Information on U.S. Army helicopter CH-47A tail number 66-19063
The Army purchased this helicopter 0367
Total flight hours at this point: 00000450
Date: 04/19/1968 MIA-POW file reference number: 1135
Incident number: 68041901.TXT
Unit: B/228 AVN
This was a Combat incident. This helicopter was LOSS TO INVENTORY
This was a Logistics Support mission for Resupply , Sling Loading.
While Enroute this helicopter was at Level Flight at 3500 feet and 070 knots.
South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: YD291087 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48QYD291087)
Helicopter took 10 hits from:
Anti-Aircraft Artillery; Gun launched explosive ballistic projectiles equal to or greater than 20 mm in size. (37MM, 12.7MM)
The helicopter was hit in the Aft area causing a Fire.
Systems damaged were: PERSONNEL
Casualties = 03 INJ, 02 MIA . .
The helicopter made an Emergency Landing. Aircraft Destroyed.
Both mission and flight capability were terminated.
Ultimate crash and burn - aircraft is capable of sustaining flight for a limited time after the incident, but finally results in crash and burn
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: 1135, MISC,
CASRP (Miscellaneous. Casualty Report. )
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
FE SFC HOUSH ANTHONY FRANK BNR
CE SFC WALLACE MICHAEL JOHN BNR
AC VOLLENDORFF GARY L RES
P 1LT JACKSON WADE W RES
G J WOOTEN RES
REFNO Synopsis:
Anthony Frank Housh and Michael Wallace; (missing from CH47, coordinates
YD291087-LZ Tiger; pilot, co-pilot and gunner survived); Douglas R. Blodgett;
William Dennis; Jesus Gonzales (missing from CH47A, coordinates YD290105; pilot
and co-pilot survived); Arthur J. Lord; Charles W. Millard; Philip R. Shafer;
Michael R. Werdehoff (missing on CH54, coordinates YD255095-LZ Tiger)
SYNOPSIS: On April 19, 1968 three Army helicopters were shot down in the A Shau
Valley of South Vietnam. All three were making supply runs to Landing Zone
Tiger in Quang Tri Province. Five men survived the three crashes, and nine men
remain missing.
The CH47A on which Douglas Blodgett was a crewman, William Dennis was flight
engineer, and Jesus Gonzales was crewchief was resupplying ammunition at the LZ
when it received small arms fire from the ground and crashed. The pilot and
co-pilot were able to crawl away, but the rest of the crew was never found.
They were declared Missing In Action.
The CH47 on which Anthony Housh was flight engineer and Michael Wallace was
crewchief was hit by 50 calibre and 37 mm ground fire on its approach to the
LZ. Housh and Wallace jumped from the aircraft from an altitude of 50-100 feet
above the jungle canopy. The others were rescued. No trace of Housh and Wallace
was ever found. They were declared Missing In Action.
The CH54 "Flying Crane" on which Arthur Lord was aircraft commander, Charles
Millard pilot, Arthur J. Lord co-pilot, Michael Werdehoff flight engineer, and
Philip Shafer crewchief was carrying a bulldozer into the recently resecured LZ
Tiger when the aircraft was hit and crashed. All the crew were classified
Missing In Action.
Thorough searches for the 3 helicopters were not immediately possible because
of the enemy situation. A refugee later reported that he had found the wreckage
of two U.S. helicopters, one with 3 sets of skeletal remains, in Quang Tri
Province. The U.S. Army believes this could correlate with any of the three
helicopters lost on April 19, 1968, but no firm evidence has been secured that
would reveal the fate of the nine missing servicemen.
== CIRCUMSTANCE OF LOSS ==
16 March 1976
(U) ON 19 APRIL 1968 SP6 ANTHONY F. HOUSH, FLIGHT ENGINEER, AND SP5
MICHAEL
J. WALLACE, CREWCHIEF, WERE PART OF CREW OF A CH47, (#66-19063) ON A
RESUPPLY
MISSION IN THE ASHAU VALLEY AREA, SOUTH VIETNAM. WHILE ON THE INITIAL
APPROACH
INTO LANDING ZONE (LZ) TIGER, THE HELICOPTER WAS HIT BY .50 CALIBER AND
37MM GROUND FIRE. THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN EMERGENCY AUTOROTATION, AND THE
PILOT
TRIED TO JETTISON THE EXTERNAL LOAD. DURING THIS TIME, THE REAR OF THE
SHIP WAS ON FIRE AND THE HELICOPTER WAS BECOMING UNCONTROLABLE.
(U) THE GUNNER SAID THAT SP6 HOUSH AND SP5 WALLACE JUMPED FROM THE
AIRCRAFT
WHILE IT WAS STILL 50 TO 100 FEET ABOVE THE JUNGLE CANOPY IN THE
VICINITY
OF GRID COORDINATES (GC) YD 292 086. THREE OF THE CREWMEN WHO STAYED
ONBOARD
WERE RESCUED IN THE VICINITY OF (GC) YD 291 087, BUT THEY SAID THAT THEY
DID NOT SEE THE TWO MEN WHO HAD JUMPED. (REF 1)
(U) A REFUGEE DISCOVERED THE WRECKAGE OF TWO U.S. HELICOPTERS, ONE WITH
THREE SETS OF SKELETAL REMAINS, IN QUANG TRI PROVINCE NEAR YD 2509. THIS
POTENTIALLY CORRELATES TO REFNO 1135.
