Name: 1LT Deane Arthur Taylor, Jr.
Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
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Date posted on this site:
11/13/2023
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Status: Killed In Action from an incident on 01/15/1969 while performing the duty of Pilot.
Age at death: 22.4
Date of Birth: 08/25/1946
Home City: Atlanta, GA
Service: IN branch of the reserve component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: 198 BDE 23 INF
Major organization: 198th Light Infantry Brigade
Flight class: 68-514/68-24
Service: IN branch of the U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 34W-011
Short Summary: Low ceiling and visibility, shot down with artillery observer and radio man aboard. All were shot after landing.
Aircraft: OH-6A tail number 67-16189
Service number: O5338163
Country: South Vietnam
MOS: 1981 = 19 Rotary Wing Aviator (Unit Commander)
Primary cause: Hostile Fire
Compliment cause: small arms fire
Started Tour: 11/03/1968
"Official" listing: helicopter air casualty - pilot
Length of service: 02
Location: Quang Ngai Province I Corps.
Additional information about this casualty:
My name is Jim Ford, an Air Force pilot in Vietnam and now married to the widow of Deane Taylor. On January 15, 2019 we traveled to Thon 3 near Quang Ngai so she could visit the spot where her husband had died 50 years earlier. With the aid of an interpreter we searched for anyone who could remember the incident and amazingly located the two VC soldiers in the attached photo who participated in the killing of the three occupants. In this photo we are standing at the very spot where the helicopter came down. Although never stated explicitly I have no doubt that the man in blue was the shooter. He stated that he set the helicopter on fire and wanted to remove the rings and watches, but didn't take the time to do that out of fear that rescue helicopters would be there soon. He also answered why the three were still at the helicopter instead of running to hide. He said one of the occupants broke a leg in the crash landing, and I presume the other two wouldn't leave him. I was also stunned at how much he knew about the mission that day. He knew where the crew took off, at what time, where they had gone, and that they were returning to base when they were shot down around 8 am. He said the helicopter was forced to go down to around 2,000 ft to stay below rain clouds that had moved in, and that this put them in range of small arms fire. He was very gracious to us, but expressed no sympathy or regret, simply stating that it was war.
From: James (Jim) Ford
Casualty type: Hostile - killed
married male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Religion: Methodist (Evangelical United Brethren)
Burial information: ARLINGTON MEMORIAL PARK, SANDY SPRINGS, GA
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 01/18/2019