Tag: Iroquois explosion 24 March 1970

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Hosken, John Charles
Army Chief warrant officer

John Charles Hosken, age 22, from Chagrin Falls, Ohio, Cuyahoga county. Their last known residence was in Chagrin Falls.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Tuesday, March 24, 1970
Death details: On February 15, 2001, Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Chief Warrant Officer John Charles Hosken, missing from the Vietnam War.

Chief Warrant Officer Hosken joined the U.S. Army from Ohio and was a member of the 170th Aviation Company. On March 24, 1970, he was a gunner aboard a UH-1H Iroquois on a mission to extract a long-range reconnaissance patrol in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia. The aircraft picked up the recon team and was beginning its ascent when it suffered an explosion that caused it to crash. Chief Warrant Officer was killed in the incident. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented ground investigations of the UH-1H’s crash site at the time. In April 1995, a U.S. search team recovered remains associated with the loss of this helicopter. In 2001, U.S. analysts identified some of the recovered remains as those of CWO Hosken.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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Harned, Gary Alan
Army Sergeant 1st Class

Gary Alan Harned, age 19, from Springboro, Pennsylvania, Crawford county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: March 24, 1970
Death details: On February 15, 2001, Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Sergeant First Class Gary Alan Harned, missing from the Vietnam War.

Sergeant First Class Harned joined the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania and was a member of the 5th Special Forces Group. On March 24, 1970, he was a member of a long-range reconnaissance patrol in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia, that was extracted from the mission area by a UH-1H Iroquois. After picking up the patrol, the Iroquois suffered an explosion that caused it to crash. Sergeant First Class Harned was killed in the incident. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented immediate ground investigations of the UH-1H’s crash site. In April 1995, a joint U.S. and Vietnamese search team recovered remains associated with the loss of this helicopter. In 2001, U.S. analysts identified some of the recovered remains as those of SFC Harned.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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Boronski, John Arthur Army sergeant first class

John Arthur Boronski, age 23, from Ware, Massachusetts, Hampshire county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Tuesday, March 24, 1970
Death details: On February 15, 2001, Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Sergeant First Class John Arthur Boronski, missing from the Vietnam War.

Sergeant First Class Boronski joined the U.S. Army from Massachusetts and was a member of the 5th Special Forces Group. On March 24, 1970, he was a member of a long-range reconnaissance patrol in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia, that was extracted from the mission area by a UH-1H Iroquois. After picking up the patrol, the Iroquois suffered an explosion that caused it to crash. Sergeant First Class Boronski was killed in the incident. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented ground investigations of the UH-1H’s crash site at the time. In April 1995, a joint U.S. and Vietnamese search team recovered remains associated with the loss of SFC Boronski’s helicopter. In 2001, U.S. analysts identified some of the recovered remains as those of SFC Boronski.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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O’Donnell, Michael Davis
Army Major

Michael Davis O’Donnell, age 24, from Springfield, Illinois, Sangamon county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: March 24, 1970
Death details: On February 15, 2001, Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Major Michael Davis O’Donnell, missing from the Vietnam War.

Major O’Donnell joined the U.S. Army from Illinois and was a member of the 170th Aviation Company. On March 24, 1970, he was the aircraft commander aboard a UH-1H Iroquois on a mission to extract a long-range reconnaissance patrol in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia. The aircraft picked up the recon team and was beginning its ascent when it suffered an explosion that caused it to crash. Major O’Donnell was killed in the incident. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented ground investigations of the UH-1H’s crash site at the time. In April 1995, a U.S. search team recovered remains associated with the loss of MAJ O’Donnell’s helicopter. In 2001, advances in forensic techniques allowed for some of the recovered remains to be identified as those of MAJ O’Donnell.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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Ganoe, Berman Jr.
Army Staff sergeant

Berman Jr. Ganoe, age 25, from Belleview, Florida, Marion county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Tuesday, March 24, 1970
Death details: On February 15, 2001, the Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Staff Sergeant Berman Junior Ganoe, missing from the Vietnam War.
Staff Sergeant Ganoe joined the U.S. Army from Florida and was a member of the 170th Aviation Company. On March 24, 1970, he was a gunner aboard a UH-1H Iroquois on a mission to extract a long-range reconnaissance patrol in Ratanokiri Province, Cambodia. The aircraft picked up the recon team and was beginning its ascent when it suffered an explosion that caused it to crash. Staff Sergeant Ganoe was killed in the incident. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented ground investigations of the UH-1H’s crash site at the time. In April 1995, a U.S. search team recovered remains associated with the loss of SSG Ganoe’s helicopter. In 2001, advances in forensic techniques allowed for some of the remains to be identified as those of SSG Ganoe.
Cemetery: Memorialized in Nashville National

Source: National Archives, grave marker, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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Becerra, Rudy Morales
Army Staff sergeant

Rudy Morales Becerra, age 19, from Richmond, Texas, Fort Bend county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Tuesday, March 24, 1970
Death details: On February 15, 2001, Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Staff Sergeant Rudy Morales Becerra, missing from the Vietnam War.

Staff Sergeant Becerra joined the U.S. Army from Texas and was a member of the 170th Aviation Company. On March 24, 1970, he was the crew chief aboard a UH-1H Iroquois on a mission to extract a long-range reconnaissance patrol in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia. The aircraft picked up the recon team and was beginning its ascent when it suffered an explosion that caused it to crash. Staff Sergeant Becerra was killed in the incident. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented ground investigations of the UH-1H’s crash site at the time. In April 1995, a joint U.S. and Vietnamese search team recovered remains associated with the loss of SSG Becerra’s helicopter. In 2001, U.S. analysts identified some of the returned remains as those of SSG Becerra.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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Pool, Jerry Lynn
Army Captain

Jerry Lynn Pool, age 25, from Freeport, Illinois, Stephenson county.

Spouse: Darlene
Children: Son, 3

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Tuesday, March 24, 1970
Death details: On February 15, 2001, Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Captain Jerry Lynn Pool, missing from the Vietnam War. Captain Pool joined the U.S. Army from Illinois and was a member of the 5th Special Forces Group. On March 24, 1970, he was a member of a long-range reconnaissance patrol in Ratanakiri Province, Cambodia, that was extracted from the mission area by a UH-1H Iroquois. After picking up the patrol, the Iroquois suffered an explosion that caused it to crash. Captain Pool was killed in the incident. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented ground investigations of the UH-1H’s crash site at the time. In April 1995, a joint U.S. and Vietnamese search team recovered remains associated with the loss of CPT Pool’s helicopter. In 2001, U.S. analysts identified some of the recovered remains as those of CPT Pool.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency