WANN, DONALD LYNN

WANN, DONALD LYNN

Name: Donald Lynn Wann
Rank/Branch: W2/US Army
Unit: 158th Aviation Battalion, 160th Aviation Group, 101st Airborne
Division
Date of Birth: 31 May 1937 Born in Kosoma OK
Home City of Record: Kosoma OK - Shawnee OK (Adopted family lived in
Shawnee)
Date of Loss: 01 June 1971
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 164107N 1064423E (XD855454)
Status: (Missing) MIA Status; Updated (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: AH1G "Cobra" Gunship, TN #68-15002
Refno: 1752

Other Personnel in Incident: Paul G. Magers (Missing) Status Updated (1973):
Killed/Body Not Recovered

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 2008 with information
provided by DMPO.

Remarks:

-------------------------

Donald L. Wann served 2 tours of Vietnam in 1968 & 1970-71.

Don received Military Awards: Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross,
Bronze Star, Purple Heart with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Medal with "V"
Device and one Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense
Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with one Silver and one Bronze Service
Star, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with "60" Device, Republic of
Vietnam Military Merit Medal, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit
Citation with Palm Device, Army Aviator's Badge, Expert Badge with Pistol
and Automatic Rifle bars.

Official Military Personnel File that Donald L. Wann served Active Duty with
the Navy from 1955 to 1966 and was awarded the Navy Good Conduct Medal (3rd
award), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Antarctica Service Medal.

The first Bell AH1G Cobra helicopter gunships arrived in Vietnam
on 1 September 1967 and since it carried both guns and rockets, it was a
major step forward in the development of the armed helicopter. The Cobra had
enough speed to meet the escort mission perimeters, tandem seating, better
armor, and a better weapons system than any previous helicopter of its day.
By 1970-1, the Cobra's armament included the 2.75-inch rocket with a 17
pound warhead, the very effective 2.75-inch flachette rocket, and the SX-35
20mm cannon which made it a truly powerful aircraft.

SYNOPSIS: In late afternoon, on June 1, 1971, 1Lt. Paul Magers, Pilot and
CW2 Donald L. Wann, Aircraft Commander, were aboard an AH1G Cobra gunship,
TN #68-15002.

The gunship was on a multi-aircraft extraction mission supporting the
emergency extraction of a Ranger team on Hill 1015 near Dong Tri,to recover
members of a ranger team approximately 6 miles west -southwest of Thon Khe
Xeng, 31 miles west-southwest of the city of Quang Tri, 23 miles south of
the demilitarized zone (DMZ) and 5 miles east of the Laos/Vietnamese border,
Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. After another helicopter had just
successfully extracted a Ranger team from a landing zone, that was under
fire. Wann's gunship was to destroy some ammunition and claymore mines that
had been left on the Landing Zone (LZ).

CW2 Wann started his rocket pass at about 1500 feet above the ground, and at
about 40 feet, before commencing fire, the aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft
fire. It was hit repeatedly in the underside and tail section of the
aircraft. Witnesses saw a tracer round hit the underside and the tail
section of the helicopter and saw fire from escaping fuel. The aircraft
nosed up, gaining from 100-150 feet in altitude, then lost air speed. The
aircraft appeared to shudder as it started a vertical right descending turn
in flames.

As the aircraft fell in a spiral pattern, 6 calls were made to CW2 Wann on
both FM and UHF radio. None of the calls was answered. The aircraft crashed,
burned, exploded (cooked off) and slid down a steep hill some 100 feet,
before the ammunition on board started tearing apart what was left of the
aircraft. All witnesses stated that the crash was non-survivable. According
to witnesses, Magers and Wann are almost certainly dead. This hill was under
heavy fire and no recovery attempts could have been made. Magers and Wann
were declared dead,(1973) body's not recovered. They are listed with honor
among the missing on the Vietnam Wall because their bodies have not been
returned to their homelands for burial.

Case is pending new excavation.

