John R. Hill never considered another person as an enemy. That is why he chose to pilot Medical Evacuation helicopters and the reason he did not hesitate to pick up anyone who was injured, regardless of nationality, civilian or military.
On April 27, 1970, Capt. Hill, pilot; WO Donald G. Study, co-pilot; SP4 Zettie J.C.
Dulin, crew chief; and PFC Randall W. Love were the crew of a UH1H helicopter (serial #66-17626, call sign Dustoff
712) conducting a medivac mission when the
aircraft crashed into the sea.
The helicopter was returning to Quang Tri when it went down. All occupants exited the aircraft safely, although PFC Love went under and was not seen to surface. No one aboard the aircraft was wearing life jackets. The three remaining crewmen began swimming toward flares on the beach. Capt. Hill fell behind and became separated from the other two. Later, during the night, SP4 Dulin and WO Study were separated. WO Study was rescued by a Korean LST in the mouth of Da Nang Bay.
On May 3, the bodies of SP4 Dulin and PFC Love were recovered. An extensive search was conducted from April 28, through May 12 for Capt. Hill, but no trace was ever found. He was listed as killed and it was considered that his remains would never be found.
John Hill is one of only a small number of the men missing in Southeast Asia who cannot be accounted for. Unlike MIA’s from other wars, the men missing in Southeast Asia were lost over a small geographical area, and primarily on or near land. Further, unlike in other wars, The Vietnamese and her communist allies expended great efforts recovering both remains and aircraft which had been downed. They also kept very detailed records.
Since the war ended, refugees have flooded the world, bringing with them stories of American prisoners still held in their country. Rather than decrease in number over the years, these reports have increased. Many authorities believe that hundreds of Americans are captive in Southeast Asia today, waiting for their country to come for them.
John Hill is almost certainly dead, but he was not the kind of man to ignore any man’s misfortune if there was anything he could do to help. How much are we doing to bring these men home?
Incidental Information
Click
Here to view a queried report of messages and
files concerning John from the POW/MIA
Database at the Library of Congress's Federal
Research Division. (Links
will open in New Browser Window).
You can run queries on various name spellings to view the messages.
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Honored
on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial: Panel 12W - - Line 111
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The VietNam Veterans' Memorial
Wall Page
Did you serve with this HERO? Is
he Family, an old friend, or a High School Sweetheart? Is there something
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