They Can NOT Be Forgotton!
Incident Along The Dak Bla
They Can NOT Be Forgotton!
Incident Along The Dak Bla
Personnel in Incident: Richard J. Schell; Richard M. Allard; Kenneth B. Goff;
Ronald L. Holtzman (all missing); Dayton Witherall; Richard N. Morrison;
John R. Ulp; Cynthia Colburn
(all rescued); Sterling A. Wall (killed,body recovered)
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: On August 24, 1967, WO Dayton Witherall, pilot; WO Richard N.
Morrison, aircraft commander; SP4 Richard L. Holtzman, gunner; SP4
Richard M. Allard, crewchief; 2Lt. Kenneth B. Goff, 2Lt. Richard J.
Schell, Sgt. Major John R. Ulp, 1Lt. Sterling A. Wall, and Miss Cynthia
Colburn, passengers; were aboard a UH1C helicopter (serial #66-12526)
which departed Polei Kleng, South Vietnam to Plei Krong, South Vietnam
on a combat support liaison mission.
The 4th Infantry, with the assistance of the 25th Infantry Division and
1st Cavalry (Airmobile), was at that time conducting an operation called
Paul Revere IV, a continuing effort near the Cambodian border of Pleiku
Province.
The UH1H flying over Pleiku Province that day in August 1967 was flying
out of Pleiku, where its crew and passengers were stationed.
(NOTE: While the U.S. Army describes the flight mission as
combat-related, it also acknowledges that Ms. Colburn was on the
aircraft, a situation which was "illegal", as women serving in Vietnam
were not supposed to be placed in combat situations. It is not clear in
public record why she was on the aircraft, although Phyllis Allard,
Richard Allard's mother, has said that the aircraft was carrying
passengers enroute from a hospital and that Colburn was a Red Cross
worker.)
During the flight, the pilot elected to fly low-level along the Dak Bla
River. While attempting a 180 degree turn, the aircraft failed to
recover and was caught in a severe downdraft and crashed into the Krong
Bo Lah River in about 10 feet of water at a point where the current was
swift and the water was deep. (NOTE: loss coordinates place the site of
loss unquestionably on the Se San River about 15 miles southwest of the
city of Kontum, and about 28 miles due south of the city of Dak To. Just
south of Dak To is the juncture of the Se San and another river. Whether
at this juncture the two rivers have other names cannot be determined
with materials on hand at the time of this writing.Information provided
by family members states that the aircraft landed in the "bottomless,
rapid Boc River called Dak Bla".)
Rescue helicopters arrived 10 - 45 minutes after the crash and rescued
WO Morrison, WO Witherall, Ms Colburn and Sgt. Major Ulp, after their
having been swept several hundred feet downstream. 2Lt. Goff, SP4 Allard
and 2Lt. Schell were not seen by any of the survivors after the crash.
SP4 Holtzman was seen by WO Morrison, who stated that Holtzman was
wearing a flight jacket, armor plate, and a flak jacket, and called out
to Morrison that he could not swim. WO Morrison stated that Holtzman
drifted away in the swift current before he could help him.
Later searches of the area revealed several pieces of debris, but the
aircraft itself was not found. In September 1967, Lt. Wall's body was
retrieved from the river. Searches were conducted through December 26,
but neither the aircraft nor the four missing men aboard it were found.
Richard Allard's mother received a collect call from Cambodia a few days
after the crash by someone she believed was Richard. She subsequently
had the call checked by Illinois Bell and states that the results
"produced evidence that they [the crew] were in the hands of the enemy".
In 1970 she saw a prisoner on television in a Viet Cong film which she
believed was Richard. The Army was elusive in its conclusions on both
events, so Mrs. Allard borrowed money from friends to go to Cambodia in
January of 1972.
Through a series of events which belong in a spy novel, Mrs. Allard said
that she found herself in a cave where she was blindfolded and led into
a bare room. An official and a soldier came in with her son. In the
moments he was allowed to stay, he said, "Shame on you for coming." He
apparently was afraid for his mother's safety. The Army later said they
couldn't believe Mrs. Allard's account unless the Communists
corroborated it in writing. Mrs. Allard has worked continually for 22
years for information about her son.
In 1969, a communist defector was shown a number of photographs of
missing men. One of the photos he identified positively as being a
prisoner of war was Richard Schell. The U.S. could not determine why the
photo was selected.
Clearly, all the evidence is not in on the events of August 24, 1967.
Whether Mrs. Allard's story is true is unknown. Whether Allard and
Schell were truly prisoners can only be known by the communists, and of
course, Allard and Schell themselves. The Vietnamese deny any knowledge
of any of the four missing.
When the United States signed the Vietnam Peace Agreements, Cambodia, Laos,
and China were not included, and no American prisoners held were ever released.
Although the United States Government has received more than 10,000 reports
concerning Americans still missing in Southeast Asia, we have been unable to
convince many authorities that hundreds still remain alive, the United States
has been unable recognize this issue, and find a way to free those men captured.
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