On February
20, 1968, this aircraft from the 339th Transportation Company was enroute from
Nha Trang to Phu Hiep, when it crashed into trees and burned. Conditions at the
time consisted of heavy low fog. The two crewmen on the aircraft were pilot CW2
Roy B. Parsons and crew chief SP4 George W. Rushing. There were also nine
passengers aboard: MAJ Michael J. McGinnis, SSGT Hurshell H. Gough, SP4 David
N. Valerio, SP5 Steven Hernandez, SP5 John A. Bafile, SP4 Michael G.
Moharemoff, SP4 Ronnie O. Bigelow, and two civilians. All suffered fatal
injuries in the crash. There is a personal account for this incident: I was the
first U.S. type on the scene. It was late afternoon when the aircraft was
declared missing and we received a message from the ROK troops in the area that
there was a Huey crashed near the Vung Ro Bay Pass (now called Ro Bay). The
mission was a daily hash and trash run to battalion HQ in Nha Trang. We asked
the ROK troops to verify that all souls on board the aircraft were deceased.
They came back with the sad news and reported that there had been an aircraft
fire. I was on the ROK base at the time relaying messages between the ROK and
our unit. I then asked the ROK commander to secure the site so we could
assemble a team and go in at first light. The company commander asked me to
head up the mission to the site. I ferried the graves registration, accident
investigation team, etc. to the ROK outpost in the pass where the AC could be
secured. We then traveled by foot path to the site with the ROK providing
excellent security. What I found disturbed me greatly because several
passengers were severely burned, but CW2 Roy B. Parsons had somehow managed to
crawl clear of the fire and expired by a tree. I have spent long hours on the
phone with Roy's wife because she had been told he was burned beyond
recognition which was totally wrong. His funeral was closed casket and she was
not able to see him and whether he was burned or not. Because of feelings for
Roy all I will say is that the description of the accident is mostly accurate
except and that he was hardly burned. (From Ray Klett, USA retired) [Taken from
vhpa.org] - See more at: http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/19384/HURSHELL-H-GOUGH#sthash.JAqtx3Be.dpufSaturday, May 23, 2015
This Memorial Day We Remember SSgt HURSHELL H. GOUGH from DRUMRIGHT OK
On February
20, 1968, this aircraft from the 339th Transportation Company was enroute from
Nha Trang to Phu Hiep, when it crashed into trees and burned. Conditions at the
time consisted of heavy low fog. The two crewmen on the aircraft were pilot CW2
Roy B. Parsons and crew chief SP4 George W. Rushing. There were also nine
passengers aboard: MAJ Michael J. McGinnis, SSGT Hurshell H. Gough, SP4 David
N. Valerio, SP5 Steven Hernandez, SP5 John A. Bafile, SP4 Michael G.
Moharemoff, SP4 Ronnie O. Bigelow, and two civilians. All suffered fatal
injuries in the crash. There is a personal account for this incident: I was the
first U.S. type on the scene. It was late afternoon when the aircraft was
declared missing and we received a message from the ROK troops in the area that
there was a Huey crashed near the Vung Ro Bay Pass (now called Ro Bay). The
mission was a daily hash and trash run to battalion HQ in Nha Trang. We asked
the ROK troops to verify that all souls on board the aircraft were deceased.
They came back with the sad news and reported that there had been an aircraft
fire. I was on the ROK base at the time relaying messages between the ROK and
our unit. I then asked the ROK commander to secure the site so we could
assemble a team and go in at first light. The company commander asked me to
head up the mission to the site. I ferried the graves registration, accident
investigation team, etc. to the ROK outpost in the pass where the AC could be
secured. We then traveled by foot path to the site with the ROK providing
excellent security. What I found disturbed me greatly because several
passengers were severely burned, but CW2 Roy B. Parsons had somehow managed to
crawl clear of the fire and expired by a tree. I have spent long hours on the
phone with Roy's wife because she had been told he was burned beyond
recognition which was totally wrong. His funeral was closed casket and she was
not able to see him and whether he was burned or not. Because of feelings for
Roy all I will say is that the description of the accident is mostly accurate
except and that he was hardly burned. (From Ray Klett, USA retired) [Taken from
vhpa.org] - See more at: http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/19384/HURSHELL-H-GOUGH#sthash.JAqtx3Be.dpuf