Helicopter crash 16 May 1971

Farlow, Craig Lee
Army Chief warrant officer

Craig Lee Farlow, age 23, from Cleveland, Ohio, Cuyahoga county. Their last known residence was in Cleveland.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, May 16, 1971
Death details: 

On May 16, 1971, a UH-1H Iroquois (tail number 68-15491, call sign “Chalk 7”) with four crew members participated in a combat assault mission inserting Army of Vietnam soldiers into an area in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. The helicopter was the seventh helicopter to land during the mission, and the pilots of the fifth and sixth helicopters reported receiving hostile fire as they lifted off from the landing zone. After this UH-1 touched down, the pilot radioed that he was taking enemy fire, and that his crew chief was wounded. As he took off, the helicopter lost rotor power, crashed into the trees, and caught fire. Witnesses saw no survivors exit the helicopter. Enemy activity prevented an immediate search and rescue effort, and a later ground search failed to locate the remains of all but one of the U.S. crew aboard the helicopter.

Warrant Officer 1 (WO1) Craig Lee Farlow, who joined the U.S. Army from Ohio, served in Company A, 101st Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. He was the aircraft commander aboard the UH-1 when it crashed, and his remains were not recovered.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Nolan, Joseph Paul Jr.
Army Captain

Joseph Paul Nolan Jr,, age 20, from Oak Park, Illinois, Cook county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, May 16, 1971
Death details:  On May 16, 1971, a UH-1H Iroquois (tail number 68-15491, call sign “Chalk 7”) with four crew members participated in a combat assault mission inserting Army of Vietnam soldiers into an area in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. The helicopter was the seventh helicopter to land during the mission, and the pilots of the fifth and sixth helicopters reported receiving hostile fire as they lifted off from the landing zone. After this UH-1 touched down, the pilot radioed that he was taking enemy fire, and that his crew chief was wounded. As he took off, the helicopter lost rotor power, crashed into the trees, and caught fire. Witnesses saw no survivors exit the helicopter. Enemy activity prevented an immediate search and rescue effort, and a later ground search failed to locate the remains of all but one of the U.S. crew aboard the helicopter.

First Lieutenant Joseph Paul Nolan Jr., who joined the U.S. Army from Illinois, served with Company A, 101st Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. He was the pilot of the UH-1 when it crashed, and his remains were not recovered. After the incident, the Army promoted First Lieutenant Nolan to the rank of Captain. Today, Captain Nolan is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Crook, Elliott
Army Specialist 5

Elliott Crook, age 22, from Arizona, Maricopa county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Sunday, May 16, 1971

Death details:  On May 16, 1971, a UH-1H Iroquois (tail number 68-15491, call sign “Chalk 7”) with four crew members participated in a combat assault mission inserting Army of Vietnam soldiers into an area in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. The helicopter was the seventh helicopter to land during the mission, and the pilots of the fifth and sixth helicopters reported receiving hostile fire as they lifted off from the landing zone. After this UH-1 touched down, the pilot radioed that he was taking enemy fire, and that his crew chief was wounded. As he took off, the helicopter lost rotor power, crashed into the trees, and caught fire. Witnesses saw no survivors exit the helicopter. Enemy activity prevented an immediate search and rescue effort, and a later ground search failed to locate the remains of all but one of the U.S. crew aboard the helicopter.

Specialist 4 Elliott Crook, who joined the U.S. Army from Arizona, served with Company A, 101st Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. He was the crew chief aboard the UH-1 when it crashed, and his remains were not recovered. After the incident, the Army promoted Specialist 4 Crook to the rank of Specialist 5. Today, Specialist 5 Crook is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Jacobsen, Timothy John
Army Sergeant

Timothy Jon Jacobsen, age 21, from Ferndale, California, Humboldt county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Sunday, May 16, 1971
Death details: On July 12, 2008, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Sergeant Timothy John Jacobsen, missing from the Vietnam War.
Sergeant Jacobsen joined the U.S. Army from California and was a member of the 101st Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. On May 16, 1971, he was a crew member aboard a UH-1H Iroquois (tail number 68-15491, call sign “Chalk 7”) on a combat assault mission near Hue, Vietnam. The helicopter was damaged by enemy ground fire as it touched down at the landing zone, causing it to crash into a line of trees and explode. Sergeant Jacobsen was killed in the crash, and his remains could not be recovered following the incident. In 2002, a joint U.S./Vietnamese recovery team interviewed Vietnamese locals who showed the team two burial sites associated with the Chalk 7’s loss, and excavations there in 2006 recovered human remains. Modern forensic techniques were able to individually identify SGT Jacobsen from among the remains recovered.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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