Young Marines Magazine

June 2003

Two Generations of Heroes

By Joseph Bles
National Inspector General

On February 7, 1969, Gary Norman Young, a Navy Corpsman assigned to Marine Helicopter Squadron HMM-364, made his first and last combat flight. Flying near An Hoa in Vietnam, Gary Young, a healer, was killed when his helicopter was shot down. On April 21 that year, Gary’s daughter, Stephanie, was born. Shortly thereafter, a wonderful family named Hanson adopted Stephanie.

Many years later, when she was diagnosed with a hereditary illness, Stephanie Hanson was advised to locate her biological parents. That led her to a meeting with her mother, who in turn told her about her dad. In an attempt to find out as much as she could about her father, Stephanie contacted officials to learn more. Her results were disappointing until Max Cleland, at the time a U.S. Senator from Georgia, took a personal interest. Senator Cleland obtained a complete issue of her dad’s medals.

The only missing piece was his aircrew wings. As a corpsman, Gary Young was considered a non-combatant, and therefore not eligible for combat aircrew wings. That rule was changed several years after his death. But how to get them was a mystery to Stephanie and to all the officials she contacted. Stephanie even made a special pilgrimage to the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. There she left a letter near her father’s name promising to get his wings.

At the 2000 reunion of the Marine Corps Helicopter Association, called “Pop A Smoke,” she found willing allies. They advised her to write to the Commanding Officer of Marine Helicopter Squadron HMM-364 for assistance. The Commander assigned his best Marine, Capt Justin Marvel, to the puzzle. After literally months of official and personal time, Capt Marvel managed to get approval and actual orders issued for Navy Corpsman Gary Young’s combat aircrew wings.

In 2002, when the “Pop A Smoke” association held their annual reunion in Pensacola, Florida, Stephanie was their special guest. The Commandant of the Marine Corps sent the Deputy Commandant of Aviation, to present Stephanie Hanson with her father’s wings.

On Memorial Day, May 26, 2003, the Cumberland County Young Marines, from Tennessee, were at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington to escort Stephanie to her dad’s name. There she fulfilled her promise that one day she would deliver his wings to him at the Wall. When the Young marines asked how she felt about all it took to get this far, she said, “It is an absolutely overwhelming legacy my dad left me. I just can’t tell you how much faith I have in humanity and the unbelievable kindness of strangers. I have hundreds of letters and e-mails about this odyssey that have resulted in putting veterans together. It has been a real healing process.”

She went on to say that Marine Helicopter Squadron HMM-364 is currently serving in Iraq. All that was learned about obtaining combat aircrew wings gave them a greater understanding and appreciation of what the wings actually mean. When the Young Marines met Stephanie Hanson, they recognized not just an attractive young lady, but also someone with a glow of healing like her father and a greater appreciation of the things one generation passes on to the next.