ARANN RICHARD MAXWELL

Name: CW2 Richard Maxwell Arann
Status: Killed In Action from an incident on 06/24/1969 while performing the duty of Pilot.
Age at death: 28.0
Date of Birth: 07/02/1941
Home City: Norfolk, VA
Service: AV branch of the reserve component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: 192 AHC, 10 CAB
Major organization: 1st Aviation Brigade
Flight class: 66-13
Service: AV branch of the U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 21W-005
Short Summary: Killed by mistake by a claymore mine set to kill the company commander.
Service number: W3154117
Country: South Vietnam
MOS: 100B = Utility/Observation Helicopter Pilot
Primary cause: Ground Casualty
Compliment cause: mines
Started Tour: 04/13/1969
"Official" listing: ground casualty
Length of service: 10
Location: Tuyen Duc Province II Corps.

Additional information about this casualty:
Chief Arann was on his second tour in Vietnam when he died. On the night of 24 Jun 69, PVT William E. Sutton, who was angry at his CO (CPT Angeli) because he received an Article 15 for smoking pot, detonated a claymore outside of the billet where he thought Angeli would be sleeping. He killed Arann by mistake. Sutton was court-martialed and sentenced to life imprisonment. His sentence was cut to thirty years and he will be released from the Oklahoma Transfer Center next month. From George Lepre, April 1999. On 7 Aug 99, the last Vietnam-era fragger will leave prison. Ex-PVT William E. Sutton will be released from the federal prison in Yazoo City, MS (Although most military offeders serve their sentences at Leavenworth, during the early 1970s, a number of particularly incorrigible inmates were sent out into the regular federal system). Sutton, a signal wireman in HHC, 10th Combat Aviation Bn, 1st Aviation Bde, had received an Article 15 for smoking marijuana from his company commander, CPT Robert Angeli. On the night of 23-24 June 1969, Sutton placed a claymore outside the CO's quarters and detonated it. However, he was so stoned when he did it that he placed it in the wrong part of the building and he killed helicopter pilot CW2 Richard M. Arann by mistake. He then ran to a second mine he had set up to kill the company first sergeant. This mine too was set up in the wrong place and it seriously wounded the battalion sergeant major, Grant McBee. CW2 Arann was an outstanding pilot and was on his second tour in Vietnam. Sutton proved to be a disciplinary problem while he was at Leavenworth. He was charged with failing to stand count, disrespect to a guard, homosexual assault, and a number of other offenses. As a result, he was quickly sent out to the regular federal system. He was briefly paroled in 1980 but quickly re-arrested on a violation of this conditional release (I presume he burned a piss test). George Lepre Co. A, 2d Bn., 4th Inf. (Warriors)

Reason: other accident
Casualty type: Non-hostile - died of other causes
married male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Religion: Methodist (Evangelical United Brethren)
Burial information: ROSEWOOD MEMORIAL PARK, VIRGINIA BEACH, VA
The following information secondary, but may help in explaining this incident.
Category of casualty as defined by the Army: non-battle dead Category of personnel: active duty Army Military class: warrant officer
This record was last updated on 04/26/2002

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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023