From HMM-262 website Summary of Incident:
“The crew of 152566 consisted of Capt Rocky Darger, Aircraft Commander; 1stLt Ken Bradley, Copilot; CPL Terry Hoffman, Crewchief; CPL John Hutchison, Gunner; and CPL Patrick Miles, Gunner. They were the number two aircraft in a flight of 23 aircraft assigned the mission of extracting a battalion which had been inserted in a combat assault north of Gio Lin the day before. The battalion had come under heavy artillery fire from guns in North Vietnam. The decision was made to extract the unit. Capt. Darger was initially assigned as Flight Leader, but relinquished command of the flight to Major Harvey Britt who had participated in the insert, which Darger had not. The plan was to approach the LZ at approximately 100 feet to provide some cover from the artillery fire by using the low hills which parallel the river in the DMZ. As the lead aircraft approached the landing zone he was shot down; all crew members survived. Darger assumed command and dispatched the remainder of the flight to Dong Ha while proceeding to attempt to rescue the downed crew. Approaching again at a low altitude 152566 received a direct hit from a heavy artillery round and crashed. The two pilots were ejected from the aircraft and survived, while the crew in the cabin was killed. The aircraft was consumed by fire. The pilots were rescued by a Marine Recon Team. 1stLt Ken Bradley was seriously injured and had to be medevaced to the U. S. Capt. Darger received multiple injuries, but was returned to a flight status in three weeks. Two of the bodies of the crewmen were recovered at the time, but the remains of Cpl. Hoffman could not be found, and he was presumed to have been consumed by the flames.
Submitted by Captain Rocky Darger, HMM-262, pilot of BuNo 152566

HMM-262 Command Chronology - August 1968:
During the afternoon at approximately 1430H events 6-3 through 6-6, this time piloted by Major H E Britt, Capt R E Darger, 1/Lt B B Cole and 1/Lt M R Mullen respectively, lifted elements of 2/9 from Vandergrift Combat Base to YD107707.

At 1630H, 6-3 through 6-6 working in a joint flight with HMM-161 commenced a retrograde lift of ˝ from LZ’s at YD 127772, YD137758 and YD 177607. At YD 177607, 6-3 received battle damage from incoming enemy artillery. The blast concussion tipped the aircraft sideways causing the rotor blades to strike the ground. Suspecting severe damage, Maj. Britt shut the aircraft down. Event 6-1, who had joined the flight and flown by Capt R E Darger, was approaching to land when an immense explosion occurred directly beneath the aircraft. The aircraft buckled, plummeted to the ground and burst into flames. The pilot and copilot were medevaced to Quang Tri, the pilot seriously injured and the copilot critical. The status of the crew chief and two aerial gunners, Cpl Hoffman, Cpl Hutchinson and Cpl Miles, could not be determined at the time and not until the following day were they determined definitely KIA.

During the attack, 6-3 was inspected by the pilot and crew chief who determined that it was flyable. The aircraft was flown to Quang Tri Air Field without further incident. A load of troops was flown out of the zone under artillery fire in 6-3 on departure.
One other aircraft had been damaged during the artillery attack bringing the HMM-262 damage total to two aircraft reparably damaged and one destroyed.

Personal Narrative:
Searching the KIA listing, I wanted to see if any of the names I new were on the list. They were. One in particular, Cpl Terry A. Hoffman caught my attention. He is the Uncle of one of my best friends, also currently serving in the Marine Corps. For years, I heard stories about Cpl Hoffman, who was then listed as Missing In Action. Then, around 1992, the Hoffman family received word that Cpl Hoffman's remains had possibly been found. Sure enough, after analysis of the remains in Hawaii, the family received word in 1994 that the remains of Cpl Hoffman had indeed been found. So, nearly 26 years after the incident that left Cpl Hoffman Missing In Action, he was buried with full military honors, his family and many veterans present. That was 4 July 1994.
Submitted by Capt Brett Hart, HMM-162, friend of family

Personal Narrative:
Thank you for posting this information on the web site. I've had Cpl. Terry A. Hoffman's MIA bracelet for many years, and it didn't occur to me until recently to search his name on the internet, I've checked other resources but came up empty. God Bless Cpl Hoffman and his family.
Submitted by Terry Seidl, MIA Bracelet

Family Information:
My older brother Gary and I both served in the Marines, 1959 to 1963. Terry went in after two years of college to do his duty. My son Randall S. Hoffman went in enlisted and is now a Major in the Marines.

We attempted as best we could at Terry's 1994 burial to honor all who never received a proper homecoming from Viet Nam. My son Randall's first offical act as a new 2ndLt was to escort my brother's remains home and present the flag to my parents. Semper Fi to all and God bless those who serve our nation. MAY THERE ALWAYS BE A FEW GOOD MEN & WOMEN READY TO SERVE OUR NATION.
Submitted by Carl K. Hoffman, Brother to Cpl. Terry A. Hoffman

Personal Letter:
I wore Hoffman's MIA bracelet for nearly 10 years. I read in the Marine Gazette where Hoffman's remains had been recovered. They were returned to his family and they had a proper burial for him. I contacted the family through my hometown newspaper, who did an article on the repatriation and burial. This was in August 1994.
Submitted by MSgt T.A. Franklin, wore his MIA bracelet

Personal Letter:
Here is a DOD info link:

http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/pr/newsletter/newsletter_09_march95.htm

You'll have to scroll down until you see "Personnel Accounted For in 1994".

Submitted by T. A. Franklin, wore mia bracelet of terry hoffman

Memorial Ceremony Pamphlet:

Memorial Ceremony for:


Brandes, Kenneth N Cpl HMM-161 -- KIA 22AUG68


Hoffman, Terry Alan Cpl HMM-262 -- KIA 19AUG68
Hutchison, John William Cpl HMM-262 -- KIA 19AUG68
Miles, Patrick Charles Cpl HMM-262 -- KIA 19AUG68




Submitted by MGySgt George Curtis, Popasmoke Admin

Cpl Patrick Charles Miles:



Submitted by MGySgt George Curtis, Popasmoke Admin

Cpl Terry Alan Hoffman:

http://www.hmm-262vietnam.org/Wall/hoffman.htm

Cpl Terry Alan Hoffman:

Finally home and buried by his Brothers

http://www.hmm-262vietnam.org/hoffmann_memorial.htm