More detail on this person: Was saddened to
read the TAPs listing in the Jan/Feb 2012 issue,
of the passing of a fellow classmate, Harry "Hank"
A. Plude. However, there are a couple of errors in
his listing which warrant correction. The first
one, which is minor, is the fact that Hank
actually graduated with class 71-41 at Ft Rucker;
he likely did go through training in at least two
classes, both 71-39 & 71-41, so I recommend that
both be listed. This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site:
03/10/2024
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The second one is more important & somewhat
harder to explain; in the TAPS obituary,
apparently written by his sister, it said: "...and
he was a proud Army Vietnam Veteran and
experienced helicopter pilot." However, in fact,
Hank did not serve in Vietnam, so he should now
instead be listed in the directory as "DNV" - died
and did not serve in Vietnam.
I can't explain why his sister would have written
that as Hank instead went to Korea after
graduation. (Perhaps she meant "in Asia"?) I can
state this with complete certainty, as upon the
completion of his tour in Korea, he returned to Ft
Lewis, WA, within a week or two of my return from
Vietnam, and we then served there in the same
unit.
Therefore, I am writing this not to cast any
dispersions upon Hank but to simply keep the
record straight for historical purposes.
From: John Harris, Class 71-41