12 Jul 2004 I was with Pete Tweedy the day he passed the Army Board and got accepted into flight school. I want to remember him and the three other men who died with him. Ron Meyers remeyers@comcast.net

 

12 Aug 2007 I served as gunner in the Copperheads, the gunship platoon of the 162nd Assault Helicopter Company, with Brian and the three other men who died with him that night. It wasn't a mortar round that got them but an artillery round from a battery of 105's located across the airstrip from us. On June 23rd, 2007, six of us old Copperheads who served with Brian, Paul Mailloux, crew chief, and door gunners Ron Ericson, Mike Pitre, David Morey, Mark Epting and myself along with Roy Tarbet, maintenance platoon and Denny O'Brien, a Copperhead pilot from a later time period attended the Memorial Dedication for the Memorial bearing the names of the 98 men of Lorain County, erected by the Lorain County Viet Nam Vets, along with Brian's sister Brenda Murray Snell and her husband Dave and son D. J. Snell. It was a very moving and deeply satisfying ceremony and a time of remembrance and camaraderie for some old brothers and friends of Brian's. We came from all across the country to honor the memory of our brother; from Massachusetts to California; from Louisiana on the Gulf to Oregon and Idaho in the Pacific Northwest. It was a fitting tribute to a man who was in the heart and soul of the Copperhead Gun Platoon as Brian surely was that some of his brothers-in-arms should go to such lengths to be there to remember and honor his life and friendship. Henry Rhea, door gunner, '67-'68 Copperhead Gunship Platoon 162nd Assault Helicopter Company Phuoc Vinh, Viet Nam hrhea@maxxconnect.net

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall Four men died on the night of 04/05 March 1968 when their UH-1C gunship (tail number 64-14158) was hit by friendly fire at Phouc Vinh. The camp came under attack and two UH-1Cs launched to provide fire support. While overhead at about 1500 feet, the lead gunship was hit by a shell fired by the defenders, exploded, crashed, and burned. The dead were CWO Vernon R. Tweedy, pilot, 162nd AHC WO Vernon L. Leuning, copilot, A/7/1 Cav SP4 Brian T. Murray, gunner, 162nd AHC SP4 George D. Novakovic, crew chief, 162nd AHC A Troop, 7th Sqdn, 1st Cavalry, had arrived in-country in late February, and Warrant Officer Leuning was on temporary assignment to the 162nd AHC for combat familiarization. Oddly, the casualty record for WO Leuning reflects a date of death on 04 March, while the 162nd AHC's helicopter loss record and casualty records for their three men show the loss on 05 March 1968.

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