Vietnam Memorial Names – William Pedersen, Manuel Miranda, Warren Spencer

William Alexander Pedersen, Sept. 15, 1970 – Bill Pedersen grew up on Wiladonda Drive in La Cañada, attended Paradise Canyon Elementary, La Cañada Jr. High and Muir High, graduating in 1963. He went on to Claremont College where he degreed in political science. His three brothers had all served in the military, so Bill joined the Navy. He graduated with honors from flight school, becoming a helicopter pilot with the rank of lieutenant.

In 1969, Bill was sent to Vietnam where he was a part of the “Seawolves,” Navy helicopters that supported Navy SEAL operations and patrol boats operating on Vietnamese rivers. Bill was a top pilot and highly respected. He had finished his tour of duty and was waiting to return home. A call came in to provide cover for a medevac copter that had been fired on while evacuating wounded. Bill talked one of the pilots into letting him fly his helicopter for “one last mission” before leaving. Four Navy Hueys with Bill piloting the lead bird escorted the medevac chopper into the landing zone.

Unfortunately, it was a prepared ambush, a “helicopter trap.” All five helicopters were hit with intense ground fire. Bill’s chopper was hit first and crashed, killing Bill and his door gunner. A second wounded helicopter was able to auto-rotate into a shallow lake, and all survived. A third was hit but limped away. The surviving gunship, now the main target in the trap, landed by the wreckage of Bill’s ship to retrieve the survivors and the dead. Bill’s body was trapped in the wreck and had to be left behind, but a Navy SEAL team retrieved it the next day.

Bill would have returned home in time for Thanksgiving when he was to announce his engagement.

Manuel Miranda, June 14, 1971 – Manuel grew up on Mountair Avenue in Tujunga. He went to Pinewood Elementary, Mt. Gleason Jr. High, and Verdugo Hills High, graduating in 1968. Manuel was noted as a talented artist in high school and pursued that talent as an art major at Valley College. After two years in college, Manuel volunteered for the Army, becoming one of the legendary Green Berets.

Manuel must have been just days from going home when his unit was dropped by helicopter into heavy jungle to intercept detected enemy movements. They walked into an ambush by overwhelming numbers of North Vietnamese soldiers. Manuel and six others were killed and many more wounded, but helicopter gunships and artillery drove the enemy back.

Warren Richard Spencer, Dec. 20, 1972 – No one wanted to be among the last men to die as the U.S. pulled out of Vietnam. Sadly, Warren Spencer was among that group. Warren, who listed his home as La Crescenta, was a B-52 radar/navigator. In December 1972, President Nixon was trying to squeeze concessions out of the North Vietnamese government as they bargained for peace. He ordered an all-out bombing campaign of North Vietnam, what became known as the “Christmas Bombing.” Scores of B-52s bombed Hanoi and several were shot down.

As Warren’s B-52 approached Hanoi, the crew locked into a straight bombing run, unable to evade until their bombs dropped. The crew watched helplessly as four surface-to-air missiles rose to meet them. As the last bomb dropped from the bomb bay, the plane banked hard, but was hit. Warren was okay, but the pilot was badly wounded. Four crewmembers ejected and were captured, but Warren and the pilot were not among them. Their remains were returned by North Vietnam in 1977. Warren had apparently gone down with the plane. Perhaps he tried to save the pilot.

Warren left a wife and two young daughters. One daughter recently posted the following on a Vietnam veterans’ website: “I missed out on having you around as I was growing up, and even today. I understand why you had to go and I am proud of your service for our country. Thank you. I miss you! I love you! You are not forgotten.”

Thanks to the Montrose Vietnam Memorial, Warren will not be forgotten. None of the men listed there will ever be forgotten.