Four men died when their UH-1C HUEY (hull number 66-00745) went down: WO1 James L. Phipps, aircraft commander WO Rainier S. Ramos, pilot SP4 Warren E. Newton, gunner PFC Fred J. Secrist, gunner The men were flying a gunship-cover mission about 20 miles west of the city of Tam Ky in Quang Tin Province, Republic of Vietnam. The pilot of another helicopter, which was flying as a scout in front of WO Ramos' aircraft, received a call from Phipps indicating that he had been hit, was on fire, and was going down. The pilot stated that he would follow Phipps down. Smoke was trailing from Phipps' aircraft, but no flames were visible until the aircraft impacted. The helicopter hit and exploded. The senior officer of Troop C, 7th Squad, 17th Air Cav, arrived and made several passes over the downed aircraft. Heavy automatic weapons fire from the north and east of the downed aircraft was received on the third pass, and it was noted that the downed aircraft was gutted by fire and explosions. At no time was any evidence seen that suggested that the crew had been thrown clear of the crash. There were constant munitions explosions aboard the downed aircraft during the first 45 minutes of the on-scene observation. The senior officer remained in the area for about one and one-half hours. On January 20, a recovery operation was initiated and the remainder of the aircraft was located in the bottom of a large trench. Of the remains recovered, only PFC Secrist could be identified. Since the other three men could not positively be declared dead, they were placed in a "Missing in Action" status. Visit the BLUE GHOSTS

 

A memorial from his Friend, Doug Moore E-mail address is not available. 23 May 2001

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