Operation Dewey Canyon II, involved an armored attack by the U.S. from Vandegrift base camp toward Khe Sanh, while the ARVN moved into position for the attack across the Laotian border. Phase II began with
an ARVN helicopter assault and armored brigade thrust along Route 9 into
Laos. ARVN ground troops were transported by American helicopters, while
U.S. Air Force provided cover strikes around the landing zones.
During one of these maneuvers, W1 Jon E. Reid was was flying a UH1C
helicopter (serial #66-700) with a crew of three - 1Lt. David M. May, co-pilot, SP5 Randall L. Johnson, crew chief, and SP4 Robert J. Acalotto,door gunner - on a mission providing gun cover for an emergency resupply
mission about 20 miles southeast of Sepone, Laos. The aircraft was hit by hostile fire and crashed.
When the helicopter landed, it was upright on its skids, with the tail boom broken off and the right aft burning. Witnesses stated that it was certainly a "survivable crash." Two people were seen exiting the aircraft on the right side, running towards nearby trees. Witnesses noted that the left pilot door was jettisoned and that both forward seats were empty. Several attempts were made to rescue the downed crew, but were unsuccessful because of heavy enemy fire. The 1st ARVN Division was to assist in a ground rescue attempt, but
the tactical situation changed before the infantry could reach the area, and
the unit had to be pulled out. No contact with the crew was ever established after the crash.
According to information received by his family, John Reid was known to have
been captured and was seen alive by other U.S. POWs in March of 1971, again in May of 1971 and once in June of 1971. Whether the rest of the crew was captured is unknown. When the POWs were released in 1973, Reid was not among them, nor was the rest of the crew. The communist governments of Southeast
Asia claim no knowledge of the fate of the crew of the UH1C that went down on February 20, 1971.
————————————————————————
On October 25, 1999, Joint Task Force–Full Accounting (JTF-FA) identified the remains of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jon Eric Reid, missing from the Vietnam War.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Reid entered the U.S. Army from Arizona and was a member of the 48th Aviation Company, 223rd Aviation Battalion, 1st Aviation Brigade. On February 20, 1971, he piloted a UH-1C Iroquois (tail number 66700) providing gun cover for an emergency resupply mission in southeastern Laos. The aircraft was hit by hostile fire during the mission and crashed, killing CWO3 Reid. Rescue attempts were unsuccessful due to a heavy enemy presence in the area, and CWO3 Reid's remains were not recovered at the time. In 1998, U.S. investigators excavated the crash site in Laos and recovered personal artifacts and human remains, and were able to identify CWO3 Reid from these remains.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Reid is memorialized in the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
————————————————————————
December 9, 1999
The remains of four American servicemen previously unaccounted-for from the
Vietnam war have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial in the United States.
They are identified as Navy Capt. Norman E. Eidsmoe, Rapid City, S.D.; Navy
Lt. Cmdr. Michael E. Dunn, Naperville, Ill.; Army Capt. David May, Hyattsville, Md.;
and Army Chief Warrant Officer Jon E. Reid, Phoenix, Ariz.
————————————————————————
an ARVN helicopter assault and armored brigade thrust along Route 9 into
Laos. ARVN ground troops were transported by American helicopters, while
U.S. Air Force provided cover strikes around the landing zones.
During one of these maneuvers, W1 Jon E. Reid was was flying a UH1C
helicopter (serial #66-700) with a crew of three - 1Lt. David M. May, co-pilot, SP5 Randall L. Johnson, crew chief, and SP4 Robert J. Acalotto,door gunner - on a mission providing gun cover for an emergency resupply
mission about 20 miles southeast of Sepone, Laos. The aircraft was hit by hostile fire and crashed.
When the helicopter landed, it was upright on its skids, with the tail boom broken off and the right aft burning. Witnesses stated that it was certainly a "survivable crash." Two people were seen exiting the aircraft on the right side, running towards nearby trees. Witnesses noted that the left pilot door was jettisoned and that both forward seats were empty. Several attempts were made to rescue the downed crew, but were unsuccessful because of heavy enemy fire. The 1st ARVN Division was to assist in a ground rescue attempt, but
the tactical situation changed before the infantry could reach the area, and
the unit had to be pulled out. No contact with the crew was ever established after the crash.
