MADISON, MISSISSIPPI
February 16, 2015

The daddy she never knew changed her life

By Donna C. Echols
Mississippi Life
The Clarion-Ledger

A doctor’s visit sent Stephanie Hanson Caisse scrambling to find out more about her birth parents as she searched to learn more of her own medical history. What she was about to find out was this quest would change her life, forever. Stephanie first found her birth mother. She was then told her father’s name, and the only document she had of his life was a newspaper obituary. He was a Navy Corpsman assigned to the Marine Corps as a helicopter crewmember, and he died in Vietnam. His name was Gary Norman Young.

His photo in the obituary was of his high school senior year. “It was in that second that I knew how much I looked like him,” said Stephanie. “I had his crooked smile, and I just knew I needed to find out more about who he was and how he died. The obituary had very little information. I didn’t understand what a Navy Corpsman was doing assigned to a Marine helicopter unit. I felt I needed to know more,” she added. Armed with only his high school photograph and obituary, Stephanie was about to strike out to learn more about this man.

“As soon as I would find out one piece of information, it would just lead me on another step, one clue after another... learning what happened; learning there was a survivor of my dad’s crash; finding the survivor; learning that the other families didn’t know what happened to their sons; tracking down all of the families; getting my father’s medals he earned; learning he had earned his Aircrew Wings and then getting those awarded. Each step seemed to naturally lead to the next,” added Stephanie.

Stephanie and her dad, Corpsman Young, are very much alike. “There are some things I wish he hadn’t passed on to me like my hayfever,” laughed Stephanie. “It was very odd seeing I looked like him, but what was even stranger was hearing from people who knew him, that I have some of his movements, gestures, ways of talking. Things you would think you’d pick up by knowing him. The main things we have in common are our compassion, our stubbornness and our sense of humor. He had a great compassion for people, which is one reason he became a corpsman, and I enjoy knowing I inherited that from him.”

In her quest to learn more about her father and share her experience, Stephanie has written two books detailing her trip that reveals, heals, and intrigues. “It’s actually a journey that is powerful enough to have changed many, many lives — all for the positive. You can’t help but be positively impacted by reading how wonderfully people have treated me. In a world full of negativity, it’s nice to read something positive. We all can use a little of that, I think,” she said. Her books are titled “A Corpsman’s Legacy” and “A Corpsman’s Legacy Continues.”

I asked how her life is similar to that of her dad’s. “Meeting my husband is another unique twist. My father was killed in Vietnam with Marine Helicopter Unit HMM-364 — nicknamed ‘the Purple Foxes.’ They were the most-decorated helicopter unit in the Vietnam War, and they all stay in close touch with each other and helped me piece together the story of my father’s life.”

“The Purple Foxes are still an active-duty unit and deployed four times to Iraq. On their third tour in Iraq in 2008, I sent over a box of my first books to their new commanding officer. He passed the books out to his senior men — one of them was SgtMaj Rick Caisse. Rick read the book in one day, sent me an email, and we became friends immediately. About a year later, we began dating and were married in 2010. I never thought I’d be lucky enough to marry a Marine, but to marry a Purple Fox was just an amazing twist. He understands every aspect about my journey, and supported me and encouraged me to write my second book last year.”

“Before meeting my husband, the Purple Foxes were on their 3rd tour of Iraq. They were going to be in Iraq on February 7 — the anniversary of my father’s death. The unit did a memorial flag program — where a helicopter would fly a flag for a day and then send it back along with a certificate. I asked the Master Gunnery Sergeant if they would fly a flag for my dad and his crew on February 7, to which they quickly agreed. They knew the story of my father and some of the current-day Foxes had helped me get my father awarded his wings. The morning of February 7, 2007, I was driving to work when I heard that a helicopter had gone down in Iraq. All I could think was it can’t be the Foxes. Not on this day.”

“I had to rely on the internet and news for information. First, you wait to hear what branch of service. It was the Marines. Then you try to find out what type of helicopter. It was a CH-46 — the type of helicopter the Foxes flew. I started texting anyone I thought could for help. About 10 hours after I first heard the news, I received a text that said, ‘It was the Foxes.’ I was devastated. I knew how hard this would be for the unit, and also how hard it would be for the Vietnam vets.”

“At that point, I didn’t care about the flag — that wasn’t important. But a couple of hours later, I got an unofficial call with some of the names of those on board the Iraq helicopter. The pilot was Capt. Jennifer Harris. I knew her. I had known her for the last 4 years, and she was one of the main people who had helped me with the wings for my father. At that moment, I knew my flag was on her helicopter. A few days later, it was confirmed that my flag was on that very helicopter that went down. The odds were incalculable of this happening.”

The similarities between the two crashed flights continued. Stephanie said that five Marines and two Corpsmen were on each. For some, it was their first day flying, and for all, it would prove to be their last. The same story held true in Vietnam as in Iraq. “I cannot ever tell the story without getting goosebumps, even eight years later,” she added.

Two crashes, 38 years apart, with one flag tying together the Vietnam and Iraq wars like never before.

Over and over veterans will tell you that reading Stephanie’s books has helped them heal. “Knowing that someone cared enough about one of their fallen brothers to search as long and hard as I did has a great impact on veterans,” said Stephanie. “So I guess my main thing is that so many people have helped me along the way, this is my way of trying to give back, and carry on my father’s legacy of healing.

“We must never forget the sacrifices made. I’m truly honored to be able to tell not just my story, but the story of so many men and women who fought for our country. There is nothing I enjoy more than supporting our troops, our veterans, and their families.” Stephanie finished by adding, “It brings great fulfillment to my life.”

THANK YOU to Corpsman Gary Norman Young and all veterans for your service, your sacrifice, and your willingness to defend our freedoms. Stephanie Hanson Caisse and her husband live in Madison.