View Full Version : Vietnam MIAs recovered (SOG mission - CCC RT Maine)
Part 1
http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=13980
Missing Vietnam War Soldiers Identified
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of three servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.
Army Staff Sgt. Robert S. Griffith, of Hapeville, Ga., will be buried on Oct. 23 in Fairburn, Ga. The group remains of the other two soldiers which could not be individually identified -- Army Staff Sgt. Melvin C. Dye, of Carleton, Mich., and Sgt. 1st Class Douglas J. Glover, of Cortland, N.Y., will be buried at a later date. The men were aboard a UH-1H Iroquois helicopter on Feb. 19, 1968, when it was shot down by enemy fire in Laos. They were involved in an attempt to extract a long-range reconnaissance patrol in the mountains of Attapu Province. Three other American service members survived the crash and were rescued, but three Vietnamese Montagnards did not survive.
Several hours after the crash, a team was dispatched to survey the location and reported seeing remains of at least five people. Enemy activity prevented remains recovery at that time. The following month a second team was sent to the crash site but found no remains.
In 1995, a joint U.S.-Lao People's Democratic Republic team traveled to the recorded grid coordinates for the crash site but found no evidence of a helicopter crash. The team then surveyed a second location in the area where they found helicopter wreckage and human remains. In 2006, a follow-on team was not able to resurvey the same site due to severe overgrowth and time constraints. Another team excavated the location in late 2007 recovering human remains, wreckage and military-related equipment.
Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command used dental x-rays in the identification of Griffith's remains.
Since late 1973, the remains of 938 Americans killed in the Vietnam War have been accounted for and returned to their families with 1,708 service members still missing.
For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, call 703-699-1169 or visit the DPMO Web site at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo.
http://www.57thahc.com/?onClick=aircraft%2Fhelos.php&model=UH-1H&number=66-16282
Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1D tail number 66-16282
Date: 02/19/68 MIA-POW file reference number: 1054
Incident number: 68021942.KIA
Unit: 57 AHC
Laos
UTM grid coordinates: YB665498
Casualties = 03 BNR, 01 DIN, 02 W . .
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense Intelligence Agency Reference Notes. Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Also: 1054, SOG Vol III by Saal P:237+ , SOG by Plaster P:200+ ()
Summary: Shot down and crashed during Recon Team extraction. SSG Zabitosky won the Medal of Honor for rescuing the pilots.
Loss to Inventory
Crew: DYE,MELVIN C; GLOVER DJ GRIFFITH RS
Crew Members:
P WO1 COOK JOHN W KIA
CE SSG DYE MELVIN CARNILLS BNR
G SSG GRIFFITH ROBERT SMITH BNR
AC CPT GRIFFITH R WIA
Passengers:
SFC GLOVER DOUGLAS J, AR, PX, BNR; SSG Zabitosky Fred W, AR, PX, WIA;
REFNO Synopsis:
SYNOPSIS: Melvin Dye was the engineer and Robert Griffith the door gunner aboard a UH-1H helicopter performing an emergency extraction mission in Laos. They were extracting a reconnaissance patrol team consisting of three U.S. Army Special Forces personnel and three indigenous personnel. The aircraft carried a crew of four. Douglas Glover was one of the Special Forces personnel aboard. As the helicopter picked up the team four miles inside Laos west of Dak Sut, it received a heavy volume of small arms fire. It is not known whether the aircraft was hit by hostile fire or hit a tree, but it nosed over, impacted the ground and exploded, bursting into flames. The pilot, co-pilot WO Cook and one passenger Special Forces Sergeant Fred W. Zabitosky managed to leave the aircraft. Because of the fire and exploding small arms ammunition, rescue attempts for the others were futile. Cook died later in Japan from burns. Zabitosky was awarded the Medal of Honor. See Zabitosky's story in Vietnam magazine February 1996. There were six U.S. and three indigenous personnel aboard the helicopter. When search teams reached the site the same day, they could not account for the other U.S. personnel. Five were accounted for, but could not be recovered because of intense heat
War Story:
