Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1C tail number 66-00680
The Army purchased this helicopter 1166
Total flight hours at this point: 00000615
Date: 08/04/1968
Incident number: 68080404.KIA
Unit: C/101 AVN 101 ABN
This was a Combat incident. This helicopter was LOSS TO INVENTORY
for Close Air Support
While Enroute this helicopter was at Level Flight at 0400 feet and 080 knots.
South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: YC423959 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48QYC423959)
Helicopter took 1 hits from:
Small Arms/Automatic Weapons; Gun launched non-explosive ballistic projectiles less than 20 mm in size. (7.62MM)
causing a Fire.
Systems damaged were: PERSONNEL
Casualties = 01 DOI, 04 INJ . .
The helicopter Crashed. Aircraft Destroyed.
Both mission and flight capability were terminated.
Burned
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense
Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Survivability/Vulnerability Information Analysis
Center Helicopter database. Also: OPERA, UH1P3, 21706 (Operations Report. )
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
AC CW2 CLARK LARRY L
P CW2 GASKINS CURTIS
CE SP4 KIM HARRY KIA
G SGT BURTON ROBERT
War Story:
My name is Fred Norris and I was a door gunner with the 188th AHC black widows (spiders) in Vietnam in 1968. I noticed on your site there is no historical record of the loss of one of our gun ship on 4-Aug-68 which resulted in death of the crew chief, KIA, SP4 Harry Kim.
Recently I found the tail number of his helicopter 66-00680. In case of any confusion on the date of Kim's death, records show him as deceased, KIA, 5-Aug.-68, the day his remains were recovered from the crash site. The actual incident occurred on the morning of 4-Aug.-68. Both pilots and the gunner survived the crash. All three were wounded. At the time the incident occurred the 188th was being infused to C company 101st ABD.
Information for crew members on C model gunship 66-00680, AC CW2 Larry Clark, Pilot CW2 Curtis Gaskins (deceased DAT) Crew chief SP/4 Harry Kim (KIA) Gunner Sgt. Robert Burton (deceased DAT). Information for crew members on C model gunship 66-15087 Frog 40mm cannon, AC CW2 Paul Wheeler, Pilot 1LT Gilbert Murphy, Crew chief SP5 James Parrish (deceased DAT) Gunner SP/4 Mike Searles. Both of the aircraft were shot down and destroyed at about the same time in the Ashau Valley. A third C model gunship, our Hog, 66-00711 with 48 shot pods, was hit by ground fire and had to jetison it's pods near Tabat airstrip. Pilot was CW2 Harold Clark. I only mention this because all three were on the same mission.
From: Fred Norris
This record was last updated on 07/21/2010
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Date posted on this site:
08/17/2025
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