In God We Trust
A helicopter of the 6th Aviation Platoon was lost in the Sea of Japan while it was en route back to its base in Kangnung, Korea, under heavy cloud cover. Search and Rescue did not find the missing helicopter and the search was called off on December 4. Five crew members were lost at sea.
Fatalities (5):
A firefight broke out on the DMZ that resulted in wounds and death. One US soldier was killed, two American soldiers were seriously wounded, one South Korean soldier was seriously wounded, and a fourth American soldier was slightly wounded. Killed in the firefight was Pfc. Calvin Lee Lindsey of Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 23rd Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert J. Lindsey of Bronx, New York.
A helicopter from the 121st Evacuation Hospital was called in to rescue the wounded but crashed shortly after takeoff along the western sector of the DMZ at 2145 hours approximately three miles southwest of Panmunjom.
Fatalities (7):
The helicopter went out of control on approach to Rodriguez Range during a night-time extraction of troops. Rodriguez Range was located near Tongdu-chon, South Korea, north of Camp Casey. Members of the 7th Aviation Battalion, 7th Infantry Division, were involved. One soldier was killed, and three others were injured.
Fatalities (1):
This helicopter was in a ten-ship formation on the Kimpo Peninsula supporting a search for a suspected North Korean agent, when the Number One hanger bearing seized and the short T/R drive shaft came apart in flight. The helicopter started a right descending turn when the T/B separated, followed by mast bumping with the rotor separating, crashed and burned upon impact. The partial separation of the exhaust pipe from the rear of the engine case allowed the hot exhaust gasses to impinge upon the #1 T/R driveshaft hanger bearing. The bearing failed due to lack of lubrication.
Fatalities (4):
The crash occurred at approximately 1430 hours during a routine mission. Two were killed and three were injured. Among the injured were the pilot, his wife, and one soldier. The injured were taken to the 121st Hospital. The pilot, who was from the 55th Aviation Company, was ultimately evacuated to Cutler Army Hospital, Fort Devens, Massachusetts. The author of Red Bird Down, Carlson was later medically retired and became an ordained minister.
Fatalities (2):
The 55th Aviation was participating in a training exercise performing a simulated air attack. Their helicopter struck wires, pitched up, and crashed, inverted, into a tributary of the Han River near Chuncheon. Five members of the crew were killed and the co-pilot (WO1 Michael K. Van Doren, 24, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harry K. Van Doren of Sanford, Maine, was injured.
Fatalities (5):
This helicopter was lead in a formation flight of 5 UH-1's which had completed three troop insertions and were returning to base when it struck three 3/4" seven-strand power lines at approximately 175' AGL, severing control tubes and crashed near Pocheon at approximately 1301 hours. Other aircraft were able to avoid wires. The crew of three was killed.
Fatalities (3):
4 killed. No other details known.
Three U.S. servicemen were killed, and one survived in a helicopter shoot-down over communist territory. The unarmed helicopter accidentally crossed into the DMZ and was heading north when it was shot down. The pilot had never flown in the DMZ before. This mission was to pick up a supply of concrete and a South Korean navigator who knew the terrain. Two men were killed in the crash and a third was killed by gun fire. CWO Glen M. Schwanke, 23, of Spring Green, Wisconsin, the co-pilot, survived and was taken prisoner for several hours before being released to US authorities. The men were part of the 213th Aviation Company based at Camp Humphreys.
Fatalities (3):
Three soldiers were killed, and one was injured when the crash occurred at 10:25 pm. The helicopter from the 377 Med was taking part in the rescue of men who were injured in a Marine helicopter crash that took place at 8:15 pm the same night. Seven Marines and one seaman on a routine training mission were injured in the Marine crash. There were heavy rains, low ceilings and limited visibility that night.
