Helicopter crash 26 October 1971

Finger, Sanford Ira
Army Staff sergeant

Sanford Ira Finger, age 29, from New York City, New York.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Tuesday, October 26, 1971
Death details: U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Sanford I. Finger, 29, killed during the Vietnam War, was accounted for Aug. 23, 2022. In October 1971, Finger was assigned to the U.S. Army Element Vietnam, Army Air Force Regional Exchange, Pacific Exchange (Manager of the An Son Post Exchange), U.S. Army Headquarters Area Command. On Oct. 26, Finger was lost when the CH-47B Chinook helicopter on which he was a passenger went down over water in bad weather while flying from Tuy Hoa to Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam. Remains of four of the 10 Soldiers on board were recovered during search and rescue operations following the crash, but Finger was not accounted for.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Green, Thomas Frederick
Army Private 1st class

Thomas Frederick Green, age 19, from Ramona, California, San Diego county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Tuesday, October 26, 1971
Death details: Thomas F. Green, 19, killed during the Vietnam War, was accounted for Aug. 23, 2022. In October 1971, Green was assigned to the 68th Aviation Company, 52nd Aviation Battalion, 17th Aviation Group. On Oct. 26, Green was serving as the door gunner on a CH-47B Chinook helicopter when it went down over water in bad weather while flying from Tuy Hoa to Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam. Remains of four of the 10 Soldiers on board were recovered during search and rescue operations following the crash, but Green was not accounted for.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Lautzenheiser, Michael
Army Specialist 5

Michael Lautzenheiser from Muncie, Indiana, Delaware county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Tuesday, October 26, 1971
Death details: On October 26, 1971, a CH-47 Chinook (tail number 66-19143, call sign “Warrior 143”) with five crew members and five passengers aboard left Tuy Hoa, South Vietnam, on a supply mission to Cam Rahn Bay, South Vietnam. The helicopter encountered inclement weather and lost radio communication before it crashed into the water off the coast of Nha Trang. Search and rescue missions recovered four bodies and retreived debris that washed ashore on Hon Tre Island. The other six men aboard the helicopter remain missing. Specialist 5 Michael Lautzenheiser, who joined the U.S. Army from Indiana, served with the 68th Aviation Company, 52nd Aviation Battalion, 17th Aviation Group. He was the flight engineer aboard the Chinook when it crashed on October 26, 1971, and his remains were not recovered. Today, Specialist 5 Lautzenheiser is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Nickol, Robert Allen
Army Specialist 5

Robert Allen Nickol from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Northampton county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Tuesday, October 26, 1971
Death details: On October 26, 1971, a CH-47 Chinook (tail number 66-19143, call sign “Warrior 143”) with five crew members and five passengers aboard left Tuy Hoa, South Vietnam, on a supply mission to Cam Rahn Bay, South Vietnam. The helicopter encountered inclement weather and lost radio communication before it crashed into the water off the coast of Nha Trang. Search and rescue missions recovered four bodies and retreived debris that washed ashore on Hon Tre Island. The other six men aboard the helicopter remain missing. Specialist 5 Robert Allen Nickol, who joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania, served with the Headquarters & Headquarters Troop, 7th Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment (Air), 1st Aviation Group. He was a passenger aboard the Chinook when it crashed, and his remains were not recovered. Specialist 5 Nickol is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Trudeau, Albert Raymond
Army Warrant officer

Albert Raymond Trudeau from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Milwaukee county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Tuesday, October 26, 1971
Death details: On October 26, 1971, a CH-47 Chinook (tail number 66-19143, call sign “Warrior 143”) with five crew members and five passengers aboard left Tuy Hoa, South Vietnam, on a supply mission to Cam Rahn Bay, South Vietnam. The helicopter encountered inclement weather and lost radio communication before it crashed into the water off the coast of Nha Trang. Search and rescue missions recovered four bodies and retrieved debris that washed ashore on Hon Tre Island. The other six men aboard the helicopter remain missing. Warrant Officer Albert Raymond Trudeau, who joined the U.S. Army from Wisconsin, served with the 68th Aviation Company, 52nd Aviation Battalion, 17th Aviation Group. He was the pilot of the Chinook when it crashed, and his remains were not recovered. Warrant Officer Trudeau is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency 

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