HENRY M. SEREX, LTCOL, USAF
Henry Serex '55
Lucky Bag
From the 1955 Lucky Bag:
HENRY MUIR SEREX
New Orleans, Louisiana
From way down south in the land of the March Gras and the mint julep, Mick came to Navy and lost no time in settling down to life up North. He lost nearly all of his accent by Youngster year and even went so far as to say that he preferred the company of Yankee ladies, which was proved by his frequent drags. A loyal supporter of the radiator, Mick loved nothing better than a little relaxation and a good cup of coffee after a trying day. Adaptable to any situation, his sincere, cheerful, and friendly personality won him many friends. The road ahead seems paved with success for a fine career in the service.
HENRY MUIR SEREX
New Orleans, Louisiana
From way down south in the land of the March Gras and the mint julep, Mick came to Navy and lost no time in settling down to life up North. He lost nearly all of his accent by Youngster year and even went so far as to say that he preferred the company of Yankee ladies, which was proved by his frequent drags. A loyal supporter of the radiator, Mick loved nothing better than a little relaxation and a good cup of coffee after a trying day. Adaptable to any situation, his sincere, cheerful, and friendly personality won him many friends. The road ahead seems paved with success for a fine career in the service.
Loss
Henry was lost when the EB-66E aircraft he was aboard was shot down over North Vietnam on April 2, 1972. This shoot-down began a series of rescue attempts and continued losses of aircraft, part of which was featured in the movie Bat*21.
Remembrances
From Wall of Faces:
Lt. Col. Henry Muir Serex was born and raised in Louisiana. He was the son of Rev. Adrien and Mrs. Mary Serex and had one sister and two brothers . After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland in 1955, he joined the Air Force. He served in Iceland, Harlingen, Texas, Biloxi, Mississippi, Dayton, Ohio, El Segundo, CA. and Sacramento, CA. In 1971 Henry left for Korat, Thailand. While there, as an Electronics Warfare Officer, he flew as part of a crew in EB-66 reconnaissance planes. These planes flew missions over Viet Nam, jamming enemy radar so the Viet Cong could not detect the B52 bombers. On Easter Sunday, April 2, 1972, a turn took place in the war with a major offensive and battles in the area of the DMZ. Our troops were surprised and unprepared for enemy strikes from South Vietnam. A SAM missile struck Henry's plane. He and four of his fellow crewmen have been "Missing-In-Action" ever since that day. The plane's navigator was able to bail out, evading capture in enemy territory for 11 days. He was finally rescued. It is the story of the flight and the navigator's experience in the jungle that the book, "BAT-21" was based. This was then made into a Hollywood movie of the same name. Henry, affectionately known as "Mick" by family and friends, was married to Barbara, a nurse. They had 2 daughters, Jennifer and Kathryn. The family still lives with the uncertainty of Mick's fate. In recent years there was a sighting by satellite photography of the name "SEREX" scratched out in foliage in the yard of a known North Viet Nam POW camp. Nothing of this has ever been proven or disproven. Thus his case is unresolved and continued searching for an accounting is on-going to this day. BARBARA SEREX LUNDEEN, 12/11/01
Barbara was his wife, who remarried.
Aside from the Lucky Bag photograph, the pictures below are from Wall of Faces and most appear to be posted by his daughter, Jennifer Serex-Helwig, jvserwig@aol.com.
Photographs
From the Lucky Bag
Related Articles
Charles Levis '56 was also lost aboard this aircraft.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
