BOMBER MEMORIAL

KERRY BRENT LOVE ~ Class of 1966
July 4, 1948 - October 23, 1969

~

~

Mesa, WA is where Kerry's parents moved after Kerry graduated from Richland's Columbia High School in 1966, and his father retired from Hanford. Kerry went to public schools in Richland, attending Sacajawea Elementary School and Chief Jo Junior High School. Kerry attended Columbia Basin College for a year in 1966-67. He went to Officer Candidate School in Ft. Benning, GA. Upon completion of his required training, Lt. Love was sent to Vietnam and was in a "duty unassigned" status working with the 3rd Brigade.

He was pending reassignment per the news notice below, after having started his tour on September 13, 1969. Later records show he had been assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment.

The October 28, 1969 news article in the Tri-City Herald notified the area residents with:

"Mesa Soldier Killed. Second Lt. Kerry B. Love, 21, Mesa, died Thursday (October 23, 1969) in Vietnam in a helicopter accident. Love, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Love, Hollingsworth Road, Block 20, had been in Vietnam since October 1, 1969. His mother reports he had disembarked from an Army helicopter and was killed when it overturned at take off. The lieutenant was serving with the 101st Airborne Divisions Third Brigade near the demilitarized zone. His parents had not learned of his assignment, but he was branch infantry and would probably have been assigned to command a 40-man infantry platoon. He was commissioned upon completion of six months Officer Candidate School, at Fort Benning, GA on March 15, 1969. He was born in Walla Walla on July 4, 1948."

The October 30, 1969 edition published the following funeral information:

"Kerry B. Love of Mesa -- Funeral arrangements for 2nd Lt. Kerry B. Love, 21, Mesa, killed in Vietnam in a helicopter accident October 23 will be handled by Greenlee Funeral Home in Pasco. It is not known when his remains will arrive from Vietnam. Survivors include his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Love; and his brother, Dennis ('69)."

"The accident of the UH-1H Model "Huey", tail number 68-16274 (158th Aviation Battalion flying out of Camp Evans) involved in the incident and mentioned in the news clips above, occurred as follows: A UH-1H helicopter (4 crew/10 passengers) were in the middle of a combat assault of inserting 180 soldiers from A Co, 2nd Bn, 506th Infantry - 101st Abn. The aircraft involved in the accident was the lead of 6 helicopters. The initial lift into the LZ was without incident. This was their third time there that day dropping off infantrymen. The LZ was small and had several large tree stumps. The area had been cleared out as a Landing Zone by the engineers, but there were some tree stumps still there - some about 3' high. The ground was inclined about 10 degrees. 6 men (including 2LT Love) exited to the right, the other 4 men exited to the left...and all moved about 30' away from the helicopter."

"The aircraft commander lifted off to a stabilized 2' hover and did a take-off check. The gunner and crew chief responded with a "clear right" and "clear left". As maximum power was going to be needed to prevent hitting some stumps in front of him, the craft was put into the 2' hoover. All gauges looked fine, and power was applied. What the pilot didn't know was that on the right side there was a stump protruding at about a 60 degree angle. The skid had slid under it, but didn't touch it (which would have registered a signal). On full take-off, the skid connected - causing the helicopter to roll and topple hard to the right. The helicopter crashed, and the large rotor blades impacted the ground and the six soldiers next to it....killing all 6 and wounding 4. All of the crew survived, with only the door-gunner receiving a lacerated leg. There were no injuries to the other soldiers that had exited to the left. The helicopter was destroyed but did not burn."

"Although the six men's deaths were classified as an aircraft accident, not under enemy fire, they were completing a combat air assault with the unit. The men who were killed were:

A Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry
CPL Jose Luis Borrero-Sanchez, Yauco, Puerto Rico
SP4 Larry Michael Cleveland, Long Beach, California
SP4 Manuel Godine Martinez, Colorado City Texas

Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry
2LT Kerry Brent Love, Mesa, Washington
CPL Dennis Nye Hudson, Riverside California (Co A Medic)

B Battery, 2nd Battalion, 319th Artillery
CPL Dennis Mc Coy Clark, Portsmouth, Virginia (FO Team with A Co)"

- - - The Virtual Wall, April 5, 2014.

Kerry Brent Love is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Connell, WA.



Kerry Brent Love
ON THE WALL: Panel W17 Line 109
PERSONAL DATA:
Home of Record: Mesa, WA
Date of birth: 07/04/1948
MILITARY DATA:
Service Branch: Army of the United States
Grade at loss: O1
Rank: Second Lieutenant
Promotion Note: None
ID No: 533482994
MOS: 1542: Infantry Unit Commander
Length Service: 00
Unit: HHC, 2ND BN, 506TH INFANTRY, 101ST ABN DIV, USARV
CASUALTY DATA:
Start Tour: 09/13/1969
Incident Date: 10/23/1969
Casualty Date: 10/23/1969
Status Date: Not Applicable
Status Change: Not Applicable
Age at Loss: 21
Location: Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam
Remains: Body recovered
Repatriated: Not Applicable
Identified: Not Applicable
Casualty Type: Non-hostile, died of other causes
Casualty Reason: Ground casualty
Casualty Detail: Air loss or crash over land
URL: www.VirtualWall.org/dl/LoveKB01a.htm
Data accessed: 2/16/2019

THE VIRTUAL WALL ® www.VirtualWall.org

Page template 10/09/2015

Bomber Memorial put together by Shirley COLLINGS Haskins ('66).