A Columbus veteran missing in action during the Vietnam War is being honored in a Bricks of Honor Ceremony at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in downtown Indianapolis.
Charles D. Chomel, who was from Columbus and reported missing in action in 1967, will have a brick placed in his memory in a walkway, funded in part by the Joseph Hart DAR Chapter from Columbus.
The ceremony will be at 11:30 a.m. March 29, organized by the Indianapolis-based Caroline Scott Harrison Daughters of the American Revolution Chapter, who began the project last year to honor the 51 Hoosiers still missing in action from the Vietnam War.
Keynote speakers during the event will be retired U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Peter Lautzenheiser, Joy Brinduse, National League of Family Members and siblings of Army Specialist Michael Lautzenheiser, who is listed as missing in action.
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A reception will follow in the Indiana War Memorial, Shoup Hall, hosted by the Caroline Scott Harrison chapter members. A rain date has been set for April 1.
Becky Speaker, regent for the Joseph Hart Chapter, said she and other members of the chapter are planning to attend, and decided to donate $100 in chapter funds to pay for the brick in Chomel’s memory.
Chomel, was a private first class in the U.S. Marine Corps, with the 3rd Marine Amphibious Force. He was reported missing in action on June 11, 1967, in Quang Tri, the chapter members said. He is honored on Panel 21E, Line 87 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
He also has a military stone in his honor at Garland Brook Cemetery and is listed on the Bartholomew County Memorial for Veterans.
According to historical records at the Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum, Chomel graduated from Columbus High School in 1965 and attended electronics school in Louisville while working at Kroger, before he enlisted in the Marines. He was in Vietnam about 10 weeks before he was listed as missing in action, and his death was confirmed about a month after he was reported missing on June 11, 1967.
Military records state that Chomel was part of a seven-man Marine force reconnaissance team that was being place in a predesignated area northwest of Dong Ha, South Vietnam, near the Demilitarized Zone, transported in a CH46A helicopter. The helicopter was part of four aircraft on the mission, with the gunships making low strafing runs over the landing zone to clear booby traps and locate enemy troops in the area.
When the helicopter Chomel was on began to approach the landing zone, at an estimated altitude of 400 to 600 feet, the aircraft began climbing erratically, believed to be the result of enemy fire on the aircraft. Portions of the rear helicopter blades separated from the aircraft and the pilot radioed that the aircraft had been hit.
The helicopter became inverted and continued out of control when it was observed crashing by a stream in a steep ravine, the account states. Efforts by ground troops to reach the crash area failed due to a heavy bunker complex surrounding the site. Ground troops observed the area through binoculars and observed no survivors, the account states. All 11 people on the helicopter, including Chomel, were classified killed in action, body not recovered.
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What: Bricks of Honor Dedication, National Vietnam War Veterans Day, honoring Indiana’s 51 Vietnam War missing in action veterans
When: 11:30 a.m. to noon March 29 (rain date April 1)
Where: Soldier and Sailors Monument, Monument Circle north quadrant, Indianapolis
RSVP requested: If you plan to attend, please email Janet Shelton at [email protected]
Hosted by: Caroline Scott Harrison Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution
Parking: There is limited handicapped and motorcycle parking available at the monument
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