Name: 1LT Ronald Lester Babcock
Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
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Date posted on this site:
11/13/2023
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Status: Body Not Recovered from an incident on 02/27/1971 while performing the duty of Pilot.
Age at death: 25.4
Date of Birth: 10/08/1945
Home City: Tucson, AZ
Service: IN branch of the reserve component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: B/7/1 CAV
Major organization: 1st Aviation Brigade
Flight class: 70-30
Service: IN branch of the U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 04W-008
Short Summary: Shot down & crashed on dirt road. Both crew members got out & ran across clearing where they were killed by NVA.
Aircraft: OH-6A tail number 67-16256
Call sign: BRAVO DUTCHMASTER
Country: Laos
MOS: 1981 = 19 Rotary Wing Aviator (Unit Commander)
Primary cause: LAOS-BNR
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: small arms fire
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: pilot
Vehicle ownership: government
Started Tour: 11/28/1970
"Official" listing: helicopter air casualty - pilot
The initial status of this person was: missing in action - interim
Length of service: *
Military grid coordinates of event: XD625208
Additional information about this casualty:
I was in Army class 70-30 blue hats and went back to the US Marines. I got a med cruise first then went to Vietnam 1972-1973. I was stationed ship board on the USS New Orleans at Yankee Station and flew daily into Danang, Hue and other outposts north of Hue. We supported the Marines assigned as advisors and took care of their resupply, mail, transfers and any missions they had. Our last action (HMM 165) was before I got there in a 28 helo assualt in Quang Tri, In A CH53 with 50 RVn aboard-a missle hit them- we got 3 crew killed and two of them were listed as MIA. Their remains we found several years ago and buried at Arlington after 32 years. After the peace accords I was assigned as a SAR pilot for Operation End Sweep the clearance of mines so our POWs could be released. I was with the CO and my friend Harry Mack with the XO as we were the first flight of two to go into North Vietnam unarmed into Cat Bi air field at Haiphong Harbor. I flew Marine CH-46 nicknamed the "Phrog" . I was a close friend of Ron Babcock and we went all the way through together and after Tac-X, I went to MCAS New River while Ron went to Vietnam, we graduated about early Dec 1970 and by February after receiving letters from Ron, Ron was KIA in Laos. His last letter I received a few days after I got word he was dead, told me it was hard over there and that he had already been shot down 6 times in his LOCH. He survived his final crash landing but I was told by a cobra pilot Paul Dickerson that he got killed by ground fire trying to get away from the crash site. They called in an air strike which took out his remains and he remained a MIA for years. He was as brave as you could ask for. A model of what an Army pilot is! A congressional Medal of Honor would have been well deserved for this American hero. *ps as an army trained (Ft Wolters and Ft Rucker) pilot I was a much better trained pilot than the boys who went through the Navy school. I just wanted to make sure that Ron was in your honor roll of Army trained pilots.
From: John Weaver
Casualty type: Hostile - died while missing
single male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Religion: Protestant - no denominational preference
The following information secondary, but may help in explaining this incident.
Category of casualty as defined by the Army: battle dead Category of personnel: active duty Army Military class: officer
This record was last updated on 01/13/2012