On May 9, 1970 five 221st combat photographers and all four of the helicopter crew were killed in the downing of a UH-1D Huey of the 189th Assault Helicopter Company, GhostRiders 079. The shootdown occured near Pleiku as the men were taking part in the Cambodian incursion then underway. The exact circumstances may never be known but it is evident that the chopper was flying low enough to be hit by enemy small arms fire. If anyone has additional information on GhostRider 079, please e-mail: pberk@berks.com
1Lt Ken Hoffman tells the story.
Audio courtesy Chris Jensen, 221st Signal
Runs about 6 min.
On May 9, 1970, a U.S. Army helicopter UH-1D (tail number 65-10079) “Ghostrider” from the 189th Assault Helicopter Company was shot down near LZ Gypsy in Pleiku Province, RVN, eight miles west of Pleiku City, with a camera crew from the 221st Signal Company on board. The shootdown occurred as the cameramen were covering the Cambodian incursion underway at that time. There were no survivors. A total of nine personnel were lost in the incident. The four crewmen included aircraft commander WO1 John D. McCluskey, pilot 1LT Colin P. Hurd, crew chief SP4 Johnny L. Fulton, and gunner PFC David J. Corpus. The five passengers comprised SP5 Christopher J. Childs III, SP5 Douglas J. Itri, SP4 Ronald S. Lowe, PFC Raymond L. Paradis, and SP4 Larry C. Young. An U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter operating in the area set down and personnel aboard recovered the remains from the crash site and took them to 71st Evacuation Hospital in Pleiku. [Taken from vhpa.org and 221stsignal.com]