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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/Tet Counteroffensive Campaign (1968)
From Month/Year
January / 1968
To Month/Year
April / 1968
Description This campaign was from 30 January to 1 April 1968. On 29 January 1968 the Allies began the Tet-lunar new year expecting the usual 36-hour peaceful holiday truce. Because of the threat of a large-scale attack and communist buildup around Khe Sanh, the cease fire order was issued in all areas over which the Allies were responsible with the exception of the I CTZ, south of the Demilitarized Zone.
Determined enemy assaults began in the northern and Central provinces before daylight on 30 January and in Saigon and the Mekong Delta regions that night. Some 84,000 VC and North Vietnamese attacked or fired upon 36 of 44 provincial capitals, 5 of 6 autonomous cities, 64 of 242 district capitals and 50 hamlets. In addition, the enemy raided a number of military installations including almost every airfield. The actual fighting lasted three days; however Saigon and Hue were under more intense and sustained attack.
The attack in Saigon began with a sapper assault against the U.S. Embassy. Other assaults were directed against the Presidential Palace, the compound of the Vietnamese Joint General Staff, and nearby Ton San Nhut air base.
At Hue, eight enemy battalions infiltrated the city and fought the three U.S. Marine Corps, three U.S. Army and eleven South Vietnamese battalions defending it. The fight to expel the enemy lasted a month. American and South Vietnamese units lost over 500 killed, while VC and North Vietnamese battle deaths may have been somewhere between 4,000 and 5,000.
Heavy fighting also occurred in two remote regions: around the Special Forces camp at Dak To in the central highlands and around the U.S. Marines Corps base at Khe Sanh. In both areas, the allies defeated attempts to dislodge them. Finally, with the arrival of more U.S. Army troops under the new XXIV Corps headquarters to reinforce the marines in the northern province, Khe Sanh was abandoned.
Tet proved a major military defeat for the communists. It had failed to spawn either an uprising or appreciable support among the South Vietnamese. On the other hand, the U.S. public became discouraged and support for the war was seriously eroded. U.S. strength in South Vietnam totaled more than 500,000 by early 1968. In addition, there were 61,000 other allied troops and 600,000 South Vietnamese.
The Tet Offensive also dealt a visibly severe setback to the pacification program, as a result of the intense fighting needed to root out VC elements that clung to fortified positions inside the towns. For example, in the densely populated delta there had been approximately 14,000 refugees in January; after Tet some 170,000 were homeless. The requirement to assist these persons seriously inhibited national recovery efforts.