Special Forces Staff Sergeant Fred W. Zabitosky was at the end of a normal six-month active mission cycle with FOB 2 based at Kontum. He was the One-Zero, team leader, of RT Maine but on this mission was helping SSG Glover become the new team leader, so 'Zab' was the One-One, assistant team leader. On 18 Feb., RT Maine was inserted into 'The Bra,' the river curve where Highway 110 split eastward from Highway 96, the Ho Chi Minh Trail's major north-south route. Their mission was to learn whether the NVA were pulling back, reinforcing or resupplying their Tet offensive activities in the Central Highlands. Not long after their insertion, they made and broke contact. There were at least two other RTs active in this same area, so they had to wait their turn for airstrikes and worked their way back to the LZ. The NVA had set up 12.7mm guns around the LZ and the USAF Covey FAC could see at least four NVA companies converging on the LZ. The NVA launched two assaults on the nine-man team's position but were stopped by napalm, cannon fire, and the team's weapons. Covey had the team run 150 yards to an alternate LZ. The first slick lifted out one SF and two Yards which left Zab, Glover and four Yards still on the ground. The NVA then struck in four successive waves which were all stopped but the team was almost out of ammo. It was now or never. The second slick went in as gunships and jets blasted the area. Both the NVA and Maine seemed to be racing for the helicopter. The door gunners and the SOG men were shooting like mad. Zab recalls that the NVA were so close that blood from one he shot splatted the Huey. They were 75 feet up and almost clear of the LZ when an RPG blast rocked the Huey, spinning the tail boom into the main blades. Zab came to about 20 feet from the Huey and rolled clumsily on the ground to extinguish his burning clothes. The Huey had snapped in two just behind the pilots' section and burned furiously. The troop compartment lay on its side and Zab heard the final cries from the three Americans and four Yards in the burning wreckage. Zab moved away from the wreckage then looked back to see the pilots still strapped in the burning nose section. He returned, opened the door and grabbed the semiconscious WO Cook and pulled him out. Everything was burned off the man except his leather gun belt. The pilot was still inside. Zab could feel his flesh burning as he undid the pilot’s harness. The fuel cells exploded in the other section and blew both Zab and the pilot clear. Overhead SF medic Luke Nance had watched these events in horror but had seen Zab. The pilot made a couple of passes and confirmed there were survivors. This ship landed. Together Nance and Zab carried and dragged the two burned pilots to the Huey and they escaped. SSG Fred Zabitosky received the Medal of Honor for his actions that saved the lives of two 57th AHC pilots. Sadly, WO Cook passed away ten days later in Japan due to burn related injuries.
This record was last updated on 06/14/98
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The following is crew member information for this incident:
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Name: WO1 John W. Cook
Status: Killed In Action from an incident on 02/19/68 while performing the duty of Pilot.
Died 10 days later on 02/29/68.
Age at death: 21.2
Date of Birth: 12/13/46
Home City: Long Beach, CA
Service: AV branch of the reserve component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: 57 AHC
Major organization: 1st Aviation Brigade
Flight class: 67-17
Service: AV branch of the U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 42E-003
Short Summary: Shot down by B-40 or RPG. Pulled out by SF SGT Zabitosky. Died in Japan later of burns. CPT R. Griffin AC. 1st 57 AHC pilot KIA
Aircraft: UH-1D tail number 66-16282
Service number: W3157737
Country: South Vietnam
MOS: 062B = Helicopter Pilot, Utility and Light Cargo Single Rotor
Primary cause: B-40 or RPG
Compliment cause: fire or burns
Started Tour: 11/13/67
"Official" listing: ground casualty
Location: Pleiku Province II Corps.
Military grid coordinates of event: YB665498
Reason: burns
Casualty type: Hostile - died of wounds
single male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Relgion: Protestant - no denominational preference
The following information is secondary, but may help in explaining this incident.
Category of casualty as defined by the Army: battle dead Category of personnel: active duty Army Military class: warrant officer
This record was last updated on 01/30/98
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Name: SSG Melvin Carnills Dye
Status: Body Not Recovered from an incident on 02/19/68 while performing the duty of Crew Chief.
Declared dead on 10/28/77.
Age at death: 20.7
Date of Birth: 05/22/47
Home City: Carleton, MI
Service: regular component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: 57 AHC
Major organization: USARV
Service: U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 40E-019
Short Summary: Shot down after picking up a Special Forces Recon team. Pax Douglas J. Glover and gunner Robert S. Griffith also killed.
