SP4 THOMAS PAUL CIECURA
Age
20 - From Detroit, Michigan
Killed in action on December 4, 1967 - Kontum, South Viet Nam
FROM "THE VIETNAM MEMORIAL WALL"
(http://tanaya.net/vmw/C/rec-9097.html)
Let us not
forget Specialist Four Thomas Paul Ciecura, casualty of the Vietnam
War. As a member of the Army Selective Service, SP4 Ciecura served our
country until December 4th, 1967 in Kontum, South Vietnam. He was 20
years old and was not married. Thomas died when his helicopter crashed
into the land. His body was recovered. Thomas was born on December
21st, 1946 in Detroit, Michigan.
SP4 Ciecura is on panel 31E, line 032 of the Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. He served our country for one year.
SP4 Ciecura is on panel 31E, line 032 of the Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington D.C. He served our country for one year.
INFORMATION
FOUND AT VIETNAM VETERANS
MEMORIAL FUND WEBSITE
(www.vvmf.org)
THOMAS PAUL CIECURA
is honored on Panel 31E, Row 32 of
the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Full Name: THOMAS PAUL CIECURA
Wall Name: THOMAS P CIECURA
Date of Birth: 12/21/1946
Date of Casualty: 12/4/1967
Home of Record: DETROIT
State: MI
Branch of Service: ARMY
Rank: SP4
Casualty Country: SOUTH VIETNAM
Casualty Province: KONTUM
MEMORIALS FOR SP4 CIECURA AT
VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL FUND WEBSITE
(www.vvmf.org)
"An M.P buddy" -
Tom was in my M.P. company in Nam and we used to argue about who had
the better ball club; the Tigers or the Twins. He got kind of a bum
deal in being transferred to door-gunner and I heard later he had been
shot down. We had a memorial service for him back at Dragon Mountain
Base Camp (4th Infantry Division) Tom was a hell of a good guy.
Posted by: Guy Wold, Cass Lake, MN
Friday, April 4, 2003
"Thinking of Tom" - He was my upstairs neighbor, an older upper classman at Hamtramck St. Ladislaus, so I looked up to him. A zeal for life, fun loving, athletic, and happy, so I looked up to him. He was always a hit with the ladies at a time when I was just beginning to notice them, so I looked up to him. I remember him, and shall never forget.
Posted by: DOF
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
Posted by: Guy Wold, Cass Lake, MN
Friday, April 4, 2003
"Thinking of Tom" - He was my upstairs neighbor, an older upper classman at Hamtramck St. Ladislaus, so I looked up to him. A zeal for life, fun loving, athletic, and happy, so I looked up to him. He was always a hit with the ladies at a time when I was just beginning to notice them, so I looked up to him. I remember him, and shall never forget.
Posted by: DOF
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
RMCVHPA Member Ray Livermont Seeks Rescuers’ Names
Excerpted from Rocky Mountain Chapter - Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association
February, 2003 Newsletter
(http://www.vhparmc.org/newsletter/RMCV031Q.pdf)
(This article also appears on page 23 of the
Nov/Dec 2002 issue of the VHPA Newsletter)
I am the sole
survivor of the December 4, 1967 crash of UH-1H tail number 66-16587
from Company A, 4th Aviation Battalion, 4th Infantry Division southwest
of Dak To. We were flying a ‘sniffer’ mission south-southwest of the
famous Hill 875 near the Cambodian border. We had received our mission
briefing and refueled at Dak To. We were escorted by a pair of UH-1C
Gambler Guns from my battalion.
I have some memory of the briefing and flying over the trees on the mission. Prior to starting the day, LT Allen had told me that I was flying as the PIC for this mission. I do not recall being shot down or the rescue or the first few weeks in the hospitals. Later I talked with Al (his real name was James) McGowan who served on the investigation team for my aircraft. He died in 1993. He gave me some photos of the aircraft after I had been taken out. The four men who died in this crash are: 1LT William Terry Allen, the other pilot, flight school class 67-10, started his tour 13 August 1967; SP5 Wolfgamg Tony Otto Mohl, the crew chief; SP4 Clyde Marvin Lee, the gunner; and SP4 Thomas Paul Ciecura, the ‘Sniffer Operator’ from the 4th Infantry Division’s Chemical support unit.
In the last few years I have learned the following details of my rescue from VHPA member Tom Roy who was flying for the 170th AHC. WO Tom Roy, Bikini 27, and WO Reed Hight, Bikini 25, were both on the ground at Dak To. They scrambled in response to the ‘sniffer ship down’ radio calls from the Gambler Guns who were still on-station when they arrived and were able to hover over the crash site. The two Bikinis surveyed the area around the downed aircraft. The Huey lay deeply entangled in bamboo under dense triple canopy vegetation. They found a small hole that would accommodate a single bird to hover down within thirty or forty feet from the ground and insert a team by ropes or ladders.
