Kham
Duc Special Forces camp
(A-105), was located on
the western fringes of
Quang Tin Province, South
Vietnam. In the spring of
1968, it was the only
remaining border camp in
Military Region I, and was
located 46 miles southwest
of DaNang, on a narrow
grassy plain surrounded by
rugged, virtually
uninhabited jungle. The
camp and airstrip were
bordered by the Ngok Peng
Bum ridge to the west and
Ngok Pe Xar Mountain,
looming over Kham Duc to
the east. Steep banked
streams full of rapids and
waterfalls cut through
this tropical wilderness.
In
late March 1968, US
intelligence picked up
information that the 2nd
NVA Regiment, well over
10,000 men strong, was
moving from North Vietnam,
through Laos, and intended
to enter South Vietnam
somewhere south of Kham
Duc, on it way to the
DaNang area. An
intelligence team,
comprised of 3 Australian
advisors and their Chinese
Nung Mike Force, was
charged with the
responsibility of
locating, tracking and
reporting on the enemy
movement. They established
a base of operations five
miles south of Kham Duc in
the old abandoned French
fort of Ngok Tavak located
between the Vietnamese/Lao
boarder and Route 14.
The
commander of the 2nd NVA
regiment determined that
neither Ngok Tavak nor
Kham Duc could be bypassed
because of the threat each
posed to his flank once
the regiment moved past
them. Kgok Tavak was
assaulted in the early
morning hours of 10 May
1968. At the same time,
the NVA began blasting
Kham Duc at 0245 hours
with heavy mortar and
recoilless rifle fire in
an attempt to "soften
up" the entrenched US
and allied troops.
During
the next two days, the
battle for Kham Duc
continued unabated. In
that fierce fighting 19
Americans were captured,
became Missing in Action
or Killed in Action/Body
Not Recovered as the
Americans and allied
troops tried desperately
to hold on. In the end,
those survivors who could
not be evacuated were
given orders to escape and
evade from Kham Duc.
On
12 May 1968, shortly after
1200 hours, the decision
was made to immediately
extract all personnel from
the beleaguered camp. This
evacuation was disorderly
and, at times, on the
verge of complete panic.
To
aid in the evacuation of
US military personnel,
along with South
Vietnamese troops and
their families, the Air
Force assigned a C130B
(serial #60-0297) from
Mactan Airbase,
Phillippines to Kham Duc.
The aircrew was comprised
of Maj. Bernard Bucher,
pilot; 1st Lt. Stephen
Moreland, co-pilot; Maj.
John McElroy, navigator;
SSgt. Frank Hepler, flight
engineer; and Airman
George Long, loadmaster.
Also aboard the aircraft
was Capt. Warren Orr, Jr.,
a Special Forces civil
affairs officer whose job
it was to assist in
getting as many of the
civilians out of Kham Duc
as possible. The C130B
landed at the Special
Forces Camp amidst the
chaos of battle and
immediately began taking
on as many passengers as
it could hold.
Maj.
Bucher took off while
under an intense enemy
mortar and small arms
attack. A Forward Air
Controller (FAC) in the
area watched the Hercules
as it lumbered into the
air, then reported seeing
the aircraft explode in a
fireball in mid-air
approximately 1 mile from
the end of the airstrip
and crash into the jungle
below. It was believed
that all crew and
passengers aboard perished
as the aircraft was
quickly consumed by fire
destroying everything but
the tail boom. Because of
the intense enemy presence
in the area, no ground
search of the area was
possible. All Air Force
members of the flight crew
were listed Killed in
Action/ Body Not
Recovered.
The
question was raised later
if Capt. Warren Orr
actually boarded the
aircraft prior to its
departure. A Vietnamese
soldier reported he saw
Capt. Orr board the
aircraft after everyone
else was aboard and before
the tailgate closed.
However, because no
American could actually
place Capt. Orr on the
C130B, he was listed
Missing in Action.
On
18-21 July 1970 and again
from 17-20 August 1970,
search and recovery teams
returned to Kham Duc to
search for the remains of
those Americans who were
missing and unaccounted
for. During these trips,
personnel from Graves
Registration were unable
to locate the wreckage of
the C130B to search for
remains. This was in part
due to the fact that the
surrounding area is
covered with double and
triple canopy growth and
finding the crash site
after this period of time
without the aid of modern
technology was extremely
difficult. Another factor
was the Vietnam War was
still in full swing and
much of the territory
around Kham Duc was
controlled by the
Communists.
For
the aircrew of the
Hercules, there is no
doubt of their fate.
However, they have the
right to have their
remains returned to their
families, friends and
country. For Warren Orr
and many other Americans
who remain unaccounted for
in Indochina, their fate
could be quite different.
Since
the end of the Vietnam War
well over 21,000 reports
of American prisoners,
missing and otherwise
unaccounted for have been
received by our
government. Many of these
reports document LIVE
America Prisoners of War
remaining captive
throughout Southeast Asia
TODAY.
Military
men in Vietnam were called
upon to fly and fight in
many dangerous
circumstances, and they
were prepared to be
wounded, killed or
captured. It probably
never occurred to them
that they could be
abandoned by the country
they so proudly served.
Incidental Information
