Pacific Stars and Stripes information
for HMH-463
For date 680122
HMH-463 was a US Marine Corps unit
Primary service involved, US Marine Corps
Incident reference: 68010863.KIA This information is available on CD-ROM.
Thua Thien Province, I Corps, South Vietnam
Location, Phu Bai
Description: Monday 22Jan68-41 Bodies Found With Lost Copter
SAIGON (AP) - U.S. rescue teams reached the wreckage Friday of a giant Marine helicopter that crashed Jan. 8 near the demilitarized zone with 41 persons aboard and reported all were dead, U.S. headquarters announced. The toll makes it the worst helicopter disaster of the Vietnam war. Bad weather had kept rescue teams away from the site where the hump-backed CH53 helicopter crashed into a mountain on a trip from Dong Ha, 11 miles south of the demilitarized zone, to Phu Bai, 49 miles farther south. The wreckage was spotted four days after the crash. The U.S. Command at the time listed as missing the five-man Marine crew and 36 passengers - 31 Marines, three Navy men, one Army man and a civilian employee of the Army’s post exchange system. The CH53 is the largest troop-carrying helicopter operating in Vietnam.
The source for this information was 6801pss.avn & paper source documents supplied by Les Hines
Additional information is available on CD-ROM.
Please send additions or corrections to: Gary Roush Email address: webmaster@vhpa.org
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Date posted on this site:
05/13/2023