KIA INCIDENT: 19670608 VMO-3 Vietnam

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

19670608VMO-3 Vietnam

Download PDF

Incident Date 19670608 VMO-3 UH-1E 154763+ - Hostile Fire

[CREW]
Myers, David Gephart 1stLT Pilot VMO-3 MAG-36 1967-06-08 (vvm 21E:075)

MYERS DAVID GEPHART : 091291 : USMCR : 1stLT : O2 : 7563 : 23 : STATE COLLEGE : PA : 19670608 : Hostile, small arms fire, airborne : Pilot : body NOT recovered : Quang Tri : 01 : 19430919 : Cauc : Protestant/married : 21E : 075

Personal Narrative

I was the Copilot in the lead ship of a two-ship flight. We were operating out of Khe Sanh and this was my first deployment of many to the combat base. Dave was flying with Capt. Boyd Barkley. Bo was a member of the VMO-3 second group [arriving in-country] along with me. We were the FNGs at that time.

As I recall, we were on a TAOR [Tactical Area of Responsibility] sweep and were operating around Hill 881S [South]. We received a request from the ground to assist the grunts with a recon of the Hill 881N area. They felt that Charlie [North Vietnamese Army] was possibly waiting in ambush for them as they were walking between 881N and 881S.

They requested a recon by fire on the trail to their front and marked the suspected position with WP (white phosphorus smoke grenade]. We rolled in on the position and shot it up with our machineguns. We did not see any movement. We pulled off and Dave and Bo rolled in to shoot up the area.

I will never forget the next thing I heard on the radio. I heard Dave say that they were hit and that he was dead. We immediately made a 180 degree turn and I saw Dave's aircraft smoking and in obvious distress. I told my pilot that I thought Dave was going down. We followed them down and saw them crash on a steep slope. The aircraft rolled down the slope and came to rest inverted.

We immediately notified the controllers and laid down suppressive fire. It seemed like hours before we got rescue on station along with some fixed wing support, but it was actually only minutes. The rescue was done by an unidentified H-34 squadron; thank you guys whoever you were. We stayed on station and coordinated the rescue effort until all survivors were out. It was my introduction to Khe Sanh. I'm sorry that Dave stayed. We were unable to get him out.

Submitted by: Robert C Houston, Wingman (Co-pilot), 20030815

Comment on Incident

Killed by ground fire while airborne near Hill 881S at Khe Sanh

Submitted by: N/A, 20030815

Loss Coordinates:



Loss Coordinates: N16 42 21 E106 39 14

Submitted by: N/A, 20030815

1stLt David G. Meyers, VMO-3

http://www.scarface-usmc.org/memorial.htm

Download/View Attachment:
Submitted by: POPASMOKE Admin, 20050217