HOME: http://www.pownetwork.org/


==================================
Information on U.S. Army helicopter AH-1G tail number 68-15002
The Army purchased this helicopter 0169
Total flight hours at this point: 00001884
Date: 06/01/1971 MIA-POW file reference number: 1752
Incident number: 71060110.KIA
Unit: D/158 AVN 101 ABN
This was a Combat incident. This helicopter was LOSS TO INVENTORY for Close
Air Support
South Vietnam
UTM grid coordinates: XD855454
Count of hits was not possible because the helicopter burned or exploded.
Unknown groundfire.
Systems damaged were: MULTIPLE, PERSONNEL
Casualties = 02 MIA
The helicopter Crashed. Aircraft Destroyed.
Both mission and flight capability were terminated. Burned
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. Survivability/Vulnerability Information
Analysis Center Helicopter database. Also: 1752, CASRP (Casualty Report. )
Loss to Inventory

================================================
05/09/2009

This summary is provided to me by DPMO:
IN January 1990, DPMO contacted a USMC veteran seeking information about
this site. The former senior advisor with the 5th Battalion, Vietnamese
Marine Corps provided the following: In September 1971, and element of the
5th Battalion, Vietnamese Marine Corps was operating near Hill 1015. The
marines were supported by cobra helicopters from the 101st Airborne
Division. One of the pilots requested that the marines investigate a crash
site to locate the crew's remains. He provided the grid coordinates where
another cobra had crashed earlier. A patrol located the crash site on the
east/southeast slope of Hill 1015 at grid coordinates XD859453 and found the
crew's remains, but the Marine's mission prevented a recovery at the time.
The Marine's agreed to assist once a recovery plan was developed by the
Army. However, there is no information that a remains recovery ever took
place. Note: The Marines possibly located the Case 1752 crash site.

Narrative: JFA-24 Jun/Jul 1993. IE3 traveled by helicopter to the top of
Dong Tri Mountain and interviewed 6 local residents who found helicopter
wreckage while searching for scrap metal sometime in 1982. They claimed to
have found a boot and small pieces of clothing but no remains. IE3 went to
the loss location listed in20U.S. records XD855454, but found nothing. They
surveyed the site identified by the witnesses at grid XD856453. Large pieces
of wreckage were found and photographed. Smaller pieces of wreckage, pieces
of clothing and boots were recovered, but no remains. Unexploded 40mm
ordnance was present throughout the crash site. IE3 did not recommend
excavation, citing live ordnance hazard in the area. Analysis of material
evidence indicates that this is a AH-1 or UH1 helicopter crash site and at
least 1 crew member was on board at impact. The site could not be correlated
to case 1752 even though it is a likely candidate.

JFA-50 Apr/May 1998 IE1 Re-interviewed Mr.Vo Chep who stated that in 1979,
he and 5 friends found burnt helicopter wreckage scattered along the side of
Dong Tri Mountain. They salvaged some metal, but didn't see any remains at
the site. Mr Chep led the team to the crash site at grid XD85610 45305. A
skirmish search revealed numerous pieces of aircraft wreckage, probable life
support items and unexploded ordnance. IE1 retained pieces of possible
flight suit material and a data plate: aircraft machine gun, 7.62mm
GAU-2B/A. Field analysis of the data plate and wreckage indicates they are
components of an AH-1G helicopter. IE1 recommended excavation of the site.

JTF-FA wreckage analysis determined that at least 1 individual was aboard
the aircraft at impact and this site is within 200 meters of the record loss
coordinates for Case 1752. Additionally, the items recovered are sufficient
to establish a possible correlation to the Case 1752 aircraft.

JFA-56 JULY/AUG 1999 RE2 excavated a single excavation unit, approximately 4
square meters, near grid coordinate XS856453. A Lap belt buckle and 2 data
plates were recovered. The team observed the following Aircrew/Aircraft
related items: 1. Plastic Wallet(empty) 2.Boot Soles 3.Boot Eyelet fragments
4. Altitude indicator/artificial horizon. The team also photographed and
left in place various fragments of significant and non-significant wreckage:
1. Rotor Assembly and stabilizers 2. Unidentified metal fragments 3. Panel
Insulation 4. Gears. JTF-FA analysis indicates: The item in Para 2A is a Lap
Belt Assembly consistent with an AH-1 type helicopter. The item in Para 2B
is a Data plate from the grip assembly of a main rotor hub
assembly(also)photographed and left at the site by the investigative element
during the 24th JFA.) The item in 2C is a data plate from the hub assembly
of an AH-1 helicopter. The remaining items can not be further identified.

