Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1H tail number 66-16212
The Army purchased this helicopter 0367
Total flight hours at this point: 00001215
Date: 07/03/1968
Incident number: 68070399.KIA
Unit: 240 AHC
South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: XS627713 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48PXS627713)
Casualties = 07 KIA . .
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Also: OPERA (Operations Report. )
Summary: Crashed in the Vam Co Dong River 3 miles south of Ben Luc Bridge.
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
AC WO1 FUSSELL JAMES C RES
G SP4 BELLINGER RONALD LEE KIA
CE SP4 HOLTON GARY DENNIS KIA
OB 1LT LAMB COLIN EDWARD KIA
Passengers and/or other participants:
SP4 DAVINO THOMAS ALPHONSE, AR, PX, KIA
SGT HODGES JOSEPH, AR, PX, KIA
LTC VANDEUSEN FREDERICK FREN, AR, PX, KIA
SGT WHITNEY PHILIP LEONARD, AR, PX, KIA
I spoke with James C. Fussell this week, he was the AC of Helicopter UH-1H 66-16212 when it went into the Vam Co Dong River on 07/03/1968. The narrative of the incident below by Morris Miller has several factual defects. The following is the story of the crash as told (and reviewed for accuracy) by Mr. Fussell.
During the summer of 1968, U.S. 9th Infantry Division conducted operations in Military Region III to seek out and destroy Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese Army (NVA) main and local force units which posed a threat against the capital of Saigon. In late June, the division’s 1st Brigade detected a new NVA battalion south of Ben Luc in Long An Province. On the morning of July 3rd, 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment forces conducted combat assaults adjacent to the Vam Co Dong River five kilometers (3.1 miles) south of the Ben Luc Bridge. By late morning, mop-up operations had begun with an emphasis on enemy body count. The 2/47th Command & Control aircraft with battalion commander LTC Frederick F. Van Deusen and members of his staff overflew the battlefield. Van Deusen, brother-in-law of commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam GEN William Westmoreland, requested that the aircraft commander (AC) of the 240th Assault Helicopter Company ship move over the battle area on the south side of the Vam Co Dong to assist ground troops locate enemy dead. While coming to a hover over an apparent lifeless NVA, the enemy combatant suddenly swung his AK-47 rifle up and fired a clip of rounds at the UH-1H helicopter. The blast of fire killed gunner SP4 Ronald L. Bellinger and critically damaged the ship. The AC pulled away and over the river, heading towards its north shore. As it approached the other bank, an enemy unit concealed in a 100-yard-wide section of nipa palm opened fire. The twinkling NVA rifles ripped into the aircraft, sending it back south. With its hydraulics and fuel systems lost, the ship suffered an engine failure halfway across and dropped 50 feet into the river. The AC and his co-pilot were the only crew members to escape the crippled ship. The two pilots slowly floated out of range of the enemy gunners and were rescued. Van Deusen and most of his staff drowned as the helicopter rapidly sunk. Lost were crew chief SP4 Gary D. Holton and 9th Infantry Division personnel Van Deusen, SP4 Thomas A. Davino, SGT Joseph Hodges, SGT Philip L. Whitney, and artillery liaison 1LT Colin E. Lamb. An unidentified Captain on staff with Van Deusen survived. [Sourced from coffeltdatabase.org, vhpa.org, and “Operational Reports of 9th Infantry Division for Period Ending 31 July 1968” at archive.com; also, information provided by James C. Fussell (April 2026)]
End of information from William M. Killian.
I’m not a member of the VHPA but wanted to make sure that VHPA had complete and accurate data of the crash of this aircraft into the Saigon River on 3 Jul 68. I served as a Crew Chief of a UH-1C with the 240th AHC. We spent some time searching for survivors after the helicopter went down but were called over to support the Infantry troops in contact with the enemy.
The AC of the flight was WO Jim Fussell. He and his pilot survived the crash after riding it to the bottom of the river – about 60 feet deep. Mr Fussell was wounded in a leg but managed to reach the surface. He and his Pilot were rescued after being in the water for three hours.
Both crewmen in the back (SP5 Horton and SP4 Bellinger) died in the crash along with four from the 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, 9th ID plus one other.
Here’s a link that I had open when I noted that VHPA may not have complete data on the crash. Holton, Gary Dennis, SP 4 | TWS (togetherweserved.com)
General Westmoreland’s brother-in-law (his wife’s brother) died plus six others that also left family behind.
The story behind the loss: There was a VC (or NVA)body floating in the river and there was an attempt to recover that body for possible intelligence. As they were hovering over that “dead body” rolled over and shot them down with his AK47. This story is from Jim Fussell, the AC of the helicopter. We searched for survivors for a few minutes then were called for gunship support of the ground troops that were engaged with the enemy. We never got to go back and continue the search probably because we were low on fuel.
From: Morris Miller, Mad Dog Platoon, 240th AHC 1968
This record was last updated on 04/25/2026
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Date posted on this site:
06/20/2026
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War Story:
The following from William M. Killian