| The Incident
At 0910 hours on 26 September
1967, then 1st Lt. Lynn R. Huddleston, pilot; and Sgt. Stephen J.
Geist, observer; comprised the crew of an O1D Bird Dog that
departed Minh Thanh Airfield to conduct a visual reconnaissance
mission of the surrounding area, which was somewhat populated and
hotly contested. 1st Lt. Huddleston was assigned to the 74th
Aviation Company, 145th Aviation Battalion while Sgt. Geist was
assigned to Company A, Detachment A-334, 5th Special Forces
Group.
At 0930 hours, 1st Lt.
Huddleston established radio contact with Detachment A-332's
communications center. He again established radio contact at 1030
hours, which was the last contact with the aircraft and its crew.
During both transmissions he reported the flight was progressing
normally. During the last radio contact with 1st Lt. Huddleston,
he gave their position as being "in the vicinity of grid
coordinates XT633739," which placed them over the dense triple
canopy jungle approximately 4 miles south of the South
Vietnamese/Cambodian border. The Bird Dog's position was also
confirmed by the Hon Quan Radar station that was also monitoring
the flight.
By 1300 hours, the Bird Dog was
declared overdue. A communications search was initiated at 1310
hours of all airfields in the region to which the aircrew might
have diverted. When the communications search proved negative, a
full-scale search and rescue (SAR) operation was initiated 20
minutes later employing all available air and ground assets.
Because no emergency Mayday call was heard, no one knows if the
aircraft was downed due to mechanical failure or enemy action.
Further, the O1 Bird Dog has an exceptionally good glide
configuration, and because of it, the aircraft could have
traveled several miles in any direction with no power.
Three days after the formal
search was initiated, it was terminated when no trace of 1st Lt.
Huddleston, Sgt. Geist or their aircraft was found. There has
been no word of the two since. Steve Geist left college to join
the Army, and graduated from Special Forces training third in his
class. He had a choice of training and assignments, and selected
to become a heavy weapons specialist and volunteered for Vietnam.
He left his treasured old Chevy, "Black Beauty," to the care of
his parents. His letters to his family were filled with sadness
of the death he saw, and of hopeful anticipation of his
return.
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