| Date: 9 June 1967 |
| Aircraft type: C-130B Hercules |
| Serial Number: 58-0737 |
| Military Unit: 29 TCS, 463 TCW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Clark AB, Philippines |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Jerome Frank Starkweather (KIA) |
| Capt Rafael Luis Rivera-Balaguer (KIA) |
| Capt Richard Weisell Podell (KIA) |
| SSgt Ricky Lynn Herndon (KIA) |
| SSgt Ira Edward Scott (KIA) |
| SSgt Wiliam Everett Tyree (KIA) |
| 1Lt Richard Arlington Gray (US Army) (KIA) |
| SP5 Andrew Harry Shimp (US Army) (KIA) |
| SP5 Frank Richard Ragusa (US Army) (KIA) |
| SP4 Craig Ray Schoenbaum (US Army) (KIA) |
| A Hercules was nearing the end of a routine day shuttling between its temporary base at Tan Son Nhut and several airfields in South Vietnam. The final shuttle of the day was to Nha Trang where a load including classified maps and the bodies of an American and a Korean soldier along with four Army escorts or couriers was loaded for the return trip to Tan Son Nhut. As the aircraft approached Saigon it was vectored around an artillery firing zone. However, the aircraft crashed 12 miles east of Tan Son Nhut, apparently as the result of structural failure as both wings had detached at altitude. As this type of accidental gross structural failure was extremely unlikely it was conjectured that the aircraft might have been hit by an artillery shell causing its destruction.
Additional information: Also aboard this flight were the remains of PFC George Richard Darnell, US Army, which were being transported to Saigon for preparation before being shipped back to the U.S. for burial. PFC Darnell had died on 8 June as a result of a gunshot wound to the head while standing guard duty at the Battalion Motor Pool at Nha Trang. After the crash of the C-130 which killed everyone on board, his remains were interred at Arlington National Cemetery in a group burial along with 1Lt Richard A Gray, USAF; SP5 Frank R Ragusa, US Army; Capt Richard W Podell, USAF; SP4 Craig R Schoenbaum, US Army; and SSgt William E Tyree, USAF. |
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