Wayne Allen McConkey

Wayne Allen McConkey grew up in Shenandoah in western Iowa. He graduated from the local community high school in the class of 1961. McConkey served in the Army Reserves before being placed on active duty. He was stationed in the United States for some time at Fort Benning and Fort Stewart. CPT McConkey specialized in fixed wing aviation and piloted O-1A Bird Dog observation aircraft. He deployed to South Vietnam in March 1970 with the 16th Aviation Group in the Americal Division. The Captain was shot down and died on September 15, 1970 while on a mission in the Quang Ngai Province. He was 27 years old, married, and the father of a one year old daughter at the time of his death. His body was returned to Iowa and laid to rest at the Rose Hill Cemetery in Shenandoah.