Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1H tail number 70-15841
The Army purchased this helicopter 0471
Total flight hours at this point: 1066
Date: 10/16/1972
Incident number: 72101616.KIA
Unit: 57 AHC
South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: AR850148 (To see this location on a map, go to https://legallandconverter.com/p50.html and search on Grid Reference 49PAR850148)
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Also: VNAF (South Vietnamese Air Force. )
Loss to Inventory
Crew Members:
P 1LT DUGGER JAMES DOWEL JR KIA
AC WO1 ONOFRY GARY N WIA
Passengers and/or other participants:
SP5 CRAIG JAMES LEWIS JR,AR,PX,KIA
War Story:
The mission was an emergency medevac and evacuation of advisors from a besieged fire support base (FSB) located south of Pleiku at the junction of HWY 17 and QL 25. The ARVN firebase was under bombardment and ground attack. Upon landing within the perimeter, the aircraft was severely damaged and left unflyable by a recoilless round that struck immediately in front of the cockpit, injuring or killing all on board. All casualties were placed within nearby bunkers and the wounded rescued by another UH-1 later in the afternoon.
An attempt was organized in the late afternoon to recover those killed, but intense enemy anti-aircraft fire combined with uncertainty of where the bodies were located within the base led to the mission being aborted.
The following day (10/17/1972), the NVA attack subsided, and the FSB was recaptured by ARVN forces. All bodies along with the destroyed helicopter were recovered within 48 hours of the incident.
Attached is an image I took of 70-15841 when it was recovered to Camp Holloway via CH-47 slingload. As you can see, the damage was pretty incredible, and poor Dugger sitting in the right seat never had a chance. It is amazing Onofry survived his severe injuries from the blast.
From: Bob Hesselbein, August 2025
This record was last updated on 08/17/2025
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Date posted on this site: 08/17/2025
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