Name: WO1 Terrence John Mortensen
Status: Killed In Action from an incident on 04/15/1969 while performing the duty of Pilot.
Age at death: 21.4
Date of Birth: 11/18/1947
Home City: Champaign, IL
Service: AV branch of the reserve component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: C/158 AVN 101 ABN
Major organization: 101st Airborne Division
Flight class: 68-503/68-1
Service: AV branch of the U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 27W-085
Short Summary: Hit a large tree on an early morning sniffer mission crashed and exploded with WO1 Jerone James Warnick and SP5 Doyle D. Dunbar.
Aircraft: UH-1H tail number 67-17614
Call sign: PHOENIX
Service number: W3160527
Country: South Vietnam
MOS: 062B = Helicopter Pilot, Utility and Light Cargo Single Rotor
Primary cause: A/C Accident
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: fire or burns
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: co-pilot
Started Tour: 01/31/1969
"Official" listing: helicopter air casualty - other aircrew
Length of service: 02
Location: Thua Thien Province I Corps.
Additional information about this casualty:
Terry Mortenson and Jerone (J.J.) Warnick were a crew along with crew chief Doyle dunbar and a gunner whose name I cannot remember. The aircraft number was 67-17614, a UH-1H. I was a member of the accident investigation board whose work was cut short by the Commanding General who declared it a combat loss. However, the cobra escort pilots which we interviewed stated there was no hostile fire.
The crew was low ship on an early morning sniffer mission. The aircraft impacted a large, dead tree which separated one main rotor blade. The aircraft caught fire, rolled inverted and crashed cockpit first on a rocky stream bed. The aircraft exploded on impact killing Mortenson, Warnick and Dunbar. The gunner was thrown from the aircraft 300 yards prior to impact and survived. He was found by the infantry platoon inserted to recover the bodies of the crew. The only body not completely burned was Mortenson. He was found face down in the stream still strapped in his seat.
All of the crew killed were very well liked and part of the original personnel which formed the unit at Ft. Riley, KS in 1968.
J.J. Warnick's call sign was Phoenix 25, which I remember well since mine was 24 and we flew together often prior to his death.
This accident occured south of Hue/Phu Bai between FSB Anzio and FSB Roy.
Lawrence E. Pluhar, 3 November 1993
Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
Casualty type: Hostile - killed
single male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Religion: unknown or not reported
Burial information: WOODLAWN CEMETERY, URBANA, IL
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: warrant officer
This record was last updated on 08/20/1995
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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023
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