JURECKO, DANIEL EDWARD

Name: Daniel Edward Jurecko
Rank/Branch: E4/US Army
Unit: 281st Aviation Co., 10th Aviation Btn, 17th Aviation Group, 1st
Aviation Brigade
Date of Birth: 19 August 1948
Home City of Record: Corpus Christi TX
Date of Loss: 08 May 1968
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 155517N 1073857E
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: UH1C
Refno: 1164

Other Personnel In Incident: James L. Dayton; Robert E. Jenne; George T.
Condrey (all missing)

Source: Compiled from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S.
Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families,
published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK in 2020.

REMARKS:  EXPLODE - N SIGN SUBJ NR CRASH - J

SYNOPSIS:  George Condrey, pilot, James Dayton, aircraft commander, Daniel
Jurecko, crewchief and Robert Jenne, crewman were on a combat support
mission 35 nautical miles southwest of Da Nang on May 8, 1968.

During the mission, the helicopter was completing a turn from the east to
the west when it exploded in midair and plunged into the Buong River bank.
The violent midair explosion of the aircraft indicated that it had been hit
by an explosive projectile.

Shortly after the incident, recovery personnel landed in the vicinity of the
crash, but were unable to find any signs of life.  On 12 May a ground patrol
located the remains of 4 bodies.  Two bodies were found in the wreckage, one
along side, and one was 2 meters forward of the aircraft.  All bodies were
burned beyond recognition.  Due to enemy activity and the badly deteriorated
state of the remains, the remains were not recovered.

All personnel aboard were classified as killed, body not recovered.  They
are among nearly 2500 Americans who remain unaccounted for from the Vietnam
war. They are among the dead because evidence exists that they did not
survive. They are listed among the missing because no formal identification
of remains was made.

Although it would appear unlikely that the crew of that UH1C helicopter
survived, other cases are not so clear.  Many of the missing were known to
be alive at the time they disappeared.  Some were photographed in captivity.
Yet the Vietnamese deny knowledge of them, and the U.S. seems unable or
unwilling to do what it takes to account for them.

With reports mounting that hundreds of Americans are still alive in prison
camps in Southeast Asia waiting for the country they proudly served to bring
them home, the phrase "Peace With Honor" has little meaning.

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01/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000BTO0EAO

SP4 DANIEL EDWARD JURECKO

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On May 8, 1968, a UH-1C Iroquois (serial number unknown) with a crew of four took off on a combat support mission southwest of Da Nang, South Vietnam. While en route to the target, the helicopter was hit by hostile ground fire, causing it to explode in midair and crash on the bank of the A Vuong River. A recovery helicopter quickly landed near the crash site, but found no sign of survivors and was unable to inspect the site further due to a fire that had engulfed the wreckage. Several days later, a ground patrol reached the UH-1C's crash site and reported seeing four unidentifiable sets of remains; however, hostile activity in the area prevented their recovery. The four men from the UH-1C’s crew remain unaccounted for.

Specialist 4 Daniel Edward Jurecko, who joined the U.S. Army from Texas, was a member of the 281st Assault Helicopter Company, 10th Aviation Battalion, 17th Aviation Group. He was the crew chief aboard the Iroquois, and was killed in the crash. Attempts to locate his remains following the end of hostilities have been unsuccessful. Today, Specialist 4 Jurecko is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Active Pursuit.

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