TRUDEAU, ALBERT RAYMOND

Remains Identified,   09/11/2024

Name: Albert Raymond Trudeau
Rank/Branch: W1/US Army
Unit: 68th Aviation Company, 52nd Aviation Battalion, 17th Aviation Group,
1st Aviation Brigade, Camp Holloway, Pleiku RV
Date of Birth: 18 September 1949 (Teaneck NJ)
Home City of Record: Milwaukee WI
Date of Loss: 26 October 1971
Country of Loss: South Vietnam/Over Water
Loss Coordinates: 121301N 1091847E (CP165510)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 5
Refno: 1775

Other Personnel In Incident: Michael Lautzenheiser; Mickey Eveland; Thomas
Green; Sanford I. Finger; Robert A. Nickol (all missing); Leonard Maquiling
(aircraft commander-remains recovered); three other non-crew aboard-bodies
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 2025.


REMARKS: CRASHES-4 REMS FND-NOT SUBJS

SYNOPSIS: Before dawn on the morning of October 26, 1971, Mickey Eveland was
awakened by his assistant platoon leader, G.J. Curry and told that he was
needed as crew chief for a resupply flight from Camp Holloway at Pleiku to
Cha Rang Valley and An Son. SP4 Walia, the crew's usual crew chief had to be
present at a promotion board that day, so Mickey Eveland was selected to
fill in for him. Pvt. Green, gunner; WO Albert Trudeau, pilot; CWO Leonard
Maquiling, aircraft commander; SP5 Michael Lautzenheiser, the flight
engineer; were also awakened. The crew flew from the 52nd Aviation
Battalion, "Flying Dragons". Mickey had a hard time waking up, and Curry had
to return to reawaken him. Maquiling, the oldest of the crew, had just
turned 23; Trudeau had just turned 22. Eveland and Green were barely 19.
Mike was 20.

The CH47B, serial #66-19143, call sign Warrior 143, departed Camp Holloway
at 0750 that morning and arrived at An Son at 0900 hours after a stop at Cha
Rang Valley. While at An Son, the aircraft received further orders to fly to
Cam Ranh Bay with a stop at Tuy Hoa. The helicopter arrived at Tuy Hoa at
1115 hours and departed there at 1350 hours. Shortly after departure from
Tuy Hoa, Trudeau radioed that he had 10 people aboard and expected to arrive
at Cam Ranh Bay at 1420 hours. He had taken on 6 passengers for the flight,
Finger, Nickol, and three others. The weather was expected to worsen south
of Tuy Hoa, and the pilot was cautioned to contact Coastal Center for
weather conditions.

The last time anyone saw Warrior 143, it was near Nha Trang, headed south
into bad weather. Search and Rescue was initiated at 1555 hours. Between
October 27 and November 1, debris identified as being from 143 was found
washed ashore on Hon Tre island, just offshore from Nha Trang. The condition
of the debris recovered indicated that the aircraft had struck the water at
high speed. In all, four crew members' remains were found during the search
period. However, there was no sign of Eveland, Trudeau, Nickol, Green,
Finger or Lautzenheiser. An extensive search continued through November 9,
without success. In 1972, the missing crew members were declared Killed in
Action, Body Not Recovered.

An additional recovery attempt was made based on the possible sighting of
the wreckage of the aircraft on October 9, 1974. Two South Vietnamese scuba
divers spent 1 hour and 30 minutes each in an underwater search, but did not
locate the wreckage.
 
Hon Tre island was definitely Viet Cong territory and their junks plyed the
waters surrounding it at night. Veteran fighter pilots told the
Lautzenheiser family that, in spite of the seemingly dismal facts
surrounding the loss of 123, the presence of so many Viet Cong made it
possible that the crew of the helicopter could have been taken captive.

 

07/17/2024
The agency continues to probe the site to find the last four soldiers' remains, according to the 7th Fleet news release. Deep sea divers with the ...

