After 56 Years, a Vietnam War Soldier Finally Comes Home

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A photo of Donald P. Gervais (photo courtesy of the POW Network).

In the spring of 1968, Donald P. Gervais’s helicopter crashed into a ravine in the dangerous A Shau Valley in the Republic of Vietnam. He was declared missing in action (MIA) for 10 years until the Army declared him killed in action (KIA). 

But Gervais’s family never received the closure they deserved. Until recently. 

On Sept. 5, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced that Gervais, a master sergeant lost more than five decades ago in the Vietnam War, has finally been accounted for through DNA testing. On May 16, the agency confirmed remains found in the Vietnamese jungle belonged to Gervais. 

The DPAA said in a press release it had to wait a few months to release the news about Gervais’ remains being identified to allow for the fallen soldier’s family to receive a full briefing. It has not been determined when Gervais will be buried. The Clarksville, Tennessee native was 24 years old at the time of the crash. 

In the early months of 1968, as the Vietnam War was escalating, Gervais was assigned to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. On May 1, Gervais received orders to man the door gunner position on an OH-6A Cayuse helicopter. He would be going on a reconnaissance mission in the treacherous A Shau Valley, which by ’68, most American soldiers were trying to avoid. The valley had transformed into a bloody, violent war zone as fighting had ramped up in the late 1960s. 

On this day, the A Shau would claim more lives. 

A U.S. aircraft flying near the valley had reported seeing Gervais’ helicopter collide with a dead tree and smash into a ravine. Soldiers inside the aircraft wanted to investigate the crash but had to retreat due to a barrage of enemy ground fire from the North Vietnamese, thick triple canopy jungle and the valley’s treacherous terrain. 

Three-quarter rear view of XM27E1 (M134) mounted on a light observation helicopter shows the mount structure and ammunition container (Wikimedia Commons).

On the ground, a U.S. infantry platoon also tried to find out what had happened to the chopper but were turned away by enemy fire. 

Initially, Gervais was deemed a prisoner of war, believed to have been captured by North Vietnamese soldiers following the crash. As months passed, and he was not found, the Army declared him MIA. On July 25, 1978, his status was moved to KIA, and he was posthumously promoted to master sergeant. 

But questions remained. What really happened to Gervais? Will his remains ever be found? 

Between 1989 to 2010, investigative teams from the U.S. scoped several areas in connection with the crash and talked to witnesses. A former military commander told investigators he “saw bodies after the crash,” but was told later that the crash site was leveled by U.S. bombing missions shortly after the incident, destroying what remained of the helicopter and the bodies of crash victims. 

In June 2013, members from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, a precursor to the DPAA, flew to Vietnam, visiting the Thua Thien-Hue Province to interview Truong Ngoc Huyen, a former anti-aircraft artillery squad leader for the North Vietnamese at the time of the crash. Huyen stated that in the days between April 27-April 29, 1968, while his squad was hunkered down in a location called “Hamlet 39,” they witnessed a “UTT” helicopter flying nearby. He commanded his squad to open fire. Huyen provided a photo of the OH-Cayuse chopper to investigators. He said the aircraft had split into two sections and pieces scattered to the ground. 

Huyen’s recount was corroborated by former Master Sgt. Hoang The Phuong, an assistant recon squad leader with 23rd Company, Binh Tram 42. Phuong said that around May 1, 1968, as U.S. forces were conducting an air cavalry assault, he spotted Huyen’s troops gun down an OH-6. He investigated the crash site the following morning. 

From the fall of 2018 to the spring of 2025, DPAA recovery teams did not give up on finding Gervais. They conducted eight crash site evacuations, preserving bone fragments, aircraft wreckage and life support equipment. When teams returned to the U.S., their findings were delivered to the DPAA Laboratory for analysis. 

Through dental analysis, and examining material evidence, DPAA scientists were able to positively identify Gervais’s remains. 

For years, at the National Memorial Cemetery on the Pacific in Hawaii, Gervais’ name had been among the many unaccounted for listed on the American Battle Monuments Commission’s Courts of the Missing. Finally, a rosette can be placed next to the master sergeant’s name to signify he has been found. Gervais’s name is also listed on the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. 

The DPAA continues to search for missing soldiers. 

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