PORTLAND, OREGON
August 5, 2008

Daughter sees to it that her late dad finally wins his wings

By Margie Boule
Oregonian Staff Writer

Five years ago Stephanie Hanson knelt before her father's name, etched on the wall of the Vietnam War memorial in Washington, D.C., and gently placed on the ground what she'd promised she'd someday deliver: the wings Gary Norman Young earned on the day he was killed in Vietnam in 1969.

Gary died on his first day working as a medic, flying with a Marine helicopter squadron called the Purple Foxes. That day he'd flown enough missions to qualify for his wings - something he'd very much wanted.

But after Gary and others were killed when their helicopter was shot down, his wings were not awarded.

Back home in Oregon, Gary's family grieved. His girlfriend grieved, as well. She did not tell Gary's family she was pregnant with Gary's child. After the little girl was born, she was adopted by a loving family.

Stephanie Hanson never felt curiosity about her biological parents. But after she was diagnosed with MS, her adoptive father insisted she get information about her medical history. He helped her locate her birth mother, who told Stephanie about Gary's death in Vietnam. Her birth dad's family embraced her -- she looks like Gary, she was told.

Stephanie spent the next few years searching for information about Gary's death. Her effort paid off. She was befriended by present-day and former Purple Foxes. She was contacted by men who'd served with Gary, who'd seen his helicopter crash. She heard from the flight surgeon who arrived at the crash site, and the man who pulled Gary from the wreckage. And she discovered there'd been a survivor.

The man's story of that day helped Stephanie and the families of all the men who'd been in the chopper, who'd never been told what happened. It helped the survivor to tell the story.

The sister of the pilot who'd been killed that day sent Stephanie a copy of the flight log. Using that, Stephanie successfully campaigned for Gary's wings.

She wrote a book about her quest. (For information about "A Corpsman's Legacy," go to www.acorpsmanslegacy.com.)

Stephanie now knew many Purple Foxes. She'd met them at meetings and reunions; she'd given speeches to them; she'd been made an honorary member.

Last year, as the Purple Foxes began their third tour in Iraq, Stephanie asked if the Purple Foxes would honor Gary, her father, by carrying an U.S. flag on a mission in his honor.

Stephanie was not given a date, but on Feb. 7, 2007, she heard a news report saying a U.S. helicopter had been shot down in Iraq. It was the 38th anniversary of Gary's death. "My first thought was, 'The fates couldn't do that.' "

But they had. It was a Purple Fox helicopter, flown by a woman who'd become a friend of Stephanie's. All aboard were killed. The flag they'd been carrying for Gary was destroyed.

After the crash Stephanie said, "What are the odds, with all the helicopters flying over there, that the one to come down would be the one carrying my father's flag," on the anniversary of his death?

For months Stephanie felt guilt. "It was unreasonable guilt," she admitted, but she felt it nonetheless.

Stephanie set about comforting the families of the Purple Foxes who'd been killed in the 2007 crash. Their loved ones would be remembered, just as her father was still remembered so long after his death, she told them.

This year the Purple Foxes returned to Iraq for their fourth tour in five years.

A few weeks ago, they sent Stephanie a package from Iraq. In it was "a flag they flew for my father, on Memorial Day."

The gift "surprised me and touched me beyond belief," she says. "They knew I would never ask again for a flag to be flown. And they knew better than to tell me ahead of time they were going to do this because I would have said no.

"The Foxes took care of that."