by Larry Waddy
601st Combat Photo Flight at Tan Son Nhut, AB,
Saigon, Republic of Viet Nam
When stories are told of heroes brave and true,
Who answered the call, we must stand tall and salute
James Howard Alley, the man, the son, the brother
Lost in battle, risked his life trying to save another.
James was sent to a war of choice in a foreign land
By old men who had never fought, didn’t care or understand.
The power they sought made them bluster and rave
And send, with the stroke of a pen, young men to their grave.
James let his camera do the talking for the 601st photo flight
Gave honor to wearing the Air Force blue with all his might
Like most heroes, James was a quiet unassuming fellow
Who enjoyed an occasional San Miguel and was just as mellow.
Bring him home, bring James Alley home.
He was a man of good character … of humble means
Who flew search and rescue from Da Nang with the Jolly Greens
In April of ’72 came an urgent call to launch a rescue
A plane downed in Quang Tri, a B-66 and its two-man crew.
Bring him home, bring James Alley home.
Just two weeks shy of going home, James raised his hand
When the Jolly Greens needed one more man
To fill Bat-21’s crew. Grabbing gear, “I’ll go,” was all he said.
“Shot down in enemy territory, no survivors” the battle report read.
Bring him home, bring James Alley home.
MIA was declared for those brave men who went down
The fog of war crept on, their remains not found.
Back in the states, his folks still wait for some kind of claim
Kept his room… his ’66 Chevy Camero as he’d left them, but no word came.
Bring him home, bring James Alley home.
Fourteen years went by, a Vietnamese farmer tilling his land
Found metal shards. A team was sent, new technology in hand.
It was indeed the chopper Bat-21 they were convinced
But two of the crew could not be identified there in Quang Tri Province.
Bring him home, bring James Alley home.
More years of uncertainty pass, thirty-eight in all
When finally, a DNA lab unquestionably made the call
Now positively identified, James was moved from MIA to killed
And for the last time, James went home as God had willed.
Bring him home, bring James Alley home.
And so my friends, James joins those heroes rare
The young and brave, those who dare to share
And render their lives for the sake of others
Those fathers, those sons, those brothers.
Bring him home, bring James Alley home.
James Howard Alley was borne to his resting place
Accompanied by motorcades in solemnity and grace
Lauded by his family, his comrades, his friends
He’s home again, and we salute this journey’s end.
You’re home, James Alley, at last you’re home.
Editors Note:
The most significant year in my Air Force career was the year I served in South Viet Nam. I was assigned to a remarkable unit, the 601st Combat Photo Flight at Tan Son Nhut, AB, Saigon, Republic of Viet Nam. It was a small unit, only 21 guys.We had still photographers, motion picture photographers and photo lab technicians assigned to the unit.
Captain Ashley was the officer commanding the flight and I was the senior NCO assigned. My job was managing the mission assignments, implementing needed training and working hard to keep a bunch of young airmen in line and out of trouble. I had already served 17 years in the Air Force and most of my troops were on their first or second enlistment.
Our unit mission was to document significant Air Force activities throughout Viet Nam using still photos and motion pictures. Our guys were usually in the midst of any action going on between Da Nang in the North to the Mekong Delta in the South. We covered jungle insertions, recon operations, Search and Rescue missions, dog and pony shows, visiting dignitaries and whatever else the Pentagon tasked us with.
Each week we collected the pictures, slides and motion picture film for the week and shipped it off to the Pentagon and Audiovisual Headquarters at Norton AFB, California. To facilitate coverage of widespread Air Force activities we manned detachments at Cam Ron Bay, Da Nang, Pleiku, Phu Cat, Nha Trang, and Ben Hoa.
My personal mission was to get the job done and get the guys home to the States safely. The year was 1972 and the war was winding down although it didn’t end officially until 1975. For over twenty years I couldn’t talk about what I’d seen and done in ‘Nam. It wasn’t anything I wanted to remember.
I do remember Sgt. James Howard Alley though. He was killed in action on April 6, 1972. He died when his helicopter was shot down while on a rescue mission. It took 38 years to bring him home to his family in Florida. He was only 22 years old at the time of his death.
James was assigned to Detachment 3 at Da Nang, AB. and flew numerous high risk missions documenting the activities of HH3 Sea Stallion search and rescue aircrews. With less than 2 weeks remaining in the Air Force, James was ordered to report to the Photo Flight at Ubon RTAF, Thailand.
As he was preparing to board an aircraft to take him out of the combat zone, a call was made for volunteers to fly a high risk search and rescue mission in 1st Corps, Quang Tri province. With no regard for his personal safety, James picked up his equipment and boarded the departing helicopter with 5 other crew members of the chopper “Jolly Green 67”. During the mission, which was attempting to pick up an EB66 crew member who was downed in enemy territory. The helicopter received several heavy hits from ground fire, burst into flames and crashed at 1740 hrs. with no survivors.
Downed in enemy territory, the remains of the crew were not recovered until June 7th, 1994. During the 1992 investigation of this incident, a local villager reported finding remains and burying them in his garden. The U.S. investigators dug up the garden and recovered possible human remains. Later, a joint team found numerous bone fragments, personal effects, and aircraft wreckage. The remains were repatriated to the United States.
Despite a group interment of the crew of “Jolly Green 67” at Arlington National Cemetery on 19 Nov 1997, James Alley was still considered to be Missing in Action because he, along with two other members of the crew could not be positively identified at that time. The crew was laid to rest with full military honors, including a helicopter flyover.The airmen the crew was trying to rescue were later found alive and returned.
Fast forward to 2009. Because of new DNA technology at the Armed Forces DNA Identification Lab Sgt. Alley’s remains were positively identified and he was moved from MIA status to KIA. This provided some small measure of closure for his family, which for decades had maintained his bedroom and his yellow 1967 Chevrolet Camaro just the way he left them.
Jim Alley came home to his family after 38 years and was buried in Arcadia, Florida on the 8th of May, 2010.