tail number 68-15255

Berg, George Phillip
Army Chief warrant officer

George Phillip Berg, age 24, from Belford, New Jersey, Monmouth county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, February 18, 1971
Death details: On February 18, 1971, a UH-1H Iroquois (tail number 68-15255) with four crew members took off as one of four helicopters on an emergency extraction mission for soldiers from a Special Forces camp located on the west side of A Shau Valley in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. Enemy troops fired on the Iroquois as it attempted to rescue the ground troops using a stable extraction rig, forcing the pilot to leave the area with three men still attached to the rigs. One of the troops on the extraction rigs fell off into the jungle and was eventually rescued. A short time after he fell, the helicopter was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire, which caused it to crash and burn with the four crew members and two rescued ground troops still inside. Warrant Officer 1 George Phillip Berg entered the U.S. Army from New Jersey and was a member of Company A, 101st Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. He was the aircraft commander aboard this Iroquois when it crashed, and he was lost with the aircraft. Attempts to locate or identify his remains have been unsuccessful. After the incident, the U.S. Army promoted WO1 Woods to the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2). Today, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Berg is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

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

Demsey, Walter Edward Jr.
Army Specialist 4

Walter Edward Jr. Demsey, age 21, from Glendora, New Jersey, Camden county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, February 18, 1971
Death details: On February 18, 1971, a UH-1H Iroquois (tail number 68-15255) with four crew members took off as one of four helicopters on an emergency extraction mission for soldiers from a Special Forces camp located on the west side of A Shau Valley in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. Enemy troops fired on the Iroquois as it attempted to rescue the ground troops using a stable extraction rig, forcing the pilot to leave the area with three men still attached to the rigs. One of the troops on the extraction rigs fell off into the jungle and was eventually rescued. A short time after he fell, the helicopter was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire, which caused it to crash and burn with the four crew members and two rescued ground troops still inside. Specialist 4 Walter Edward Demsey Jr. entered the U.S. Army from New Jersey and was a member of Company A, 101st Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. He was the crew chief aboard this Iroquois when it crashed, and he was lost with the aircraft. Attempts to locate or identify his remains have been unsuccessful. Today, Specialist 4 Demsey is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

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

Johnson, Gary Lee
Army Specialist 4

Gary Lee Johnson, age 20, from Malibu, California, Los Angeles county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, February 18, 1971
Death details: On February 18, 1971, a UH-1H Iroquois (tail number 68-15255) with four crew members took off as one of four helicopters on an emergency extraction mission for soldiers from a Special Forces camp located on the west side of A Shau Valley in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. Enemy troops fired on the Iroquois as it attempted to rescue the ground troops using a stable extraction rig, forcing the pilot to leave the area with three men still attached to the rigs. One of the troops on the extraction rigs fell off into the jungle and was eventually rescued. A short time after he fell, the helicopter was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire, which caused it to crash and burn with the four crew members and two rescued ground troops still inside. Specialist 4 Gary Lee Johnson entered the U.S. Army from California and was a member of Company A, 101st Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. He was the door gunner aboard this Iroquois when it crashed, and was lost with the aircraft. Attempts to locate or identify his remains have been unsuccessful. Today, Specialist 4 Johnson is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

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

Lloyd, Allen Richard
Army Sergeant

Allen Richard Lloyd, age 21, from Saint Charles, Minnesota, Winona county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, February 18, 1971
Death details: On February 18, 1971, a UH-1H Iroquois (tail number 68-15255) with four crew members took off as one of four helicopters on an emergency extraction mission for soldiers from a Special Forces camp located on the west side of A Shau Valley in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. Enemy troops fired on the Iroquois as it attempted to rescue the ground troops using a stable extraction rig, forcing the pilot to leave the area with three men still attached to the rigs. One of the troops on the extraction rigs fell off into the jungle and was eventually rescued. A short time after he fell, the helicopter was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire, which caused it to crash and burn with the four crew members and two rescued ground troops still inside. Sergeant Allen Richard Lloyd entered the U.S. Army from Minnesota and was a member of a member of Command and Control North, 5th Special Forces Group. He was one of the ground troops being rescued by this Iroquois when it was hit by enemy fire and crashed, and he was lost in the incident. Attempts to locate or identify his remains have been unsuccessful. Today, Sergeant Lloyd is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

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

Watson, Ronald Leonard
Army Captain

Ronald Leonard Watson, age 26, from El Paso, Texas, El Paso county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, February 18, 1971
Death details: On February 18, 1971, a UH-1H Iroquois (tail number 68-15255) with four crew members took off as one of four helicopters on an emergency extraction mission for soldiers from a Special Forces camp located on the west side of A Shau Valley in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. Enemy troops fired on the Iroquois as it attempted to rescue the ground troops using a stable extraction rig, forcing the pilot to leave the area with three men still attached to the rigs. One of the troops on the extraction rigs fell off into the jungle and was eventually rescued. A short time after he fell, the helicopter was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire, which caused it to crash and burn with the four crew members and two rescued ground troops still inside. Captain Ronald Leonard Watson entered the U.S. Army from Texas and was a member of Command and Control North, 5th Special Forces Group. He was being extracted by this Iroquois when it was shot down, and he was lost in the incident. His remains were not recovered. Today, Captain Watson is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

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

Woods, Gerald Ernest
Army Warrant officer 1st class

Gerald Ernest Woods, age 21, from Salem, Oregon, Marion county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, February 18, 1971
Death details: On February 18, 1971, a UH-1H Iroquois (tail number 68-15255) with four crew members took off as one of four helicopters on an emergency extraction mission for soldiers from a Special Forces camp located on the west side of A Shau Valley in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. Enemy troops fired on the Iroquois as it attempted to rescue the ground troops using a stable extraction rig, forcing the pilot to leave the area with three men still attached to the rigs. One of the troops on the extraction rigs fell off into the jungle and was eventually rescued. A short time after he fell, the helicopter was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire, which caused it to crash and burn with the four crew members and two rescued ground troops still inside. Warrant Officer 1 Gerald Ernest Woods entered the U.S. Army from Oregon and was a member of Company A, 101st Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. He was the pilot of this Iroquois when it crashed, and was lost with the aircraft. Attempts to locate or identify his remains have been unsuccessful. Today, Warrant Officer 1 Woods is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

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

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