More detail on this person: UH-1 helicopter
crash in West Germany while acting as a pilot. He
was stationed with the 2nd Plt., 421st Medevac
Co./unit (Air Ambulance) at the Schweinfurt AAF
along with D Trp., 3/7 Cav. of which I was a
member and Commo Chief. I was/am very familiar
with the details of the tragic accident he, his
co-pilot, WO1 Desmond P. Downey, Crew Chief
Spec. 5 Earl D. Rankhorn and Flight Medic Spec. 5
Harvey J. Salas were involved in. This information was last updated 05/18/2016
Please send additions or corrections to: HQ@vhpa.org VHPA Headquarters
Return to the Helicopter Pilot DAT name list
Return to VHPA web site
Date posted on this site:
03/10/2024
Copyright © 1998 - 2024 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association
CW2 Johnson and his crew were scrambled in the
early hours of 15 March 1975 to respond to an
accident on a German highway (not sure if it was
the Autobahn or not) involving (2) GI's who
flipped a jeep while drunk from what I remember.
When they were known to be overdue a second
Medevac Huey was launched approximately 1 hour
later with that Huey commanded by Capt. George
Wise (XO, 2/421st). They followed the flight
route/plan of Johnson's Huey and came across a
still burning wreck. They apparently had a "blade
strike" and crashed and burned. It was determined
that Johnson was dead along with the other crew
members - SP5 Rankin, crew chief, who had Nam
experience, apparently dove back into the "safety"
of the "hell hole" of the Huey - the side area
behind the engine/transmission but when the
chopper crashed it rolled and he was crushed
underneath. SP5 Salas, flight medic, was found
outside the chopper and was decapitated by the
still rotating blades apparently. WO1 Downey was
found with his hand held strobe beacon from his
survivor vest in his hand. It was a horrific
accident and deeply affected many of us from both
units who knew and were friends with the crew. As
I recall, CW2 Johnson had recently become a father
to a son - he would be 41 years old now having
grown up without his dad. WO1 Downey was a
fellow New Yorker (I live out on Long Island) so
we were "homies". In researching his family's
whereabouts out in Seattle, Wa., I was able to
correspond with his younger brother. Their father
was an Army officer and for a time an instructor
at West Point. WO Downey was a really nice guy -
he was not caught up in the ego of being an
officer and helicopter pilot and always had a
smile. SP5 Rankin was from the backwoods of
Kentucky or West Virginia and had been a crew
chief in our unit D - 3/7 Cav. and re-upped to get
into 2/421st. He was a really nice guy as well -
very professional and a good friend to us all.
SP5 Salas was a good friend of my best friend in
my unit who was of Mexican descent like Salas.
He always enjoyed a good time and was a good
friend. The 2/421st was a very "strac" unit - the
personnel were extremely professional and good
friends to us all. They shared our hanger (former
Luftwaffe hanger during WWII) and the care they
gave their equipment impressed everyone. Their
Huey's were polished, and the (2) ready choppers
were always in line in their side of the hanger
with the front one being hooked up with towbars to
their jeep. Their protocol was that the on duty
crew had to be cranking up within 8 minutes of an
emergency call. Those crew members who lived off
post would stay in their ready room during their
tours. When a call came in the CQ runner would
open the massive hanger doors and pull the duty
Huey out onto the hardstand. There he would
remove all blade tie downs and open the a/c doors
to facilitate immediate departure of the medevac -
the chopper was even "pre-flighted" to save time!
In the days that followed the accident, the
wreckage of the Huey was placed on the floor of
our hanger. I remember seeing all the broken
pieces and thinking that there wasn't but a few
pieces larger than a foot square. I remember
speaking with one of the guys who accompanied
one of the crew back to stateside and it was rough
to say the very least. I don't think I could have
done it but I'm glad that it is done and that
there were guys who could do it. It was a very
sad time and one I shall never forget. They were
good men doing their duty to save other people and
they were proud to do it. I shall be thinking of
each of them this Memorial Day as is befitting.
From: Robert H. Cornell