CWO4 Walter Frances Wrobleski

This stone was dedicated on Veteran's Day 1990, at a ceremony attended by more than 200 people. The stone was given to Post 54 by Walter's widowed mother Emma in memory of her son. Post 54 Commander, Gene Richmond, came up with the idea of having a memorial in front of the post. Walter Wrobleski, a graduate of Freehold High School, enlisted in the Army in December 1965. After completing basic training and helicopter pilot school he arrived in Vietnam in December 1966. On May 21, 1967 at 21 years old, he was flying a low-level run in a UH1C gunship on a rescue mission with three crewman aboard when the helicopter was hit by a burst of heavy macine gun fire. The aircraft crashed and rolled into a ravine where it burst into flames. Search and rescue helicopters spotted a number of survival signals and eventually rescued the three crewmen. The day after the helicopter was downed, a rescue team on the ground made a thorough search of the area, but found no body. Wrobleski was never seen after the crash and is the Freehold's only Vietnam veteran still listed as missing in action.