Bio, Crody, Kenneth L.

Name: Kenneth Lloyd Crody
Rank/Branch: E4/US Marine Corps
Unit: HMM 165, MAG 36, 1 MAW
Date of Birth: 03 August 1953
Home City of Record: Griffith Lake IN
Date of Loss: 11 July 1972
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 163433N 1072250E (YD345644)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 3
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: CH53D
Refno: 1999
Other Personnel in Incident: Jerry W. Hendrix (missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 March 1991 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 2020.

SYNOPSIS: Kenneth Crody attended Griffith High School and enlisted in the Marine
Corps during his sophomore year. His final training before being shipped to
Vietnam was Gunner Training. He was assigned to be a gunner onboard a CH53D
helicopter based onboard the USS TRIPOLI (LPH 10)

On the morning of July 11, 1972, the helicopter to which Crody was assigned
launched from the USS TRIPOLI to participate in combat operations in support of
operation LAM SON 72 (Phase II) in Vietnam.

LAM SON 719 had been a large offensive operation against NVA communications
lines in Laos in the region adjacent to the two northern provinces of South
Vietnam. The operation was a raid in which ARVN troops drove west from Khe Sanh
on Route 9, cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail, seized Tchepone, some 25 miles away, and
then returned to Vietnam. The ARVN provided and commanded the ground forces,
while U.S. Army and Air Force furnished aviation airlift and supporting
firepower.

Losses were heavy. The ARVN suffered some 9,000 casualties, almost 50% of their
force. U.S. forces incurred some 1,462 casualties. Aviation units lost 168
helicopters and another 618 were damaged. Fifty-five aircrewmen were killed in
action, 178 were wounded and 34 were missing in action. There were 19,360 known
enemy casualties for the entire operation lasting until April 6, 1971.

Phase II of LAM SON included inserting South Vietnamese marines behind enemy
lines near communist-occupied Quang Tri City, Republic of Vietnam. This was the
mission of Crody's helicopter.

While approaching the drop zone, the helicopter was struck by a heat-seeking
SA-7 missile in the starboard engine. The aircraft immediately burst into flames
and crashlanded moments later. Several aboard received injuries and were taken
back to the TRIPOLI for treatment. The bodies of Crody and another crewman, SSGT
Jerry W. Hendrix, could not be recovered because of the intense heat of the
burning aircraft.

Crody and Hendrix are listed with honor among the missing because their remains
were not returned home. Witnesses believed they were both dead in the aircraft.
For many others of the missing, however, clear-cut answers cannot be had. Many
were alive and in radio contact with would-be rescuers when they were last heard
from. Others were photographed in captivity, only to disappear.

Since the war ended, the Defense Department has received over 10,000 reports
relating to the men still unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, yet concludes that
no actionable evidence has been received that would indicate Americans are still
alive in Southeast Asia. A recent Senate investigation indicates that most of
these reports were dismissed without just cause, and that there is every
indication that Americans remained in captivity far after the war ended, and may
be alive today.

-------------------------------
National League of Families
POWMIA UPDATE
May 17, 2004

POW/MIAs - VIETNAM WAR: According to DoD, there are now 1,859 Americans
listed as missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War: 1,418 in
Vietnam, 378 in Laos, 55 in Cambodia and 8 in PRC territorial waters. Over
90% of all Americans missing from the Vietnam War were lost in Vietnam or in
areas of Laos and Cambodia under Hanoi's wartime control. Since the last
Newsletter, seven Americans have been announced as accounted for:

Warrant Officer 2nd Class Jack W. Brunson, USA, KIA/BNR, Laos, 5/31/71, RR
5/29/03
Major Ralph L. Carlock, USAF, KIA/BNR 3/4/67, LA, RR 10/26/02
CPL Kenneth L. Crody, USMC, KIA/BNR 7/11/72, SVN, RR 8/29/00
Mr. Charles Dean, Captured 9/10/74, LA, RR 11/26/03
SSGT Dennis W. Hammond, USMC, POW 2/8/68, DIC 1970, RR 1989
SSGT Jerry W. Hendrix, USMC, KIA/BNR 7/11/72, SVN, RR 8/29/00
Captain Raymond H. Hetrick, USAF, KIA/BNR 2/24/66, LA, RR 7/10/01

GRIFFITH The remains of a soldier from Griffith, Indiana, listed as missing
in action in Vietnam 32 years ago will be buried at Arlington National
Cemetery in Virginia next week.....

CPL KENNETH LLOYD CRODY

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Conflict
Service
Status
Date of Accounting

VIETNAM WAR
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS
Accounted For
03/08/2004

On March 8, 2004, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Corporal Kenneth Lloyd Crody, missing from the Vietnam War.

Corporal Crody entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Indiana and was a member of Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 165. On July 11, 1972, he was a passenger aboard a CH-53D Sea Stallion (tail number 156658) that took off from the USS Tripoli (LPH-10) on a troop insertion mission into territory near Quang Tri City, South Vietnam. During the mission, the aircraft was hit by an enemy missile, burst into flames, and crashed in Quang Tri Province, killing Cpl Crody and the others on board. His remains could not be recovered at the time. In April 1990, a joint search team visited Trieu Van Village, Trieu Phong District in Quang Tri Province, which led to excavations that recovered human remains and personal effects relating to the incident. Modern forensic techniques were able to identify Cpl Crody among the remains.

Corporal Crody is memorialized on Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

If you are a family member of this serviceman, you may contact your casualty office representative to learn more about your service member.

Cpl KENNETH LLOYD CRODY

Unit
Historical Country of Loss
South Vietnam
Current Country of Loss
VIETNAM
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