According to information received by his family, John Reid was known to have
been captured and was seen alive by other U.S. POWs in March of 1971, again in May of 1971 and once in June of 1971. Whether the rest of the crew was captured is unknown. When the POWs were released in 1973, Reid was not among them, nor was the rest of the crew. The communist governments of Southeast
Asia claim no knowledge of the fate of the crew of the UH1C that went down on February 20, 1971.
————————————————————————
On October 25, 1999, Joint Task Force–Full Accounting (JTF-FA) identified the remains of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jon Eric Reid, missing from the Vietnam War.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Reid entered the U.S. Army from Arizona and was a member of the 48th Aviation Company, 223rd Aviation Battalion, 1st Aviation Brigade. On February 20, 1971, he piloted a UH-1C Iroquois (tail number 66700) providing gun cover for an emergency resupply mission in southeastern Laos. The aircraft was hit by hostile fire during the mission and crashed, killing CWO3 Reid. Rescue attempts were unsuccessful due to a heavy enemy presence in the area, and CWO3 Reid's remains were not recovered at the time. In 1998, U.S. investigators excavated the crash site in Laos and recovered personal artifacts and human remains, and were able to identify CWO3 Reid from these remains.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Reid is memorialized in the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
————————————————————————
December 9, 1999
The remains of four American servicemen previously unaccounted-for from the
Vietnam war have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial in the United States.
They are identified as Navy Capt. Norman E. Eidsmoe, Rapid City, S.D.; Navy
Lt. Cmdr. Michael E. Dunn, Naperville, Ill.; Army Capt. David May, Hyattsville, Md.;
and Army Chief Warrant Officer Jon E. Reid, Phoenix, Ariz.
————————————————————————
Operation Dewey Canyon II, involved an armored attack by the U.S. from Vandegrift base camp toward Khe Sanh, while the ARVN moved into position for the attack across the Laotian border. Phase II began with
an ARVN helicopter assault and armored brigade thrust along Route 9 into
Laos. ARVN ground troops were transported by American helicopters, while
U.S. Air Force provided cover strikes around the landing zones.
During one of these maneuvers, W1 Jon E. Reid was was flying a UH1C
helicopter (serial #66-700) with a crew of three - 1Lt. David M. May, co-pilot, SP5 Randall L. Johnson, crew chief, and SP4 Robert J. Acalotto,door gunner - on a mission providing gun cover for an emergency resupply
mission about 20 miles southeast of Sepone, Laos. The aircraft was hit by hostile fire and crashed.
When the helicopter landed, it was upright on its skids, with the tail boom broken off and the right aft burning. Witnesses stated that it was certainly a "survivable crash." Two people were seen exiting the aircraft on the right side, running towards nearby trees. Witnesses noted that the left pilot door was jettisoned and that both forward seats were empty. Several attempts were made to rescue the downed crew, but were unsuccessful because of heavy enemy fire. The 1st ARVN Division was to assist in a ground rescue attempt, but
the tactical situation changed before the infantry could reach the area, and
the unit had to be pulled out. No contact with the crew was ever established after the crash.
According to information received by his family, John Reid was known to have
been captured and was seen alive by other U.S. POWs in March of 1971, again in May of 1971 and once in June of 1971. Whether the rest of the crew was captured is unknown. When the POWs were released in 1973, Reid was not among them, nor was the rest of the crew. The communist governments of Southeast
Asia claim no knowledge of the fate of the crew of the UH1C that went down on February 20, 1971.
