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Follow on Google News | Viet Nam War Hero Exhumed From Segregated Cemetery & Widow To Be Buried at Arlington MondaySp5 Wyley Wright Jr. who died in 1964 as Honor Guard for Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery after being buried in a segregated Cemetery for 50 years. His widow, Ouida Wright will be buried with him.
By: Amstrong Media Services 
PR LOG -Wyley & Ouida Wright & Knights of the Air- 5214 F Diamond Heights Blvd #609 San Francisco, CA 94131 Direct Contacts for Media: Jackie Wright or Phyllis Wright Cameron, 415 525 0410 or 510 326-1982 For Arlington Media Protocol Contact: Melissa Bohan, (703) 614-1091 Viet Nam War Hero Associated with Robert S. McNamara Freed from Segregated Cemetery & Wife “Love of His Life” To Receive Final Resting Place at Arlington National Cemetery, Monday, March 10th Children of Sp5 Wyley Wright Jr. and Ouida (We-dah) Fay McLendon Wright had parents exhumed Monday, March 3 and Tuesday, March 4 and reunited together after death separated them 50 years ago as result of the Viet Nam War. Who: Jackie Wright (60) of San Francisco; and Phyllis Wright Cameron (50) of Antioch, CA (San Francisco Bay Area); Joe N. Wright (58) of Columbus, GA; Stanley Wright (55) of Orangeburg, SC; Special Guests: George Moll, a member of the 114th Aviation Company in Viet Nam, who served as a Gunner with Sp5 Wyley Wright from August of 1963 to January of 1964 (He connected for the first time with the Wright Children with only a two week notice of the ceremony) and Ginger Shannon Young (The widow of Lieutenant Kenneth A. Shannon, who died six days after Sp5 Wright and PFC John Francis Shea, a volunteer Gunner from the 560th Military Police Unit. Shannon shared the naming honor with Wright of having the Vinh Long base named the “Shannon Wright Compound.” Thirty one years after Shannon’s death his widow Ginger Shannon met the Commanding Officer of his base, George J. Young and 38 years later married the Retired Lieutenant Colonel; Reverend Jim Johnson of the Church at Clarendon, and Greene Funeral Home of Alexandria, VA. What: Commemoration Service at Church at the Clarendon and reburial of Sp5 Wyley Wright Jr. and Ouida Fay McLendon Wright at Arlington National Cemetery. When: Monday, March 10th 12:30 p.m. Commemoration Service; 3:00 p.m. Burial at Arlington National Cemetery. Where: Commemoration Service: Church at the Clarendon, 1210 North Highland St., Alexandria Virginia; Burial: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA 22211. Commemoration Service and Burial Service of Sp5 Wyley Wright Jr. and Ouida Wright are open to media and public. Media must call Arlington Public Affairs Department to cover the 3:00 p.m. burial service at (703) 614-1091. Media Protocol at Arlington National Cemetery All media interested in covering the burial service must contact Melissa Bohan, Arlington National Cemetery public affairs, for an escort at melissa.bohan@ PLEASE NOTE: To ensure media are directed to the correct location for the escort, please give your *NAME AND MEDIA ORGANIZATION* guards at the main gate on Memorial Avenue. A public affairs representative will meet media at the escort location and escort them into and out of the cemetery. All media must provide their own transportation to the burial site. A designated area is reserved for media during the burial service and movement from this area must be coordinated with the PAO. Media will be escorted from the burial site immediately after the official party has paid their respects to the family. No interviews or stand ups will take place at or near the burial site. Please dress accordingly for the service BACKGROUND: Sp5 Wright (114th Aviation Company, U.S. Army) was buried for 50 years at Mt. Olive Cemetery in Jacksonville, FL, a segregated cemetery, with a recent history of not being properly cared for by the City of Jacksonville. He died March 9, 1964 at the age of 32 and Ouida F. Wright died March 9, 1970 at the age of 35. As a Helicopter Crew Chief and Honor Guard for Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, Wright perished on March 9, 1964, along with PFC John Francis Shea (560th Military Police Company) of Willimantic, CN (20 days before his 21st birthday) in a helicopter crash. (http://560mp.tripod.com/ The exhumation from Green Acres Cemetery of Ouida Fay McLendon Wright occurred on Tuesday, March 4, after 44 years for reburial at Arlington National Cemetery with husband, Sp5 Wyley Wright Jr., following his excavation on Monday, March 3rd. Ouida Fay McLendon Wright died March 9, 1970 of Pancreatic Cancer, survived by her children who were 16, 14, 11, 6 years of age. At the time of their father’s death, they were 10, 8, 5, and six months (Sp5 Wright never had a chance to hold his youngest child Phyllis and only saw a photo of her). The Wright story is a “Love Story, Civil Rights Story, American History Story, Black History Story and Faith Story.” http://wrightthevisiononthewall.blogspot.com “Love Separated in Life…Reunited in Honor” Fact Sheet http://www.prlog.org/ Media Reports: Viet Nam War Hero Sp5 Wyley Wright Exhumation from Segregated Cemetery 3/3/2014 TV 4 http://www.news4jax.com/ Florida Times Union http://members.jacksonville.com/ Sp5 Wyley Wright’s Wife, Ouida Fay McLendon Wright Exhumation, Columbus, GA 3/4/2014 http://www.wrbl.com/ http://www.wtvm.com/ Why: Sp5 Wyley Wright Jr. served the United States as a military “Lifer” and was a few years away from his dream of building a home for his family in Jacksonville, Florida and opening up his aviation repair company, when he died as an Honor Guard for Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara, after completing his regular missions with honor and accommodations, just two weeks before his scheduled return home. The Wright Siblings believe their father has earned a place of honor and exhumed him Monday, March 3rd from Mt. Olive Cemetery one of the segregated cemeteries of North Jacksonville that was not kept up as the City of Jacksonville had promised over the years. Although Green Acres of Columbus, Georgia is a well-kept perpetual cemetery, the siblings concluded that their parents, who shared a deep love for each other, should be buried in honor together. They have themed the occasion “Love Separated in Life…Love Reunited in Honor.” The Wright siblings are fulfilling the basic Judeo-Christian principle, one of the Ten Commandments, “Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother.” -30- End
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