Name: CPT Paul Dean Carter
Status: Killed In Action from an incident on 05/27/1971 while performing the duty of Aircraft Commander.
Age at death: 28.4
Date of Birth: 01/16/1943
Home City: Louisville, KY
Service: AR branch of the reserve component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: D/3/5 CAV 5 INF
Prior Unit: C/3/17 CAV 70
Major organization: 5th Infantry Division
Flight class: 69-34
Service: AR branch of the U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 03W-056
Short Summary: Died when ship crashed possibly due to hostile fire or pulling out of a gun run too low to clear the trees.
Aircraft: AH-1G tail number 68-15168
Call sign: CHARLIE HORSE
Country: South Vietnam
MOS: 1981 = 19 Rotary Wing Aviator (Unit Commander)
Primary cause: Hostile Fire
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: small arms fire
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: pilot
Vehicle ownership: government
Started Tour: 10/16/1970
"Official" listing: helicopter air casualty - pilot
The initial status of this person was: no previous report
Length of service: *
Location: Quang Tri Province I Corps.
Military grid coordinates of event: YD181450
Additional information about this casualty:
I considered CPT Paul Carter, who we called George, a good friend. George was very well liked and was a very good pilot. I can't remember his call sign other than it being Charlie Horse. I recall that the official story was that they hit a snag while making gunruns in support of a ground unit. The unofficial version was that George had been saying that he was going to show WO1 Foy a thing or two, or make a point for some reason. He had been making his dives steeper than usual and pulling out lower than usual. According to most versions, they were not supporting any ground unit; George just flew it into the ground. It was a tragedy for everyone that knew him. I don't know what was on his mind or what happened but if the unofficial version is true George was acting very much out of character. Submitted to the VHPA in March, 2000 by Fred Blanchard.
Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
Casualty type: Hostile - killed
married male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Religion: Baptist - other groups
Burial information: LOUISVILLE MEMORIAL GARDENS (WEST), LOUISVILLE, KY
The following information secondary, but may help in explaining this incident.
Category of casualty as defined by the Army: battle dead Category of personnel: active duty Army Military class: officer
This record was last updated on 03/27/2000
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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023
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