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On a mission
from Ban Me Thout East to Duc Lap, 4 Army helicopters headed south of base on a thick foggy morning.
Visibility was zero, so they had to follow a narrow road cut out of the
trees and fly under the clouds at about 50' off the ground. Wim was in
the lead aircraft with David Karl Erenstoft at the controls. The road
was cleared 50' on each side through a thick jungle area. Because they had
to fly under the clouds it was necessary to fly fast to avoid getting hit by
bullets. They were traveling between 60 and 80 mph. Rick
Gilleland was piloting the third copter and talking on the radio to the lead
copter. Then suddenly there was no response from chopper one. Still flying
about 50' off ground... about 30 miles into the 40 mile trip and spotted
smoke off the left side and kept flying.
They ended their trip
and the lead chopper was a no-show... they waited 30 minutes, calling
back on the radio and receiving no response. They all went up and retraced
their flight path searching along the road.
The Huey had crashed. They
found only one survivor, a
Vietnamese man who told the Army his story of the crash. He reportedly told
Army officials that they had gotten too high in the fog and couldn't see
where they were going, or maybe the fog had hung lower to the ground.
The pilot had no visibility. He banked right then left and then hit
the tree line. That one Vietnamese man (name unknown) survived. A medivac
unit was sent to retrieve the remains of the soldiers.
Military officials informed us at the
time of his death that Wim pulled the civilian out of the crash and went in
to remove the remaining men, who were believed to be deceased by the
witness, when the chopper exploded in flames, taking his life. He was
awarded the Bronze Star for Bravery and many more medals were awarded and
presented to his family. South Vietnam posthumously presented him with 6
assorted medals for his bravery.
Lost were:
WO1 David Karl Erenstoft
1LT Jacob Lee Kinser
SP5 William Robert Rogne
SP4 Wim Goeree
6 ARVN Soldiers
I wish to thank pilot
and hero
- RICK GILLELAND
- FLYING BUDDY
8027 GREENSIDE CT
CHARLOTTE, NC 28277
for supplying me with
some of the details of the crash that took my beloved Wim.
Though it is still
very painful for Rick, he has generously offered to speak with anyone who
wishes to learn about the incident or the men he knew and fought with.
If you lost a loved one in this crash you may contact Rick, who was in the
3rd of the 4 choppers on that mission . You may contact him at:
rickgillelandclt@yahoo.com
and if you wish to
speak with me I can be reached at:
FlCowgirl51@yahoo.com
or my web email:
BScott@MareMeadows.com
I have heard from Lt Kinser's
daugher, Kim and little brother, Sam, who also served our country. I
wish to publicly thank them both for visiting this site and for writing to
me. It helps, somehow, to know that I am not alone in my over 30 years
of loss and pain. It also helps to know that we are all seeking
answers.
If anyone has any information about
this incident.. or pictures that include any of the Americans that were on
this flight, please contact me.
FlCowgirl51@yahoo.com
or my web email:
BScott@MareMeadows.com
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