Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1H tail number 68-16307
The Army purchased this helicopter 0969
Total flight hours at this point: 00001449
Date: 02/08/1971 MIA-POW file reference number: 1700
Incident number: 71020810.KIA
Unit: C/158 AVN
Laos
UTM grid coordinates: XD582368 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48QXD582368)
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. Also: 1700 ()
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
CE SGT BOBO CHARLES GLEN KIA
G CPL ROBERTSON JOHN ERNEST KIA
P CW2 STEWART PAUL CLARK BNR
P WO1 DOODY THOMAS PATRICK KIA
REFNO Synopsis:
STEWART, PAUL CLARK
Name: Paul Clark Stewart
Rank/Branch: W2/US Army
Unit: Company C, 158th Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division
Date of Birth: 05 January 1950 (Boulder CO)
Home City of Record: Buena Park CA
Date of Loss: 08 February 1971
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 163634N 1062853E (XD582368)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 4
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: UH1H
Other Personnel in Incident: WO Thomas P. Doody; PFC John E. Robertson; SP4
Charles G. Bobo; an ARVN soldier (remains returned)
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: On February 8, 1971, WO Thomas P. Doody, pilot; CW2 Paul C. Stewart,
aircraft commander; SP4 Charles G. Bobo, crew chief; and PFC John E. Robertson,
door gunner, comprised the crew of a UH1H helicopter operating about 10 miles
from Lao Bao in Savannakhet Province, Laos on an insertion mission. During the
mission, Stewart radioed the flight leader that his aircraft had sustained
damage to the tail rotor by ground fire, and that he was returning to the
pickup zone, which was about 5 miles inside the South Vietnam border.
While the aircraft was en route, Stewart radioed that he had inverted and was
going in, and nothing further was heard. The flight leader then observed a
column of smoke coming from the crash site of the helicopter. The Cobra team
accompanying the operation was dispatched immediately, but detected no signs of
survivors in the area of the wreckage.
Several burned remains were seen around the wreckage. It was determined that
the aircraft had crashed, exploded on impact, and burned. The remains were
identified as Doody, Bobo and Robertson. A fourth body was determined to be
that of an ARVN on board the aircraft. No trace of Stewart was round. It could
not be determined whether he burned in the crash or was thrown clear of the
aircraft as it impacted.
CW2 Paul C. Stewart is listed among the missing because he was not found and
return home - dead or alive. Since no trace was found of his death, the chance
of survival, no matter how slim, cannot be ruled out. As thousands of reports
mount that Americans are still alive in Southeast Asia, held against their will
today, one must wonder if one of them could be CW2 Stewart. If so, what must he
be thinking of us?
This record was last updated on 05/25/1998
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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023
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