More detail on this person: George P. Hewlett
passed away February 3, 2016 in The Villages,
Florida, with his loving wife of 55 years,
Barbara, at his side. George was born October 26,
1939 in Philadelphia, PA. He was raised in
Frankfort, PA and graduated from Lincoln High
School in 1957. Upon graduation, he attended
Penn State University for two years before joining
the Army. This information was last updated 07/28/2016
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Date posted on this site:
03/10/2024
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He joined the Army in 1960 and was a paratrooper
with the 82nd ABN DIV for two and one half years
before applying for Officer Candidate School. He
was accepted to OCS in January 1963 where he
graduated and was commissioned in June of 1963
as an Armor Officer. Upon graduation from OCS he
went to the Armor Officer Basic Course and then on
to Flight school at Fort Rucker, AL and Fort
Wolters, TX. He attended his Armor Advance
Course at Fort Knox in 1969 to 1970.
His first assignment out of Flight School was in
Germany as a troop commander in the 3rd ID. He
then went on to his first tour in Vietnam where he
flew with the 281st Assault Helicopter Company
and A Company, 9th Aviation Battalion, 9th
Infantry Division from 1966 to 1967. From 1967 to
1969 he had various flight assignments at Hunter
Army Airfield. From 1970 to 1971 he attended the
University of Tampa for his degree completion.
In March 1972 he went back to Vietnam until March
1973 where he was the Commander of F Troop / 9th
Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division during the Easter
Offensive of 1972 through the Cease Fire in
January of 1973. George commanded during the
Battle of An Loc where the troop first encountered
SA-7 heat seeking missiles. The troop lost its
first Cobra and crew to an SA-7 in April and had
two more Cobras shot down with SA-7's later that
year. During George's tenure as the troop
commander he developed a reputation for never
leaving one of his men on the ground. He flew
Command and Control on an almost daily basis to
insure his air crews would be rescued if shot
down. He had the opportunity to rescue at least a
dozen crews during his 12 months of command.
Upon his return to CONUS, George rounded out his
career with FORSCOM Headquarters at Fort
McPherson, GA and Recruiting Command in the
Atlanta area.
George's awards during his two tours in Vietnam
include the Distinguished Flying Cross with 3 Oak
Leaf Clusters, the Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf
Cluster, and 52 Air Medals, several with V device.
He will always be remembered by his troops for his
heroic actions to rescue his air crews when they
had been shot down by enemy fire.
After retirement from the Army in 1980, George
became a general manager for Eckert Drug stores
for many years and thirteen years with the United
States Post Office. He finally retired in 1999 in
the Atlanta area and in 2004 moved to The
Villages, FL where he and his lovely wife enjoyed
golf and many other activities offered there.
George is survived by his wife of 55 years,
Barbara, his son George, his daughter Leslie, and
grandson Ellia.
Below from Bruce Mckenty
George pulled me out of the jungle after my Cobra
had a mid air with an SA-7 so he meant a lot to
me.