Helicopter UH-1H 68-15491

Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1H tail number 68-15491
The Army purchased this helicopter 0369
Total flight hours at this point: 00001835
Date: 05/16/71 MIA-POW file reference number: 1746
Incident number: 71051610.TXT
Unit: A/101 AVN
South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: YC499987
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense Intelligence Agency Reference Notes. Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Also: 1746 ()
Loss to Inventory
Crew: CROOK, ELLIOTT;

Crew Members:
CE SP5 CROOK ELLIOTT BNR
G SP4 JACOBSEN TIMOTHY JOHN BNR
P CW2 FARLOW CRAIG LEE BNR
P CPT NOLAN JOSEPH PAUL JR BNR

REFNO Synopsis:
SYNOPSIS: On May 16, 1971, Lt. Joseph P. Nolan, pilot; W1 Craig L. Farlow, aircraft commander; SP4 Elliott Crook, crew chief; SP4 Timothy J. Jacobsen, door gunner; comprised the crew of a UH1H helicopter conducting a combat assault insertion of ARVN Marines into a landing zone (LZ) in the vicinity of Hue, Thua Thin Province, South Vietnam. Lt. Nolan's helicopter was the seventh to land on the LZ. On departing the LZ, pilots of the fifts and sixth helicopters stated that they were taking enemy fire. Lt. Nolan radioed after touchdown that he was taking heavy ground fire, that his crew chief was wounded. Lt. Nolan immediately took off and at 250 feet, witnesses saw his aircraft rapidly lose rotor RPM and crash into the tree tops, bursting into flames. No survivors were seen to exit the aircraft. On May 24, a search and recovery team made a ground search and found 2 partial skulls and one partial right foot, all badly burned. It was also noted that there were four more possible remains that were trapped under the heavy wreckage. The partial skulls were later determined to be Vietnamese. The other remains were not recovered because of hostile fire.

This record was last updated on 05/25/98

The following is crew member information for this incident:

Name: CW2 Craig Lee Farlow
Status: Body Not Recovered from an incident on 05/16/71 while performing the duty of Pilot.
Age at death: 23.2
Date of Birth: 03/15/48
Home City: Cleveland, OH
Service: AV branch of the reserve component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: A/101 AVN 101 ABN
Major organization: 101st Airborne Division
Flight class: 70-39
Service: AV branch of the U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 01W-026
Short Summary: Shot down on CA inserting ARVN Marines near Hue. Lost rotor rpm at 250 & crashed. NOTE: Date 17 May 72 on wall is wrong.
Aircraft: UH-1H tail number 68-15491
Call sign: Chalk 7
SSN: 290444758
Country: South Vietnam
MOS: 100B = Utility/Observation Helicopter Pilot
Primary cause: SVN-BNR
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: small arms fire
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: aircraft commander
Vehicle ownership: government
Started Tour: 01/06/71
"Official" listing: helicopter air casualty - other aircrew
The initial status of this person was: missing in action - interim
Length of service: *
Location: Thua Thien Province I Corps.
Military grid coordinates of event: YC499987
Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
Casualty type: Hostile - died while missing
married male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Relgion: Roman Catholic
The following information is secondary, but may help in explaining this incident.
Category of casualty as defined by the Army: battle dead Category of personnel: active duty Army Military class: warrant officer
This record was last updated on 12/14/98

Name: CPT Joseph Paul Nolan, Jr.
Status: Body Not Recovered from an incident on 05/16/71 while performing the duty of Pilot.
Age at death: 21.0
Date of Birth: 05/20/50
Home City: Oak Park, IL
Service: EN branch of the reserve component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: A/101 AVN 101 ABN
Major organization: 101st Airborne Division
Flight class: 70-20
Service: EN branch of the U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 01W-027
Short Summary: Shot down on CA inserting ARVN Marines near Hue. Lost rotor rpm at 250 & crashed. NOTE: Date 17 May 72 on wall is wrong.
Aircraft: UH-1H tail number 68-15491
Call sign: Chalk 7
SSN: 356425561 Service number: 68034608
Country: South Vietnam
MOS: 1981 = 19 Rotary Wing Aviator (Unit Commander)
Primary cause: SVN-BNR
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: small arms fire
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: pilot
Vehicle ownership: government
Started Tour: 08/21/70
"Official" listing: helicopter air casualty - pilot
The initial status of this person was: missing in action - interim
Length of service: *
Location: Thua Thien Province I Corps.
Military grid coordinates of event: YC499987
Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
Casualty type: Hostile - died while missing
single male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Relgion: Roman Catholic
The following information is secondary, but may help in explaining this incident.
Category of casualty as defined by the Army: battle dead Category of personnel: active duty Army Military class: officer
This record was last updated on 12/14/98

