The Unofficial U.S. Air Force HH-43B/F "PEDRO" Crash Rescue - Air Rescue Web Site
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The Unofficial U.S. Air Force HH-43B/F "PEDRO" Crash Rescue - Air Rescue Web Site
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Name: Airman Second Class Francis D. "Dave" Rice Date of Birth: November 18, 1942 Home of Record: Syracuse, New York Date of Casualty: October 28, 1966 Age at Loss: 23 years old Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Detachment #9, 38th Air Rescue and Recovery Squadron Aircraft Model: HH-43 Aircraft Tail Number: 62-4511 Call Sign: Pedro 42 INCIDENT SUMMARYAirman Second Class Rice and his crew were on a mission to Medevac wounded soldiers near Pleiku, Air Base, Republic of South Vietnam when their helicopter was shot down by a RPG. Rice was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross on May 30, 1967 at the Memorial Day Parade in Syracuse, New York. Additional Information Base on Crew Member AccountsThe following account of this incident is from the memories of Carleton Vermey's, the pilot of the aircraft.
About once or twice a week they received a medevac mission outside the local base area. Each one had to be approved by the 7th USAF in Saigon. Even if they were contacted directly by a local command, they still had to get approval before launching the mission. He recalls the events of 28 Oct with great clarity. The Pararescueman (PJ), Allen Stanek, had been on the ground some time because they had loaded three US Army Wounded In Action (WIA's) in the back of the Pedro already. Carlton remembers they were asked if they could accommodate one more and he answered yes. They were using the 150 feet of cable for their jungle penetrater to hoist the WIA's out. The 4th Infantry Division guys had formed a perimeter to secure the evac. site, but one of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) must have come out of a spider hole or gotten very close to the perimeter. The NVA soldier fired an RPG from almost underneath the helicopter. It impacted the bottom of the fuselage near the rear of the helicopter. He remembers trying to increase power but there was no response. The helicopter went virtually straight down and crashed tail first. This helped cushion the fall but then it rolled forward. A2C Rice and the three WIA's on broad either died in the initial RPG blast or in the crash. A2C Allen Stanek was still on the ground when the RPG hit. When the helicopter rolled forward the front Plexiglas broke. The lack of the front bubble may have helped the Infantry guys get both injured pilots out of the wreckage quickly and lay them on the ground. Carlton said he had three broken ribs, a punched lung, and shrapnel wounds. After the crash an even heavier firefight broke out on the ground. Carlton was in and out of consciousness most of the night. He remembers a B52 strike that when in very, very close to their position and credits that with getting the NVA to break contact. 2nd Lieutenant George H. Bonnell, II was the CoPilot. In the morning Det 9's other aircraft arrived to pick them up. They took a 50-cal hit in the blades but successfully completed the recovery. The mental picture of a 50 round hitting wooden blades cannot be comforting! Carlton was evacuated from Vietnam because of his injuries. He was back on flight status in six months, continued to service with the ARS in the States and eventually retired from the Air Force. If you have any additional information regarding this incident, please contact the Webmaster.
Sergeant Jose Gene Abara Staff Sergeant Milard Luther E. Bledsoe 2nd Lieutenant George H. Bonnell, II Technical Sergeant Harry Cohen Major Warren K. Davis Captain Von Miles Liebernecht Staff Sergeant Angel Luna Airman First Class William H. Pitsenbarger Major David Hunter Pittard Airman Second Class Francis D. Rice
This Web Page Was Updated March 26, 2008 |
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