Wasco California

Stephen Chavira, age 28, from Wasco, California, Kern county.

Parents: Joe M. Chavira

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Friday, May 28, 1971
Death details: On May 28, 1971, an OH-6A Cayuse (tail number 67-16670) carrying two crew members took off as one of four aircraft on a visual reconnaissance mission in the northern A Shau Valley, Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. During an area recheck, one of the other pilots on the mission saw a rocket-propelled grenade round strike the Cayuse, causing the aircraft’s tail boom to bend and double. The aircraft exploded and crashed and burned on a small knoll at grid coordinates YD 284 087. None of the witnesses reported seeing anyone thrown clear of the helicopter during the mid-air explosion or the ensuing crash. No ground search was conducted due to the enemy activity in the area, and aerial searches failed to locate any signs of survivors or the crew’s remains. Specialist 4 Stephen Chavira entered the U.S. Army from California and was a member of Troop B, 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He was the observer aboard the OH-6 and was lost with the aircraft when it crashed. His remains were not recovered. After the incident, the U.S. Army promoted Specialist 4 Chavira to the rank of Specialist 5. Today, Specialist 5 Chavira is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, San Francisco Examiner (1971)