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My name is Stephanie Hanson Caisse. In 1996, I set out to find my birth parents for medical reasons. I soon located my birth mother, who told me my father, Gary Norman Young, was killed in Vietnam two months before I was born. I then began a journey to find out who my father was and how he died. The story I have uncovered has been an incredible one.

Gary served as a Navy Corpsman and arrived in Vietnam on 9/10/68. He worked in the dispensary at MAG-11 in Da Nang for four months. But what he really wanted to do was fly medevac missions and had asked to be assigned with a Marine Corps helicopter unit. At the end of January, Gary was finally transferred to Marble Mountain to fly with MAG-16.

Shortly after, on 2/7/69, Gary was flying with HMM-364 (call sign Purple Fox) when the CH-46 helicopter he was on was shot down while on a medevac mission in Arizona Territory. Six of the seven aboard were killed. Read the details of the crash in the Purple Fox historical archives.

Gary went to boot camp in San Diego, Balboa Naval Hospital in San Diego for Hospital Corps School and FMF School at Camp Pendleton. I still enjoy hearing from those who knew him!

I've found out many details of my father's life and have been blessed to be able to help other veterans and other families discover information about those they lost. As my story continues to grow, this website and my Facebook page are tributes to my father as well as to all Vietnam veterans.