Fatalities (3):
From usnamemorialhall.org:
"The bodies of all 29 U.S. and South Korean marines killed in a helicopter crash have been recovered from the mountain where they died during a joint military exercise, officials said yesterday. In Washington, the Pentagon identified the 18 U.S. Marines who perished. Fourteen of the Americans were from Company L of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment at the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base near Oceanside and had been on a six-month assignment to South Korea, according to a base spokesman. Marine spokesmen at Camp Pendleton and in Washington yesterday said they could not say which of the victims on the Pentagon's list were from Camp Pendleton. Eleven South Koreans were killed. A U.S. military official in Seoul confirmed there were no survivors of the crash. The remains were transported to Seoul to an army mortuary at Yongsan, the large U.S. base in the South Korean capital pending return to the United States. The search for the bodies in a mountainous coastal area about 200 miles southeast of Seoul had gone on since the U.S. Marine Corps CH-53D chopper smashed into a mountainside early Saturday morning. The helicopter was one of six taking part in a night training exercise. The military said the weather was above minimum standards when the helicopters took off but that rain and high winds developed and the mission was scrubbed. The helicopter was heading back to the base at the southeast coastal port town of Pohang when it plowed into the mountainside. The training was part of a combined program called Team Spirit '84 involving about 60,000 U.S. and 147,500 South Korean military personnel, which began Feb. 1 and will be completed in April. Team Spirit maneuvers have been held annually for the past nine years."
The Pentagon identified the victims by name and hometown.
Fatalities (18):
The two helicopters collided during a training missions four miles south of Camp Humphreys. The trail helicopter drifted into the lead helicopter, causing both aircraft to collide. Injured in the collision were Lyle C. Monroe Jr., age 31, platoon leader; Capt. Clement E. Greek, 30; and crew chief Sgt. Mark W. West, age 27.
Fatalities (3):
Carlson, CW4 Leslie Ronald (pilot) - age 37, from Dumfries, Virginia. He was a son of Leslie R. "Les" Carlson and Lois Bohannon Carlson (1927-2004) and brother of Allan C. Carlson and Susan Carlson Willet.
Fitzgerald, WO1 Victor L. (pilot) - age 25, from Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Wingate, Pfc. Jeffrey A. (CE) - born February 27, 1964, in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The youngest child of Walter Preston Winget and Cherryl Anna Northweather Winget. Survived by his mother Cherryl Winget Gist; father Walter Preston Winget; brother Walter Tracy Winget; sister Sherilyn Fay Winget Hoeltzel; a half-brother Jacob Justin Winget; maternal grandfather William Fay Northweather; maternal grandmother Bernice Lee Busbee; paternal grandmother Elvalee Winget; uncles Kelly Northweather, James Winget and Randy Eilers; aunts, Carolyn Northweather Hefner, Brenda Northweather Gaddy, Kathy Northweather Depriest, Sandra Northweather and Jayne Winget Hines; and a special nephew Todd Jeffrey Hoeltzel. He was preceded in death by his grandfather Preston Winget. Since Jeff's death, but prior to this writing, his half-brother, Jacob Winget, father, Walter Preston Winget, maternal grandparents, William Fay Northweather (11/15/1987) and Bernice Lee Northweather Busbee (6/11/1995), are now deceased. Jeff's paternal grandmother, Elvalee Winget, died (2/7/2009). Jeff grew up in the Oklahoma City area and was a 1983 graduate of Western Heights High School in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Jeff joined the U.S. Army in January of 1986. After completing basic training and schooling with the Army he was stationed at Camp Humphreys, (Assault Helicopter Training Camp) South Korea. He was the crew chief of a UH60 Blackhawk Assault Helicopter. During a night goggle maneuver and a formation change, his chopper collided with another Blackhawk. The instructor pilot, the student pilot and the crew chief (Jeff) were killed. Jeff was dearly loved by all and is missed by all who knew him.
Four Marines were killed when their helicopter crashed into a rice paddy near Toksok-Ri, South Korea while taking part in the annual "Team Spirit" exercises.
Fatalities (4):
18 US Marines, 1 Navy Corpsman & 11 ROK Marines perished. The injured included helicopter crewmen Cpl. David W. Garlick, 22, of Connellsville, Pa. and Sgt. Timothy D. Sabel, 23, of Ripon, Wis. Among the Camp Pendleton Marines injured were Lance Cpl. Rand C. Albert, 22, of Munhall, Pa.; Pvt. Todd A. Bernhardt, 18, of Evansville, Ind.; Pfc. Franklin E. Bray Jr., 18, of Lompoc, Calif.; Pfc. Lavinski R. Brown, 19, of Los Angeles; Lance Cpl. Ismael S. Gomez, 23, of Santa Ana; Lance Cpl. George S. Hagee, 20, of St. Louis; Pfc. Thomas T. Hannah, 19, of Knobnoster, Mo.; Lance Cpl. David L. Jenkins, 21, of Vista; Lance Cpl. Daniel E. Moody Jr., 21, of Grimesland, N.C.; Lance Cpl. Sam A. Pesuti, 22, of Phoenix; Cpl. Michael E. Scott, 20, of Garfield, Ark.; Lance Cpl. Arthur J. Stilwell, 22, of Granada Hills, Calif., and Lance Cpl. Thomas W. Woods, 23, of Southboro, Mass. [Source: LA Times, March 22, 1989, Eric Bailey, staff writer]
The helicopter struck high-voltage power lines eight miles east of Seoul on a training mission. The helicopter rolled over and exploded during a landing attempt on rolling terrain. One person was killed, and two others were injured.
