operation QUYET THANG 512 information
for 5 ARVN ABN BN
MAG-16
HMM-163
HMM-162

For date 650331


5 ARVN ABN BN was a Vietnamese Army unit
MAG-16 was a US Marine Corps unit
HMM-163 was a US Marine Corps unit
HMM-162 was a US Marine Corps unit
Primary service involved, Vietnamese Army
Operation QUYET THANG 512
Quang Tin Province, I Corps, South Vietnam
Location, Tam Ky
Description: MAG-16 combined the assets of HMM-163 and the newly operational HMM-162 plus Army gunships to support the ARVN 5th Airborne Battalion's Operation QUYET THANG 512. A force of 17 UH-34D's from HMM-163, two UH-34D SAR/maintenance helicopters from HMM-162, and seven UH-1B gunships from the UTT lifted 465 ARVN from the vicinity of Tam Ky to an LZ about 25 miles south of Da Nang. Led by LTC Ewers, the helicopters encountered such heavy antiaircraft fire when they approached the LZ that Ewers later remarked that the squadron might have flown into a trap. In the first lift, Ewers' wingman, 1LT Wendell T. Eliason, was killed in the LZ but his co-pilot, 1LT Donald R. Wilson, managed to fly the badly damaged craft back to Da Nang. Four other helicopters in this lift also had to be returned to Da Nang for battle damage repair. The enemy shot down one of the Marine UH-34D's, whose pilot, 1LT Dale D. Eddy, was wounded in the neck and initially believed KIA. Eddy's copilot, 1LT James E. Magel, also wounded, was able to make his way to another helicopter, but then died. Eddy's crew chief, SGT Cecil A. Garner, himself wounded, took his M-60 machinegun with him and joined the firefight on the ground. Another pilot from HMM-163, MAJ Bennie H. Mann, Jr., landed his craft in the face of the heavy enemy fire and rescued Garner and Eddy. Mann's crew chief, SSG Stanley J. Novotny, somehow found the strength singlehandedly to lift the concious but paralyzed, six-foot, 200-pound Eddy out of the downed craft. Mann was awarded the Navy Cross and Novotny recieved the Silver Star for this recue. Despite heavy enemy opposition, HMM-163 continued to make three lifts into the zone until the entire ARVN Battalion had been landed. All told, 25 USMC and 10 Army helicopters took part in the operation. Nineteen of the aircraft sustained battle damage. Two Army UH-1B's, in addition to the USMC UH-34Ds, also were shot down. The Army craft were later recovered but Eddy's aircraft was a complete loss. The Marines suffered a total of 19 casualties including the two killed while two Army personnel required hospitalization.
Comments: LTC Ewers, Norman G.; HMM-163 CO; ; 1LT WENDELL T ELISON; HMM-163 KIA; ; 1LT Wilson, Donald R.; HMM-163 pilot; ; 1LT Eddy, Dale D.; HMM-163 pilot WIA; ; 1LT MAGEL JAMES E; HMM-163 KIA; ; SGT Garner, Cecil A.; HMM-163 CE; ; MAJ Mann, Dennie H. Jr.; HMM-163 HAC; ; SSG Novotny, Stanley J.; HMM-163 CE; ;

The source for this information was USMC H 1965 P:17


Additional information is available on CD-ROM.

Please send additions or corrections to: Gary Roush Email address: webmaster@vhpa.org


Return to panel index

Return to Helicopter Pilot KIA index

Return to VHPA Home Page

Copyright © 1998 - 2023 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association

Date posted on this site: 05/13/2023