JTF-FA comments: Aircrew related equipment observed or recovered during this
recovery operation, as well previous investigations (refs B and C) indicate
at least one individual was aboard this aircraft at impact. JTF-FA files
indicate there is one other AH-1G crash incident involving unaccounted-for
Americans that occurred after 4 Feb. 1970, within 15 kill meters of grid
coordinates 48Q XD 85610 45305. However, the site excavated at 48Q XD 85610
45305 is within 200-meters of the case 1752 official loss location. This
crash site is an "open" excavation; further excavation of the site is
required. JTF-FA analysis indicates the items recovered correlate to case
1752. Work was suspended due to safety concerns and land compensation
issues. The site remains open, but continued excavation is needed. This case
summary was provided to me by the Department of the Army, Repatriation and
Family Affairs Division. And still remains open for review.

0A
New DPMO Meeting in Oklahoma City, Okla. August 31, 2004-- Still open and
waiting new date of excavation.

Updated information provided by DPMO: April 2008
These documents are unclassified scrub sheets from a Vietnamese officer that
was interviewed by DPMO Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office.
The data is raw from the field, JPAC report: Peoples Army of Vietnam Veteran
describes shoot down of U.S. Helicopter in June 1971 associated with case
1752 unclassified. Summary: On November 5, 2007 at the Vietnamese office for
seeking Missing Persons (VNOSMP) Ministry of National Defense 2 personnel
participated in the unilateral interview of a new witness they discovered
for case 1752 Donald L. Wann. The witness, the Political Officer of Company
5, 5th Infantry Battalion, Tri Thien Military Front, described a helicopter
shoot down in June 1971 in the Ong Tri Mountain area of Quang Tri Provence.
At the crash, the witness observed both the burning aircraft wreckage and
the burned body of an aviator. He put the body, uncovered, into a shallow
crater adjacent to where he found the body. This information correlates well
with the circumstances of loss associated with case 1 752. The witness also
provided limited information regarding the capture of a U.S. Soldier in 1971
new Dong Tri Mountain. This information probably correlates with case 1753.
Mr. Pham Thiet Hung age: 62 years old, occupation at time of incident:
Political Officer, Company 5, 5th Infantry Battalion, Military Front Thua
Thien. Details: Mr. Hung joined the military in 1963 and began by serving in
Quang Binh Province in 1965, he went to Quang Tri Province and he stayed in
that area until the end of the war. His unit, Company 5, 5th Infantry
Battalion, was charged with ensuring the transportation routes were open,
including the areas adjacent to Khe Sanh (48Q XD 850 383) and Ta Con (TAF
COWN;48Q XD 845 417). The 1971 siege of the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces
(RVNAF) and U.S. Forces on High Point 950 (48Q XD 839 458) occurred
liberation phase(Sept-Oct), and the occupation phase(Nov-Dec). During the
siege phase, around noon on an unrecalled date in June 1971, his unit shot
down a U.S. Helicopter, which was attempting to attack his unit's forces on
High Point 1015. (48Q XD 805 856). The aircraft was shot down with AK-47
assault rifles, and it crashed below the peak of the High Point. The next
morning Mr. Hung, who was in an observation post approximately 20 meters
from the crash site, went to the site. The crash was on the southeastern
slope of High Point 1015. The aircraft wreckage was still burning,
preventing him from approaching. He could not tell exactly what type of
aircraft it had been, but surm ised it was a two-man attack helicopter, due
to the fact it had been preparing to attack High Point 1015. Mr. Hung saw
the burned body of an aviator twenty to thirty meters northwest of the crash
site. The fire had burned everything from the body including clothing,
boots, equipment, and identification media, but when Mr. Hung turned it over
he could tell it was caucasian. He rolled the body into an adjacent shallow
mortar crater and left it there, uncovered. Mr. Hung did not see a second
crew member, but he assumed another person had either perished in the
aircraft wreckage or had been thrown away from the immediate area of the
crash. He returned to the observation post because his unit was still
involved with the siege of opposition forces on High Point 950. He believed
