ambush 17 April 1969

Dahill, Douglas Edward
Army Sergeant 1st class

Douglas Edward Dahill, age 20, from Lima, Ohio, Allen county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, April 17, 1969
Death details: On September 16, 2010, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Sergeant First Class Douglas Edward Dahill, missing from the Vietnam War. Sergeant First Class Dahill joined the U.S. Army from Ohio and was a member of the 5th Special Forces Group. On April 17, 1969, he was a part of a long-range reconnaissance patrol in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam. The patrol was ambused by enemy forces, and thunderstorms in the area prevented air support from reaching the recon team. Search teams surveying the area the next day found no sign of the patrol members. After the war, joint U.S./Vietnamese investigators excavated the site associated with the ambush and recovered human remains. In 2010, modern forensic techniques allowed for the identification of SFC Dahill from among the recovered remains.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com

Newton, Charles Vernon
Army Major sergeant

Charles Vernon Newton, age 28, from Canadian, Texas, Hemphill county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, April 17, 1969

Death details: On August 11, 2010, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Master Sergeant Charles Vernon Newton, missing from the Vietnam War.

Master Sergeant Newton joined the U.S. Army from Texas and was a member of the 5th Special Forces Group. On April 17, 1969, he was a part of a long-range reconnaissance patrol in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam. The patrol was ambushed by enemy forces, and thunderstorms in the area prevented air support from reaching the recon team. Master Sergeant Newton was killed in the attack and search teams were unable to locate his remains following the incident. After the war, joint U.S. and Vietnamese investigators excavated the site associated with the ambush and recovered human remains. In 2010, modern forensic techniques identified MSG Newton from among the recovered remains.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com 

Prevedel, Charles Francis
Army Sergeant 1st class

Charles Francis Prevedel, age 25, from Florissant, Missouri, St. Louis county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, April 17, 1969
Death details: On November 18, 2003, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Sergeant First Class Charles Francis Prevedel, missing from the Vietnam War. Sergeant First Class Prevedel joined the U.S. Army from Missouri and was a member of the 5th Special Forces Group. On April 17, 1969, he was a part of a long-range reconnaissance patrol in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam. The patrol was ambushed by enemy forces, and thunderstorms in the area prevented air support from reaching the recon team. SFC Prevedel was killed during the incident, but search teams that surveyed the area the next day found no sign of him or the other patrol members. However, after the war, a joint U.S. and Vietnamese investigative team excavated the site of the ambush and recovered human remains there. In 2003, some of the recovered remains were identified as those of SFC Prevedel.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com

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