| The Incident
On July 18, 1967, LCDR Richard
D. Hartman's aircraft fell victim to anti-aircraft fire near Phu
Ly in Nam Ha Province, North Vietnam. Hartman, from VA 164,
ejected safely, but could not be rescued due to the hostile
threat in the area. Others in the flight were in radio contact
with him and resupplied him for about three days. He was on a
karst hill in a difficult recovery area. Eventually the North
Vietnamese moved in a lot of troops and AAA guns, making rescue
almost impossible.
One of the rescue helicopters
attempting to recover LCDR Hartman on the 19th was a Sikorsky
SH3A helicopter flown by Navy LT Dennis W. Peterson. The crew
onboard the aircraft included ENS Donald P. Frye and AX2 William
B. Jackson and AX2 Donald P. McGrane. While attempting to rescue
LCDR Hartman, this aircraft was hit by enemy fire and crashed
killing all onboard. The remains of all but the pilot, Peterson,
were returned by the Vietnamese on October 14, 1982. Peterson
remains missing.
The decision was made to leave
Hartman before more men were killed trying to rescue him. It was
not an easy decision, and one squadron mate said, "To this day, I
can remember his voice pleading, 'Please don't leave me.' We had
to, and it was a heartbreaker." Hartman was captured and news
returned home that he was in a POW camp. However, he was not
released in 1973. The Vietnamese finally returned his remains on
March 5, 1974. Hartman had died in captivity from unknown
causes.
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