Information on U.S. Army helicopter OH-6A tail number 68-17329
The Army purchased this helicopter 1069
Total flight hours at this point: 00001335
Date: 10/26/1972
Incident number: 72102629.KIA
Unit: D/17 CAV
South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: BS576814 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 49PBS576814)
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Also: OPERA (Operations Report. )
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
P 1LT FLORENCE DEXTER BUSH KIA
OB SSG GOODNO KEVEN ZANE KIA
War Story:
While hovering near an NVA flag that was wired to the top of a tree, a booby trap was command detonated. The detonation killed the gunner outright and blew holes in the fuel cell causing the massive fireball that consumed the aircraft. Florence died three days later as a result of being burned over 90% of his body.
from Mike Sloniker, October 1998.
I was with D Trp 17th CAV, we orig. were D Troop 1/1 CAV
attached
to the 196th LIB when I got there on second tour Jan 72..Sometime in the
spring/summer D Troop 1/1 CAV stood down and they renamed us D Troop
17th
CAV...same call sign: Sabre.
I was a gun pilot and I believe Dexter was the Scout Platoon
leader
at the time...I've forwarded your note onto four other D Troop guys who
are
not on the net...they may be able to add some info.
I think the incident happened a week or so earlier and he died
in
Japan later.
Here's the story as best as I can remember...we were based at
Danang AFB at the time and were restricted to 4 hours flight time a day
doing the usual Cav Mission, even though were had stopped inserting the
Blues to check out anything. Dexter was hovering beside a flagpole with
an
NVA flag, when they detonated a mine or bomb. Got him and his gunner.
At
the time the Paris peace talks were going on and all kinds of NVA and
ARVN
flags were popping-up on hills all over the place because there was some
rumor that South Viet Nam would be divided-up based on who held what.
The previous day, I'd been AMC of the team that was working in
the
same general area and had sent the team (huey, two loaches and other
cobra)
back up to DaNang to refuel, rearm and get some lunch, while I gave the
unit we'd been working with, our spot reports. About a half hour later
I
took off to catch-up with the team and heard them talking on the radio
about picking-up "something"....when I found out what the "something"
was I
told them to get the f*** out of there and and get back to DaNang for
the
next mission.
The next day they were back in the same area and tried to snatch
an
NVA flag when the bomb was blown....I was with a different team up
north.
I think one or two of the other guys I forwarded your orig. note to,
were
there....so they would be better with the actual happenings that day.
BTW I don't know if you have Dexter's service record, but he
had
received the usual awards and had been in a few other "hairy"
situations,
ie: saved a Cobra gunner (Rich Cunnaire) during or at the end of the 72
Easter Offensive, when one of our Cobras was shot down...Chuck Dean the
A/C
was killed in that one, Aug 72. I wasn't on that one, but from what I
remember he and his wingman (Doug Brown, 2nd tour loach pilot) had to
hover
behind a hill, dropped off there gunners who got Cunnaire back to the
loach. Any questions, drop a note BC and we can discuss in more detail.
Bob Whitford, July 1999.
This record was last updated on 07/25/1999
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Date posted on this site: 11/13/2023
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