HENDRIX, JERRY WAYNE

Name: Jerry Wayne Hendrix
Rank/Branch: E6/US Marine Corps
Unit: HMM 165, MAG 36, 1 MAW
Date of Birth: 27 December 1942
Home City of Record: Wichita KS
Date of Loss: 11 July 1972
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 163433N 1072250E (YD345644)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 4
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: CH53D
Refno: 1999

Other Personnel in Incident: Kenneth L. Crody (missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 March 1991 from one or more of
the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence
with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W.
NETWORK 1998.

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: On the morning of July 11, 1972, the helicopter to which Hendrix
was assigned launched from the USS TRIPOLI to participate in combat
operations in support of operation LAM SON 72 (Phase II) in Vietnam.

LAM SON 719 had been a large offensive operation against NVA communications
lines in Laos in the region adjacent to the two northern provinces of South
Vietnam. The operation was a raid in which ARVN troops drove west from Khe
Sanh on Route 9, cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail, seized Tchepone, some 25 miles
away, and then returned to Vietnam. The ARVN provided and commanded the
ground forces, while U.S. Army and Air Force furnished aviation airlift and
supporting firepower.

Losses were heavy. The ARVN suffered some 9,000 casualties, almost 50% of
their force. U.S. forces incurred some 1,462 casualties. Aviation units lost
168 helicopters and another 618 were damaged. Fifty-five aircrewmen were
killed in action, 178 were wounded and 34 were missing in action. There were
19,360 known enemy casualties for the entire operation lasting until April
6, 1971.

Phase II of LAM SON included inserting South Vietnamese marines behind enemy
lines near communist-occupied Quang Tri City, Republic of Vietnam. This was
the mission of Hendrix' helicopter.

While approaching the drop zone, the helicopter was struck by a heat-seeking
SA-7 missile in the starboard engine. The aircraft immediately burst into
flames and crashlanded moments later. Several aboard received injuries and
were taken back to the TRIPOLI for treatment. The bodies of Hendrix and the
gunner, CPL Kenneth L. Crody, could not be recovered because of the intense
heat of the burning aircraft.

Crody and Hendrix are listed with honor among the missing because their
remains were not returned home. Witnesses believed they were both dead in
the aircraft. For many others of the missing, however, clear-cut answers
cannot be had. Many were alive and in radio contact with would-be rescuers
when they were last heard from. Others were photographed in captivity, only
to disappear.

Since the war ended, the Defense Department has received over 10,000 reports
relating to the men still unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, yet concludes
that no actionable evidence has been received that would indicate Americans
are still alive in Southeast Asia. A recent Senate investigation indicates
that most of these reports were dismissed without just cause, and that there
is every indication that Americans remained in captivity far after the war
ended, and may be alive today.

It's time we learned the truth about our missing and brought them home.

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