EXCERPTS FROM "GOLD BOOK DATA"
FOUND AT "HOME PAGE OF THE WAR VETERANS
OF THE 560th MILITARY POLICE
COMPANY"
(For full report text, please click the link below)
http://560mp.tripod.com/560MP/Holguin.htm
Gold Book data
Helicopter or
incident 62-01963
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Information
on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1B tail number 62-01963
Date:
03/15/64
Incident
number: 07954ACD Accident case number: 07954 Total Loss Accident
Unit: 114
AHC
South
Vietnam
Number
killed in accident = 5 . . Injured = 0 . . Passengers = 1
costing 0
Original
source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or
updated: Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Army
Aviation Safety Center database. Also: OPERA (Operations Report. )
Loss to
Inventory
Crew
Members:
AC CPT
GAUVIN ROGER EDWARD KIA
P 1LT
SHANNON KENNETH ARTHUR KIA
CE SP5
UPTON CARLETON WEBSTER KIA
G PFC
HOLGUIN FRANK JOHN KIA
Passengers:
X2 NUA LV,
VS, UN, KIA
This record was last updated on 09/20/98
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
following is crew member information for this incident:
. . .
. . .
Name: PFC Frank
John Holguin
Status:
Killed In Action from an incident on 03/15/64 while performing the duty
of Gunner.
Age at
death: 20.8
Date of
Birth: 06/14/43
Home City:
Los Angeles, CA
Service:
regular component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: 560
MP CO
Major
organization: other
Service:
U.S. Army.
The Wall
location: 01E-047
Short
Summary: Volunteered to be a door gunner with the 114 AHC from the
560th Military Police Company.
Aircraft:
UH-1B tail number 62-01963
Service
number: 19764590
Country:
South Vietnam
MOS: 95B20
= Military Police
Major
attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment
cause: weapons
Vehicle
involved: helicopter
Position in
vehicle: door gunner
"Official"
listing: helicopter air casualty - other aircrew
Length of
service: 01
Location:
Unknown Province
Reason:
aircraft lost or crashed
Casualty
type: Hostile - killed
single male
U.S. citizen
Race:
Caucasian
Relgion:
Roman Catholic
The
following information secondary, but may help in explaining this
incident.
Category of
casualty as defined by the Army: battle dead Category of personnel:
active duty Army Military class: enlisted personnel
This record
was last updated on 06/16/01
. . .
. . .
The above
information was provided by the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots
Association.
The
following is from the 114th Avn Co. history book, Knights over the
Delta, by Steve Stibbens, Editor.
From the
Pacific Stars and Stripes:
SAIGON,
South Vietnam (AP) - Four more American airmen were killed in South
Vietnam as Red guerrillas shot down a U.S. helicopter.
The airmen
were aboard the helicopter that was hit by ground fire during a
Vietnamese government operation Sunday at Gia Ria in Ba Xuyen Province,
100 miles south of Saigon. They were Lt. Roger E. Gavin, pilot,
Caribou, Maine, Lt. Kenneth A. Shannon, co-pilot, Lynchburg, Virginia,
SP5 Carleton W. Upton, crew chief, Auburn, California, and PFC Frank J.
Holguin, gunner, Los Angeles.
From a
letter to home by Lt. John Shaw Sabine IV, Birddog pilot, 73rd RAC.
The
last two days have been bad ones for Army Aviation. Ken Shannon
was killed yesterday. He had been the copilot of a Huey from the
114th, stationed here at Vinh Long. This was his first mission
after a checkout. He had only been here five days. I'm
sorry that I didn't get to see him but neither of us knew the other was
here. He was flying tail end of a three-ship formation that
was stopping a large group of VC. The first ship called the other
two and said he was receiving ground fire. The second ship made
the same statement as he passed the target. Then the pilot of the
second ship started his turn for a second pass. At the same time,
he looked back at Ken's ship and it was falling, but it appeared to be
level. At this point, he should have seen the stricken ship
autorotating. Nothing like this happened and the ship fell about
300 feet, exploding on impact. Immediately, the first ship
hovered over the wreck, attempting to blow the flames away. From
close by, ARVN troops tried to get the people aboard out and they did
get Ken. It was better that he didn't live. Also killed
were the pilot, Lt Gauvin, the crew chief, the gunner, and the ARVN
observer.
FROM PFC
HOLGUIN'S MEMORIAL PAGE AT
THE VIRTUAL WALL WEBSITE
(http://www.virtualwall.org/dh/HolguinFJ01a.htm)
Notes
from The Virtual Wall
On 15 March 1964,
four men of the 114th Aviation Company died when
their UH-1B
HUEY (hull number 62-01963) was shot down:
- CPT Roger Edward Gauvin, aircraft commander
- 1LT Kenneth Arthur Shannon, pilot
- SP5 Carleton Webster Upton, crew chief
- PFC Frank John Holguin, gunner
The 114th Air
Mobile Company arrived at Vinh Long, South Vietnam, on 10 May 1963.
In
1964, it was redesignated as the 114th Aviation Company, a component of
the 13th Aviation Battalion. In June 1966 it was redesignated 114th
Assault Helicopter Company, 13th Avn Bn, 1st Avn Bde. In 1969 the 114th
was reassigned to the 214th Avn Bn, 1st Avn Bde.
On
29 Feb 1972, after 3,217 days of combat operations, the 114th AHC
departed Vinh Long.
During this time,
the 114th received numerous unit awards:
Presidential
Unit Citation
Valorous Unit Award (Two Awards)
Meritorious Unit Citation
Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm (Four Awards)
PFC Frank J Holguin
and the other
men who died in service with the 114th AHC
are remembered
on the
114th AHC
Memorial
Click Here To View The Virtual Wall
Database Page
for PFC Frank John Holguin, Jr.