Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1D tail number 65-09738
The Army purchased this helicopter 0366
Total flight hours at this point: 00002411
Date: 10/25/1969
Incident number: 69102555.KIA
Unit: B/101 AVN
South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: YC603759
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Also: OPERA (Operations Report. )
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
AC CPT THORNTON DWIGHT JACKSON KIA
P WO1 HAMILTON MILBERT WALTER KIA
Passengers and/or other participants:
SSG SHULTZ CHARLES EDGAR, AR, PX, KIA
This record was last updated on 12/02/2000
Additional information is available on CD-ROM.
Please send additions or corrections to: The VHPA Webmaster Gary Roush.
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Date posted on this site:
09/07/2007
Copyright © 1998 - 2007 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association
War Story:
I was flying peter pilot with CWO Dave Brown. The mission was a CCN
mission and was to extract a ranger team in Laos. The team was inserted
earlier that day and were in contact with a NVA regiment. They had made
their way up to the top of a ridge to a hover LZ
It was dusk and 4 aircraft were sent. We were chalk 3 and CPT Thornton
and Monk (Hamilton's nick name) were chalk 4 this was probably because
Thornton was a short timer, only had a couple of weeks. As there only
about 10 packs.
It was getting dark and the team was using a strobe light to direct
us to the LZ. There were also some scattered low clouds that we flew
around. As we circled while chalk one made his approach into the LZ.
The NVA opened up and the night air was full of tracer rounds and I could
here the fire as chalk ones mike was keyed anyway they took several hits
and were only able to get one or two of the packs. Chalk 2 had about the
same results as the firing was continues.
Now it was our turn and as we turned on final there was chalk 4 in
front of us. Dave called Thornton on the radio and Thornton said it was
his fault that he would continue and we could circle and take the chalk 4
position. On final to the LZ their aircraft was hit with an RPG which
inverted the aircraft and it crashed inverted into the hillside. We
found out later that the crew chief and door gunner were thrown out of the
aircraft and fell about 50 ft. into the brush they both survived but were
black and blue from their fall.
We then headed back to Eagle as the other two aircraft were losing
fuel from their hits. We landed at POL and were refueling when the
company commander Major Pease
drove up and took my place at right seat.
It was the next day before they got everyone back and recovered the
aircraft.
CCN missions were top secret missions as they were nothing more
than spy missions. It was also my understanding that the RPG hit the right seat pilot.
Anyway we were suppose to be that ship so you can understand how it has
stuck in my mind all these years.
From: Ron C Webster