Đà Nàng AB attack, 1 Jul 1965
23rd ABG (MAAG)/AP

ADDITIONAL QUESTI ONS Received by Email

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS Received by Email:

My Name is: WAYNE P. WALL, CMSgt (Ret). I WAS NOT at Đà Nàng AB at the time on 1 July 1965. I WAS NOT a part of the investigation of 1 July 1965.

1)  Who were the OSI agents assigned to the base at the time of the incident?
2)  Who of them interrogated Handy at the dispensary?
3)  What information prompted OSI, in the middle of the fire fight, to suspect Handy?
4)  From whom did this information come from and by what means?
5)  What did Jackie Kays mean when he said "I always questioned the OSI version of that incident?"
    a)  Did an OSI report follow Handy back to George AFB?
    b)  Did Jackie read it?  
    c)  What's Jackie's recollection of the "OSI version" he refers to?
6)  Who was the Lt at George who asked Handy why he did what he did, and what did this Lt know that prompted him to make such a statement?
 
From all of the information presented herein, it certainly sounds to me like OSI was "jumping the gun." But, what sticks out to me is "why," while the attack was still on-going and while Jensen's body still lay out there, and with no communication from Handy (or, presumably, anyone else in that immediate area) did OSI jump on Handy? The answers, I'd like to hope, should reside within the OSI ROI. It also sounds like something from it or the Agents at Đà Nàng got back to the Squadron at George. I think the best starting point would be Jackie Kays, which leads me to my last question:
 
7)  What do we do about this situation? How do we fix it, because it certainly sounds to me like Handy's been screwed (what a surprise). Medal? At the very least. How about a public clearing of his reputation and his conscience.

Author: Newell M. Swartz [I WAS NOT at Đà Nàng AB at the time on 1 July 1965. I WAS NOT a part of the investigation of 1 July 1965.]

Several things occur to me. One, what happened to Al Handy was the gravest injustice ever done to a Security Policeman. Basically it is a text book opposite of how a man should be treated in that situation. Just from the eye witness accounts already revealed, it is apparent that Al Handy is the man who stopped the attack according to the crew member, a SAT Team member and the VC POW. Terry Jensen was heroic in standing his ground with only a .38 and got the recognition he deserved. It is possible but I find it a little hard to believe that Terry, with three shots, was able to bring down two VC from thirty yards away at night during an assault on his position with explosives and AK47s. It would have been more likely that those VC wounded were brought down by Handy, but since those bodies were never recovered, we will never know for sure. However, it was Handy's rifle fire that broke off the assault according to witnesses.

The men who accused Handy the night of the attack, if they were OSI, could have been drunk or were just stupid. But:

1. Where was the unit First Sgt or CO or Handy's supervisor that night? They had an obligation to ensure the men under their command were not mistreated.

Al Handy was placed in a nightmare situation and it never ended. After the attack, after the accusations, he was still alone, in a place where he had no friends, nobody to talk over what had happened and get the reassurance any one of us would need following an incident like that. Once back stateside, he was again failed miserably by the chain of command.

The one consolation I go away with is that Don Poss has the skills and tenacity to get to the bottom of this fiasco.

Al Handy, I do believe your account of what happened. Hopefully, your vindication will give you some measure of peace. Welcome Home and I hope you join the VSPA and enjoy the comraderie we share. Take care, Newell

Comments to Don Poss, via the Bulletin Board
(Don Poss, War Stories andVSPA Webmaster)