News-Info-Alerts

Re: Remembering A Hero

To: ALL

From: Andi Wolos & Bob Necci

(POW-MIA InterNetwork)

Date: November 11, 2002

"Remembering a hero who didn't make it home

By ROGER BALLAS
Daily Commercial Staff Writer

With your first cup of extra strong, Monday morning coffee, take time this Veterans Day to remember the thousands of men and women who have died or suffered defending the United States — especially our POWs and MIAs.

I can’t tell you about every POW and MIA, but I can tell you this: Of the more than 2,000 Vietnam-era POW/MIAs still unaccounted for, 64 call Florida home.

Among the former MIAs who have been accounted for is Charles Edward Deitsch, of Mount Dora, who went missing Oct. 20, 1968, in S. Vietnam. His remains were returned in 1995, and positively identified in March 2001. He was a warrant officer 3rd class in the Army. I regret I don’t know more about him to tell you.

But, like so many other thousands of face-less U.S. war dead who have become names on government lists, Deitsch was a name on an MIA list I found. If the following story of Berman Ganoe Jr., another name on the same list, is representative of Vietnam soldiers, Deitsch also died a hero.

On March 3, 1970, just across the Cambodian border with Vietnam, a Huey UH1H helicopter in which Berman Ganoe Jr. was a door gunner was hit by an enemy rocket, exploded and crashed.

A few days later that March, back home in Belleville, Berman’s family got the news. “We realized when the black car pulled up in front of the house and a couple of military guys got out his helicopter had been shot down,” said Dwight Ganoe, Berman’s youger brother, from his Belleville home Sunday.

“Of course my parents were upset. Berman had been shot down,” Berman was listed as missing in action, his fate still not known. Dwight recalled. “For the next few years, they would send him Christmas packages — never knowing if he ever got them.”

“Then, dad died — still not knowing his son’s fate,” said Dwight.

It took 25 years to locate and excavate the site of the crash. “It was hard to get to the site, and the jungle had overgrown the crash,” said Dwight. Then on April, 4, 1995, what what thought to be Brrman’s remains were sent home.

Dwight considers his older brother his older brother a hero. The U.S. government finally sent the Ganoe family a stack of records that contained firsthand observations from pilots in other aircraft nearby the crash.

“A recon group on the ground was pinned down in heavy enemy fire. All the helicopters in the air that could effect a rescue needed refueling,” said Dwight. “The others left to refuel, but Berman’s helicopter went in for the rescue. With the helicopter taking constant fire, they managed to load the ground soldiers into the chopper and take off.”

When Berman’s helicopter was 100 yards above the ground, it was hit by an enemy rocket. It exploded and crashed and exploded again.

Among the entries in the stack of government documents Dwight has is a commentary from a pilot flying above the scene in a fixed-wing aircraft. The last line of his report reads, “That was the bravest thing I’ve ever seen.”

The government took DNA from Dwight and with it positively identified Berman’s remains on June 6, 2001. Berman was awarded the Silver Star, Purple Heart and many air medals.

Last year, at Arlington National Cemetery there was a ceremony for the unidentified remains from the crash site. “I hope to have a burial and pretty big ceremony for Berman next March,” said Dwight. An Ocala funeral home is helping the family with the arrangements.

There are many groups working to find MIA/POWs. Find one and join. Do it for Charles Edward Deitsch and Berman Ganoe Jr.. Until Thursday. "