| The Incident
On 04 November 1969, WO Terry
L. Alford, aircraft commander; WO1 Jim R. Cavender, pilot; SP4
John A. Ware, crew chief; and SP4 James R. Klimo, door gunner;
were flying a series of combat support missions in a UH1H
helicopter (serial #67-19512) in South Vietnam.
WO Alford was returning to his
base at Nha Trang from Duc Lap at about 1920 hours when he made
his last known radio contact with the 48th Aviation Company
Operations at Ninh Hoa. Either the pilot or aircraft commander
gave his approximate location as Duc My Pass, and stated he was
in the clouds and instrument meteorological conditions (IMC).
Shortly afterwards, the controller at Ninh Hoa heard a radio
transmission that WO1 Alford was in trouble. The pilot reported,
inexplicably, that the helicopter was flying upside
down.
The Defense Department has told
family members that the helicopter was on a secondary mission
heading toward a buffer zone between Cambodia and South Vietnam,
an area in the Central Highlands the helicopter was in by
mistake. The helicopter is not believed to have been shot at.
Search efforts were conducted for six consecutive days, but
nothing was found.
According to the Defense
Department, one crew member's body was recovered at a later time,
but no remains were ever found that could be identified as
Alford, Klimo, Ware or Cavender. The four crew members were not
among the prisoners of war that were released in 1973. High
ranking officials admit their dismay that "hundreds" of suspected
American prisoners of war did not return. Klimo's sister has
identified her brother as one of the prisoners of war pictured in
a Vietnamese propaganda leaflet.
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