Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1B tail number 64-14095
Date: 07/20/1966 MIA-POW file reference number: 0401
Incident number: 66072010.KIA
Unit: 68 AVN
This was a Combat incident. This helicopter was LOSS TO INVENTORY
This was a Recon mission for Armed Escort , Other Aircraft.
While in Target Area this helicopter was Attacking at 0250 feet and UNK knots.
South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: XS668865 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48PXS668865)
Count of hits was not possible because the helicopter burned or exploded.
Small Arms/Automatic Weapons; Gun launched non-explosive ballistic projectiles less than 20 mm in size. (7.62MM)
The helicopter was hit in the Cockpit
Systems damaged were: PERSONNEL
Casualties = 04 DOI . .
The helicopter Crashed. Aircraft Destroyed.
Both mission and flight capability were terminated.
Exploded
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense
Intelligence Agency Reference Notes. Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database.
Survivability/Vulnerability Information Analysis Center Helicopter database. Also: 0401, UH1P1,
00417, CRAFX, STMNT, CASRP, FM232, James Cook (Crash Facts Message. Casualty Report.
)
Summary: Hit by an RPG
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
AC CW2 LAMBDIN DANIEL ALVEY KIA
G SP4 TATE WALTER REAVES JR KIA
CE SP4 DILLON DAVID ANDREW BNR
P CW2 KINKEADE RONALD JAY KIA
REFNO Synopsis:
SYNOPSIS: On July 20, 1966, SP4 David Dillon was serving as crewchief on a UH-1B helicopter operating in Long An Province, South Vietnam on an air mobile assault mission.
During the landing approach, the helicopter was hit by enemy gunfire, exploded and crashed. An immediate search of the area was conducted and the remains of 3 other crewmembers were recovered and identified. Dillon's wallet and ID card were found in the vicinity of the wreckage. An investigative board report indicated that Dillon's position on the aircraft was on the left door, which was the primary point of contact of the explosion which involved white phosphorous.
No remains were found that could be identified as those of Dillon. A second, unsuccessful search was made. The area of the crash was in a rice paddy.
When JCRC teams went back in December 1973 for follow-up, they were assaulted and one of the team members was killed. This was one of the last searches made by such teams in South Vietnam.
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 October 1990 from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.
This record was last updated on 03/11/2003
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Date posted on this site:
10/25/2024
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War Story:
This was the 68th AHC's first combat loss. The aircraft was hit by an RPG right at Dillon's position. There were very little remains. We spent a whole day in the recovery operation. Submitted by James Cook, who was the 68th AHC's CO at this time, July, 1999.
On 15 December 73, a OSD-DPMO team was preparing to excavate the crash site of this UH-1B that had been shot down during an air assault on 20 July 1966. The tail number was 64-14095. All four crewmen were killed, and the remains of three were recovered shortly after the crash. The team was in the process of searching for the remains of the fourth person, the crewchief, when they were ambushed on 15 December 73. This helicopter was 69-15711 killing the Vietnamese pilot. Three other Vietnamese survived. 69-15711 was hit by a rocket while off loading passengers and equipment in a rice paddy about 12 miles south of Saigon. The sortie was in support of the Four Party Joint Military Team (FPJMT) and Joint Casualty Resolution Center (JCRC) effort to recover the remains of American airmen lost earlier in the conflict. The aircraft was unarmed and clearly marked as FPJMT/JCRC.
from: Paul Mather OSD-DPMO"