Vietnam Memorial Names – William Hail, Jerry Murphy, Gary Nelson

“Remember me when I am gone away, Gone far away into the silent land.” These words are on the Montrose Vietnam Memorial, and that is what we will do in the next few weeks. We will give you the stories behind each name on the memorial, in chronological order of their deaths.

Some information is incomplete as info was not always available, but we will do our best. I thank Jo Anne Sadler, who did the lion’s share of the research, and Mike Morgan, who daily takes care of the memorial, sweeping, tending the flowers and taking care of the flag.

William Warren Hail, Aug. 2, 1965 – We have nothing about William’s early years, only that he was a Glendale resident. He was an Air Force Lt. Colonel, but was promoted to full colonel after his death. In 1965, the 45-year-old pilot was in Vietnam with the 1131st Special Activities Squadron to train the South Vietnamese pilots. He was an F-105 jet pilot, but his assignment was to train South Vietnamese pilots in prop planes, specifically the Douglas Skyraider, a tough close-attack aircraft used heavily in Vietnam and famed for its survivability.

After routine maintenance, William took one of the Skyraiders up for a test flight. Contact was lost with him and he never returned. Extensive searches were conducted, but a crash site was never found. It’s not known if he was shot down or simply crashed. But as more MIAs are being located, perhaps Col. Hail’s crash site will be located.

A local news article stated: “His family was convinced that his training, experience and determination will bring him safely home.” But that never happened, and in 1978 the Air Force declared him dead. In Altadena, a tree was planted in his honor in ’78. It’s still there at the corner of Altadena and Lake.

Jerry Ray Murphy, May 4, 1966 – Jerry grew up in the deserts of Eastern California and Nevada, but was connected to Tujunga by family. He was a good student but joined the Army out of boredom after high school. Rising to sergeant, he was assigned to a 114th Assault Helicopter Company at Vin Long Airfield in the heart of the Mekong Delta, where he saw extensive action on the ubiquitous “Huey” helicopter. He felt committed to his unit and re-enlisted in order to stay with them.

Sadly, as much action as Jerry saw, he died in an accident. He was rigging up a powerful spotlight on his already armed Huey for night operations. Reaching in from the side of the chopper, he switched on the ignition to test the lights. Something shorted out, and the armed rockets fired, hitting Jerry and detonating.

His life lives on in literature. His sister, Darlene Neubauer, wrote “From Bootcamp To Vietnam,” a recounting of her brother’s service, based on letters he wrote her.

Gary Nels Nelson, June 4, 1966 – Gary grew up in the Verdugo Woodlands, went to Verdugo Woodlands Elementary, Wilson Jr. High and Glendale High, where he was in the school band and was captain of the water polo team. His grandparents lived in Montrose. Gary had it all. He was handsome, intelligent and personable, with many good friends. Gary enlisted for a four-year term with the Marines right out of high school with plans to continue his education at Glendale College. His career goal was to become a commercial pilot.

He arrived in Vietnam in 1965 as a corporal with the 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines, initially doing security at Da Nang airstrip. Almost immediately they fought off an incursion by the Viet Cong and from that point the fighting seemed to never stop. They moved to a forward position where they were under constant fire. He almost survived his one-year tour of duty. Gary was one month away from returning home when he stepped on a land mine.

Gary’s parents weren’t home when two Marines arrived at their house to deliver the bad news. Gary’s many good friends got wind of it and were there to support his parents when they got home.

  mike lawler