Pacific Stars and Stripes information
for 101 ABN
For date 700404
101 ABN was a US Army unit
Primary service involved, US Army
Quang Nam Province, I Corps, South Vietnam
Location, Hue
Description: The following is an edited version of an article titled "Death-Defying Copter Crew Rescues 5 GIs"
HUE (UPI) - Two Army helicopter pilots from Michigan landed their chopper under heavy fire Wednesday and lifted out five seriously wounded U.S. paratroopers, the Army said Thursday. The pilots of the UH1 (Huey) command helicopters were identified as Warrant Officers Stephen A. Tramilla of Grosse Pointe and Franze A. Schultz of Sault Ste. Marie. Officials said the action scene was a "hot" landing zone 25 miles west of Hue and about 390 miles north of Saigon. Assisting in the rescue mission were Lt. Col. Richard S. Frye, of the 101st Airborne Div., and his command sergeant major, Leo F. Plante. Both are from Fayetteville, N.C. Frye and Plante were in the command helicopter when they picked up the call for a "medevac" chopper. "The colonel said 'We'll go in and get them,' and we went in," Plante said. "He jumped out of one end of the Huey when we landed and I jumped out of the other. Then we began loading the wounded. "Mortar shells began dropping around the helicopter, the Army said, but it was not damaged. "If it weren't for those pilots we could never have gotten in or out," Plante said of Tramilla and Schultz. "That was an awfully small LZ."
Comments: WO Tramilla, Stephen A.; pilot 101 ABN; ;
WO Schultz, Franze A.; pilot 101 ABN; ;
LTC Frye, Richard S.; 101 ABN; ;
CSM Plante, Leo F.; 101 ABN; ;
The source for this information was 7004pss.avn supplied by Les Hines 02/02/2000
Additional information is available on CD-ROM.
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Last updated
02/03/2000
Date posted on this site:
05/13/2023