| On the
morning of December 8, 1965, CPL John T. Corle was assigned as gunner on a
logistical mission which by all of its attributes should have been a
non-event. CPL Corle's aircraft was one of three which were assigned to fly
a logistical mission from Ky Ha to Da Nang, 47 miles up the coast, and
return. The crew of the aircraft were CAPT Jim Givan, pilot; 2LT William T.
"Tee" Holmes, Jr., copilot; and SGT Gerald V. Glenn, crew chief. It was 2LT
Holmes' first flight in Vietnam and this "milk run" type mission was the
standard way to get new pilots familiar with maps, radio frequencies and
flight procedures before flying on real combat missions. It was a miserable
day with rain and fog which dictated that the flight of three UH-34's would
do a little "scud running" and zip right up the coastline. They would have
to fly low over the seacoast to stay under the clouds. But they reasoned
they could remain far enough out over the ocean to avoid possible ground
fire. Of the flight of three, CPL Corle's aircraft was tail-end-charlie,
took off from Ky Ha, flew over the steep cliff at the seashore, and then
rotored northward toward Da Nang. The weather quickly turned rotten. A gale
was brewing, and the wind swept in from the open sea at about 35 knots.
Visibility fell to a couple of miles in rain, and there was a hard overcast
about 500 feet above the surface of the ocean. Yet, except for the lousy
weather, the flight to Da Nang was uneventful. The three helicopters landed
at the depot at Da Nang, shut down their engines, and the crew chiefs,
gunners and 2LT Holmes started loading the supplies. These items consisted
of about 80 cases of beer, plus helicopter spare parts and a variety of
helicopter maintenance equipment. Then they fired up their radial engines,
engaged their rotors and took off for Ky Ha. As the flight progressed out
over the South China Sea the weather really turned sour. Forward visibility
had decreased to about a mile in rain and fog, and the cloud layer
constituting a ceiling had dropped to about 200 feet above the sea. Still,
the three helicopters managed to stay VFR as they skimmed along above the
waves. The crew felt no cause for alarm. Nothing could go wrong, they
reasoned. On CPL Corle's aircraft the crew kept up a sarcastic running
chatter over the ICS system about the "beautiful" weather. The TACAN (a
bearing and distance navigation radio) picked up mileage and heading to Chu
Lai. By the pilot's calculations they were somewhere near Tam Ky, and in
roughly eight minutes they would be back on the ground at Ky Ha. But
unfortunately he was wrong, the FM radio rasped, "Takin' fire from the
beach!" Exactly where the fatal round struck the helicopter, no one knows.
The UH-34's engine suddenly died. No warning, no cough, no sputter, it just
quit. The abrupt and unexpected silence seemed almost deafening. CAPT Givan
keyed the FM radio, "MAYDAY! MAYDAY!" A UH-34 without engine power glides
only slightly better than a falling anvil. And with only 200 feet of
altitude, CAPT Givan had just a few precious seconds until impact with the
water down below. Down collective! Full right rudder! Harness locked! Jam
the cockpit escape hatches open! Here comes the water - Flare! - Flare! -
Flare! The UH-34 hit the water hard, rolled inverted, and began sinking
toward the bottom of the sea. Under water in the upside-down cockpit, the
pilots remembered their dilbert-dunker training from flight school at
Pensacola. They yanked radio cords loose from their flight helmets,
unlatched lap and shoulder harness, squeezed through the escape hatches and
followed the air bubbles to the surface. The pilots saw the waves were about
eight feet high, the wind whipped stinging salt spray across their faces and
each time they topped a wave they could see and hear enemy firing at them
from a tree line on the beach. Fortunately the other two UH-34's, (one
piloted by 1LT Kenneth L. Gross and his copilot 1LT Lenny Melancon; the
other commanded by CAPT Dick Gleason) had heard CAPT Givan's "MAYDAY." They
circled back, their gunners firing at the enemy muzzle flashes on the beach.
The Marines in the water did not know which threat was the greatest. If they
started waving their arms, they would attract more enemy fire from the
beach. But if they did not wave, their squadron mates might not see them. LT
Holmes would explain some years later that it became an easy choice, "I
waved and splashed like a maniac!" As the two UH-34's bored in, their crew
chiefs kicked out case after case of beer to lighten the load for the
rescue. LT Gross sighted the survivors in the water and with verbal
assistance from his crew chief, SSGT Christman, was able to hoist CAPT Givan
and LT Holmes into his aircraft. The hoist went down a third time for SGT
Glenn. Once SGT Glenn was in the "horse collar" and ready to be lifted, the
hoist malfunctioned and would not retract. Disregarding the enemy fire LT
Gross' gunner, CPL Cone, crawled out onto the main gear to assist SGT Glenn.
Again with verbal instructions from SSGT Christman the helicopter was
lowered within inches of the rolling waves. CPL Cone wound his legs around
the main strut and laid back inverted holding on to SGT Glenn as the
helicopter was air taxied toward the beach. Upon reaching the beach SSGT
Christman manned CPL Cone's machine gun to set a covering field of fire
while CPL Cone assisted the beleaguered SGT Glenn into the aircraft. The
rescued crew advised LT Gross that they were still missing one of their
crew. The two helicopters repeatedly circled and searched in vain for they
never found the missing gunner, and due to a low fuel state had to return to
Ky Ha. LT Holmes believes that CPL Corle did make it out of the aircraft: “I
think I was probably the last person to exit the helicopter after it entered
the water because I struggled for some time before I realized I had not
released my seat belt and shoulder harness. I was going to the bottom with
the aircraft. When I finally got out it was a long way to the surface and it
seemed an eternity to get there. Once at the surface, though we were
scattered over some distance and the high waves made it difficult to see
anyone except when they crested a wave while I was also riding the crest, I
do remember counting heads and I am sure that I saw all three of the other
crew members. We were not close enough to communicate with one another, nor
could I determine anyone else's condition, but I am almost positive that all
four of us were on the surface. After that first sighting, I did not see any
of the other crew members until I saw CAPT Givan being raised on the hoist
of one of the rescue helicopters." CPL Corle was never found and he was
declared Killed In Action/Body Not Recovered. [Taken from hmm-364.org] |