DEEDS, NOT WORDS
Ceremony honors late Vietnam veteran from Galway
A Vietnam veteran from Galway was remembered Tuesday during Honoring Our Deceased Veterans program ceremonies at Saratoga County offices in Ballston Spa.
Mark L. Wilde, an army aircraft repairman who primarily worked on helicopters, served in Vietnam from October 1970 to November 1971 and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement in ground operations against hostile forces.
He also received the National Defense Service Medal and the Vietnam Service Medal.
“During the Vietnam War, the United States relied on the helicopter as never before,” said Frank McClement, county Veterans Service Agency director. “The helicopter’s role in combat expanded enormously in this conflict as thousands of choppers rapidly transported personnel throughout the war zone. Heavily armed helicopters offered a fearsome component to ground operations as close air support. Mobility and firepower would be the keys for American operations in Vietnam, and the helicopter provided an abundance of both.”
Wilde was assigned to Company B, 101st Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division, known as the “Kingsmen.” Their unit insignia carries the motto, “Opera non Verba,” meaning “Deeds not words.”
Wilde’s job, working day and night, was to keep helicopters in the air after they returned heavily damaged from dangerous missions.
“During his time in Vietnam, the Kingsmen, along with their counterparts in the 101st Aviation Battalion, took part in one of the bloodiest, yet lesser known battles of the war,” McClement said.
Operation Lam Son 719 was part of the Nixon administration’s policy of Vietnamization, which would have South Vietnamese forces begin to take control of the war, and its main objective was to sever supply lines in Laos along the Ho Chin Min trail. Over 20,000 Vietnamese soldiers were killed on both sides, and American losses exceeded 250.
“Overall, the campaign would be a disaster for the South Vietnamese,” McClement said. “During Lam Son 719, American helicopters had flown more than 160,000 sorties and 19 U.S. Army aviators had been killed, 59 were wounded, and 11 were missing at its conclusion. Though not a glorious tale to tell, it reminds us of the lessons in futility our fighting men faced in Vietnam and the courage and sacrifice they exhibited.”
Wilde was discharged from the service on Nov. 5, 1971 at Fort Lewis, WA.
Following his military service, Wilde, a 1968 Galway High School graduate, worked as a carpenter and contractor for several companies, and later operated his own contracting-carpentry business for 25 years.
He was a member and post commander of American Legion Post 1461, and was Commander of the Guards in the annual Galway Memorial Day Parade.
“Today we honor Mark Wilde, a Vietnam Veteran, to whom we finally say, ‘Welcome Home,’” McClement said.
State and local officials including state Sen. James Tedisco, RGlenville, and Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh, R-Ballston, presented family members with several awards and proclamations, including a Senate Liberty Medal, the state’s highest honor; a flag that’s flown over the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.; and a citation signed by President Donald Trump.