Aircraft: UH-1D tail number 66-16282
SSN: 406629829
Country: Laos
MOS: 67N40 = UH-1 Helicopter Repairer
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: small arms fire
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: crew member
Vehicle ownership: government
Started Tour: 03/25/67
"Official" listing: helicopter air casualty - other aircrew
The initial status of this person was: missing in action - bonified
Length of service: *
Military grid coordinates of event: YB665498
Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
Casualty type: Hostile - died while missing
single male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Relgion: Protestant - no denominational preference
The following information is secondary, but may help in explaining this incident.
Category of casualty as defined by the Army: battle dead Category of personnel: active duty Army Military class: enlisted personnel
This record was last updated on 07/26/97
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Name: SFC Douglas J. Glover
Status: Body Not Recovered from an incident on 02/19/68 while performing the duty of Passenger.
Declared dead on 11/12/76.
Age at death: 24.8
Date of Birth: 05/02/43
Home City: Cortland, NY
Service: regular component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: SPECIAL FORCES
Major organization: Special Forces
Service: U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 40E-021
Aircraft: UH-1D tail number 66-16282
SSN: 120341457
Country: Laos
MOS: 11BS = Infantryman
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: small arms fire
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: passenger
Vehicle ownership: government
Started Tour: 09/13/67
"Official" listing: helicopter air casualty - non-aircrew
The initial status of this person was: missing in action - bonified
Length of service: *
Military grid coordinates of event: YB665498
Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
Casualty type: Hostile - died while missing
married male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Relgion: Roman Catholic
The following information is secondary, but may help in explaining this incident.
Category of casualty as defined by the Army: battle dead Category of personnel: active duty Army Military class: enlisted personnel
This record was last updated on 07/26/97
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RIP Warriors, Vaya con Dios..
Stras do you have a link to the announcement?
ZonieDiver
10-19-2010, 14:22
Rest In Peace.
Rest in Peace Brothers. Thank you for your service and sacrifice. Welcome home.
RIP
Thank you for your service and sacrifice.
Welcome home!!
219seminole
10-20-2010, 10:31
The co-pilot, WO John Cook, and I were Civil Air Patrol Cadets in the early 60s. Johnny Cook's father had set a world record for remaining in flight in a light aircraft and Johnny, born into a flying family, had the flying bug. In the last year, thanks to the internet, I have finally gotten all the details of his death. His name is one of those I visit when I cross the Potomac and go the the Wall.
RIP, amigo.
Rest in Peace and Thank You
spherojon
10-20-2010, 10:52
Welcome home heroes!
R.I.P.
greenberetTFS
10-20-2010, 10:53
God Bless,Rest in Peace Warriors.............:(
Big Teddy:munchin
Thank you for your service, welcome home, rest easy.
Welcome home, may you Rest in Peace...God Bless. :(
mark46th
11-02-2010, 15:51
RIP. You were not forgotten...
RIP and welcome home
Thank you to those who serve in the DPMO
Ambush Master
12-11-2010, 18:09
I don't know how I missed this before. Zab was a good friend of mine!!
Like so many others..we will be together again at the RP just off of that Final DZ/LZ!!
Take care.
Martin
Welcome Home Brothers...........
Rest in Peace, we have missed you...
Blue skies, Welcome Home and Rest in Peace.
perdurabo
12-11-2010, 21:03
Welcome home, thank you for your service, men.
Our brothers continue to make the long march home.
Rest in Peace all, thank you for your service to this great country, sleep well.
Many thanks to the Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO).
Keep looking.
Welcome Home, Brothers.
Rest In Peace.
Home at last. RIP.
Richard
SFC Douglas J. Glover Buried At Arlington
Syracuse.Com, 27 Apr 2011
The remains of Cortland’s Army Sgt. 1st Class Douglas J. Glover – a Vietnam War veteran who had been missing since 1968 -- on Tuesday were laid to rest in a military burial ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
The burial brings Glover’s military career full circle some 43 years after he was apparently killed in an Army helicopter rescue mission on Feb. 19, 2008, in Laos.
The remains were buried on Tuesday (26 Apr 2011) at the cemetery near Washington, D.C.
http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/04/cortlands_army_sgt_1st_class_d.html
Truckie117
05-04-2011, 11:31
Welcome Home Brother
Red Flag 1
05-04-2011, 14:23
Welcome home Warriors. May you all Rest In God's Peace.
Welcome Home. Thank you for your sacrifice.
Ironmike
05-10-2011, 14:28
May God hold you close , welcome home.