Information on U.S. Marine Corps helicopter UH-34D tail number 145790
Date: 06/10/1962 MIA-POW file reference number: 0015
Incident number: 62100606.KIA
Unit: HMM-163
South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: BT470007 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 49PBT470007)
Casualties = 07 DOI, 01 INJ . .
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense Intelligence Agency Reference Notes. Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Also: 0015, USMC in Vietnam P:83 ()
Summary: Crashed due to mechanical failure while flying SAR for a 20-plane helilift southeast of Tam Ky.
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
CP 1LT TUNNEY MICHAEL JOSEPH KIA
CE CPL ANDERSON THOMAS EDWARD BNR
P 1LT SINNOTT WILLIAM T WIA
Passengers and/or other participants:
1LT GRIFFIN GERALD CHARLES, NOT, A
SGT HAMILTON RICHARD ELMER, NOT, A
HM2 NORTON GERALD OWEN, NOT, A
SGT PENDELL JERALD WAYNE, NOT, A:
LCP VALENTIN MIGUEL ANGEL JR, NOT, A
War Story:
The official USMC history in a chapter titled SHUFLY Moves North states that the most serious incident recorded during the early operations in I Corps ironically resulted from mechanical failure rather than VC fire. It occurred when a search and rescue helicopter crashed and burned on a hillside 15 miles southeast of Tam Ky while covering a 20-plane helilift of 2d ARVN Division elements. This helicopter carried several mechanics and Navy medical personnel and was equipped with a hoist. Unable to land near the downed aircraft because of the thick jungle, other helicopters landed troops at the base of the hill with instructions to proceed to the crash site on foot. When the Vietnamese soldiers reached the downed aircraft after cutting their way through dense vegetation, they found the copilot, crew chief, and five other members of the task unit dead. The pilot, 1LT William T. Sinnott, who was injured seriously, was hoisted through the trees and evacuated by an HUS which came to the rescue. The five Marines killed in the crash were 1LT Tunnery, SGT Hamilton, SGT Pendell, CPL Anderson, LCPL Valentin. Two Navy personnel, LT Griffin, a doctor, and Hospitalman Norton were also dead. These were the first deaths suffered by Marine Task Unit 79.5 since deploying to Vietnam.
This record was last updated on 07/28/1998
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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023
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