| Date: 8 October 1963 |
| Aircraft type: T-28D Trojan |
| Serial Number: 53-8373 |
| Military Unit: 1 ACS, 34 TG |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Bien Hoa |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Dean Amick Wadsworth (KIA) |
| VNAF observer name unknown (KIA) |
| A T-28, radio call sign Grad OK 02, went out of control and crashed when it was diving on a target near the Laotian border about 40 miles southwest of Da Nang. The wreckage fell in a swollen stream which fed into the Buong River in mountainous jungle terrain. The USAF mounted a major SAR mission led by Maj A W Saunders. In the first attempt to reach the wreck two USMC UH-34s of HMM-361 were shot down with the loss of 10 crew in an area known as ‘VC Valley’. Later, against considerable enemy opposition, two ARVN infantry companies supported by Farm Gate strike aircraft were flown into the area by USMC helicopters. The search party reached the wreck site on 11 October but was soon forced to withdraw due to enemy fire. Another USMC UH-34 was lost during the recovery of the SAR party in the evening, fortunately without further loss of life. Three days later Maj Saunders led another mission to the wreck, again encountering much enemy opposition. The party, escorted by a strong force of US Green Berets and South Vietnamese Rangers, found no sign of the crew and little to indicate the cause of the crash. In 1993 a Vietnamese villager handed in remains he claimed were from the T-28 wreck site. This was followed up by three digs at the site in 1994 and 1995 and during the latter excavation human remains and identification tags were found identifying Capt Wadsworth. |
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