More detail on this person: Denny Vaughan was
a young Infantry NCO during the Korean War. In the
mid 1950's he attended OCS, and went on to flight
school. He was my father's pilot in Germany in the
early 1960's, where he became my friend. I was 15
years old. His two sons drowned in a farm pond
accident in 1964, and Denny volunteered for
Vietnam shortly after, when hostilities broke out.
He was a Huey pilot his first tour, and returned
for another tour in 1967. He was a quick reaction
"Blue" company commander with the 1st Cav during
the TET offensive of that year, and again in 1968.
He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
for gallantry in ground combat operations. He was
severely wounded, but returned to duty. He told me
in later years that he was trying desperately to
get himself killed in the war, the memory of his
son's deaths too much to live with. When I was in
Vietnam he and his wife Shirley wrote me every
week. When I returned, he flew an army 0-8
aircraft to pick me up from where I was
recuperating and took me to the mountains of
Colorado. He and his family remained strong in my
life until his death, which was brought about at
age 59 because he just could not go on. He was an
enormous influence. His lesson was one of pure
love. Never has anyone known the love of another
human being outside his own family like I
experienced from Denny Vaughan. Burial information: Saint Pauls Cemetery, Norwalk, OH
This information was last updated 08/17/2021
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Date posted on this site:
03/10/2024
Copyright © 1998 - 2024 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association
Major Denny R Vaughan, 58
OBITUARIES
Gazette, The (Colorado Springs, CO) - Friday, June
23, 1989
RETIRED ARMY MAJ. DENNY R. VAUGHAN, 58,
of Norwalk, Ohio, a former Colorado Springs
resident, died Wednesday in Norwalk. He served in
the Army from 1951 until 1971 and retired with the
rank of major. Maj. Vaughan then went to Saudi
Arabia, where he was a military adviser and
company commander of a Saudi infantry company
for five years. In addition, he had been a senior
military adviser in Kaduna, Nigeria for a year.
Visitation will be from 7 to 9 p.m. today at
Kubach-Smith Funeral Home, 314 E. Main St.,
Norwalk. Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at
the funeral home with the Rev. Michael Schelling
officiating. Burial with military honors will be
at St. Paul Catholic Cemetery, Norwalk.
Maj. Vaughan was born Sept. 30, 1930, in Minvera,
Ohio, to Guy and Myrtle (Dalzell) Vaughan. He
graduated from Norwalk High School in 1949. Maj.
Vaughan served in the Korean War and completed
two extensive tours of duty in South Vietnam. He
also served in Japan, Korea and Germany and was
operations officer at Fort Carson's Butts Army Air
Field for 18 months. Maj. Vaughan's military
honors included the Distinguished Service Cross,
Expert Infantry Badge, Distinguished Flying Cross,
Bronze Star with V Device, Air medal with V Device
and 21 Oak Leaf Clusters, Purple Heart, Vietnam
Service Medal with six Bronze Service Stars,
Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm and
Senior Parachutist Wings. He had been a member
of the Airborne Rangers. Maj. Vaughan was a
member of the Order of Daedalians, Legion of Valor
and American Legion Post 8 of Wellington, Ohio.
He is survived by his wife, Shirley (Pigman); a
son, Timothy of Colorado Springs; a daughter, Jean
of Norwalk; two sisters, Beverley Jones of
Sandusky, Ohio, and Joy Griffaw of Vermillion,
Ohio; and five grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by two sons, Denny R.
Jr. and Steven S., in 1964.
Memorial contributions may be made to Vietnam
Veterans of America, P.O. Box 639, Norwalk, Ohio
44857.
From: Bob Flournoy
VAUGHAN, DENNY R. Captain (Infantry), U.S.
Army, Troop B, 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry, 17th
Combat Aviation Group, 1st Aviation Brigade, Date
of Action: April 18, 1968.
Citation: The Distinguished Service Cross is
presented to Denny R. Vaughan, Captain (Infantry),
U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection
with military operations involving conflict with
an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam,
while serving with Troop B, 7th Squadron, 17th
Cavalry, 17th Combat Aviation Group, 1st Aviation
Brigade. Captain Vaughan distinguished himself by
exceptionally valorous actions on 18 April 1968 in
an air rescue mission west of Kontum. During a
low-level aerial reconnaissance, a scout aircraft
was struck by anti-aircraft fire and crashed in
the midst of a reinforced North Vietnamese Army
battalion. When it was reported that two crew
members had survived the crash, Captain Vaughan
immediately volunteered to lead a twenty-man force
in an attempt to extract them. On the approach to
the landing zone the lead aircraft began receiving
intense fire from machine gun positions
surrounding the pickup site, and the flight
commander decided to abort the mission. Captain
Vaughan, though fully aware of the enemy's
strength, persuaded the flight commander to remain
at a twenty-foot hover while he and his men jumped
to the ground. Ignoring an injury to his ankle, he
rapidly deployed his platoon and began
maneuvering it toward the downed ship. After
moving a short distance, it received heavy enemy
automatic weapons fire. Captain Vaughan
requested and adjusted air strikes around his
platoon's position. The bombardment stopped the
attackers' fire and he continued to lead his men
toward the injured crew members. The North
Vietnamese launched a furious ground assault on
his platoon. Captain Vaughan fearlessly exposed
himself to the withering hail of fire to organize
and direct his troops' defenses. As the attack was
driven back, he once again called air strikes on
the enemy, enabling him and his men to return to
the landing zone with the downed aircraft crew for
extraction. Captain Vaughan's extraordinary
heroism and devotion to duty were in keeping with
the highest traditions of the military service and
reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and
the United States Army.
HQ US Army, Vietnam, General Orders No. 4080
(August 23, 1968)