19 JULY 1966:

 Today started off in a quiet way and ended with the most tragic happening the Dragons had yet to encounter. It was a day the men wished had never started.

In the morning, Lt. Mel Godbee moved his platoon to the west with hill 185 as his objective. In front of his objective was a fast flowing creek that made movement extremely difficult. While crossing the creek, he and the men started receiving effective automatic weapons fire from a well concealed bunker complex. Lt. Godbee manuevered his men with extreme confidence and tactical ability. After calling in 4.2 support follwed by extremely accurate 105 artillery from A Battery 2/9, Lt. Godbee and his men charged the bunkers killing eight NVA soldiers and taking no friendly casualties. The terrain and surprise were initially in favor of the enemy, but due to the aggressiveness of 1st Platoon A Company this advantage changed hands.

 

After policing up numerous weapons and equipment, 1st Platoon moved back to LZ 27Q. Captain Raymond Johnson, the relatively new S3 came in by helicopter to pick up First Sergeant Nagato of A Company and also to tag enemy equipment policed up by 1st platoon of A Company. After everything was loaded on the chopper, it departed the area and was flying parallel to the Ia Drand River when it collided with a L19 type aircraft. Losing its main rotor, it tumbled to the ground below and immediately burst into flames, killing Captain Johnson, First Sergeant Nagato, the two pilots and two gunners.

 

The pilot of the L19 was also killed when his ship landed on the west side of the Ia Drang River. C Company’s men were the first to arrive at the scene to view the tragic sight. The mutilated bodies were recovered and the loss was one that would never quite be forgotten by the men of the Golden Dragons. The men all knew Top Soldier Nagato and knew of his outstanding courage, the confidence he inspired in the men, and all around soldiering ability. He had been one of the key figures in making the Dragons the professional unit it was and is today.

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Captain Johnson was relatively new to the men but they all admired his ability and that confident manner of his. He was a friendly and warm person and was an outstanding technician. The short time he was with the Dragons he inspired a respect and admiration that none will forget. Let us never forget these courageous men. There were two of our best.

There were others killed in this sad tragedy, some of which were unknown to the Dragons. However, they knew that a chopper pilot and a recon pilot (L19) went down. The admiration we held for "Stagecoach" drove us to do everything possible to be done in searching for and trying to help the men who have helped the Dragons everyday in their dangerous work. The 14th Infantry knows no limits when a chopper pilot or FAC needs help. However, help was useless for all were killed instantly on contact. God rest these men, for they were soldiers.

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KIA 07/19/66 in mid-air collision over the Ia Drang River between a Huey, in which he was hitching a ride back to Base Camp in Pleiku, and an L-19 "Bird-dog" Air Force spotter plane. 

Historical Perspective: Also killed in the crash from the 1/14 was our brand new Bn S-3 CPT Raymond E. Johnson, who had just been transferred over from the 1/35 (Cacti). The L-19 was flying parallel to the Cambodian border, the pilot looking down for enemy targets. The Huey had been "voluntarily commandeered" for a few minutes before heading back to Pleiku to help the S-3 adjust pre-planned artillery fires around the BN forward CP for the night. Crew and passengers were probably assisting in spotting rounds landing on the ground.

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20 JULY 1966:

the day was spend extracting the bodies at the crash site and searching for the body of the L-19 pilot. Captain Simcox, accompanied by his third platoon, located the wrecked L19 and began to search for the body. The men patrolled both sides of the Ia Trang River down to where it joined the Ia Drang River. From this junction the men searched the near side of the Ia Drang and followed it to the west about 1500 meters downstream. The body was located tangled in a tree stump on the bank of the river. Captain Simcox and his men brought it back to LZ 35H. With all victims of the previous days’ tragedy accounted for, the Dragons would at least know the victims were not abandoned to enemy patrols. It wasn’t exactly a comforting feeling but it was the best that could be done at the time.

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A Company sent its 1st and 3rd platoons back to hill 185 to check on any new enemy build up but found nothing. After searching the entire area, they returned to LZ 27Q. With darkness coming on, each unit maintained its surveillance post with little change in their disposition. After the defensive concentrations were called it, the men reported no activity during the night.

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Personal Perspective: Having something else to do, I had declined CPT Johnson’s invitation to right along. I was talking to Lt. William E. Myers when he looked over my shoulder and said "Oh my God, they’re going to hit!!" I turned around in time to see them falling from the sky. This is one of many examples in my life that cements a strong belief in the correlation between a "Supreme Being" and blind fate.

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Tom Jones

06/13/99

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