Fallen Hero's / Jolly Green 05 / 38th ARRS / HH-3E

6 February 1967

Jolly Green 05

38th ARRS

HH-3E # 65-12779

On 6 February 1967, then Capt. Lucius L. Heiskell was the pilot of an O-1F aircraft, call sign "Nail 65," that was the lead aircraft in a flight of two conducting a FAC mission for strike aircraft operating in extreme western North Vietnam. His wingman was Capt. Gerald Dickey. The mission identifier was Steel Tiger, Cricket Area 4," a region that included the portion of North Vietnam bordering Laos that included the Mu Gia Pass, one of the two primary gateways into the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail via Route 15. Between 17 April 1965 and 31 December 1971, 43 American airmen were lost and listed as POW/MIAs in a 33.3-mile square window of the world known as the Mu Gia Pass.

When North Vietnam began to increase its military strength in South Vietnam, NVA and Viet Cong troops again intruded on neutral Laos for sanctuary, as the Viet Minh had done during the war with the French some years before. This border road was used by the Communists to transport weapons, supplies and troops from North Vietnam into South Vietnam, and was frequently no more than a path cut through the jungle covered mountains. US forces used all assets available to them to stop this flow of men and supplies from moving south into the war zone.

Weather conditions were extremely overcast with tops at 3,000 feet and low scattered clouds underneath. Visibility was 4 to 5 miles in haze. The terrain consisted of extremely rugged karsts covered in moderately heavy jungle growth.

Once in the area of operation, Capt. Heiskell identified an underwater bridge for attack. The target was located on Route 1501 that ran through a small valley approximately 1 mile east of Route 15 and 7 miles due north of the Mu Gia Pass. Capt. Dickey was directed to hold to the south while the strike was being conducted. Two US Navy A-4 Skyhawks were assigned to this mission. The lead pilot was directed to the chosen target, and he acknowledged that he had the underwater bridge in sight. Capt. Heiskell turned west to fly over the west edge of the valley in which the target was located. Capt. Dickey also turned his aircraft toward the west and momentarily lost sight of Lucius Heiskell.

As both Birddogs pressed through their turns, Capt. Heiskell reported receiving ground fire. Capt. Dickey also began taking ground fire and both pilots immediately took evasive action. Shortly thereafter, Lucius Heiskell reported, "I'm hit." Gerald Dickey turned his aircraft to the left and saw Lead's aircraft in a descending left turn. The Birddog's horizontal stabilizer had been badly damaged by flak from an enemy anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) battery hidden in the jungle below. Capt. Heiskell reported that he "could not control the aircraft and would have to bail out."

Capt. Dickey watched Lead's aircraft as it crossed over the center of the valley heading east. Lucius Heiskell was able to partially roll out of his turn. As he reached a point near the center of the valley, his aircraft started trailing a thin line of white smoke. Capt. Dickey continued to watch from a distance of roughly 1 mile as the Birddog reached an altitude of terrain plus 1,000 feet when he saw a parachute deploy and descend into a forested area 4 to 5 kilometers east of the valley. Gerald Dickey immediately contacted the airborne battlefield command and control center (ABCCC) with a situation report. In turn, the ABCCC initiated a search and rescue (SAR) operation for the downed pilot.

Firefly 13 and 14, a flight of F-4s, arrived on scene to assist in the SAR mission to rescue Lucius Heiskell. Capt. Dickey gave them the direction and the column of smoke believed to be from the crashed aircraft. After some minutes, Capt. Dickey saw a burst of AAA fire over Capt. Heiskell's location and turned to avoid the ground fire.

During and after this time Capt. Heiskell came up on his survival radio with beeper and several voice transmissions. He said, "the people on the ground were after him and he was hiding his parachute." Capt. Dickey continued to monitor his flight leader's transmissions for 4 to 5 minutes, after which time he could not be raised on the radio. Rescue helicopters arrived onsite, but were also unable to make radio contact with him or gain any signal from him.

Major Patrick H. Wood, pilot; Capt. Richard A. Kibbey, co-pilot; SSgt. Donald J. Hall, flight mechanic; and A2C Dwayne Hackney, pararescueman (PJ); comprised the crew of the lead HH-3E rescue helicopter (tail #65-12779), call sign "Jolly Green 05." The call sign of the number two helicopter in the flight was "Jolly Green 36."

When contact was finally reestablished with Lucius Heiskell, Jolly Green 05 descended through holes in the undercast of clouds, which were lying on top of some mountain peeks. Capt. Heiskell assisted Major Wood in locating his position with voice vectors. At 1634 hours, the SAR helicopter successfully recovered the downed Birddog pilot in the helicopter's minimum time. Major Wood notified Sandy Lead that he had the pilot onboard and was leaving the area to the south while looking for a hole in the clouds to ascend through.