no one other than himself observed the body because the tactical situation
was too fierce for anyone to venture into that area without permission. He
and his unit were stationed in the area until the fighting finished, in
approximately December 1971. At the time, as far as he knew, the aviator's
body and the aircraft wreckage remained in place, undisturbed. There were no
streams or deep draws in the immediate area of the crash and aviator's
remains location. The terrain there was not extremely steep, because it was
on a relatively flat portion of the mountainside. The most prominent
landmark in the area was a very tall hardwood tree in the area and it was
still intact after the fighting and bombing in the area subsided. The site
can be reached by walking from the former Ta Con airstrip, new Khe Sanh. If
Mr. Hung locates the crash site, he believes he can locate the aviator's
remains site. He recommended the former deputy Commander of Company 5, who
is familiar with the are, accompany him on any future site investigation. In
addition to the information on the aircraft crash, Mr. Hung said that in
approximately September or October 1971, his unit captured a U.S. Senior NCO
or Warrant Officer and an RVNAF Military member on High Point 950. The rest
of the U.S. and RVNAF Forces had departed the area and the two Soldiers were
hiding in a cave. The Company 5 Forces used flame thrower fire to force the
pair to abandon the cave. Mr. Hung personally captured the American. After a
brief tactical interrogation, during which they learned the rank of the
American but nothing else of significance, CO 5 turned the prisoners over to
the Thua Thien-Hue Military front. Mr Hung could provide no information on
the ultimate disposition of the prisoner. CRS Comments: Mr. Hung's
statements were credible, and he spoke without coaching or prompting from
the VNOSMP. He spoke in an articulate and confident manner, and seemed eager
to assist in resolving the case. The VNOSMP Personnel conducted the
interview, but allowed the CRS to pose questions freely. Their interview was
relatively thorough; the results were sufficient to support the VNOSMP's
recommendation for Mr. Hung to participate in a future unilateral survey of
the case 1752 crash site. JPAC Eval uation: The information Mr. Hung
provided regarding the helicopter shot down near Dong Tri Mountain
correlates with case 1752 based on the timeframe, location, general aircraft
type, and circumstance of loss. Case 1752 involves the loss on 1 June 1971
of an AH-1G Gunship during a multi-aircraft extraction mission to recover a
Ranger Team north of Khe Sanh Base, Quang Tri Province. The aircraft was hit
by anti-aircraft artillery and crashed and exploded in the vicinity of grid
coordinates 48Q XD 855 454, near Tan Hop Village, Hunong Hoa District. Both
crew members are unaccounted for. The information concerning the captured
American on High Point 950 near Dong Tri Mountain probably correlates with
case 1753 based on location, general timeframe and fate of one of the
Soldiers involved. Case 1753 involves the loss on 5 June 1971 of Two
Soldiers during fighting at the Dong Tri Base near Tan Hop Village, Huong
Hoa District, Quang Tri Province. Vietnamese forces captured one soldier and
later returned him to U.S. custody. The other Soldier is still unaccounted
for.

From: DPMO/JPAC updated information 1 June - 26 July 2008 excavation:
JPAC-CIL (Central Intelligence Lab) received the possible human remains,
life support items, and personal effects, and assigned them accession
number. The detailed VNOSMP report is search and recovery report allege d
burial and aircraft crash site associated with case 1752. Technicians
photographed evidence of unexploded ordnance at the site. Field analysis of
the material evidence supports previous findings. The life support section
will conduct further analysis of the material evidence at JPAC-CIL. Based on
the presence of these items, the RL concludes that no site boundaries have
yet been determined and therefore recommends additional work at the
location. The RL in conjunction with UET TL suspended the site excavation on
19 July 2008 due to the end of the JFA. The RL turned over the possible
human remains and personal effects to the VNOSMP representatives on 22 July
2008, the JPAC-CIL received the possible human remains, life support,
personal effects for DNA analysis.

If anyone that served with my dad would like to contact me, please feel free.

Posted by: Shannon Wann Plaster
Email: CW2CobraGunship@aol.com