Dye, Melvin Carnills (1947 - 1968): Carl Wayne Gray Genealogies

1947 - 1968 (20 years)

Name	Dye, Melvin Carnills
Birth	22 May 1947 [1]
Gender	Male
Reference Number	DYE.M001
_FGRAVE	40637220
Military Service	Viet Nam War, Staff Sergeant, 57th Assault Helicopter Co., 52nd Aviation Battalion, United States Army [1]
		United States of America Flag, 50 Stars (1960 - Present) This is the current flag of the United States. This flag became the official United States flag in 1960 when a star was added for the State of Hawaii. It replaced the short-lived 49-star flag (July 4, 1959 - July 3, 1960) honoring the State of Alaska. An Executive Order by President Eisenhower provided for the arrangement of the stars in nine…
		United States Army Prior to the establishment of the "Department of the Army Emblem", there was no official display item to identify the Army. The Seal had traditionally been used to authenticate documents only and was not authorized for public display. In recognizing the need to provide a display item, the Secretary of the Army approved the emblem design as the…
		Melvin D. Dye (1947-1968) Although Melvin is not a family member, he is the brother of a friend of Carl Wayne Gray. He had approximately 5 days left in country when he volunteered to replace an ill crew member on a mission to Laos to evacuate a Green Beret recon team back into Viet Nam. Killed on February 19, 1968, Melvin's remains were interred at Arlington…
		United States Army
		Staff Sergeant (abbreviated as SSG) (paygrade E-6), United States Army (Sep 1959-2019) Also commands a squad (9 to 10 Soldiers). Often has one or more SGTs under their leadership. Responsible for developing, maintaining and utilizing the full range of his Soldiers' potential. Source: http://www.usamilitarymedals.com/
		United States Army Enlisted Rank Insignia
		Vietnam War (1955-1975)
Death	19 Feb 1968	Laos [1]
Death	Cause: Downed Helicopter
Burial	Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia [1]
	Section 60, Site 9781
		Burial Flag, United States Military Veterans
		Headstone, Dye, Melvin C.; Glover, Douglas J.; and Griffith, Robert S.
		Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia
		Headstone, Dye, Melvin C.; Glover, Douglas J.; and Griffith, Robert S.
Person ID	I49977	Carl Wayne Gray Research
Last Modified	25 Aug 2023

Father	Dye, Genoa Caudill 'Cody', b. 12 Feb 1910, Virginia d. 30 Jan 1980, Lebanon, Russell County, Virginia (Age 69 years)
Mother	Viers, Fannie Frances, b. 26 Mar 1913, Kentucky d. 19 Sep 1994, Lebanon, Russell County, Virginia (Age 81 years)
Family ID	F18036	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Event Map

Burial - - Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia

= Link to Google Earth
Headstones
Headstone, Dye, Melvin C.; Glover, Douglas J.; and Griffith, Robert S.

Notes

The remains of a soldier from Carleton who the military has listed as missing in action for more than 40 years reportedly have been recovered and positively identified.

Army Staff Sgt. Melvin C. Dye, a 1966 graduate of Airport High School, was killed when his helicopter was shot down during a secret mission in Laos on Feb. 19, 1968. His body was never recovered at the time because of the intense heat from the smoldering wreckage.

A rescue team never found any trace of three Americans at the site or in the surrounding area.

For the next 41 years, many family members held out hope that Sgt. Dye was alive and living somewhere in southeast Asia. But today, members of the Department of Defense were expected to meet with two of Sgt. Dye's surviving sisters to explain what they believe occurred that day and afterward.

Newport resident Tim Thompson, Sgt. Dye's nephew, said Army officials told him that bone fragments and teeth belonging to his uncle were recovered in the jungles of Laos and taken to Hawaii where a large operation exists to help identify the remains of lost servicemen. Two years ago, government officials took DNA samples from family members and, evidently, the DNA matched the remains of Sgt. Dye.

"I appreciate what they're doing," Mr. Thompson said. "They're putting this to rest for my mom and her family."

Mr. Thompson's mother is Betty Ball, Sgt. Dye's sister. She was living in Carleton when Sgt. Dye came to live with her in the 1960s. He was 14 at the time and arrived from West Virginia. After graduating from Airport, he got a job in a factory before being drafted. On March 23, 1967, he was sent to Vietnam.

Sgt. Dye was just days short of completing his 13-month tour when he volunteered for a dangerous emergency extraction mission in Laos, about four miles from the South Vietnamese border.

Sgt. Dye, a member of 57th Assault Helicopter Co., 52nd Aviation Battalion, was the engineer on a Huey helicopter during the mission.

The aircraft carried a crew of four. The chopper landed in Laos and picked up the team amid heavy enemy fire. According to military accounts, the crew was badly outnumbered and under intense fire. A soldier by the name of Fred Zabitosky held off the enemy on the ground during the extraction.

The helicopter successfully retrieved the soldiers and was lifting off when it was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade, exploded and crashed. Sgt. Zabitosky was thrown out of the chopper and severely injured.

He suffered a broken back, broken ribs and burns. But he managed to save the pilot and also pulled the co-pilot from the wreckage, although he later died. For his heroic deeds that day, Sgt. First Class Zabitosky in 1969 received the Congressional Medal of Honor, the United States military's highest decoration.

Mr. Thompson said the story about his uncle intrigued him and throughout his life, he has researched the events that occurred that day. He said he spoke to Sfc. Zabitosky in 1993 about his uncle. Sfc. Zabitosky died in 1996.

"He swears the rocket landed directly under Melvin's seat on take-off," Mr. Thompson said. "It flipped and exploded. There was a lot of screaming."

But the remains of three members of that mission were never recovered. In addition to Sgt. Dye, door gunner Sgt. Robert Griffith and Staff Sgt. Douglas Glover were listed as MIA.

Since the remains were never recovered, Mr. Thompson said friends, his uncle's fiancée at the time and family members held out hope that Sgt. Dye survived the attack and was perhaps captured and remained a POW in the region all those years.

"My grandfather refused to accept it," Mr. Thompson said. "I think they expected to see him walk through the door one day."

Because he was so young, Mr. Thompson, 46, said he doesn't remember much of his uncle, except for his glasses. He also remembers Sgt. Dye's 1957 Chevrolet that remained parked in the driveway and stayed there until it was finally towed away by a junkyard.

For the next four decades, the community has honored Sgt. Dye as the only Monroe County veteran from Vietnam still listed as MIA. His name is on memorials at Heck Park, the Village of Carleton and in Lansing.

This afternoon members of the Department of Defense were expected to meet in Wyandotte with Mr. Thompson, his mother and one of his aunts to answer their questions about Sgt. Dye. It finally could close a chapter that has remained open for more than four decades.

Once the meeting is completed, it is expected that the Army will have Sgt. Dye's remains buried in Arlington Cemetery with full military honors.

"If they can convince my mom that it's him and she accepts this, then it's done," Mr. Thompson said. "People need closure."

Sources

[S14634] http://www.findagrave.com, Headstone, Dye, Melvin C.; Glover, Douglas J.; and Griffith, Robert S., (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/40637220/melvin-carnills-dye), none. (Reliability: 2).