More detail on this person: Harold R. Manns,
beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, and
friend, passed away January 17, 2012 at the age of
68. This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site:
03/10/2024
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He leaves his wife/soul mate, Linda Manns; a son,
Jeffrey; a daughter, Elizabeth; a brother, Thomas;
three grandchildren, four stepchildren among
several nieces, nephews, and cousins.
"Hal" served honorably in the United States Army
for 31 years as a helicopter pilot (Cobra) with
his mentors, the Pink Panthers. He served in the
Vietnam conflict and retired as a Colonel. Even
after his military service, Hal continued to be an
advocate for military service members and a huge
contributor to military relations.
After leaving the service, Hal became a financial
analyst and worked for Telcordia. He was one of
the original team members that developed DSL.
Among his civilian accomplishments, he was a
professor at Lee High University.
He was a volunteer for Red Cross, Habit for
Humanity, Homeless Veterans Organization, Save
our Sea Shores, and the Cure for Leukemia
Organization. Also, one of his passions was
politics, he wrote speeches for Congressman
Posey.
Hal was most known for his sincerity and charity.
Everyone came first in his heart and mind. If
there was ever a problem, Hal was the first to
offer help, even for those he barely knew. His
life revolved around his wife, Linda, and his
mentors, the Pink Panther group, a close knit
family for years.
Anyone planning expression of sympathy is asked
to consider Homeless Veterans organization, a
cause he was extremely passionate about.
A celebration of his life will be held at Devine
Mercy on Courtenay Parkway, Thursday, January
26th at 11:00.
Services held by Funeral Solutions, 321-638-1373.
One important point to correct: Hal did not FLY
with H/29th Arty, for he was non-rated and the
battery had no aircraft. It was an artillery
searchlight battery, Battery H of the 29th
Artillery, and Hal was a searchlight platoon
leader in Bac Lieu. I'm guessing the reason VHPA
said he flew with that unit was that (1) the VHPA
membership application asks for all units served
with in Vietnam, and (2) H/29th Arty might look
like an aviation unite because it was attached to
the 13th Combat Aviation Battalion - that's
because there was no other American unit of
battalion size or greater in the Mekong Delta,
where the battery operated (later, the 164th
Combat Aviation Group was formed in the Delta,
and it became the battery's higher headquarters).
While there was a connection to Army Aviation,
Battery H was a strictly no-fly organization, as
its members were frequently reminded by those
around them who wore the 1st Aviation Brigade
patch (the searchlight battery was only attached
to the aviation chain of command; it was assigned
to II Field Forces Artillery in Long Binh. Its
members wore the II Field Forces patch, and its
vehicles bore the bumper marking, IIFFV/29F).
I know these things because Hal Manns was one of
the officers who greeted me when I joined H/29th
Arty in January 1968. He was part of the first
shift, who formed the battery at Fort Sill and
brought it by boat to Vietnam. I was in the
second shift, a replacement sent to take the place
of those like Hal who had completed their 12-month
tours. He didn't stay long after I arrived, but
he did his best to coach and counsel me, and I
always remembered him as someone I looked up
to. Our paths never crossed again until almost
six years ago.
The occasion was the burial of the crew of a
Kingsmen (B Company, 101st Aviation Battalion)
UH-1 Huey that was lost in Laos during Operation
Lam Son 719 and had only been found years later
by a team from the Joint Personnel Accounting
Command, the organization based in Hawaii whose
mission is to find and bring home the remains of
our MIAs and BNRs (KIA, Body Not Recovered)
from Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. Mike Sloniker,
then as now the historian of the VHPA, wanted to
ensure a proper turnout to welcome the Kingsmen
home, so he got the word out, and in addition to a
large contingent of veterans from B Company,
101st, there was a small crowd of locals from the
Washington DC area.
After the funeral service at the Fort Myer Chapel,
there was a procession down the hill to the burial
site at Arlington Cemetery. To reduce the traffic
inside the cemetery, we were encouraged to double
up in cars, and Mike Sloniker teamed me up with
Pete Kacerguis, another Vietnam helicopter pilot
who worked for the FAA in Washington, DC.
Sloniker, himself an artilleryman turned aviator,
introduced me with some amusement as someone
who'd once served in searchlights. On the way to
the grave site, Pete told me about his friend Hal
Manns, a flight school roommate, who had also
served in searchlights in Vietnam before coming
home and going to flight school. Pete put Hal and
me in touch be email, and I learned he lived about
five miles west of Cape Canaveral, Florida. We
both agreed that we were fortunate as searchlight
platoon leaders to have had outstanding platoon
sergeants - his was Lou Loscudo and mine was
Ben Clarke - and we agreed, too, that all things
considered, flying was more fun.
One last little coincidence: one of the Kingsmen
crew buried that day at Arlington was the cousin
of Gene Lucas, who served in Battery C, 5th
Battalion (Automatic Weapons, Self-Propelled), 2nd
Artillery - a twin 40mm "Duster" battery to which
my searchlight platoon was later attached. At the
reception following the burial, I saw Gene for the
first time since he drove me to Tan Son Nhut for
my flight home in January 1969. Sadly, Gene is
gone, too.
May all those good men we served with, those
killed in Vietnam and those who have died since,
rest in well-deserved peace.
From: James Kurtz