If you have any questions, additional biographical information, personal remembrances, or photographs you would like to contribute, please contact the History Project Manager via this Email Link.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They Say, our deaths are not ours, they are yours, they will mean what you make of them. They say, we leave you our deaths, give them some meaning. Archibald MacLeish poet and WWI veteran.

 

       On Tuesday, 28 May 1968,  SP/4 Dennis Rae Mason , age 20, of Argyle, Wisconsin, was driving an escort gun jeep involved in Operation Overtake on Highway 1A. PFC Roy William Neal , age 21, of Blountville, Tennessee, was the M-60 machine gunner and his passenger was  SSG John Herman Wilkens , age 26, the escort NCOIC.

        The escort was proceeding towards Saigon on Highway 1-A when at 2250 hours (10:50 PM) it was ambushed in an area nicknamed “Rocket Alley”, located between the Thu Duc Water Plant and the Newport Bridge.

        The Viet Cong fired two Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPG’s) and small arms fire at the MP gun jeep. One RPG round struck PFC Neal, the other the jeep, causing it to flip over and burst into flame.

        All three men died in the attack. It was later determined that SSG Wilkens had managed to empty one magazine from his M-16 rifle at the attackers before succumbing to his wounds.

On Memorial Day, 30 May 1968, at 0800 hours memorial services were held at the 89th MP Group Chapel for SSG Wilkens, SP/4 Mason, PFC Neal and PFC Flynn, C Company, who was killed in action 25 May. < Click on the Memorial Services Program Icon to view the program pamphlet pages.

Remembrances

        One picture in particular I really wanted to make sure is received is this one of Dennis Mason killed in action in 28 May of 1968. Dennis and I went through training together at Fort Carson, Colorado and received orders for Viet Nam at the same time. We each had 30 days leave before shipping out. Once we met up again at the processing station in Oakland, California he told me he had married his high school sweetheart during his leave.
 
I have often thought about that over the years and how his new wife had gotten along following his death. SP/4 Marv Conover, A Company, 720th MP Battalion, October 1967 to October 1968.

--- General / Personal ---
Last name: MASON
First name: DENNIS RAE
Home of Record (official): ARGYLE
State (official): WI
Date of Birth: Monday, September 15, 1947
Sex: Male
Race: Caucasian
Marital Status: Married

--- Military ---
Branch: Army
Rank: SP4
Serial Number: 56455421
Component: Selective Service
Pay grade: E4
MOS (Military Occupational Specialty code): 95B10

--- Action ---
Start of Tour: Saturday, October 28, 1967
Date of Casualty: Tuesday, May 28, 1968
Age at time of loss: 20
Casualty type: (A1) Hostile, died
Reason: Burns (Ground casualty)
Country: South VietNam
Province: Gia Dinh
The Wall: Panel 64W - Row 012

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~