This particular story is a very touching one:
We received a message from 

Date:2000-06-04
Name: Kathleen Phillips,
Subject: Did you know Kenneth Bruce Kohei Kozai, Ist Lt, pilot, USMC, KIA 29, November 1969 on a MedEvac flight... 
Kathleen Phillips, NEW MEXICO

As it turns out this message is from Lt. Kenneth Bruce Kohei Kozai's ex-wife. After speaking to her on the phone she told us that it was very important for her to locate any of the men that Lt. Kozai served with in Vietnam at the time of his death. She told us that Ken had two sons that really didn't know their father and it was very important for them to find out about their Dad. It was also very important to her and Kens Dad to know exactly what happened to Ken on that terrible day.

The Story begins here:
YK-9 Suffers Synchronization Shaft Failure

The Crew of YK-9: 
1stLt. Kozai, Kenneth, Bruce K. (Pilot) 
1stLt. Reardon, Dennis Joseph (Co-Pilot) 
Sgt. Mattingly, John Eugene (Crew Chief) 
Cpl. Leffler, Richard John (Gunner) 
Cpl. Parsons, Henry Bennett III (Gunner) 
Cdr. Lederman, Melvin (Navy Doctor) 
HM3 Garrett, James Michael (Navy Corpsman) 

On Saturday, November 29, 1969, the above crew were conducting a med-evac mission in southern Quang Nam province, in YK-9. At this time it is not clear whether the med-evac had been picked up or if the aircraft was enroute to the med-evac zone which was somewhere south of LZ Ross, possibly in the area of Antenna Valley. Normally, only the Navy Corpsman augments the flight crew of the CH-46. However, on occasion, depending on the seriousness of the wounded individual, Da Nang DASC (direct air support center) could instruct the med-evac helo to stop by the Da Nang Naval Support Activity hospital to pick up a doctor to provide more in-depth attention than normally given by corpsmen.

The crash of YK-9 was the result of the failure of the synchronization shaft running between the forward and aft rotor head transmissions. This allowed the intermeshing rotor blades to make contact with each other and sheared them off while the aircraft was in flight. The total destruction of the aircraft made it virtually impossible to determine if the synchronization shaft failure was due to direct enemy action or simply a mechanical failure.

After Speaking to Kathleen Phillips (Ken's Wife) 

We assured her that we would do the everything in our power to locate some of Ken's Buddies. After getting some helpful information on Ken, the search began. After searching several data bases both on and off the Internet we came up with a name, a buddy of Ken's. This was Colonel Dave McSorley, USMC

Colonel Dave McSorley's Letter to AVS.

Submitted by 
Dave McSorley 
jsscgrad@aol.com
friend
San Antonio,TX 78258 USA

Ken was killed while flying in the 7th Marines AOR. A fine man, good leader, and a professional in the air, Ken was an inspiration to all who knew him. We met during our time in California before Vietnam in 1968. I enjoyed him then and I enjoyed him in Vietnam. He had a great colorful nylon jacket with lots of stars. I think it said something about Captain America on the jacket. He could always cheer us up with his ready jokes and neat jacket. Tragically, he was killed wearing the jacket. His death saddened many of us. May God bless him. Colonel Dave McSorley, USMC (Retired)

This was great News, We got a hit....After speaking to Colonel Dave McSorley, he told us of a Major Frank A. Gulledge, Jr. USMC (Ret) who was Ken's CO at the time of the incident, he was also the pilot who flew the rescue mission on that day. He was very helpful.. He not only had a roster of all the men that served in HMM364, Ken's Squadron, But, they were having a reunion in August in San Diego. After speaking to Major Frank "Uncle Frank" Gulledge Jr, He was very helpful in sending us a roster of the men that served with Ken. We immediately sent out a letter asking these men to respond. And the rest is history. We received contacts from over 90 buddies of Ken's, they were able to supply pictures of Ken, the memorial service for Ken and the crew, and also pictures of the crash site in Vietnam, along with many great and heroic stories. Ken was truly a "Hero"

                                                         What NEXT!!

We then immediately notified Kathleen, After the tears and emotions stopped flowing this is the letter Kathleen sent to us:

                                          Kathleen's Letter to AVS:

Name: Kathleen Phillips
From: New Mexico
Time: 2000-07-25 09:40:05
Comments: May God bless you Rich. Your efforts to help me find men who knew my first husband, Kenneth Bruce Kohei Kozai, pilot, USMC, first tour with The White Knights (HMM 165), KIA 29 November 1969 while on a MedEvac flight, then attached to The Purple Foxes (HMM 364) have been nothing short of heroic and miraculous. Men who knew Kenny have responded graciously - from his CO and XO, down to crew chiefs and gunnys and men who just "...knew him...". That "...bloody marvelous tech rep...", John Dullighan, responded with a photo and many memories. Several men were kind enough to call me. Wives of some of those men have sent e-letters of support and all have encouraged me with love and kindness.. Many years ago I promised Mother (Misato "Mimi" Kozai Heard, Ken's mother) that when the boys were grown I would, somehow, find the men Kenny served with and put them in touch with each other. It seems almost a miracle that this is happening. 

