Taylor, James Harry
Army 2nd lieutenant

James Harry Taylor from Oroville, California, Butte county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Monday, February 15, 1971
Death details:  On February 15, 1971, a CH-47C Chinook (tail number 18506, call sign “Regard 25”) carrying five crew members and one passenger, took part in a combat support resupply mission over Laos. During the flight, “Regard 25” caught fire, exploded, and crashed near the Pon River in Savannakhet Province, Laos. Another helicopter that had witnessed the incident performed an aerial search of the crash site, but found no sign of any of the crew. The remains of the crew chief, door gunner, flight engineer, and the passenger were eventually recovered and identified; however, the remains of the aircraft commander and pilot were not recovered.

Second Lieutenant James Harry Taylor entered the U.S. Army from California and served with Company C, 159th Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. He was the aircraft commander on this Chinook at the time of its loss and was not recovered after the crash. Today, Second Lieutenant Taylor is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency