KIA INCIDENT: 19660203 HMM-261 Vietnam

Brothers (& Sisters) Killed in Action in USMC Helicopters or while assigned to USMC Helicopter or Tiltrotor Squadrons

19660203HMM-261 Vietnam

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Incident Date 19660203 HMM-261 CH-46D - BuNo 147158+ - GSW to Abdomen during Medevac

[CREW]
Siverling, Dennis Ralph Sgt Crew HMM-261 MAG-36, SLF USS Valley Forge 1976-01-18

SIVERLING DENNIS RALPH : USMC : SGT : E5 : CREW : ---- : 33 : 19420812: EAGLE POINT : WI : 19660203 : died of wounds 19760118 : Hostile, Air loss over land, Helicopter Crew, gunshot wound to abdomen : Quang Ngai : South Vietnam : Riverside Cemetery, Ladysmith, WI

Research Information

Location - given in two forms, "Van Ly" and "Thach Tru". LZ SPARROW, where 3 companies of 2nd Bn 3rd Marines were being picked up, was about two kilometers southwest of Van Ly (1), while Thach Tru is a larger village a few kms northeast of Van Ly (1) and Van Ly (2).

The Texas Tech Vietnam Project does not have HMM-261's command chronology for Feb 1966 - the squadron actually was embarked in USS VALLEY FORGE (LPH-8) as part of the 7th Fleet's Special Landing Force (as was the Battalion Landing Team built around 2nd Bn, 3rd Marines). For Operation
DOUBLE EAGLE HMM-261 was placed ashore under OPCON of MAG-36.

Extraction of the BLT 2/3 elements from LZ SPARROW is addressed in MAG-36's After Action Report and the BLT 2/3 Command Chronology.

The Naval Safety Center USMC aircraft incident printout shows that HMM-261 had three personnel casualties in three different aircraft on 03 Feb 1966 - two minor WIA and one serious WIA in UH-34D BuNo 147158 (reporting custodian code E53 = HMM-261). The VHPA database's first entry for BuNo 147158 is from 22 Jul 1966, 5 months after the LZ SPARROW extraction. That incident also is in the printout; by then the aircraft had been transferred to reporting custodian "E54". Image copies of the applicable printout pages can be provided if needed.

* Unit - HMM-261, MAG-36, 1st MAW;
* Event - GSW to abdomen during troop pick-up from LZ SPARROW;
* UTM - BS719425;
* Aircraft - UH-34D BuNo 147158; and
* Casualty Coding - A2-B-5 (Hostile, died of wounds; Air loss or crash
over land; Helicopter - Crew)

Source: The Virtual Wall
Submitted by: Ken Davis, Researcher, Administrator, The Virtual Wall, 20130812