| Date: 29 June 1972 |
| Aircraft type: OV-10A Bronco |
| Serial Number: 68-3804 |
| Military Unit: 20 TASS, 6498 ABW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Da Nang |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Steven Logan Bennett (KIA) |
| Capt Michael B Brown (USMC) (Survived) |
| In an inspiring display of courage and self-sacrifice, Capt Steve Bennett saved the life of his Marine Corps observer when their OV-10 Bronco was badly damaged by ground fire on the 29th. The pair was flying a naval gunfire support mission directing fire from the cruiser USS Newport News and the destroyer USS R B Anderson near Quang Tri. The mission was extended when the relief OV-10 was delayed and Bennett and Brown controlled a strike by a section of Navy Intruders just as darkness approached. As they were heading back to Da Nang Capt Bennett, flying as Covey 87, heard an emergency transmission from a platoon of South Vietnamese troops who were under heavy attack just west of Quang Tri. There was no air support or artillery immediately available with the exception of another OV-10, Nail 70 flown by Capt Darrel Whitcomb, who was directed to join Covey 87. The two aircraft started to make strafing attacks on the enemy troops. Capt Bennett made four strafing runs against the North Vietnamese troops forcing them to pull back. On the fifth pass the aircraft was hit by an SA-7 missile at 6,500 feet. The missile hit the port engine, which burst into flames as the undercarriage hung down loosely. The aircraft headed towards the coast and was joined by Nail 70 as Capt Brown transmitted a May Day message. When over the sea Capt Brown discovered that his parachute had been shredded by shrapnel from the SA-7. Capt Bennett turned west in an attempt to reach Hué but the fire grew worse and it became apparent that he would not be able to reach land. The Bronco’s ditching characteristics were known to be poor as the cockpit tended to break up as it hit the surface of the water. Nevertheless, in an attempt to save his observer, Capt Bennett decided to ditch his aircraft a few hundred yards off the South Vietnamese coast. Capt Whitcomb and another Nail FAC that had joined him directed the rescue forces to the incident. The undercarriage hit the water first and the Bronco cartwheeled breaking up the cockpit on impact. Capt Brown was able to escape through a hole in the side of the fuselage and was picked up by a Navy helicopter but Capt Bennett was trapped and drowned. His body was recovered from the wreckage the next day. Steven Bennett, who had been in combat for less than three months, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, which was presented to his widow on 8 August 1974. As a tribute to Bennett’s self-sacrifice a US Navy chartered commercial sealift ship was christened the Capt Steven L Bennett on 20 November 1997. |
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