At 1635 hours, JG 05 transmitted he had been hit and was on fire. The Sandy pilots immediately saw extremely heavy and accurate 37mm AAA fire directed toward Jolly Green 05 as they raced through the clouds. Fire was observed in the top part of the helicopter just below the rotor blades. Lead continued to the south with flames streaming behind, and continued forward for approximately 1 mile after being hit. Just before crashing into a karst peak, Major Wood transmitted that the whole aircraft was on fire. Other pilots and aircrews watched in horror as Jolly Green 05 flew directly and perpendicularly into the karst outcropping at a high rate of speed while on fire scattering flaming wreckage everywhere. The crash site was located less than ½ mile east of Route 15, 3 miles northeast of the North Vietnamese/Lao border, 6 miles due north of the Mu Gia Pass and 59 miles northwest of Dong Hoi, North Vietnam.

All during this time the weather conditions worsened, and due to the weather, the SAR operation for the down helicopter's crew and passenger was cancelled. Sandy Lead requested that Jolly Green 36 make a pass between the cloud layers to look for survivors in and around the new crash site before departing the area. After completing the first aerial inspection and seeing nothing, Sandy Lead requested that he satisfy himself that there were no survivors and made a second pass to do so. Jolly Green 36 conducted a 10-minute low-level search of the crash site and surrounding area. The SAR aircrew observed and identified two deployed parachutes on the ground, 1 was located 30 yards from the wreckage and the other 60 yards away from it.

As Jolly Green 36 was inspecting the debris field, Firefly flight heard an emergency beeper signal emanating from the area of loss. At 1640 hours, A2C Dwayne Hackney, the Lead helicopter's PJ, ignited a smoke flair to identify his position and was recovered by SAR personnel near the parachute farthest away from the crash site. No other survivors were seen near the other parachute or the wreckage. A2C Hackney reported that only he and Capt. Heiskell were wearing parachutes at the time his aircraft was struck by AAA fire and that he had been blown out of the helicopter by the force of the crash. At the time all formal SAR efforts were terminated Lucius Heiskell, Patrick Wood, Richard Kibbey and Donald Hall were listed Missing in Action. Further, due to the intense enemy activity in the area, no other SAR effort was conducted.

Dwayne Hackney flew more than 200 combat missions during his three and a half years of Vietnam duty, all as a volunteer. He was shot down five times. He did not recall how often he went down into the jungle looking for survivors or how many lives his medical training helped him save. He became a legend in the rescue world, he earned four Distinguished Flying Crosses, not for flying a certain number of missions but for specific acts of heroism, and 18 Air Medals, many for single acts of valour. Then came the Air Force Cross, for which he was the first living recipient, the Silver Star, the Airman's Medal, the Purple Heart, and several foreign decorations.

Jolly Green 05 Crew
Pilot Col. Patrick H Wood	Air Force Cross
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, United States Code, takes pride in presenting the Air Force Cross (Posthumously) to Major Patrick Hardy Wood, United States Air Force, for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force as a Rescue Crew Commander of an HH-3E Helicopter of the 38th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Vietnam, in action near Mu Gia Pass, North Vietnam, on 6 February 1967. On that date, Major Wood flew two sorties in an effort to rescue a pilot downed deep in heavily defended hostile territory. An intensive search under constant fire failed to locate the pilot and the first sortie was cancelled due to rapidly deteriorating weather. Major Wood undertook a second attempt fully aware that fighter cover and flak suppression support were unavailable due to marginal weather. Despite intense and accurate 37-mm. fire, Major Wood successfully located and hoisted the downed pilot into his aircraft. At this point, the hostile forces, thwarted in their attempts to capture the downed pilot, and with the possibility of luring other aircraft to destruction, directed all their fire-power toward Major Wood's aircraft. Heavy 37-mm, fire exploded above the aircraft on a climb out, and one hit was taken in the cabin. Although his aircraft was severely damaged, Major Wood attempted to clear a ridge line which would have provided a sufficient altitude for a safe bailout for his crew. In the face of a known highly dangerous area, extremely adverse weather conditions, and exceptionally heavy hostile fire, Major Wood pressed his humanitarian efforts to save a fellow airman. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of hostile forces, Major Wood reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
Co-Pilot Col. Richard A. Kibbey	Silver Star
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918 (amended by an act of July 25, 1963), takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Colonel Richard Abbott Kibbey, United States Air Force, for gallantry in action in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force as Co-Pilot of an HH-3E Rescue Helicopter of Detachment 5, 38th Air Rescue and Recovery Squadron, 3d Air Rescue and Recovery Group, SEVENTH Air Force, near Mugia Pass, North Vietnam on 6 February 1967. On that date, Captain Kibbey flew two sorties to rescue an American pilot downed in heavily defended hostile territory. On the second sortie, despite intense anti-aircraft fire and with complete disregard for his own personal safety, Captain Kibbey persevered in the rescue attempt until he was forced to leave the area. By his gallantry and devotion to duty, Captain Kibbey has reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
Flight Engineer CMSgt. Donald J. Hall	Silver Star
For gallantry in action, CMSgt Hall was awarded two Silver Star Medals. Hall also earned a Purple Heart Medal, five Air Medals, Presidential Unit Citation, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Valour, National Defence Service Medal, Vietnam Service medal with two stars, Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with palm, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. He received the Sikorsky Rescue Pin and the Jolly Green 100 Mission Patch for participating in more than 100 search and rescue missions.
Pararescueman A1C Dwane Hackney (Survivor)	Air Force Cross