Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1H tail number 68-15392
The Army purchased this helicopter 0269
Total flight hours at this point: 00000143
Date: 05/23/1969 MIA-POW file reference number: 1446
Incident number: 69052333.KIA
Unit: 155 AHC
Cambodia
UTM grid coordinates: YU693870 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 48PYU693870)
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense Intelligence Agency Reference Notes. Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Also: 1446 ()
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
CE SP5 RAMIREZ ARMANDO BNR
G PFC QUINTANA SANTIAGO V E KIA
P WO1 MENZEL RICHARD M RES
AC WO1 GREEN JEROME E RES
Passengers and/or other participants:
DOLPH ARTHUR, AR, PX, RES
SCHNEIDER MARK, AR, PX, RES
SGT HILL HOWARD SCOTT, AR, PX, KIA
SP4 STROUT PHILIP WILLIAM, AR, PX, KIA
REFNO Synopsis:
Other Personnel in Incident: Crew of UH1H: Richard Menzel; Jerome Green (both survived); Santiago V.E. Quintana (died of injuries/wounds); 5th Special Forces Group team: Philip W. Strout; Howard S. Hill (both died of injuries/wounds); Arthur Dolph; Mark Schneider (both survived)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 April 1990 from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.
SYNOPSIS: SP5 Armando Ramirez was stationed at Ban Me Thuot in South Vietnam as a member of the 155th Assault Helicopter company. He was crew chief onboard a UH1H helicopter -- the Huey -- that performed a wide variety of duties in Vietnam. When the word "Huey" was mentioned, it always meant "move."
On May 23, 1969, Ramirez' helicopter crew was called on to insert a 5th Special Forces team into Cambodia for a classified mission. The chopper was hit by ground fire and crashed near Highway 13 in Kracheh Province, some 75 miles into Cambodia. Ramirez was trapped beneath the wreckage. The rest of the crew and passengers were pinned down by continuous heavy enemy fire and could not reach the wreckage to help or extract Ramirez. Quintana, Strout and Hill were mortally wounded in the fire fight that ensued.
A rescue team of Vietnamese commanded by an American was inserted a short distance away from the trapped men, and arrived at the site just before dusk. there was still gunfire heard, but the men were no longer under direct fire. It was decided to evacuate the surviving crew and team members and the bodies of the dead. The helicopter could not be moved to extract Ramirez' body without heavy equipment, so the men were forced to leave him behind.
Two days later, a search and recovery team arrived at the site to find that not only was there no sign of Ramirez, but also that a road had been cleared and the chopper was gone.
War Story:
About 75 miles deep in Cambodia. Green the aircraft commander was temporarily pinned in the cockpit. We were a medivac out of Song Be. Weather prevented immediate recovery. Also there were quad 50s in the area.
This record was last updated on 11/29/1998
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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023
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