 
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Warrant Officer
Albert R. Trudeau, killed during the Vietnam War, ...
 

https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/incident/711026111ACD.HTM

 

Press Release | Oct. 17, 2024

Pilot Accounted for from Vietnam War (Trudeau, A.)

 

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Warrant Officer Albert R. Trudeau, killed during the Vietnam War, was accounted for Sept. 11, 2024.

In October 1971, Trudeau was assigned to the 68th Aviation Company, 52nd Aviation Battalion, 17th Aviation Group. On Oct. 26, Trudeau was serving as the pilot of a CH-47B “Chinook” helicopter when it went down over water in bad weather while flying from Tuy Hoa to Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam. Remains of four of the 10 Soldiers on board were recovered during search and rescue operations following the crash, but Trudeau was not accounted for.

This is an initial release. The complete accounting of Trudeau's case will be published once the family receives their full briefing.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, 
visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil,  find us on social media at 
www.facebook.com/dodpaa or https://www.linkedin.com/company/defense-pow-mia-accounting-agency.
Press Release | Dec. 4, 2024

Pilot Accounted For From Vietnam War (Trudeau, A.)

 

WASHINGTON  –  

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that U.S. Army Warrant Officer Albert R. Trudeau, 22, of Teaneck, New Jersey, killed during the Vietnam War, was accounted for September 11, 2024.

Trudeau’s family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.

In October 1971, Trudeau was assigned to the 68th Aviation Company, 52nd Aviation Battalion, 17th Aviation Group. On Oct. 26, Trudeau was serving as the pilot of a CH-47B “Chinook” helicopter when it went down over water in bad weather while flying from Tuy Hoa to Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam. Remains of four of the 10 Soldiers on board were recovered during search and rescue operations following the crash, but Trudeau was not accounted for.

An unsuccessful recovery attempt was made in 1974 when divers from the Joint Casualty Resolution Center dove on what was believed to be the crash site. A number of investigation and recovery efforts took place between 1994 and 2021, with a June 2021 recovery mission finding possible osseous remains and material evidence, not linked to Trudeau.

From May 7 to July 9, 2024, a DPAA Underwater Recovery Team excavated an aircraft wreck site which correlated to Trudeau’s crash site. The team excavated roughly 336 square meters of underwater surface area, which resulted in the recovery of possible osseous remains, possible life support equipment, and various other identification media. All evidence was collected and turned over to the DPAA laboratory for analysis and identification.

To identify Trudeau’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological and dental analysis, as well as material and circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.

Trudeau’s name is recorded on the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., and the American Battle Monuments Commission’s Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with others who are unaccounted-for from the Vietnam War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Trudeau will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on a date to be determined.

For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.

DPAA is grateful to the government of Vietnam for their partnership in this mission.

For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving their country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil or on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa, https://www.linkedin.com/company/dodpaa,

https://www.instagram.com/dodpaa/, or https://x.com/dodpaa.

Trudeau’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000BThqEAG.

You can read Trudeau's initial ID announcement by clicking here: Trudeau.

 


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02/2020

https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000BThqEAG

WO1 ALBERT RAYMOND TRUDEAU

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On October 26, 1971, a CH-47 Chinook (tail number 66-19143, call sign "Warrior 143") with five crew members and five passengers aboard left Tuy Hoa, South Vietnam, on a supply mission to Cam Rahn Bay, South Vietnam. The helicopter encountered inclement weather and lost radio communication before it crashed into the water off the coast of Nha Trang. Search and rescue missions recovered four bodies and retreived debris that washed ashore on Hon Tre Island. The other six men aboard the helicopter remain missing.

Warrant Officer Albert Raymond Trudeau, who joined the U.S. Army from Wisconsin, served with the 68th Aviation Company, 52nd Aviation Battalion, 17th Aviation Group. He was the pilot of the Chinook when it crashed, and his remains were not recovered. Warrant Officer Trudeau 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.

If you are a family member of this serviceman, DPAA can provide you with additional information and analysis of your case. Please contact your casualty office representative.

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