| Date: 9 June 1968 |
| Aircraft type: HH-3E Jolly Green Giant |
| Serial Number: 67-14710 |
| Military Unit: 37 ARRS, 3 ARRG |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Da Nang |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Jack Columbus Rittichier (KIA) |
| Capt Richard Carolinus Yeend (KIA) |
| SSgt Elmer Larry Holden (KIA) |
| Sgt James Douglas Locker (KIA) |
| As soon as 1Lt Schmidt was shot down HH-3E Jolly Green 22 attempted a pick up but was forced to withdraw due to intense ground fire and shortage of fuel after three attempts. After a suppressive strike Jolly Green 23 flown by Lt Jack C Rittichier and his crew approached 1Lt Schmidt but as the helicopter drew close to the survivor it was hit in the left engine by ground fire and burst into flames. The helicopter crashed as it attempted to land in a small clearing and exploded on impact. Nobody was seen to escape from the wreckage. A further attempt to rescue 1Lt Schmidt that day was considered but the mission was then aborted as it was felt that he was being used as bait to trap the SAR helicopters. Another rescue attempt the next day found no sign of 1Lt Schmidt. He was not known to have been in any of the POW camps and the most likely conclusion is that he was killed by enemy troops while resisting capture. JTF-FA investigations were mounted in 1998 using information provided by a flight simulation of the mission conducted at Hurlburt Field AFB, Florida in an attempt to find the location of the A-4 and HH-3 wreckage.
Lt Rittichier arrived in Vietnam in April 1968 to fly with the USAF on exchange from the US Coast Guard and was the only fatality out of 10 Coast Guard helicopter pilots who were attached to the USAF in Southeast Asia from 1968. Jack Rittichier was no stranger to the USAF having served as a B-47 pilot with SAC until transferring to the Coast Guard in 1963. He was awarded a posthumous Silver Star for his attempt to complete the rescue. In 2002 and 2003 the crash site of what proved to be Jolly Green 23 at Ban Kaboui just inside Laos was excavated and human remains recovered. The remains were repatriated in February 2003 and identified as being the entire crew of the helicopter. Lt Rittichier’s remains were buried in Arlington National Cemetery on 6 October 2003 and those of his crew were buried in their home towns. |
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