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64-13124, Boeing build number B-096, was a CH-47A helicopter. The U.S. Army acceptance date was 6 April 1965. 64-13124 accumulated 1,080.0 aircraft hours. On 19 April 1968, 64-13124, while assigned to A Company - "Wildcats", 228th Assault Support Helicopter Battalion (ASHB) - "Winged Warriors", 1st Air Cavalry, in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN), was lost during a combat mission. The U.S. Army reported that 64-13124 crashed in flames in dense jungle. A severe explosion occurred 15-30 seconds later. It is assumed the aircraft received hostile ground fire. The entire crew of five personnel are Missing In Action (MIA). On 4 October 2000, Wade O. Kane, a former Crew chief (CE) in A Company, 228th ASHB from June 1967 through June 1968 reported that the number of Killed in Action (KIA) is wrong. The two pilots, amazingly lived. They only remembered being upside down on the ground and falling "up" out of the crashed Chinook. They made their way to a landing zone (LZ) the next day. They didn't seem hurt physically, but they left the company after a day or two. A lot of times we carried a ramp gunner, but I have only seen 3 people listed as being on that hook that day. They were Gunner Douglas R. Blodgett, CE William Roy Dennis, Flight Engineer (FE) Jesus A. Gonzales. The last known location of 64-13124 was in the Republic of Vietnam. Aircraft status: Shot down in combat. |
