KNOTTSVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A stretch of highway in western Kentucky is being named after a soldier who died in Vietnam.
The Messenger-Inquirer (https://bit.ly/1NxMsqR) reports Frankie Millay of Knottsville was the first soldier from Daviess County killed while serving in Vietnam. Millay and eight others died in 1965 when their helicopter took a hit, crashed and exploded in the Binh Dinh province.
His sacrifice will be honored on Saturday, when 10 miles of Kentucky 144 will be named “SP5 Charles Francis Millay Memorial Highway.”
The ceremony will occur the day before the 50th anniversary of Millay’s death and speakers will include State Rep. Tommy Thompson, who sponsored the resolution to honor him.
Millay served with the 145th Airlift Platoon, B Company, 25th Aviation Battalion, 25th Infantry Division.
Kentucky Rolling Thunder spokeswoman Carol Kaye, says the veterans’ support group along with the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars plan to ride through St. William Cemetery, where Millay is buried, to pay tribute to him.
Millay’s sister, Rhodie Millay Melton, has said his death came as a surprise to the family.
“I heard on the radio that someone from Daviess County had been killed in Vietnam when his helicopter crashed,” she said in a 1999 interview. “But I knew it couldn’t be Frankie. He just worked on helicopters. He didn’t fly in them.”
But then the Army called and the family learned that Millay was a crew chief and door gunner on a Huey helicopter.
Although he was the first solider from Daviess to die in Vietnam, 42 more would follow over the next six years.
The resolution to name the section of highway after Millay says he won’t be forgotten.
“This highway designation will serve as a constant reminder of the bravery exhibited and the ultimate sacrifice to his country made by SP5 Charles Francis Millay,” it says.
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Information from: Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, https://www.messenger-inquirer.com
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