SYNOPSIS: By early
1967, the Bell UH1 Iroquois was already the standard Army assault helicopter,
and was used in nearly every "in-country" mission. Better known by its nickname
"Huey," troop carriers were referred to as "Slicks" and gunships were called
"Hogs." It proved itself to be a sturdy, versatile aircraft which was called
on to carry out a wide variety of missions including search and rescue,
close air support, insertion and extraction, fire support, and resupply
to name a few. It usually carried a crew of four.
On 21 June 1968, Captain Tommy
C. Stiner, pilot; WO Gerald L. McKensey, Jr., co-pilot; SSgt. Billy
D. Hill, door gunner; and SP5 David H. Harrington, crewchief; comprised the
crew of the lead UH1D helicopter in a flight of two. Also onboard the lead
aircraft was Lt. Col. Semyo, senior advisor to the ARVN unit being inserted.
then PFC Jerry W. Elliott was the door gunner on the #2 aircraft in the
flight. The flight was on a troop insertion mission to insert ARVN troops
into an old French fort located in a clearing covered in tall elephant grass
and surround by jungle approximately 1200 meters east of Khe Sanh and 8 miles
east of the South Vietnamese/Lao border, Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam.
As WO McKensey's aircraft
touched down on the landing zone (LZ), NVA troops stood up all around the
helicopter and began firing at almost point blank range. As soon as all the
ARVN troops were off-loaded, the Huey lifted off. At an altitude of 8-10
feet above the ground, the aircraft was struck by either a 57mm recoilless
rifle shell, or it sustained a direct hit from an enemy mortar round. The
crippled helicopter immediately burst into flames and crashed to the ground.
As the lead Huey was descending
to the LZ, Capt. Stiner last saw SSgt. Hill just prior to the aircraft being
hit in the crew compartment where the door gunner was manning his machine
gun. Capt. Stiner stated that Billy Hill was probably struck by the same
volley of rounds that downed the aircraft because his machine gun was observed
blown to pieces. However, the pilot added he did not know that to be the
case for a fact.
The second helicopter landed
approximately 50-60 feet away from the wreckage. PFC Elliott, the door gunner
along with the #2 Huey's crewchief, exited their aircraft to assist the
survivors of the downed helicopter. In a matter of seconds, the crewchief
reentered his aircraft and advised the pilot to take off because of the
intense enemy ground fire. The Huey lifted off leaving Jerry Elliott on
the ground to fend for himself.
Capt. Stiner exited the aircraft
successfully, evaded capture and made his way to friendly lines. Before taking
evasive action himself, Capt. Stiner briefly searched the area for members
of his crew. SP5 Harrington also safely exited the Huey and was also able
to evade capture by boarding one of the rescue aircraft that landed in the
LZ. WO McKensey was killed while escaping with Capt. Stiner and Lt. Col.
Semyo was known to have succumbed to wounds received while being pinned underneath
the wreckage. Capt. Stiner could find no sign of SSgt. Hill in or around
the crash site.
Because of the heavy enemy
presence that remained in the area, no immediate air or ground search and
recovery (SAR) attempt was possible. Billy Hill and Jerry Elliott were listed
Missing in Action while Gerald McKensey and Lt. Col. Semyo were listed Killed
in Action/Body Not Recovered.
Three days after the loss,
a visual search by helicopter examined the crash site and surrounding area
for signs of the four missing Americans. The aircrew observed bodies lying
in the tall elephant grass and small trees, but only one appeared to be an
American. By process of elimination, the pilot determined that the body must
be that of PFC Elliott even though there was no way to positively identify
the body as his.
When a search team from Graves
Registration was able to enter the crash site, they successfully recovered
the remains of WO McKensey and Lt. Col. Semyo. Both men's remains were positively
identified and returned to their families for burial. The team thoroughly
searched the entire area in and around the ambush site, but found no trace
of Jerry Elliott or Billy Hill. Likewise, they found no evidence of freshly
dug graves.
While it appears Billy Hill
and Jerry Elliott died in this ambush, there is no way to know for sure.
If they are dead, there is no doubt the communists could return each man's
remains to his family, friends and country. However, if they survived, they
most certainly would have been captured and their fate, like that of other
Americans who remain unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, could be quite different.
Since the end of the Vietnam
War well over 21,000 reports of American prisoners, missing and otherwise
unaccounted for have been received by our government. Many of these reports
document LIVE American Prisoners of War remaining captive throughout Southeast
Asia TODAY.
American Servicemen in Vietnam
were called upon to operate in many dangerous circumstances, and they were
prepared to be wounded, killed or captured. It probably never occurred to
them that they could be abandoned by the country they so proudly served.
More about Jerry written by his sister Donna, a retired Sgt herself can be found
HERE and HERE.
On a more personal note, I have been wearing Jerry's POW/MIA wristband since 1985, where in the Marine Corps, by absolute chance, I was "assigned" Jerry as my POW by a "Candystriper", a volunteer morale specialist and nurse.
The POW/MIA issue continues to be a very serious issue with me. Often times when people see my bracelet, they ask if I'm a biker. After I say no, then they ask why I have a POW/MIA "thing" on. That alone proves to me that America, as a whole, has forgotten these real heros, these young men that gave all they had to give, so that you and I could be free.
The price of freedom ain't free!
Never, ever, EVER, forget those that served and never came home.
Go HERE
for more information about this issue and what YOU can do. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. -tim