Fatalities (1):
A midair collision occurred between two AH-1 Cobra helicopters during an NVG training mission.
Fatalities (2):
One person received a fatal head wound while a UH-60 from D/2/2 Aviation was being moved out of a hangar in Korea.
The crash occurred near the peak of a mountain. Three crew members died.
Fatalities (3):
(Twin Bridges training area is 20 miles north of Seoul, South Korea.) The crew and passengers were observing a 2nd Division training exercise. The aircraft was based at K-16 Seongham Army Air Base in South Korea. Two crew members were killed, and the CE and two passengers were injured.
Fatalities (2):
The helicopter from B/1/6 Cavalry crashed into a hillside about 13 miles south of Camp Page. The weather played a role in the crash.
Fatalities (2):
On Saturday, August 24, 2002, the United States lost one of the finest young leaders of its next generation. Dustin G. Shannon, 1st Lieutenant of the United States Army was killed in the line of duty as his aircraft crashed in the mountainous terrain of South Korea. His ultimate sacrifice for the love and honor of his country will be remembered forever by everyone fortunate enough to have known him.
Dustin was a 1996 graduate of Vassar High School and a 2000 graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. He completed flight school at Fort Rucker, Alabama, certified to fly the Apache attack helicopter. To say he lived life to the fullest would be a mockery; he lived life with a vengeance. Dustin lived by a code of honor that was second nature to himself, but often insurmountable to others. He lived by the sacred fundamentals of The Long Gray Line in Duty, Honor, Country; to never lie, cheat or steal, values that have gone unchanged in 200 years. He served his country with the strongest sense of Army values prioritizing his life in My mission, My men, My self. This selfless persona caused those around him not only to love him, but to rally to his cause. He in every way embodied the type of person we all strive to be, but all too frequently fall short on in our attempts.
Dustin was many things to many people, a loving brother, son and friend. To others he was a dedicated superior or subordinate. In all of these people he was able to light a spark that allowed them to burn brighter than what they could have before. To list his survivors would be impossible. He touched people around the world, and to single out any one person would be an injustice to the rest. There is not a person in this group who would not have most willingly laid out their life for Dustin, as he did so for them with his. In a lifetime of moments, he defined each instead of letting such moments define him. In his own words, it is far better to burn out than to fade away.
For those of you who wish to say goodbye to Dustin, you may wish to call on his friends and family at Martin Funeral Home-Clark Chapel, top of the hill in Vassar on Friday, August 30, from 6-9 p.m. and Saturday, August 31, from 1-6 p.m. Visitation will also occur on Sunday, September 1 at the Vassar High School auditorium, 220 Athletic Street, from 12 noon until 2 p.m. with services to follow at that location. Reverend John Becker will officiate with full military burial rites to follow at the Riverside Cemetery of Vassar, under the auspices of the United States Army.
Dustin was born on October 6, 1978 in San Diego, California and moved to Michigan with his mother Sandy Walker and his father Gary and brother Ethan Shannon. He attended Vassar Public Schools until graduating in 1996 whereon he chose to pursue a career in the military as an officer by entering the United States Military Academy. Graduating from West Point in 2000, he went on to complete flight school. Along the way he was the winner of numerous awards and recognition, but none were more important to him than the respect of his peers. Countless friends and family will continue to cherish his memory, including his fore-mentioned brother and loving parents. He will be dearly missed by all, and never forgotten.
Friends and family wishing to honor Dustin's memory should consider a monetary donation to the Dustin G. Shannon Memorial Scholarship Fund in place of other forms of expression of their grief. It is the hope of his family it will allow others of his up bringing to be afforded the same opportunities for excellence that he so desperately fought for each day of his life.
The attack helicopter crashed into a hill near a military base in Paju, north of Seoul during a routine training exercise. The crew of two died. Pilot error was cited as the cause of the accident.
Fatalities (2):
The helicopter crashed after hitting a high voltage line. Two soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Aviation Regiment, 2nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division were killed.
Fatalities (2):