09 The Traveling Vietnam War Memorial Wall - Thomas A Mangino

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It was 1972 and I was in Jr High. I could not remember a time when nightly updates on the Vietnam War did not happen. The popular phrase was "Make Love NOT War" and I didn't know the true consequences of either. But I got a little taste of the effects of the latter. The Peoples Theater we had in my home town of Garnett offered movies for a quarter, unless it was a Disney then it was 35 cents. None were new releases. They also brought to our little town POW/MIA bracelets and they were popular with my peers. There was a box of them that the ticket salesman had in his booth and you selected the one you wanted. The bracelets had a hole on one end of the bracelet and if the name on the bracelet was ever confirmed KIA then you could write somewhere and they would send you a star pin that was inserted in the hole. Wrapped around the bracelet was a piece of paper with the family contact for the person whose name was on the bracelet. A pen pal relationship developed with the wife of Sgt Thomas A Mangino (4-27-67). I think her name was Cathy but I am not sure. I remember the first letter I recieved was a mimographed letter. Mimiograph is what we had before we had Xerox copy machines. With a mimograph the ink stayed wet for a while, usually bled through the paper, smelled really bad and the ink was always purple for some reason. She appologized for using a form letter for everyone. She had been away on vacation and when she returned home she had a bunch of letters from people who had bought a bracelet with her husbands name. We wrote each other until the POWs were returned, was it 1975? When it was first announced they were going to be released, it was the big letter main headline on the Kansas City Times (now the Kansas City Star). I cut off the front page of the paper and mailed it to his wife. I remember continually looking through the lists of names that were being released and not seeing Thomas's name. I wore the bracelet all the time. I only stopped wearing it when a crack started, I was scared it would break in half. It was put in a drawer, but not forgotten.

For $2.50 I had bought a nickel plated bracelet that 35 years later would still affect me. I still have the bracelet. I wear it when its worth the chance of breaking it. I wore it the day I help feed lunch to the 80 some riders that were traveling from CA to Washington DC in the annual Ride to the Wall. They make this ride to remember those lost and those not found during that war.

Section 18E line 62. That's the location of his name on the wall. On Thursday, when the volunteers looked it up in the locator for me they asked me what state he was from and I said Ohio. Which was correct, I was amazed I remembered that. The book said he was a Staff Sgt. My bracelet states he is a SGT. It dawned on me yesterday when I again looked up his name on the wall that I don't remember ever knowing why or how he became missing. The modern age of technology and flow of information is amazing it isn't it? A google search for "Thomas A Mangino Vietnam War MIA". And I knew what I was seeking.

Here is the information I found on this website


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MANGINO, THOMAS ANGELO
Name: Thomas Angelo Mangino
Rank/Branch: E4/US Army
Unit: Company A, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry, 196th Light Infantry Brigade
Date of Birth: 16 March 1944 (Lyons OH)
Home City of Record: Alliance OH
Loss Date: 21 April 1967
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 152118N 1084704E (BS622987)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: Sampan
Refno: 0646
Other Personnel In Incident: Paul A. Hasenback; David M. Winters; Daniel R.
Nidds; (all missing)
HASENBACK, PAUL ALFRED (Spelling is different depending on the source:
WALL - BECK, POW/CIA records BACK)

REMARKS: DISAPPEARED ON SAMPAN
Source: Compiled from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S.
Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published
sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK.

SYNOPSIS: On April 21, 1967, SP4 Thomas A. Mangino, squad leader; PFC Paul
Hasenback, PFC David M. Winters and PFC Daniel R. Nidds, riflemen; were
returning from a combat patrol in the second of two sampans 100 meters apart
near Chu Lai, Quang Ngai Province, South Vietnam.
Just before arriving at their destination, a Vietnamese civilian was seen
moving in his sampan toward the sampan carrying SP4 Mangino's squad. Another
sampan with 3 Vietnamese women was moving toward the first sampan, in which
the platoon leader rode. The first sampan started to leak, so proceeded
faster around and headed toward the beach. The Vietnamese women were still
following the first sampan. The distance between the two sampans carrying
the Americans was 200-250 meters.

The last time the platoon leader saw Mangino's sampan, the Vientamese
civilian was talking with SP4 Mangino's squad. The platoon leader's sampan
arrived at the beach 45 minutes later, and waited 20 minutes, then reported
to the command post that Mangino's sampan had not yet arrived.

Two hours after the platoon leader's sampan beached, SP4 Mangino's sampan
had still not arrived, so search efforts were begun. Two platoons searched
the area, and a helicopter searched from the air using a loud speaker. All
efforts were unsuccessful in locating Mangino and his squad.

Navy divers searched the river area without success. All aboard Mangino's
sampan knew how to swim. The Army strongly suspects that the enemy knows
what happened to Mangino and his squad.

