Ray Bows proudly stands between Detachment A-33 members, Andy Corder and Joe Meier. Photo by Pia Bows
On 13 June 2017, while set up with our book, "IN HONOR AND MEMORY", we encountered two members of Detachment A-33, Andy Corder and Joe Meier, who arrived in Vietnam in July of 1963, and were stationed at Djarai with Captain David J. W. Widder, for whom two Camp Widders were named (one at Hon Quan and the other at Duc Hoa - see IN HONOR AND MEMORY page 432), and Master Sergeant John Holland. Although I had written extensively about the team, back in my 1998 book, "LEGENDS, SHADOWS AND HEROES", this was our first encounter, and Pia and I were elated that they lingered at our table for a while, and that we could speak about David, who had died on his second tour in Vietnam on 24 March 1965, and about SMJ John Holland, who I had become very close to until his death on 19 July 2010 (see team photo below).
This month, we also remember posthumous Silver Star recipient Sergeant Harry A. Walling, Sr., Detachment A-113, who was killed in action, 19 June 1964, at Suoi Da. The Walling Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (BEQ) in Saigon was named in his honor (see IN HONOR AND MEMORY page 417).
My search for the Walling family began in 1986. It was in 2015 that Pia and I had a chance meeting with Sergeant Walling's son, Harry A. Walling, Jr., at the All Veterans Reunion in Melbourne, Florida. Harry shared photos of his dad and supplemental information about his father's service that we were not aware of. The rewrite of Sergeant Walling's story is an ongoing project for us.
Photo of Harry A. Walling, Sr., after graduation from Basic Training. Courtesy of Harry A. Walling, Jr.
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