Information on U.S. Army helicopter OH-6A tail number
Date: 08/16/1968
Incident number: 68081666.KIA
Unit: D/1/1 CAV 101 ABN
This was a Combat incident. This helicopter was REPAIRED IN THEATER
This was a Recon mission for Unarmed Recon
Unknown this helicopter was Unknown at UNK feet and UNK knots.
South Vietnam
Count of hits was not possible because the helicopter burned or exploded.
Small Arms/Automatic Weapons; Gun launched non-explosive ballistic projectiles less than 20 mm in size. (7.62MM)
The helicopter was hit in the Cockpit
Systems damaged were: PERSONNEL
Casualties = 01 KIA . .
The helicopter made an Emergency Landing. Aircraft is later recovered by any means other than its own power.
Both mission and flight capability were terminated.
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Survivability/Vulnerability Information Analysis Center Helicopter database. Also: LNOF, 80331, CASRP (Lindenmuth Old Format Data Base. Casualty Report. )
Crew Members:
P CPT SKINNER GORDON A II KIA
War Story:
I was 1st Lt. Gordon Skinner's (SP-5) OH-6A AERO SCOUT crew chief, and trained with him, and all of the rest of the D Trp 1/1, 1st Rgt Dragoons, and was selected by him to be his personal crew chief, after training at Gray Army Airfield , Fort Hood, TX , in spring of '68. We (D 1/1) all shipped over as a unit to support the 101st ABN, Marine Recon and Army LRPs in I Corps, Camp Evans, Ashau, etc., out of the 2/17th area of Camp Eagle, throughout the latter phases of Tet.
The Troop's men, maintenance, headquarters and fight components, all flew in to 'Nam on a Boeing 707 (via Hawaii, Guam, and some other hell-hole, Da Nang, and then Phu Bai and Camp Eagle) to prepare and establish the D Trp area and aircraft revetments in advance of our choppper's arrival, i.e., OH-6As, Scouts, UH-1Ds (Aero-Rifles), and UH-1C-model gunships, which came over across the Pacific by ship, and arrived about a month later. We flew Pink and White teams, among other missions.
The first day we flew missions, Lt. Skinner was killed. I flew gun in the rear with the M60 with Skinner as pilot all that morning, and I believe (could be wrong) that it was "Mr. Copeland" (a WO) who flew as co-pilot. We had no contact with the bad guys at all that AM.
That afternoon, everyone was all fired up and wanted to fly and see some combat assault time, so my Scout Platoon Sergeant Braden (over my objection- because he was not trained to defend the ship as the M60 SCOUT gunner-observer) "bumped me" out of my rear gunner's place to get in some CA time.
Unfortunately, a short time afterwards while scouting out an area that afternoon, flying near to the deck, some VC stood up from the weeds and opened up with AK-47s. As near as I could tell from the aftermath and gore (that I had to clean up) , the only round that hit on the aircraft went right through the saber's ring painted in the lower front bubble, and hit Lt. Skinner from the front in the head, killing him. I have a photo of the bullet hole in the bubble that killed Lt. Skinner.
However, FYI, contrary to what the web site says, the OH-6A did not crash, and the copilot Mr. Copeland heroically flew it back to the medivac area with Lt. Skinner, who was unfortunately deceased and beyond help.
Also, my "Lifer" Scout Platoon Sgt. Braden was hit by the same fire that killed Skinner, breaking the humorous of both arms near the shoulders, but I understand he survived and as medically discharged later.
I cared for the same ship for the rest of my tour while I was in 'Nam, and to the best of my memory it was still flying when I ETS'd. I still feel great guilt for allowing myself to be bumped from the gunner position, because I was trained to protect the ship, and indeed successfully did so in many a shoot-out during for the rest of my tour.
If you need any other info to set this matter straight, or photos, then please advise.
From: Ronald N. Walker
This record was last updated on 12/26/2007
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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023
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