19 August 1992
(U) A JOINT INVESTIGATION TEAM INVESTIGATED REFNO 1135 DURING THE 17TH
JOINT FIELD ACTIVITY FROM 20 APRIL TO 20 MAY 1992. DURING THE
INVESTIGATION,
THE TEAM INTERVIEWED FOUR WITNESSES, ONLY TWO OF WHICH PROVIDED
INFORMATION
WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT BE RELATED TO THIS CASE. THE TWO WITNESSES,
NEITHER
OF WHICH ACTUALLY SAW THE AIRCRAFT CRASH, DID NOT HAVE ANY INFORMATION
PERTAINING TO THE FATE OF THE PERSONNEL ASSOCIATED WITH THIS CASE.
THESE
WITNESSES, MR. LE VAN TAM (LEE VAWN TAMS) AND MR. QUYNH TOAN (QUYNHF
TOANF)
PROVIDED CONTRADICTING INFORMATION REGARDING THE TYPE OF HELICOPTER THAT
CRASHED IN 1969 AT GRID COORDINATES YD29350880 IN THE VILLAGE OF HONG
VAN
(HOONGF VAAN), A-LUOI DISTRICT, THUA THIEN-HUE PROVINCE. THE JOINT TEAM
VISITED THIS SITE AND COLLECTED SMALL PIECES OF ALLEGED WRECKAGE FROM
THE
SURFACE AREA. THE TEAM COLLECTED SOIL SAMPLES AND OBSERVED NO
INDICATIONS
OF AN AIRCRAFT CRASH BELOW THE SURFACE OF THE SITE. THE TEAM DID NOT
COLLECT
SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO PROVIDE A CONCLUSIVE CORRELATION FOR THIS SITE TO
ANY UNRESOLVED OR RESOLVED CASE. FURTHER INVESTIGATION IS RECOMMENDED.
(REF 3)
13 August 1993
ON 29 JUN 93, IE4 TRAVELLED TO HONG VAN VILLAGE, A LUOI DISTRICT,
THUA-THIEN
HUE PROVINCE. THE TEAM INTERVIEWED ONE SECOND-HAND WITNESS WHO REPORTED
DISCOVERING A HELICOPTER CRASH SITE SOMETIME IN 1977. THE CRASH OF
THETWIN-ROTOR HELICOPTER OCCURRED POSSIBLY SOMETIME IN 1969. TWO LARGE
ROTORS WERE DISCOVERED AT THE SITE BY THE WITNESS. THE TEAM TRAVELLED TO
THE SITE WHERE ON-SITE ANALYSIS INDICATED WITNESS TESTIMONY AND SITE
LOCATION
WERE ASSOCIATED WITH REFNO 1135. BETWEEN 30 JUN-2 JUL 93, MEMBERS OF THE
VNOSMP UNILATERALLY RECANVASSED THE LOCAL POPULACE SEEKING INFORMATION
OR EVIDENCE RELATED TO CASE 1135, WITH NEGATIVE RESULTS. ON 3 JUL 93, A
CONTINGENT OF IE4 RETURNED TO THE CRASH SITE LOCATION. THE TEAM
TRAVELLED
TO THE CRASH SITE LOCATION AS REFLECTED IN U.S. RECORDS, AND TO THE LAST
KNOWN LOCATION OF THE DOWNED CREWMEN AS REFLECTED IN U.S. RECORDS WITH
NEGATIVE RESULTS. THE TEAM'S CONTINGENT ALSO CANVASSED LOCAL VILLAGERS
IN SEARCH OF INFORMATION, WITH NEGATIVE RESULTS.
09 June 1994
ON 7 MAY 94, IE2 TRAVELLED TO PHONG MY VILLAGE, PHONG DIEN DISTRICT,
THUA
THIEN-HUE PROVINCE TO INVESTIGATE CASE 1135. THE PURPOSE OF THIS
REINVESTIGATION WAS TO INTERVIEW ONE WITNESS WHO WAS IDENTIFIED BY A
REFUGEE
AS HAVING PARTICIPATED IN A BURIAL OF REMAINS IN 1977. THIS WITNESS
DENIED
INVOLVEMENT IN THE BURIAL OF ANY REMAINS OF MISSING AMERICANS. NO
REMAINS
OR MATERIAL EVIDENCE WERE OBTAINED DURING THIS INVESTIGATION.
05 July 1995
FROM 14 TO 18 MAY 95, DURING THE 35TH JFA, A JOINT RECOVERY TEAM
EXCAVATED
A CRASH SITE ASSOCIATED WITH CASE 1135 AT 48QYD 29347 08731, NEAR HONG
VAN VILLAGE, A-LUOI DISTRICT, THUA THIEN-HUE PROVINCE. THE TEAM
RECOVERED
NUMEROUS SMALL PIECES OF AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE CONSISTENT WITH, BUT NOT
EXCLUSIVE
TO, A CH-47A HELICOPTER. THE SITE WAS CLOSED ON 18 MAY 95. THE TEAM
INTERVIEWED MR. LE VAN TAM AND MR. QUYEN TOAN, WHO RECONFIRMED THE
GENERAL
LOCATION OF THE CRASH SITE. MR. TOAN HAD REPORTEDLY FOUND TWO ROTOR
BLADES
AND POSSIBLE HUMAN REMAINS WHEN HE FIRST VISITED THE SITE IN 76. HE
STATED
THAT HE HAD PUT THE BONES IN A BOMB CRATER NEAR THE CRASH SITE. NO
REMAINS
OR PERSONAL EFFECTS WERE RECOVERED OR RECEIVED.
War Story:
Hit by numberous 37 mm rounds in aft plyon area. Flames were visible as aircraft descended out of a cloud. Flight engineer and crew chief apparently jumped out between 500 and 1100 feet because of intense fire and are missing in action.
This record was last updated on 11/21/2002
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