Information on U.S. Army helicopter OH-6A tail number 67-16619
The Army purchased this helicopter 0269
Total flight hours at this point: 00000776
Date: 09/04/1969
Incident number: 69090417.KIA
Unit: C/7/17 CAV
This was a Combat incident. This helicopter was REPAIRED
This was a Recon mission for Armed Recon
While On Target this helicopter was Attacking at 0050 feet and 030 knots.
South Vietnam
Helicopter took 4 hits from:
Small Arms/Automatic Weapons; Gun launched non-explosive ballistic projectiles less than 20 mm in size. (7.62MM)
The helicopter was hit in the Bottom
Systems damaged were: PERSONNEL, FUEL SYS
Casualties = 01 WIA . .
The helicopter Continued Flight.
The aircraft was diverted prior to accomplishing any mission objectives.
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated:
Survivability/Vulnerability Information Analysis Center Helicopter database. Also: LNNF, JSIDR,
CASRP, Bruce Carlson see Red Bird Down! P:300 (Lindenmuth New Format Data Base. Joint Services
Incident Damage Report. Casualty Report. )
Summary: Took at least one hit during a VR mission that seriously wounded the Observer.
Crew Members:
OB SGT STANTON SCOTT NEAL KIA
P WO1 CARLSON BRUCE E
War Story:
The VHPA believes this is the OH-6A in which Scotty was injuried. The following narrative was prepared as directed by Bruce E. Carlson, Red 14. Bruce was a dear friend of Scotty and was flying the LOH on the day Scotty was wounded. Scotty is the novelized Johnny in Bruce's book Red Bird Down! The chapter named Johnny starting on page 300 basically recounts the events. Briefly, this was a standard Scout team leader ship with a three-man crew. Scotty was flying in the rear as Observer. In the novel, Pete, the CE, is ? and Kev is Bruce. Both were flying in the front. The mission that day was to conduct a VR near Flurry Hill. On their first recon, they didn't see much. As they relieved the second team, those Scouts told Bruce that they had heard a series of single shots possibly from the famous 'One Shot Charlie' but had not been able to get a fix on him. Bruce and his crew decided they would try to flush out 'ole one-shot' and for the next few minutes conducted an active recon to locate him. Finally, Scotty yelled over the intercom that he had heard him again but couldn't identify his location specifically. After a few minutes, Scotty came up with an idea to swing out over the valley and come in toward a big clump of trees. At 150 feet and maybe 40 knots, they started back toward the area where Scotty thought ole one shot was hiding. Scotty began firing his M-60 but abruptly stopped. Bruce asked over the intercom what was happening but Scotty said nothing. Bruce looked back and noticed that Scotty had pulled himself back into the LOH. Bruce called for his wing and the Snakes to fire up the area they had just overflown then had the CE unstrap and check on Scotty. The CE stuck his head and one shoulder past the bulkhead to check on Scotty then reported that he had been hit and was bleeding all over the place. They would later learn that Scotty sustained a horrific wound in a leg and that a main artery was severed. As Bruce climbed for altitude, he informed MAJ Hahn in the C&C of the situation and said he wanted to fly directly to the aid station. MAJ Hahn agreed and dispatched one of the Snakes, White 23, to go the ten or so miles to the aid station with Bruce. In his novel, Bruce calls the LOH 'Rocinante' and says its tail number was 662; but the VHPA Helicopter database suggests it was #67-16619. Anyway, Bruce red-lined the LOH to the aid station. On the way they talk to Scotty to keep him from going into shock and instructed him to reach one hand into the wound to pinch off the artery. Because of the radio calls, the aid station was prepared when the LOH touched down. Bruce stayed with Scotty for awhile and finally left after he could see that the medical staff was maxed out in their efforts to save Scotty. As best Bruce can remember, Scotty lived another five days. The aid station was able to stabilize him enough to be transported to the field hospital in Nha Trang. Apparently even with a body cast for protection, while being transported in an USAF medevac to Japan, the artery in his leg began bleeding again and Scotty died from the loss of blood. To say that Scotty was loved and respected by all who knew him and to say the Bruce has never gotten over Scotty's death are both serious understatements.
This record was last updated on 09/15/2000
This information is available on CD-ROM.
Additional information is available on KIAs at http://www.coffeltdatabase.org
Please send additions or corrections to: The VHPA Webmaster Gary Roush.
KIA statistics
Return to the KIA panel date index
Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023
Copyright © 1998 - 2023 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association