1966
29 Jan 66; Ronald
Terrance Terry, SSGT
E6, Niagara Falls, NY, USASF, FOB #1, Ops 35, Shining Brass, KIA while on
recon-body not recovered. The team came
under fire by the enemy causing the team to be split, resulting in three men
hiding in elephant grass where they observed 7 enemy soldiers within a couple of
feet to their right and rear. These men opened fire on the Viet Cong and fell
three of them, SSGT Terry was heard to holler he had been hit and was observed
holding his right shoulder and then reacting as if he had been hit again. Terry
did not move again.
Feb 66; Luc Luong Dac
Biet (LLDB), An
unidentified Vietnamese Lieutenant and a Sergeant,
Kham Duc, Ops 35, Shining Brass, MIA (The
facts regarding the loss of these men are unknown).
15 Mar 66; David
Hugh Homer, Capt.
0-3, Pilot, Belmont, Mass, USAF, FAC, MACSOG 32 (Air Studies Branch) and Glenn
David McElroy,
LTC 0-5, Sidney, IL and John
Michael Nash,
Capt. 0-3, Tipton, Indiana - MIA (The
last known position was in Laos near Khe Sanh)
17 Mar 66; William
H Craig, Capt.
0-3, USASF, FOB #1, Kham Duc, Ops 35, Reaction Force Commander, Killed due to
accidental discharge of his Swedish-K sub-machine gun when it fell to the floor
off the club’s bar and discharged. (Capt.
Craig was the commander of the Nung reaction force on the North side of Kham
Duc).
06 Apr 66; James
W Gates, Capt.
0-3, Mer Rouge, La., and
John W Lafayette,
Capt. 0-3, Waterbury, Vermont; Ops 32 (Air Studies Branch) Hue-Phu Bai Airfield,
Flying FAC in OV-1 crashed 30 kilometers inside Laos, MIA. Two
OV-1's departed Phu Bai for a recon over Laos, both were shot down. Another
aircraft flew over the area, observed the wreckage of both OV-1's and the FAC
saw the four men (two men per OV-1) alive on the ground with both crews
reporting they were alright. Contact was lost with Cpt Gates and Lafayette as
they reported enemy forces closing in on them. The crew of the other OV-1 were
rescued.
03 Jul 66; Edwin
J McNamara, Capt.
0-3, USASF RT Nevada, Team Leader (One-Zero) and Donald
J Fawcett, SSGT
E-6, USASF Team Radio Operator (One-Two) were KIA-RR, Ralph
Joseph Reno, MSG
E-8, USASF Team Assistant Team Leader (One-One), Fayetteville, NC, MIA; and Nine
Vietnamese Soldiers (names
and Ranks unknown) were KIA (These 12 men were assigned to FOB #2, OPS 35,
KONTUM, SOG) and a CH-34 Vietnamese Helicopter crew consisting of the VNAF
Pilot,
Nguyen Van Hoagn aka
"Mustachio", Co-pilot
and Door Gunner-names
and ranks unknown were also KIA. The
aircraft was returning from Kham Duc after a mission to Kontum, FOB 2 (flying at
5,000 feet) when it hit severe air turbulence resulting in loss of the
rear tail rotor and the aircraft "falling apart." The tail,
designed to pivot for storage on aircraft carriers, had come loose, swung around
and chewed the helicopter to pieces in mid air causing the aircraft to rotate
rapidly, falling some (1,500 ?) feet in a tight spiral, throwing individuals and
debris over a large area impacting the ground nose first. Remains of 2 Americans
and 5 Vietnamese were recovered. MSG Reno and 4 Vietnamese soldiers remains were
not found after a 5 day aerial and ground search. [Filed by William
"Billy" Waugh: on or about 02 Jul 66 SSGT Donald Fawcett was en route
to Kam Duc, SVN, with other Americans, aboard an H-34 rescue helicopter. Due to
poor visibility and suspected ground fire, one of the H-34 helicopters clipped
the blades of the chopper in which Fawcett, et.al., were pax. All aboard were
killed by the crash, and I am not certain if their bodies were ever rescued or
not]. (See pg 105-106, SOG A Photo History of the Secret Wars by John Plaster.)
