DAVIS WILLIAM R

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Name: WO1 William R. Davis
Status: Killed In Action from an incident on 10/22/1966 while performing the duty of Pilot.
Age at death: 24.9
Date of Birth: 11/23/1941
Home City: Meridian, MS
Service: AV branch of the reserve component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: 116 AHC
Major organization: other
Flight class: 66-9W
Service: AV branch of the U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 11E-097
Short Summary: Gunshot wound to the head while taking off from a PZ. The helicopter then took him to Cu Chi, then Saigon where he died.
Aircraft: UH-1D tail number 65-09936
Service number: W3153900
Country: South Vietnam
MOS: 062B = Helicopter Pilot, Utility and Light Cargo Single Rotor
Primary cause: Hostile Fire
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: small arms fire
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: pilot
Started Tour: 08/29/1966
"Official" listing: helicopter air casualty - pilot
Length of service: 06
Location: Unknown Province
Military grid coordinates of event: XT748203

Additional information about this casualty:
Details of this event are in the 116th AHC History for Oct-Dec 1966 and can be found at Texas Tech document number 3030711004a.pdf.

Ya know that in my book Bill is what you call a true hero. That day we had gone into this LZ a number of times and had received intense fire each time. It was getting near night and the troops we had landed in the LZ needed help so we put together another flight of 10 aircraft. Lt Breed came over to our staging area with updated info and took over the pilot position in the lead aircraft. That is the aircraft Bill was in so he was taken off the flight. Here he comes walking down the flight line with his flight helmet in hand. I asked Bill what had happened and he said "I just got bumped off the flight by Lt Breed". I had been flying all day with a "new pilot" who I think had been in country about a week and was not up to our assault tactics so I asked Bill if he would like to fly with me. He could not wait to get in the aircraft and back into the action. We all knew it was going to be really bad but Bill wanted back in with the rest of us. He had been in country two months and had made a name for himself as a pilot who was good and could be depended on. He did not have to go...he knew it was going to be bad.... but Bill wanted to be there with his buddies and help anyway he could. That my friend is a true hero!

We flew him first to the med evad pad at Cu Chi where we picked up a nurse and doctor who worked on him. Than we flew him to Saigon where some doctors were waiting to work on his wounds.

Stan Perry

Casualty type: Hostile - died of wounds
married male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Religion: Roman Catholic
Burial information: MAGNOLIA CEMETERY, MERIDIAN, MS
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: warrant officer
This record was last updated on 05/21/2012


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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023


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