HML / HMLA-167

The Purpose Of The HML-167~HMLA-167 Memorial Project

A HML-167~HMLA-167 Memorial Monument will be built to memorialize the squadron crew members (officers and enlisted) who were killed as a result of hostile actions or training accidents since the squadron was commissioned at the Marble Mountain Air Facility, Republic of Vietnam on April 1, 1968. HML-167 is the only Marine Helicopter Squadron to be established in a Combat zone. The squadron achieved exemplary war records in all combat operations, as documented in the USMC official publication, A History of Marine Light Helicopter Squadron 167.

The names of thirty three (33) HML-167 squadron members killed in Vietnam, three (3) killed in Grenada, and eight (8) HMLA-167 squadron members killed since the squadron was re-designated in 1986 will be engraved on the black granite monument pedestal along with the squadron history The monument will list those who died in support of the HML-167~HMLA-167 mission - pilots, copilots, crew chiefs, aerial gunners, Navy corpsmen, and aerial observers. Also planned is the placement of commemorative bricks along the walkway around and close to the monument base for squadron members to memorialize their participation in one of the finest and most distinguished units in the Marine Corps.

The monument will be erected in the Semper Fidelis Memorial Park, National Museum of the Marine Corps, 18900 Jefferson Davis Highway, Triangle, VA. The museum was dedicated in November 2006 by the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. The memorial park has a chapel and both are on a series of small hills that overlook the museum from the East. Over a mile of paved pathways or trails have been constructed in the tree lined hills as part of the memorial park for placement of monuments. The complex is impressive and a perfect location for a monument to remember the fallen members of our extraordinary and heroic squadron. The museum and memorial park are a National Treasure and will be visited by thousands of Marines, friends, and visitors as well as families of our fallen comrades. It is a must see for visitors to Quantico and/or the Washington Area. More than 2 million people have visited the complex since its dedication. To learn more about the complex located outside the main entrance of Marine Corps Base Quantico and between I-95 and US-1, go to http://www.marineheritage.org/ and http://www.usmcmuseum.org/index.asp. The plan is to erect the monument in April 2014 dependent upon donor contributions.