Information on U.S. Marine Corps helicopter UH-34D tail number 148053
Date: 06/25/1966
Incident number: 66062525.KIA
Unit: HMM-161
This was a Combat incident. This helicopter was LOSS TO INVENTORY
This was a Rescue and Recovery mission for Medical Evacuation
While in PickUp Zone this helicopter was on Take-Off at UNK feet and UNK knots.
South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: YD569419 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48QYD569419)
Small Arms/Automatic Weapons; Gun launched non-explosive ballistic projectiles less than 20 mm in size. (MORTAR)
causing a Fire.
Systems damaged were: FUEL SYS, PERSONNEL
Casualties = 04 KIA, 04 INJ . .
The helicopter Crashed. Aircraft Destroyed.
Both mission and flight capability were terminated.
Exploded
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense
Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Survivability/Vulnerability Information Analysis
Center Helicopter database. Also: OPERA, MISC (Operations Report. Miscellaneous. )
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
AC CPT STANSFIELD FLOYD F RES
P 1LT MOTEKEW EDWARD W RES
MD HM3 CREED EDWARD GAFFNEY KIA
G PFC AYOTTE JERRY D RES
CE SGT STAHL DONALD EUGENE KIA
Passengers and/or other participants:
CPL REYNOLDS GARRY LEE, MC, PX, KIA
War Story:
On June 25, 1966, four Marine Corps UH-34Ds from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 161 were provided to support the 4th Marines during Operation Jay. Assigned to resupply and medical evacuation duty, the helicopters initially had little to do. When darkness fell, enemy contact became heavier. By midnight, HMM-161 had 12 helicopters airborne on medical evacuation and resupply missions for Operation Jay. One of the medical evacuation aircraft, lifting out of the zone after picking up four wounded Marines, was called back for another wounded man. As the pilot was landing, the helicopter was hit and burst into flame while it was still airborne. A corpsman, Hospitalman Third Class Edward G. Creed, was killed along with three of the wounded. The helicopter crew and one evacuee survived the initial crash and were taken out on another helicopter. One of the crewmen who survived the crash, Sergeant Donald E. Stahl, was severely burned and died 2 days later. Captain Floyd F. Stansfield, First Lieutenant Edward W. Motekew, and Private First Class Jerry D. Ayotte, all suffered moderate burns as a result of the crash but survived. The squadron continued its support of Operation Jay until June 28th. [Taken from archive.org]
From: William M. Killian
This record was last updated on 04/19/2015
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Date posted on this site:
11/13/2023
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