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GySgt David R. Marcussen
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Marine HN Frank Paul Addice.
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Casualty Info
Home Town Wanaque, NJ
Last Address Wanaque, NJ
Casualty Date Apr 11, 1968
Cause Non Hostile- Died Other Causes
Reason Air Loss, Crash - Land
Location Quang Tri (Vietnam)
Conflict Vietnam War
Location of Interment Calvary Cemetery - Paterson, New Jersey
MID-AIR UH-34D 145804 & UH-1E 154968 2 KM SE OF CAM LO 19680411
UTM grid reference is YD140580
At daybreak on 11 April 1968, a UH-34D from HMM-163 launched on a medevac flight to pick up wounded Marines from the vicinity of Khe Sanh. The UH-34D was escorted by two UH-1E gunships from VMO-6. After picking up the four wounded men, the flight proceeded toward the medical facility at Dong Ha. While enroute, one of the escorting UH-1Es - which were flying above and behind the UH-34D - was involved in a mid-air collision with the UH-34. Both aircraft went down, resulting in the deaths of 12 marines. The two aircraft crashed just east of Camp Carol while letting down through overcast skies. One helicopter, a UH-1E tail number 154968, was from Marine Observation Squadron 6 (VMO-6). Its crew included:
1st LT Ronald E. Riede, aircraft commander
CAPT Bruce F. McMillan, pilot
CPL Paul J. Allen, crew chief
LCPL Michael G. DeMarco, gunner
The other aircraft, a UH-34D tail number 145804 from Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 163 (HMM 163), was crewed by:
CAPT Eugene R. Gannon, aircraft commander
2nd LT John P. Holden II, pilot
CPL Frederick D. Graten, crew chief
CPL John A. Nixon, gunner HN Frank Paul Addice, Crew Corpsmen
CPL Robert W. Belcher, passenger
PFC Dennis R. Davidson, passenger
PFC Richard E. Erwin, passenger
PFC Charles R. Finley, passenger
All personnel on both aircraft perished in the crash.
Comments/Citation:
Vietnam War/Counteroffensive Phase IV Campaign (1968)/Operation Pegasus / Lam Son 207
From Month/Year
April / 1968
To Month/Year
April / 1968
Description Apr 1 – 15 1968, This was an overland relief expedition (Operation Pegasus) was launched by a combined Marine–Army/South Vietnamese task force that eventually broke through to the Marines at Khe Sanh. 1st Cavalry Division, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines 1st, 2nd and 3rd battalions, 26th Marines and ARVN 2nd Division.
3rd Bn, 1st Marines was relocated to the Ca Lu combat base and assigned responsibility for securing the middle portion of Highway 9 running from Khe Sanh to the coast.
This operation featured 17 U.S. and four ARVN airborne battalions to relieve the siege of the Khe Sanh Combat Base. Virtually the entire 1st Air Cav Div was committed along with five Marine battalions, mostly from the 26th Marines. The bulk of the NVA units had already departed the Khe Sanh area. The operation consisted for combat assaults to take the high ground on both sides of route 9 and systematically reopening the road. The forces discovered several caches of NVA supplies, hundreds of enemy corpses, and a "pockmarked, burnt, and ruined" landscape "like the surface of the moon." The companion ARVN operation was named LAM SON 207. Casualties: U.S. 92 KIA, 667 WIA, 5 MIA; ARVN 33 KIA, 187 WIA; enemy 1,044 KIA and 9 POWs.
American commanders considered the defense of Khe Sanh a success, but shortly after the siege was lifted the new American commander in Vietnam, Gen. Creighton Abrams, decided to dismantle the base rather than risk similar battles in the future. Historians have observed that the Battle of Khe Sanh may have successfully distracted American and GVN attention from the buildup of Viet Cong forces in the south prior to the early 1968 Tet Offensive. Even at the height of the Tet Offensive, General Westmoreland maintained that the true intentions of the offensive was to distract forces from Khe Sanh.
My Participation in This Battle or Operation
From Month/Year
April / 1968
To Month/Year
April / 1968
Last Updated: Mar 16, 2020
Personal Memories
Memories At daybreak on 11 April 1968, a UH-34D from HMM-163 launched on a medevac flight to pick up wounded Marines from the vicinity of Khe Sanh. The UH-34D was escorted by two UH-1E gunships from VMO-6. After picking up the four wounded men, the flight proceeded toward the medical facility at Dong Ha. While enroute, one of the escorting UH-1Es - which were flying above and behind the UH-34D - was involved in a mid-air collision with the UH-34. Both aircraft went down. Thirteen men died in the accident: Aboard the UH-34D (BuNo 145804): CAPT Eugene Richard Gannon, aircraft commander 2ndLT John Parker Holden II, copilot CPL John Arleigh Nixon, gunner Cpl Frederick Dunham Graten, crew chief
HN Frank Paul Addice, Navy Corpsman, MAG-36 CPL Robert Winslow Belcher, passenger, H&S Co, 3/26 PFC Dennis Robert Davidson, passenger, A Co, 3rd Tank Bn PFC Richard Eugene Erwin, passenger, H&S Co, 3/26 PFC Charles Richard Finley, passenger, M Co, 3/26
Aboard the UH-1E (BuNo 154968): CAPT Bruce Francis McMillan, pilot 1stLT Ronald Edgar Riede, copilot CPL Paul James Allen, crew chief LCPL Michael Gregory DeMarco, gunner
