unit history information
for 155 AHC
Tet-68 in Ban Me Thuot
For date 680130
155 AHC was a US Army unit
Primary service involved, US Army
Darlac Province, II Corps, South Vietnam
Location, Ban Me Thuot
Description: The 155th Aviation Company unit history states the intensive attack on Ban Me Thuot and the adjacent airfield began at 0150H. At this time both flare and gunships were ordered airborne in support of various check points and outposts that were under attack. At 0200H, the 155th went to 100% alert and at 0250H approximately 20 rounds of hostil mortar fire fell on the city airfield complex. Small arms fire was encountered throughout the night. Eight aircraft were damaged by hostile fire. The FALCON gunships not yet committed were ordered aloft at 0300H. They were later credited with destroying two enemy 82-mm mortar positions. Flare and gunships flew throughout the night in support of the Darlac Sector and the 23d ARVN Division. At 0815H, a FALCON ship piloted by WO1 Ian Lindsey and WO1 Lawrence Hanna was downed by hostile fire two miles south of Ban Me Thuot. A 165th recovery aircraft along with a DUSTOFF ship were dispatched to the scene and several ships already in the air were diverted to the location to help defend the downed crew which had been forced to land in a highly insecure area. At 0830H, while taking off to direct the recovery operations, MAJ Billy R. Goodall was wounded when his aircraft was engaged by hostile automatic weapons fire. The downed gunship crew was finally extracted at 0930H. Intense hostil activity precluded any attempt to recover the aircraft and necessitated its destruction later in the day. While returning from the crash scene, the 165th recovery aircraft was credited with 15 enemy KIA's when its door gunners engaged a VC force caught in the open. At 1330H, another UH-1C was damaged and the crew chief wounded by enemy anti-aircraft fire. The aircraft completed its fire mission and then returned to home station for repairs. While landing on the cirty aircraft at 1830H, WO1 Teaford received facial wounds when his UH-1H was hit by automatic weapons fire. From 2300H until 0400H on the 31st, the FALCON gunhips gave continual support to the 23d ARVN Division in the Ban Me Thuot vicinity. During this time, two UH-1C's sustained 32 hits from hostile fire. They were credited with silencing two enemy machine guns.
Comments: WO1 Lindsey, Ian; ; ;
WO1 Hanna, Lawrence; ; ;
MAJ Goodall, Billy R.; WIA; ;
WO1 Teaford; WAI; ;
The source for this information was 1968 Unit History of the 155th AVN by SP4 Royce J. Campbell
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