Mother was buried with Kenny at Arlington in 1994. I remain in touch with Tom, Kenny's dad, who lives in Denver. I cannot second guess or change the past, but Kenny was my first husband and my first love. I believed in what he wanted to do, in what he did in serving, and that he died doing what he believed in. My prayer is that his sons, whose mother was Ken's second wife and from whom he was divorced while in Viet Nam, (We were planning to get remarried when he got home) come to know him through you who served with him and remember him with love and respect. All information is being passed on to Kenny's youngest son, Travis, who hopes to attend the Pop-A-Smoke reunion in San Diego next month (August 24 - 27, 2000). Dearly as I wish to attend, it is his time to come to know his father and the men he served with honor, love, and respect - and who, I believe, returned that.

 I cannot thank you and Jack enough for all the time and love you have put into not only creating this website, but in making it work. I know it is a labor of love and that you must have very loving families who support you in the many hours you spend at this. Hearing your voice over these past five days has been a blessing and a great encouragement...these five days seem like a lifetime. I extend to all those who responded to my query - whether knowing Kenny or not - my deepest thanks and affection. You have blessed me and Ken's boys. Vaya con Dios. 
Kathleen Phillips, 
BratPuppy@ZiaNet.com, 
NEW MEXICO

Ken had two children from a previous marriage, Tom the eldest, and Travis who is one year younger. 

Travis, a police officer in Chandler, Arizona related, "I never knew my dad. Everything I knew about him I learned from my grandparents and my mother. As a child I dreamed about him all the time. What I wanted to be was a pilot which didn't actually work out, but I always had that military desire - patriotism, I guess. He had quite a bit to do with that. I knew that my father had died in Vietnam and that he was a hard charger. The thing I admire most about him was his never-ending spirit. His "do everything he could possibly do" attitude. It was tough growing up without a dad, I wish every day he had been there, just for guidance and what not. I'd give anything to sit down and talk to him for an hour. On special days, such as Memorial Day, Veterans Day and dad's birthday, I contemplate what might have been.

Travis is definitely attending the PopASmoke reunion and has been given an honorary 2-year membership. He has been in touch with Father Fox Dunbaugh and Uncle Frank Gulledge. Travis called his grandfather Tom last night and then Tom called me. He said Travis was very happy about all he'd learned about his father. Tom asked me to extend his thanks to you for making this all possible. You know you have my thanks. Like his father, Travis once rode motorcycles, he still owns the one his father rode in Spain. Travis also served seven years with the Navy as a radar operator.

AFTER THE REUNION IN SAN DIEGO

Name: Travis Kozai
Time: 2000-09-13 02:28:19
Comments: Dear Rich
I want to thank you for helping me to get in touch with the men of my
father's squadron. I attended the reunion in San Diego and had thoroughly
enjoyed it. It was difficult in part because I did not know any of the men he
served with, but they made me feel very welcome. I was very impressed
the way they accepted me into their family. One of the men there
recognized me as Ken Kozai's son with out me introducing myself to him.
That was a very special moment for me, as it confirms that some of him is
inside of me. It is hard for me not to have known my father, and while I still
don't I feel a little closer to him now. Thank you very much and God bless you and your family.
Travis Kozai 

Tom, who works for an Olive Garden restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico related, "After Mimi's death Travis and I received some of dad's personal items. We read his flight logs and found out he had been shot down twice and accounts of how he walked back through the jungle at night. I've often tried to imagine what dad was like, I look at my brother and myself, and the things we do, and think they're kind of like the things he did. Now, as I look back on my childhood, I know there was definitely something missing. I didn't notice it back then.

The last time Ken talked to his parents was in October of 1969. He was in Okinawa and had informed his parents that he had decided to go back to Vietnam. "He told us he really wanted to go back," Mr. Heard said, "I often kick myself for not trying to talk him out of it." A few weeks later, Ken's ex-wife called Heard at work to tell him Ken had died. "So I drove home and told my wife, and she just collapsed," Heard said. "The bottom just fell out for me." Ken's body was taken to Arlington National Cemetery and buried in a plot that Mr. Heard, a retired Air Force Captain, had reserved for himself and his wife Mimi. On or about May 30, 1970, Ken's name was added to a memorial, in the Fairmount Cemetery honoring all Nisie or Japanese Americans who were born in the U.S. and gave their lives defending our country. However, Ken was actually an Issei, pure Japanese born in Japan. Fairmount Cemetery is located in Denver, Colorado. Ken's mother, Mimi, is pictured below next to the monument which displays his name as the last entry. Misato Kozai "Mimi" Heard died on July 1, 1994 and was cremated. Tom Heard made the proper arrangements with Arlington National Cemetery and on October 28, 1994 the obverse side of Ken's gravestone had been engraved with his mother's name and her ashes were laid to rest with her son. The inscription on her memorial funeral brochure stated, " . . . and we are now truly together again for eternity; my beloved son, KENNETH B. K. KOZAI, 1st Lt., USMC, and me . . ." 
Ken's Wife: 
Kathleen Phillips, 
BratPuppy@ZiaNet.com,