Information on U.S. Marine Corps helicopter CH-46A tail number 151923
Date: 08/03/1967 MIA-POW file reference number: 0784
Incident number: 67080310.KIA
Unit: HMM-164
This was a Combat incident. This helicopter was LOSS TO INVENTORY
for Troop Extraction , Hot Area.
While on Landing Zone this helicopter was on Take-Off at UNK feet and UNK knots.
Vietnam unspecified
UTM grid coordinates: YC545820 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48QYC545820)
Count of hits was not possible because the helicopter burned or exploded.
Explosive Weapon; Non-Artillery launched or static weapons containing explosive charges. (MINE)
The helicopter was hit in the Aft area
Systems damaged were: HYDRAULIC SYS, PERSONNEL
Casualties = YES . .
The helicopter Crashed. Aircraft Destroyed.
Both mission and flight capability were terminated.
Destroyed by friendly forces
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.
Survivability/Vulnerability Information Analysis Center Helicopter database. Also: 0784, LNOF,
70453, BOING, CH46, TWIX, NSC (Naval Safety Center. Lindenmuth Old Format Data Base. )
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
CE CPL GOPP THOMAS ALAN BNR
Passengers and/or other participants:
LCP NAHAN JOHN BENEDICT III, MC, PX, BNR
LCP WOLPE JACK, MC, PX, BNR
REFNO Synopsis:
In early August, 1967, a nine-man team from A Company, 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division began a night reconnaissance patrol in the A Shau Valley that was spotted by a Montagnard tribal woman and child, who alerted a nearby North Vietnamese unit. North Vietnamese troops slowly surrounded the Marine patrol and another that had joined it, trapping them for two days in hopes of luring a helicopter rescue. The following day (August 3), the first of two helicopters arrived and loaded some men from the patrols, but was hit by a bazooka shell and crashed during takeoff. The pilot was killed by small-arms fire. The nine passengers were believed to have perished, but all of their bodies could not be recovered because of hostile fire. John Nahan and Jack Wolpe were passengers aboard the aircraft. They were two of the A Company Reconnaissance patrol. Thomas Gopp was crewchief of the helicopter. James McGrath was a U.S. Navy hospital corpsman attached to H & S Company accompanying the Recon team. These four were listed as Killed in Action, Body Not Recovered (KIA/BNR). Information from the POW Network.
This record was last updated on 09/20/1998
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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023
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