Fallen Hero's / Jolly Green 71 / 40th ARRS / HH-53B

 

28 January 1970
Jolly Green 71
40th ARRS
HH-53B # 66-14434

Jolly Green 71 was shot down by a Vietnamese Air Force MiG-21 while attempting to rescue a crewman from a downed F-105 Thunderchief in Northern Vietnam.

On 28 January 1970, Capt. Richard J. Mallon, pilot; and Capt. Robert J. Panek, Sr., electronic warfare officer, comprised the crew of an F-105G aircraft (serial #38-341/8329), call sign "Seabird 02," that departed Udorn Airfield as the #2 aircraft in a flight of 2 conducting a wild weasel SAM suppression mission to locate and destroy surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites near Nui Dai Ninh, Ha Tinh Province, North Vietnam. The mission identifier was Steel Tiger, Cricket Area 4; and the location included rugged mountains covered in thick forest and heavily populated with communist military forces approximately 20 miles northeast of the Mu Gia Pass, one of the two major gateways into the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Once Seabird flight arrived in the target area, Seabird 01 established radio contact with the airborne battlefield command and control centre (ABCCC) controlling all air operations in this region to obtain last minute instructions. In turn, the ABCCC handed Seabird flight over to the on-site forward air controller (FAC) who was directly in charge of this flight.

The FAC cleared Seabird flight into the target area to initiate their search for SAM sites located along Route 15, the primary road running through the Mu Gia Pass. Seabird 01 and 02 pressed forward with one aircraft flying low over the countryside trolling for the enemy gunners to turn on their radarscopes to paint it with radar waves prior to launching missiles at it. The second aircraft remained high prepared to strike the SAM site once it could obtain a lock on its radar emission. While a simple manoeuvre, it was also extremely dangerous for the aircrews who intentionally exposed themselves to enemy gunners.

Seabird flight identified an active SAM site and as Seabird 02 attacked it, the Thunderchief was struck by an air-to-air missile from a MiG-21 whose pilot was assigned to the North Vietnamese Air Force's 921st Flight Regiment. Richard Mallon and Robert Panek were immediately forced to eject from their crippled Thunderchief. Other aircrews saw both parachutes deployed and heard two emergency radio beepers from the aircrew on the ground; but no voice contact could be established with either crewman. Immediately the lead pilot requested a search and rescue (SAR) mission be initiated. Within minutes the rescue force, including two HH-53B rescue helicopters, were dispatched from Udorn Airfield, Thailand, to pick up Capt. Mallon and Capt. Panek.

The location in which Seabird 02 was lost was in a 50-foot wide open area bordered by the Rau Cai River on the west and Route 15 on the east, approximately 12 miles east of the North Vietnamese/Lao border and 17 miles north-northeast of Mu Gia Pass. It was also 53 miles northwest of Dong Hoi and 61 miles south of Vinh.

Major Holly G. Bell, pilot; Capt. Leonard C. Leeser, co-pilot; SSgt. William C. Shine, flight engineer; MSgt. William C. Sutton, pararescueman; SMSgt. William D. Pruett, crew member; and SSgt. Gregory L. Anderson, aerial photographer; comprised the crew of one of the HH-53B search and rescue helicopters (serial # 66-14434), call sign "Jolly Green 71."

Once the rescue force arrived in the target area, the FAC directed them into a holding area located approximately 23 miles northwest of the downed wild weasel aircrew. As Jolly Green 71 waited for clearance from the FAC to enter the rescue area, the helicopter was attacked and shot down by another air-to-air missile from a second MiG-21 assigned to the 921st Flight Regiment & piloted by Vu Ngoc Dinh, a North Vietnamese ace with 6 kills to his credit.

Other flight members watched in horror as the MiG-21 attacked the helicopter causing it to explode in a fireball that turned the aircraft into hundreds of pieces of burning debris that fell onto the steep mountainside. A short beeper signal was heard from the forested crash site, indicating that at least one person aboard the helicopter may have exited the aircraft alive. At the time of loss, all six men were immediately listed Missing in Action.

In April 1970, the Air Force conducted a Board of Inquiry to review all facts and circumstances surrounding the loss of Jolly Green 71. In spite of the possibility that one of the crewmen might have survived based on the short emergency beeper that was heard, the board downgraded the status of all six men from Missing to Killed/Body Not Recovered.

The area in which Jolly Green 71 crashed was extremely rugged and heavily forested approximately ½ mile east of the North Vietnamese/Lao border, 10 miles west of Route 15 and 23 miles northwest of Seabird 02's loss location. It was also 38 miles south-southwest of Vinh and 83 miles northwest of Dong Hoi.

Jolly Green 71 Crew
Pilot Maj. Holly G. Bell	Co-Pilot Capt. Leonard C. Leeser
Flight Mechanic SSgt William C. Shinn	Pararescue CMsgt William D. Pruett
Pararescue MSgt William C. Sutton	Photographer Gregory L. Anderson