Lee Joseph Boudreaux, Jr

The database page for Lee Joseph Boudreaux, Jr

26 Nov 2001 SP4 Lee Boudreaux was performing duties as a door gunner on a combat mission with the 281st Assault Helicopter Company when he was killed in action. SP4 William Bodzick, WO Donald Harrison and WO Daniel Sulander were killed in action with Lee. A memorial from the 281st Assault Helicopter Company Association webmaster@281stahc.org Visit the 281st Assault Helicopter Company

9 Mar 2005 Lee was assigned to the 630th MP Company at Cam Ranh Bay, and would go TDY with the 1st Aviation Brigade when not on duty with the 630th. The last mission with the 281st AVC was a volunteer mission to extract the recon team. Lee and I were in the same squad with the 630th. He was a friend and mentor. Rest in peace, my friend. From a friend, John R. Mott 15666 Hayes Court, Apple Valley, Mn 55124 mahot176@charter.net Photo courtesy of John Mott

A Note from The Virtual Wall A UH-1D from the 281st AHC was tasked with picking up a long range recon team from just within Laos. The team consisted of two Special Forces personnel (MSG Russell Bott and SMAJ Willie Stark) and a number of South Vietnamese Army personnel. The recon team was in hot contact with a larger enemy force from the NVA 325b Division, Stark had been wounded in the chest and leg, and several ARVN troops had been killed or wounded. SGT Irby Dyer, a medic with Det B-52, 5th SFG, was aboard the UH-1D, which was hit by gunfire, crashed, and burned. The recon team was not picked up. Searches conducted between 10 and 13 December located the UH-1D wreckage and identified the remains of the five men aboard, but the search team was not able to recover the bodies. No trace of Bott and Stark was found. Another team was inserted to recover the remains of the helicopter crew, but found that US air strikes in the area had hit the UH-1 wreckage. While three bodies could be positively identified and recovered, WO Sulander's and SGT Dyer's remains could not be identified. Although there was some evidence that Bott was captured, there is no certainty about what happened to either of the two Special Forces men. The seven men lost that day were UH-1D tail number 65-10088, 281st AHC: WO Donald Harrison, New York, NY WO Daniel A. Sulander, Minneapolis, MN SP4 William J. Bodzick, Petoskey, MI SP4 Lee J. Boudreaux, New Orleans, LA Det B-52, 5th SF Grp SMAJ Willie E. Stark, Omaha, NE MSG Russell P. Bott, Worcester, MA (Dist Svc Cross) SGT Irby Dyer, Midland, TX Albert Rampone, one of the original members of the 281st AHC in Vietnam, wrote a book entitled "SILENT BIRDMEN" outlining the company's history in Vietnam. SP4 Boudreaux is named in the text as on the company roster and in a description of the action which cost him his life. Army records indicate that SP4 Boudreaux was assigned to a unit within the 1st Aviation Brigade at the time of his death. Since the 630th Military Police Company was not subordinate to the 1st Avn Bde, it seems likely that SP4 Boudreaux formally transferred from the 630th MP Co to the 281st AHC at some point before his death.

The point-of-contact for this memorial is the Webmaster, 281st Assault Helicopter Company Association webmaster@281stahc.org

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With all respect
Jim Schueckler, former CW2, US Army
Ken Davis, Commander, United States Navy (Ret)
Memorial first published on 26 Nov 2001
Last updated 11/24/2006