————————————————————————
On October 25, 1999, Joint Task Force–Full Accounting (JTF-FA) identified the remains of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jon Eric Reid, missing from the Vietnam War.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Reid entered the U.S. Army from Arizona and was a member of the 48th Aviation Company, 223rd Aviation Battalion, 1st Aviation Brigade. On February 20, 1971, he piloted a UH-1C Iroquois (tail number 66700) providing gun cover for an emergency resupply mission in southeastern Laos. The aircraft was hit by hostile fire during the mission and crashed, killing CWO3 Reid. Rescue attempts were unsuccessful due to a heavy enemy presence in the area, and CWO3 Reid's remains were not recovered at the time. In 1998, U.S. investigators excavated the crash site in Laos and recovered personal artifacts and human remains, and were able to identify CWO3 Reid from these remains.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Reid is memorialized in the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
————————————————————————
December 9, 1999
The remains of four American servicemen previously unaccounted-for from the
Vietnam war have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial in the United States.
They are identified as Navy Capt. Norman E. Eidsmoe, Rapid City, S.D.; Navy
Lt. Cmdr. Michael E. Dunn, Naperville, Ill.; Army Capt. David May, Hyattsville, Md.;
and Army Chief Warrant Officer Jon E. Reid, Phoenix, Ariz.
————————————————————————
an ARVN helicopter assault and armored brigade thrust along Route 9 into
Laos. ARVN ground troops were transported by American helicopters, while
U.S. Air Force provided cover strikes around the landing zones.
During one of these maneuvers, W1 Jon E. Reid was was flying a UH1C
helicopter (serial #66-700) with a crew of three - 1Lt. David M. May, co-pilot, SP5 Randall L. Johnson, crew chief, and SP4 Robert J. Acalotto,door gunner - on a mission providing gun cover for an emergency resupply
mission about 20 miles southeast of Sepone, Laos. The aircraft was hit by hostile fire and crashed.
When the helicopter landed, it was upright on its skids, with the tail boom broken off and the right aft burning. Witnesses stated that it was certainly a "survivable crash." Two people were seen exiting the aircraft on the right side, running towards nearby trees. Witnesses noted that the left pilot door was jettisoned and that both forward seats were empty. Several attempts were made to rescue the downed crew, but were unsuccessful because of heavy enemy fire. The 1st ARVN Division was to assist in a ground rescue attempt, but
the tactical situation changed before the infantry could reach the area, and
the unit had to be pulled out. No contact with the crew was ever established after the crash.
According to information received by his family, John Reid was known to have
been captured and was seen alive by other U.S. POWs in March of 1971, again in May of 1971 and once in June of 1971. Whether the rest of the crew was captured is unknown. When the POWs were released in 1973, Reid was not among them, nor was the rest of the crew. The communist governments of Southeast
Asia claim no knowledge of the fate of the crew of the UH1C that went down on February 20, 1971.
————————————————————————
On October 25, 1999, Joint Task Force–Full Accounting (JTF-FA) identified the remains of Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jon Eric Reid, missing from the Vietnam War.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Reid entered the U.S. Army from Arizona and was a member of the 48th Aviation Company, 223rd Aviation Battalion, 1st Aviation Brigade. On February 20, 1971, he piloted a UH-1C Iroquois (tail number 66700) providing gun cover for an emergency resupply mission in southeastern Laos. The aircraft was hit by hostile fire during the mission and crashed, killing CWO3 Reid. Rescue attempts were unsuccessful due to a heavy enemy presence in the area, and CWO3 Reid's remains were not recovered at the time. In 1998, U.S. investigators excavated the crash site in Laos and recovered personal artifacts and human remains, and were able to identify CWO3 Reid from these remains.
Chief Warrant Officer 3 Reid is memorialized in the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
————————————————————————
December 9, 1999
The remains of four American servicemen previously unaccounted-for from the
Vietnam war have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial in the United States.
They are identified as Navy Capt. Norman E. Eidsmoe, Rapid City, S.D.; Navy
Lt. Cmdr. Michael E. Dunn, Naperville, Ill.; Army Capt. David May, Hyattsville, Md.;
and Army Chief Warrant Officer Jon E. Reid, Phoenix, Ariz.
————————————————————————
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