| Date: 19 June 1968 |
| Aircraft type: F-4J Phantom |
| Serial Number: 155546 |
| Military Unit: VF-33 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS America |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Cdr John William Holtzclaw (Survived) |
| Lt Cdr John Anthony Burns (Survived) |
| As night fell a pair of Phantoms started an armed reconnaissance mission with an A-6A Intruder looking for trucks on the roads north of Vinh. The aircraft received a SAM warning and Lt Cdr Holtzclaw jinked to evade two missiles but his aircraft (call sign Root Beer 210) was hit by a third SA-2 at an altitude of 2,600 feet. The Phantom’s starboard wing was blown off and both crew ejected near the village of Van Tap, 20 miles northwest of Vinh. This was the first aircraft lost to a SAM in almost four months. The two airmen landed in rice paddies between two villages and made their way slowly to a densely forested hillside to hide and hopefully await rescue. A H-2 Seasprite flown by Lt Clyde E Lassen with Lt(jg) C L Cook, AE2 B B Dallas and ADJ3 D West of Detachment 104 of HC-7 was based on the destroyer USS Preble. Lassen made a daring flight into North Vietnam in total darkness over unfamiliar terrain. The helicopter was shot at by ground fire including two SAMs but eventually Lassen located the burning wreckage of the Phantom. Lt Lassen landed in a rice paddy about 600 feet from the downed airmen but had to lift off again when enemy troops opened fire at the helicopter as it sat on the ground. A flight of Navy aircraft arrived and started to drop flares so Lt Lassen attempted to pick up the survivors from among tall trees in the forest. As the rescue sling was being lowered the flares went out and the helicopter hit a tree in the pitch dark. Despite damage to the helicopter Lt Lassen made several passes over the downed airmen so that his door gunner could fire at enemy troops approaching the survivors’ position. Eventually Holtzclaw and Burns made it down the hill to the flat rice paddies and Lt Lassen made another landing but the airmen were too far away and the helicopter again came under fire so Lassen took off, circled and landed, for the third time, closer to the survivors. Another SAM was fired as the helicopter was about to touch down and enemy troops could be heard crashing through the jungle trying to reach the survivors before they could get to the helicopter. For three minutes the helicopter sat in the rice paddy while Holtzclaw and Burns struggled their way through the mud and vegetation to reach the Seasprite. Under fire from three sides, Lassen took off as soon as the men were aboard after a total of 56 minutes over North Vietnam and 45 minutes under fire. The helicopter was fired on by AAA as it crossed the coast and the side door was torn off during evasive manoeuvres. Short of fuel and his helicopter badly damaged, Lt Lassen headed for the nearest ship and landed on the destroyer USS Jouett with only five minutes of fuel remaining. For his outstanding efforts to complete the rescue, one of the few successful night rescues of the war, Lt Lassen was awarded the Medal of Honor at the White House on 16 January 1969.
HC-7 Rescue Helicopter Combat Support Squadron SEVEN (HC-7) was established September 1, 1967. While simultaneously providing several fleet support activities in the Gulf of Tonkin, HC-7 assumed the responsibility for North Vietnam naval combat search and rescue. HC-7 prepared for action using UH-2B Kaman Sea Sprite helos inherited from HC-1 and were stationed in detachments aboard small boys, destroyers (DDs) and Guided Missile Frigates (DLGs), patrolling off the coast of North Vietnam primarily for the purpose of Search and Rescue (SAR) duty. The information at the following link was compiled by Ron Milam, the historian for HC-7, from ship's deck logs, official HC-7 Rescue Reports, other official and unofficial documents, interviews with crew members and survivors, and other sources, including the Chris Hobson book upon which this site is based. The details for the rescue associated with this fixed wing loss can be accessed by clicking on this link. |
You may return to your search results, go to the Search Form, or go back to the Home Page.