| The Incident
On 05 January 1968, WO Dennis
C. Hamilton, aircraft commander, WO Sheldon D. Schultz, pilot,
SP5 Ernest F. Briggs, Jr., crew chief, SP4 James P. Williamson,
crewman, and SSgt. John T. Gallagher, passenger, were aboard a
UH1D helicopter (tail # 66-1172) on a mission to infiltrate an
indigenous reconnaissance patrol into Laos.
The reconnaissance patrol and
SSgt. Gallagher were operating under orders to Command & Control
North, MACV-SOG (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and
Observation Group). MACV-SOG was a joint service high command
unconventional warfare task force engaged in highly classified
operations throughout Southeast Asia. The 5th Special Forces
channeled personnel into MACV-SOG (although it was not a Special
Forces group) through Special Operations Augmentation (SOA),
which provided their "cover" while under secret orders to
MACV-SOG. The teams performed deep penetration missions of
strategic reconnaissance and interdiction which were called,
depending on the time frame, "Shining Brass" or "Prairie Fire"
missions.
As the aircraft approached the
landing zone about 20 miles inside Laos south of Lao Bao, it came
under heavy 37mm anti-aircraft fire while at an altitude of about
300 feet above ground level. The aircraft immediately entered a
nose-low vertical dive and crashed.
Upon impact with the ground,
the aircraft burst into flames which were 10 to 20 feet high. No
radio transmissions were heard during the helicopter's descent,
nor were radio or beeper signals heard after impact. Four
attempts to get into the area of the downed helicopter failed due
to intense ground fire.
During the next two days more
attempts to get to the wreckage failed. The pilot of one search
helicopter maneuvered to within 75 feet of the crash site before
being forced out by enemy fire. The pilot who saw the wreckage
stated that the crashed helicopter was a mass of burned metal and
that there was no part of the aircraft that could be recognized.
No signs of life were seen in the crash area.
Weather delayed further search
attempts for a couple of days. After the weather improved, the
successful insertion of a ground team was made east of the crash
site to avoid enemy fire. The search team was extracted on the
second day when no remains, personnel affects or trace of the
aircrew and passengers were found in and near the wreckage.
Because of this, US intelligence believed that anyone who was
able to escape the crash would have had no chance of escaping
capture. At the time the formal search was terminated, Dennis
Hamilton, Shelton Schultz, Earnest Briggs, James Williamson and
John Gallagher were listed Missing in Action.
In December 1971, the CIA
forwarded a report to DIA about the sighting of American
Prisoners of War in Laos. One report described four Americans
said to have been captured in South Vietnam as passing through
Binh Tram Commo-Liaison Station 12, an NVA way station situated
along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, located approximately 25 kilometers
southwest of Tchepone, Savannahket Province, Laos. The source
identified a photograph of James Williamson as resembling one of
the four Americans. Another report described two captured pilots
at Commo-Liaison Station 12 early in 1969 approximately 15
kilometers northwest of Muong Phine. Both of these reports were
placed in the files of each of the men lost in this
incident.
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