Name: SP5 Elliott Crook
Status: Body Not Recovered from an incident on 05/16/71 while performing the duty of Crew Chief.
Age at death: 22.9
Date of Birth: 06/12/48
Home City: Phoenix, AZ
Service: regular component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: A/101 AVN 101 ABN
Major organization: 101st Airborne Division
Service: U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 01W-026
Short Summary: Shot down on CA inserting ARVN Marines near Hue. Lost rotor rpm at 250 & crashed. NOTE: Date 17 May 72 on wall is wrong.
Aircraft: UH-1H tail number 68-15491
SSN: 557685895
Country: South Vietnam
MOS: 67N20 = UH-1 Helicopter Repairer
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: small arms fire
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: crew chief
Vehicle ownership: government
Started Tour: 10/01/70
"Official" listing: helicopter air casualty - other aircrew
The initial status of this person was: missing in action - interim
Length of service: *
Location: Thua Thien Province I Corps.
Military grid coordinates of event: YC499987
Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
Casualty type: Hostile - died while missing
single male U.S. citizen
Race: American Indian
Relgion: Baptist - other groups
The following information is secondary, but may help in explaining this incident.
Category of casualty as defined by the Army: battle dead Category of personnel: active duty Army Military class: enlisted personnel
This record was last updated on 12/14/98

Name: SP4 Timothy John Jacobsen
Status: Body Not Recovered from an incident on 05/16/71 while performing the duty of Gunner.
Age at death: 21.2
Date of Birth: 02/19/50
Home City: Oakland, CA
Service: component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: A/101 AVN 101 ABN
Major organization: 101st Airborne Division
Service: U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 01W-026
Short Summary: Shot down on CA inserting ARVN Marines near Hue. Lost rotor rpm at 250 & crashed. NOTE: Date 17 May 72 on wall is wrong.
Aircraft: UH-1H tail number 68-15491
SSN: 547687341
Country: South Vietnam
MOS: 67A1F = Aircraft Maintenance Apprentice
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: small arms fire
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: door gunner
Vehicle ownership: government
Started Tour: 12/17/70
"Official" listing: helicopter air casualty - other aircrew
The initial status of this person was: missing in action - interim
Length of service: *
Location: Thua Thien Province I Corps.
Military grid coordinates of event: YC499987
Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
Casualty type: Hostile - died while missing
single male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Relgion: Methodist (Evangelical United Brethren)
The following information is secondary, but may help in explaining this incident.
Category of casualty as defined by the Army: battle dead Category of personnel: active duty Army Military class: enlisted personnel
This record was last updated on 12/14/98

The following is Goldbook information on US Army helicopter UH-1H tail number 68-15491
It is provided here as an ESTIMATE of the history of this helicopter and is not intended to be the final authority.
This helicopter was purchased by the US Army in 0369.
Please provide any additional information on this helicopter to the VHPA.

DATE  FLT HRS    UIC      UNIT          AREA          POST          COUNTRY
6903   0    0 W0Y6AA OS TO CONUS      ITR CONUS                   AVCOMITR
6904   0    0 3300   HHD 44 ENG GP    THAILAND                    PACIFIC 
6905  86   86 WAB5AA 2ND BDE 101 AB   VIETNAM                     RVN     
6906 105  191 WAB5AA 2ND BDE 101 AB   VIETNAM                     RVN     
6907 113  304 WAB5AA 2ND BDE 101 AB   VIETNAM                     RVN     
6908 117  421 WAB5AA 2ND BDE 101 AB   VIETNAM                     RVN     
6909 119  540 WAB5AA 2ND BDE 101 AB   VIETNAM                     RVN     
6910  65  605 WAB5AA 2ND BDE 101 AB   VIETNAM                     RVN     
6911 135  740 WAB5AA 2ND BDE 101 AB   VIETNAM                     RVN     
6912 100  840 WAB5AA 2ND BDE 101 AB   VIETNAM                     RVN     
7001  60  900 WAB5AA 2ND BDE 101 AB   VIETNAM                     RVN     
7002  84  984 WFJ3B0 COB 5TCBN 101AC  VIETNAM                     RVN     
7003  30 1014 WAB3A0 A-101 AHB 101AB  VIETNAM                     RVN     
7004 109 1123 WAB3A0 A-101 AHB 101AB  VIETNAM                     RVN     
7005 126 1249 WAB3A0 A-101 AHB 101AB  VIETNAM                     RVN     
7006  21 1270 WAB3A0 A-101 AHB 101AB  VIETNAM                     RVN     
7007  14 1284 WAB3A0 A-101 AHB 101AB  VIETNAM                     RVN     
7008  42 1326 WAB3A0 A-101 AHB 101AB  VIETNAM                     RVN     
7009  41 1367 WAB3A0 A-101 AHB 101AB  VIETNAM                     RVN     
7010  77 1444 WAB3A0 A-101 AHB 101AB  VIETNAM                     RVN     
7011   3 1447 WAB3A0 A-101 AHB 101AB  VIETNAM                     RVN     
7012  38 1485 WAB3A0 A-101 AHB 101AB  VIETNAM                     RVN     
7101  84 1569 WAB3A0 A 101ST AHB      VIETNAM                     RVN     
7102  79 1648 WAB3A0 A 101ST AHB      VIETNAM                     RVN     
7103 104 1752 WAB3A0 A 101ST AHB      VIETNAM                     RVN     
7104  83 1835 WAB3A0 142 TC DS        VIETNAM                     RVN

Please send additions or corrections to:

Gary Roush
43 Overbrook Road
Painted Post, NY 14870

Send comments and questions to the VHPA at ( [email protected] )

Printed from databases on: 01/25/99

Return to Main Index