a little Buddha for Vietnam which now sits on my desk so I can rub his belly for good luck!
 
 

The strange part was that he waited for 6 months to send these items to me, as he was afraid they would hurt me.  But the day he did decide to send them was February 7, 2000.  That's the 31st anniversary of Gary's death.  Yet another strange coincidence!

Submitted by:
    Stephanie Hanson, HN Gary N. Young's Daughter