Photo: Hector Ramos in bunker in
front of C7 tower
I was stationed at Bình Thủy AB in 1969 & worked on Devil Flt
as a tower guard most of my tour there.
What I'd like to relate here and now is something that occurred years
later in 1988 as a result of an inquiry in the form of a letter from a
lady in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Mrs. Erlyce Pekas had been engaged to A1C
Millard W. Lehman, 632 SPS who had been KIA at Bình Thủy in 1966.
In her letter &
in subsequent conversations I had with her I was touched by her desire
to provide a meaningful memorial to her fiancée and particularly
his parents.
She
was seeking any photographs of the memorial that was erected by his fellow
Airmen near the NCO Club, but although I saw it and knew of it, I never
photographed it. According to her letter the original plaque was presented
to his parents when the Bình Thủy memorial was dismantled near the end
of the war & presented to his folks in Tucson, Arizona.
It's been 13 years since and I've lost contact with Mrs. Pekas as
well as my own service mates, but it has always bugged me that I was not
able to provide her with what could have gone a long way in offering closure
in her loss. Until now. When I discovered the VSPA it became clear to
me from the contributions of Sgt
Duke Windsor's letter & pictures of the memorial from him and
others, that Airman Lehman's memory still lives in the hearts of his brothers.
If I could contact (I've tried) Erlyce now, what better way to let her
know that there is a place where she, friends and family can see for themselves
the tributes to Air Force Security Police that the VSPA displays by those
that served before, beside him and after.
I still have the letter
& inserts that she sent me back in '88 and would like to donate
them to the VSPA. If we can get help in locating her [click on above
letter & inserts] it may be possible to get her permission to print
the letter & let her know that I never forgot about it.
Please provide an address where I can separately mail you copies
of the letter & inserts if you feel this story will have valid interest.
Hector Ramos, Sgt
Bình Thủy AFB RVN
632 SPS 1969