29 Jul 66; Delmar
Lee Laws, SFC
E-7, Mineral Point, Missouri and Don
Rue Sain SP/4,
USASF, FOB 1, Phu Bai, MACSOG Op 35 and two
Army of Vietnam (ARVN) soldiers,
name and ranks unknown were on a recon mission. SFC Laws listed as MIA and SP4
Sain and the two Vietnamese KIA-RR. (A
team of 3 Americans and 7 ARVN, conducting a recon in the area Southwest of Khe
Shan in Laos. The team had stopped at a small stream as they were climbing down
the back slope of Co Roc Mountain, where SFC Law was last seen crouched,
signaling to the team leader, reporting he had heard something to his rear.
Immediately the team came under fire from the rear and flank positions by
automatic weapons by an estimated company size NVA unit. Two Vietnamese and SP/4
Sain were immediately KIA. As the team rallied, SFC Laws was unaccounted for.
The team then moved to evade the enemy. SFC Laws was not seen hit nor was he
seen again. Upon a recovery mission, the remains of the two Vietnamese and SP/4
Sain along with a leg which was later identified as belong to SFC Laws were
recovered (Sain's body had been crudely booby-trapped with a hand grenade). The
recovery team reports, anyone caught in the killing zone died instantly. Law is
presumed to have died due to the massive bleeding produced from the severed
femoral artery would have produced death within minutes without the immediate
services of a medically trained surgeon. SGM Harry "Crash" D. Whalen
was able to evade the enemy and actually walk out of Laos. (Note: Identification
was made through the remaining clothing on the leg, Jungle boots, and size of
the boots). [FILED BY: SGM "BILLY WAUGH": Concerning RT members SAIN
and LAWS, on 29 Jul 66, while on Recon in the Co Roc Mountain area, 10 KM WSW of
Khe Sanh Base, approximately 700 meters West of the Tchepone River, the team
(Team Name not recalled), with SGM Crash WHALEN as the 1 - 0, where
ambushed during the hours of daylight. SAIN and LAWS were dropped in their
tracks, with C. WHALEN, attempting to rescue what was left of the team. C.
WHALEN crossed the Tchepone River, and E & E'd to the Khe Sahn Base. B.
Waugh took in a Bright Light Team, consisting of Maj. KILMER, Commo man, Horton
DANIELS, Launch Site CO, Maj. J. VANSICKLE, and a couple of others, landing at
an area where SAIN was staked to the ground. Booby traps were attached to SAIN
who was dead. The booby traps were disarmed. The body of LAWS was in the jungle,
near that of SAIN. LAWS was also dead. No other (indig) teams members were found
in the ambush area. No NVA were at the immediate area; however, four NVA bodies,
stripped of weapons and clothing (excepting black PJ trousers) were found
stacked at the base of an ant hill. The bodies of Sain and Laws were picked up
with the Bright Light Team returning these bodies to the Khe Sanh area. These
men were the first KIA out of FOB-1].
28 Sep 66, Danny
Gene Taylor, SSGT
E-6, St Louis, Mo USASF, and two
Nungs FOB
#1, Phu Bal, Ops 35 SOG, KIA body not recovered. (The
team was overran during a halt to make radio contact by an aggressive enemy
force near Khe Shan. Taylor was the team’s RTO, One-Two, making radio contact
when the team came under fire by a Viet Cong element, he re-shouldered his
radio, firing on the enemy and moved over and attempted to jump off of some
rocks when hit in the back by a machine gun bullet (s). Two members of the
patrol checked him for vital signs, there were none. The team was forced to
leave Taylor due to the heavy enemy fire).