Although returned POWs did not report having seen the men lost on the
sampan, Nidd's photo was identified by a refugee as having been a prisoner
of war. The circumstances surrounding their loss indicates the strong
possibility, at least, that the enemy forces knew their fates.

PROJECT X
SUMMARY SELECTION RATIONAL
NAMES: MANGINO, Thomas A., SP4, USA
WINTERS, David M., PFC, USA
NIDDS, Daniel R., PFC, USA
HASENBECK Paul A., PFC, USA
OFFICIAL STATUS: MANGINO: MISSING
WINTERS: MISSING
NIDDS: DEAD, BODY NOT RECOVERED
HASENBECK: DEAD, BODY NOT RECOVERED
CASE SUMMARY: SEE ATTACHED
RATIONALE FOR SELECTION: When last seen, all of the men were alive and
unhurt in a sampan, and all could swim. An extensive search found nothing.
One informant report indicates possible capture, but there have been no
subsequent reports of death for any of the individuals in this incident.
REFNO: 0646 19 Apr 76
(U) CASE SUMMARY
1. On 21 April 1967, SP4 Thomas Mangino squad leader, and PFC's Paul A.
Hasenbeck, David M. Winters and Daniel R. Nidds, riflemen,- were returning
from a combat patrol in Quang Ngai Province in South Vietnam in the second
of two sampans. Just before arriving at their destination, in the vicinity
of grid coordinates BS 622 987, a Vietnamese civilian was seen moving in
his sampan toward the sampan with SP4 Mangino's squad. Another sampan with
three Vietnamese women was moving toward the first sampan in which the
platoon leader rode. The first sampan started to leak, so proceeded faster
around a jetty toward the beach. The Vietnamese women were still following
the first sampan, as they had loaned it to the platoon. The distance
between the two sampans carrying the platoon was now 200 to 250 meters. The
last time the platoon leader saw the second sampan the Vietnamese civilian
was talking with SP/4 Mangino's squad. The first sampan arrived on the
beach 45-minutes later. The platoon leader waited 20 minutes more and then
reported to the command post that the second sampan had not arrived.
2. Two hours after the first sampan beached, SP4 squad still had not
arrived, so a search effort was begun. Two platoons searched the area, and
helicopters, one with a loudspeaker, searched from the air. All efforts
were unsuccessful. Naval divers searched in the area of the last sighting
(vicinity BS 622 987) without success. All personnel on board the second
sampan could swim. (Ref 1)
3. An informant reported that on 5 May (1967) he had seen four US prisoners
of war who had been captured at (GC) 630 005 by a Viet Cong unit on the
date of this incident. (This information correlates well by time and
location, although there is no other information available for
verification. (Ref 2)
4. During the existence of JCRC,, the limited information available
precluded any efforts toward the resolution of this case. These
individuals' names and identifying data were turned over to Four-Party
Joint Military Team with a request for any information available. No
response was forthcoming.
5. SP4 Mangino, and PFC Winters are currently carried in the status of
Missing in Action. PFC Hasenbeck and PFC Nidds are carried in the
presumptive status of Dead, Body Not Recovered.
REFERENCES USED
1. RPT (U), AVAFAG-P2 Investigation of Personnel MIA, 4 May 67.
2. RPT (U), Missing Status, AVHAG-C, 15 Apr 68.
ASSOCIATED INDIVIDUALS
1. Paul A. Hasenbeck 0646-0-01
2. Thomas A. Mangino 0646-0-
3. David M. Winters 0646-0-
4. Daniel R. Nidds 0646-0-04

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In the picture of the wall I took on Thursday I found David M. Winters below Thomas A Mangino. The cross after their names mean they are not accounted for (MIA). The names of all four do not appear together although they all disappeared at the same exact time. It appears that each day has the names in alphabetical order.

The National Alliance website also had a couple memos from 1992, in those memos and their attachments it was stated that Vietnam has claimed that the 4 were captured and died shortly afterward. No remains have been found yet.

I still have the bracelet. I wear it when its worth the chance of breaking it. I wore it back to the wall today, when I looked up the names of his squad.

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Comments

[Wayne Fike]

Sgt Daniel Nidds USAV
I was wondering about the star pin that goes into the bracelet, my mother got a bracelet for SGT Daniel Nidds in 1967, it's the original bracelet that was given to her all those years ago. My question is how to get the star pin that goes into the bracelet now that he is believed to be dead and not MIA, anyone know how to get one so i can complete my moms bracelet? Wayne Fike [e-mail]

[thomas a ryder , tom ret.USAF 1965-1988 Tsgt.]

Thomas A. Mangino
I also got a bracelet in 1972 at bolling afb where I was stationed . I still wear it after 40 years and have never taken it off. I have never met Sgt Mangino but Thomas is in my heart and I tell anyone who asks that he is my friend. I\'m proud of my service to my country and I proudly fly the flag of the USA and the flag for our POW,s especialy for Thomas. I get pretty emotional when I think about him. Thomas Ryder , Tom