DEMPSEY JACK TAYLOR

Name: COL Jack Taylor Dempsey
Status: Killed In Action from an incident on 03/26/1967 while performing the duty of Pilot.
Age at death: 45.8
Date of Birth: 06/02/1921
Home City: Coalgate, OK
Service: IN branch of the regular component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: 13 AVN BN
Major organization: other
Service: IN branch of the U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 17E-050
Short Summary: Shot through the head while landing his UH-1D C&C to pick up downed flight crews from his battalion. He was CO of 13th CAB.
Aircraft: UH-1D
Service number: O37816
Country: South Vietnam
MOS: 1983
Primary cause: Hostile Fire
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: small arms fire
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: aircraft commander
Started Tour: 05/16/1966
"Official" listing: helicopter air casualty - other aircrew
Length of service: 22
Location: Vinh Binh Province IV Corps.

Additional information about this casualty:
According to a letter published in the Spirng 2002 Knight Letter (from the 114th Aviation Assocation) from Dick Buerr, Don Casper was the other pilot with Colonel Dempsey on this mission. Dick states: "He (Don) was a long tall drink of water, who had been the Operations Officer in the 175th Outlaws when I was the Operations Officer in the 114th for a month or so earlier the previous Spring, so we had worked together in our sister companies and kew each otehr pretty well. Don was the battalion S-3 at the time. On that day, Easter Sunday 1967, Don was sitting on the ramp in the back of a UH-1 waiting to be evacuated to the hospital in Saigon while I stood by the aircraft and talked to him briefly. He held an oxygen mask intermittently to his face as we talked and a pressure bandage over a wound in his chest. It took me a little while to realize I shouldleave him alone until I saw that he would put the mask to his face and gasp for air after talking to me. When my feeble brain finally came out of flight idle, I realized he was in tough shape and got out of there to keep from bothering him. I knew he had to be restrained from his attempts to get the Colonel out of the aircraft but I didn't know the extent of his wounds. Bob Reid's comments in the last newsletter indicated he had been hit six times in the chest."

Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
Casualty type: Hostile - died while missing
married male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Religion: Protestant - no denominational preference
Burial information: ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, VA
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 04/19/2002

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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023