They reported this and returned to Dak To where they met up with a team from Company E, 20th Infantry - one of the 4th Infantry Divisions Long Range Patrol units temporarily stationed at Dak To working with the Special Forces. They decided to insert a LRRP Team using a bamboo ladder they had with them, and the crew could be removed by either the ladder or by litter. At some point, at least one set of 189th AHC Avenger gunships replaced the Gamblers. Roy and Hight flipped a coin; Roy’s ship ‘won’ and was the primary aircraft for the rescue. WO Jack Tidball, first mission in country, was the other pilot; SP5 Paul Wilson was the crew chief, and the name of the gunner is still unknown. As the light was beginning to fade, the LRRPs reached the ground and started hacking through the thick bamboo to get to the wreck. The Bikinis returned to Dak To and contacted the Medevac on standby. Finally the LRRPs radioed they were ready and that I was still alive but just barely.
The sun was already starting to set as the Medevac and the Bikinis returned. With Avengers still circling, the ground becoming darker by the minute, and the ground leader’s voice showing signs of fatigue, the Medevac slowly dropped a basket that would rescue me. After some time the Medevac reported he had me on-board and was coming out. The second Medevac appeared with a pair of Gambler guns. The LRRPs loaded the four bodies into baskets and this Medevac departed. Tom has written several paragraphs about the crew’s tension while getting the LRRPs out. The wind had changed directions. They did some serious tree limb chopping. The CG changed suddenly as a LRRP crawling up and into the Huey. Finally, the LRRP team’s Commander radioed that he was on the ladder but could go no further. They had him snap link to the ladder and pulled up out of the hole. They slowly flew to a near-by fire base where he was safely removed from the ladder.
These were truly brave and dedicated people that rescued me and recovered the bodies of my crew. I would like to know the names of the crews in the Medevac ships, the other gunships, and, of course, the LRRPs. I am asking any other eye witnesses of these events to please contact me: Charles (Ray) Livermont.
I have some memory of the briefing and flying over the trees on the mission. Prior to starting the day, LT Allen had told me that I was flying as the PIC for this mission. I do not recall being shot down or the rescue or the first few weeks in the hospitals. Later I talked with Al (his real name was James) McGowan who served on the investigation team for my aircraft. He died in 1993. He gave me some photos of the aircraft after I had been taken out. The four men who died in this crash are: 1LT William Terry Allen, the other pilot, flight school class 67-10, started his tour 13 August 1967; SP5 Wolfgamg Tony Otto Mohl, the crew chief; SP4 Clyde Marvin Lee, the gunner; and SP4 Thomas Paul Ciecura, the ‘Sniffer Operator’ from the 4th Infantry Division’s Chemical support unit.
In the last few years I have learned the following details of my rescue from VHPA member Tom Roy who was flying for the 170th AHC. WO Tom Roy, Bikini 27, and WO Reed Hight, Bikini 25, were both on the ground at Dak To. They scrambled in response to the ‘sniffer ship down’ radio calls from the Gambler Guns who were still on-station when they arrived and were able to hover over the crash site. The two Bikinis surveyed the area around the downed aircraft. The Huey lay deeply entangled in bamboo under dense triple canopy vegetation. They found a small hole that would accommodate a single bird to hover down within thirty or forty feet from the ground and insert a team by ropes or ladders.
They reported this and returned to Dak To where they met up with a team from Company E, 20th Infantry - one of the 4th Infantry Divisions Long Range Patrol units temporarily stationed at Dak To working with the Special Forces. They decided to insert a LRRP Team using a bamboo ladder they had with them, and the crew could be removed by either the ladder or by litter. At some point, at least one set of 189th AHC Avenger gunships replaced the Gamblers. Roy and Hight flipped a coin; Roy’s ship ‘won’ and was the primary aircraft for the rescue. WO Jack Tidball, first mission in country, was the other pilot; SP5 Paul Wilson was the crew chief, and the name of the gunner is still unknown. As the light was beginning to fade, the LRRPs reached the ground and started hacking through the thick bamboo to get to the wreck. The Bikinis returned to Dak To and contacted the Medevac on standby. Finally the LRRPs radioed they were ready and that I was still alive but just barely.
The sun was already starting to set as the Medevac and the Bikinis returned. With Avengers still circling, the ground becoming darker by the minute, and the ground leader’s voice showing signs of fatigue, the Medevac slowly dropped a basket that would rescue me. After some time the Medevac reported he had me on-board and was coming out. The second Medevac appeared with a pair of Gambler guns. The LRRPs loaded the four bodies into baskets and this Medevac departed. Tom has written several paragraphs about the crew’s tension while getting the LRRPs out. The wind had changed directions. They did some serious tree limb chopping. The CG changed suddenly as a LRRP crawling up and into the Huey. Finally, the LRRP team’s Commander radioed that he was on the ladder but could go no further. They had him snap link to the ladder and pulled up out of the hole. They slowly flew to a near-by fire base where he was safely removed from the ladder.
These were truly brave and dedicated people that rescued me and recovered the bodies of my crew. I would like to know the names of the crews in the Medevac ships, the other gunships, and, of course, the LRRPs. I am asking any other eye witnesses of these events to please contact me: Charles (Ray) Livermont.
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