More detail on this person: CancerAs I
understand it, John E. Person returned to Vietnam
on a second tour, being assigned to the 498th
Medical Company (Air Ambulance), or, it could have
been with the 44th Medical Brigade. In any event
he was assigned to the 283rd Medical Detachment,
then located at Pleiku -at the old 18th Surgical
Hospital on the northern outer perimeter of Pleiku
AFB which also accommodated several
Vietnamese Units a Special Forces "B" Team, and
two Evacuation Hospitals [I think the 91st and
73rd]. He came in as the new C.O. when Capt.
Conner's was shot-down. Major Person came in a
few days, or weeks, after we functioned under an
MSC 1st Lieutenant [shadowed by a Major from the
498th]. He had given me quite a good OER (actually
maxed it) along with the Bronze Star, which write
up I'd like to get since it spelled out the work
I'd accomplished, but the REMFs [Rear Echelon
Mendacious Frauds & Fools] at the 44th Medical
Brigade re-wrote it to match the vanilla words
used for Senior MSC's] -If I sound bitter -I am!
He'd also written me up for a Silver Star for
taking a mission he didn't think could be done
[which the 44th & 55th REMFs downgraded to a
DFC. They'd previously dg'd a DSC past a SS to a
DFC. But they did give the Silver Star to a chew
chief I'd written up during a rescue of a downed
(actually two) OH-6 Scouts. But I digress.
I'd kept in touch over the years then heard he
passed away [from cancer?] about five years ago.
After he retired as a Col. or Lt. Col., I
understood that he and his wife lived in
Mississippi where he took up selling insurance.
From: Jon Dienlin
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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