Shortly before
dawn on 12 Aug 1972 a C-130E transport (tail number 62-1853) took off
from Soc Trang. As the aircraft climbed through 500 feet it was hit by
enemy fire and crashed near the airfield. Hobson's "Vietnam Air Losses"
states that 30 of the 44 persons aboard were killed, but only 13 US
servicemen can be identified as lost in the crash - 7 aircrew and 6
passengers. The remaining 17 persons must have been US civilians and/or
SVN personnel.
Oddly, the
7 USAF and 3 USN personnel are coded as lost to hostile fire, while the
3 Army personnel, all members of MACV's Advisory Team 14, are coded as
non-hostile losses. The 13 men who died are:
Aircrew:
MAJ James
W. Fulk, Union City, IN, 776th Tac Alft Sqd
MAJ Jerry
D. Vance, Richmond, IN, 776th Tac Alft Sqd
CPT Terry
Kohler, Kalamazoo, MI, 776th Tac Alft Sqd
CPT Merrill
H. Masin, Sayville, NY, 776th Tac Alft Sqd
CPT Charles
P. Roberts, La Junta, CO, 50th Tac Alft Sqd
CPT Timmie
J. Ward, Rockford, IA, 776th Tac Alft Sqd
MSGT Ray E.
Tannehill, Elsberry, MO, 50th Tac Alft Sqd
Passengers:
SFC Edward
J. Brue, Newton, IA, MACV Advisors
SFC William
G. Saarela, Carlton, MN, MACV Advisors
SFC Philip
H. Stevens, Wahiawa, HI, MACV Advisors
LCDR
Marshall B. Collins, Arlington, TX, Det Soc Trang, HQ, USNAVFORV
RM1 Raymond
R. Reese, Scranton, PA, Det Soc Trang, HQ, USNAVFORV
YN1 Ben O.
Sheppard, North Little Rock, AR, Det Soc Trang, HQ, USNAVFORV