Area firefighters assemble to pay honor to a fallen veteran.

 

Yesterday afternoon, firefighters from Elk County Rural Fire, Wilson County Fire, and Greenwood County Fire gathered along a stretch of US-400 to pay their respects to Sergeant Willis Rozelle Hall as his remains passed by on the way from Wichita to Altoona.

 

Hall was a tech sergeant in the Air Force serving in Vietnam in 1968 when his unit was attacked by North Vietnamese soldiers. Hall was one of eleven men killed that day, but his remains were not identified until this past June. His family has waited 57 years to bring Sergeant Hall home. His remains were flown into Wichita yesterday and then transported in a solemn procession to Altoona where he will be laid to rest on Saturday.

 

The assembled firefighters say they were honored to be able to help welcome Sergeant Hall home to Kansas.

 

Photo courtesy Elk County Rural Fire

 

Willis Rozelle Hall

1927-1968