Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1H tail number 68-15349
The Army purchased this helicopter 0269
Total flight hours at this point: 00001255
Date: 06/30/1970
Incident number: 70063055.KIA
Unit: C/227 AHB 1 CAV
South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: YU213402 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48PYU213402)
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Also: OPERA (Operations Report. )
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
G SP5 SHANNON GARRY MONZEL KIA
AC WILLIAMS
CE FIELDS LAWRENCE T
Passengers and/or other participants:
SP4 KLEIN STEPHEN LOUIS, AR, PX, KIA
SP4 INBODEN STEVE LEE, AR, PX, KIA
SP4 FLETCHER DONNITH HOWARD, AR, PX, KIA
PFC ZAGATA JOHN JOSEPH, AR, PX, KIA
War Story:
Colonel Peter Bradley, retired, who had assumed command of the C/227th Aviation Helicopter Battalion as a direct result of this incident, and the other was from maintenance officer Bill Maddox, retired, who served as direct supervisor of my cousin during his duty in Vietnam. Colonel Bradley was able to confirm that the pilot and co-pilot both survived the incident, and he was able to tell me that pilot Jimmy Williams was the 227th Charlie company commander at the time of the incident. Because Williams was wounded during the mission and his injuries led to the crash of the chopper, Bradley was summoned to take command of Charlie company.
Bill Maddox was able to confirm this information and also provided the name of the other doorgunner on board the chopper at the time of the incident. His name is Lawrence (Larry) T. Fields. Maddox told me that Shannon and Fields were not only crewmembers together, but also shared their living quarters when not on duty. They reportedly were very close as friends. I was able to do some investigating on my own and was able to locate and speak to Larry Fields. He was able to confirm the connection, and although I am grateful for the contact, I worry some for Larry. He took the circumstances of the incident very hard, and I felt concerned that I might be opening a painful door for him. Nevertheless, we all have agreed to keep in contact, and I hope with time that Larry can feel better about things from that part of his life since we've talked. I am eternally grateful for your willingness to help and for your efforts to assist me in this quest for information. I appreciate the concern of your members and their willingness to assist the family of one of their own, just as they willingly assisted each other during their time of duty. Their dedication to service continues. May God bless you all.
Sincerely,
Greg Gooden
This record was last updated on 06/01/2009
This information is available on CD-ROM.
Additional information is available on KIAs at http://www.coffeltdatabase.org
Please send additions or corrections to: The VHPA Webmaster Gary Roush.
KIA statistics
Return to the KIA panel date index
Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023
Copyright © 1998 - 2023 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association