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 |