03 Oct 66; Raymond
Louis Echevarria,
MSG B-8, New York, NY and James
Emory Jones, SFC
E-7, Alpha, Georgia and Eddie
Lee Williams, SFC
E-7, Miami, FL, USASF, RT Arizona, FOB 1, Phu Bai, Ops 35 SOG, and three
Vietnamese, name
and ranks unknown all MIA as a result of recon mission one mile inside Laos west
of the DMZ. After insertion, the team
moved a short distance from the Landing Zone and ran into an enemy soldier and
fired upon him. The team was met by heavy return fire from 360 degrees, the team
was surrounded, and most all the team members were wounded. In an attempt to
evade the enemy, they split in order to escape. Echevarria called for
extraction, but due to the heavy enemy activity this was impossible despite air
strikes. Echevarria then reported their situation was hopeless, stating in a
calm voice "When I quit talking, put the shit right on us!." A few
minutes later, the Air Force fighter bombers dropped their loads across the
team’s position. The team was outnumbered almost 100 to 1. During this
incident, 6 of the 7 helicopters attempting to extract the team were hit as was
one A-1 Sky raider. The only survivor, a Vietnamese interpreter Bui Kim Tien,
reports that SFC Williams told him "Jones is dying and Ray (Echevarria) is
the same way. Tien further reported he had evaded the enemy with SFC Williams
who had been wounded in the thigh after 2 Americans had been killed and last saw
him on 4 Oct when Williams sent him to check some caves, at which point Tien was
spotted and forced to run from the area. Searches were conducted on 4, 5, &
6 Oct with negative result. A month later, an enemy POW reported he had seen a
black man with a wounded thigh, hands tied behind his back and a noose around
his neck, being led through villages for public mockery until he was too weak to
walk, he was then executed.
10 Oct 66; Charles
Borowsky, SFC
E-7, USASF, NCOIC S-2 Section, Project B-53, Camp Long Thanh, on Security
Patrol-KIA. As the Team leader of a
CIDG patrol during a search and destroy mission, he was informed by the point
man that they had discovered a network of booby traps. SFC Borowsky and two
other members moved forward to investigate, and as they approached the booby
trapped area, they spotted an enemy squad approximately 40 meters away and
immediately opened fire. The enemy apparently had no knowledge of the remaining
force left in the rear by Borowsky , began to flank him and the other two
members, pinning them down with intense fire. Realizing the seriousness of the
situation, SFC Borowsky stood up, exposing himself, and began directing a
counterattack. Although he was exposed to a deadly crossfire, he remained on his
feet, directing the advance of his patrol until he was mortally wounded
(Extracted from Award Citation).
13 Oct 66; Charles
R. Vessel, SFC
E-7 and Fredrick
H. Lewis, SFC
E-7, USASF, and forty
Nungs Commandos
of FOB-2, Kontum, Operation Crimson Tide, KIA (Louis
Smith reports: Fredrick was known as "Huckleberry" due to the straw
hat he wore and both were part of a mission, which is credited as being the
first to attempt to recover an American POW (USAF Captain Carl E. Jackson),
being held by the Viet Cong at one of their R&R center located at Soc Trang.
A SOG size company element was formed and commanded by Captain Frank Jaks, a
Czechoslovakia by birth, and tasked with the rescue mission. Vessel and Lewis
were part of the 3rd Platoon. Their helicopters landed them directly
in front of two heavily armed Viet Cong Battalions and the 306 NVA regiment with
an estimated 1,000 soldiers. The entire 3rd Platoon was annihilated.
22 Oct 66; Boyd
W. Anderson, RT's
1-0, SGT E-5, and
Michael R. Newbern,
RT's 1-1, SSGT E-6, USASF, B-56 Project SIGMA, Recon mission-KIA. The
five member Reconnaissance team was inserted behind enemy lines and spent the
night, moving out at daybreak. After two hours on the trail, the team was
ambushed receiving fire from all sides. The reinforced NVA platoon had permitted
the Point to pass through and when the main body of the team entered the ambush
area, the NVA then sprain the ambush. Sgt Anderson was hit in the knee, dropped
to the ground and directed his team to seek cover and radio for help as he was
laying down suppressive fire, permitting the team to take a defensive position,
at which time he was mortally wounded. Sgt Newbern, observing that Anderson had
been hit, took charge of the team as directed by Anderson, ensuring the team
took proper cover and directed their defensive fire in an effort to suppress the
enemy's fire so Anderson could crawl away from his exposed position while
contacting the RR site. During a renewed effort by Newbern to retrieve Sgt
Anderson from the direct fire of the enemy, he was also mortally wounded
(Extracted from Award citations).
