This Military Service Page was created/owned by
CW2 Phillip M. Kemp (Mike)
to remember
Spann, James Hall, CPT.
If you knew or served with this Soldier and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Casualty Info
Home Town Hayward
Last Address Hayward
Casualty Date Nov 26, 1971
Cause Non Hostile- Died Other Causes
Reason Air Loss, Crash - Land
Location Thua Thien (Vietnam)
Conflict Vietnam War
Location of Interment *Cremated - Local, California
Wall/Plot Coordinates 02W 074/Ashes under the golden Gate Bridge
Posted on 4/23/12 - by 1Lt Douglas M. Scherer, Catkiller 38, 71-72 dmsaustin@earthlink.net
As I'm planning to attend a 220 Avn Co 'Catkillers' Reunion in Seattle this summer, I'm remembering my 3rd Platoon Leader James Hall Spann, called Jay. He took me on my second in-country area check out. We flew southwest of Phu Bai into the Rung Rung Valley area and he fired a willey pete rocket into a hilltop pot field. I asked him about his right nomex flight glove, he had cut the finger off the glove. He said it gave him a better 'trigger feel'. Everyone liked the Spann brothers, J & D. A great guy, a great platoon leader. They had done a previous tour as helicopter slick pilots. One of them defended their own crash site from approaching enemy with .45 caliber pistol fire. It was said he zapped a number of them until they got extracted. J & D were waiting for openings in the unit next door an OV-1 Mohawk Military Intelligence 131st Avn Co. A sad day in Phu Bai when he and his observer were killed in a OV-1 Mohawk crash on take off. Witnesses said the airplane experienced a series of apparently uncontrollable pitch up then pitch down attitudes until finally stalling and impacting the ground. RIP brother you are not forgotten.
- See more at: http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/49029/JAMES-H-SPANN#sthash.TyvVdANX.dpuf
