HONORED ON PANEL 40W, LINE 13 OF THE WALL
RUSSELL EDWIN NIHILL
WALL NAME
RUSSELL E NIHILL
PANEL / LINE
40W/13
DATE OF BIRTH
CASUALTY PROVINCE
DATE OF CASUALTY
HOME OF RECORD
COUNTY OF RECORD
STATE
BRANCH OF SERVICE
RANK
REMEMBRANCES
LEFT FOR RUSSELL EDWIN NIHILL
POSTED ON 7.17.2023
POSTED BY: john fabris
honoring you.....
Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrances from students at Bishop Hendricken High School are touching and reflect their admiration and respect for you. As long as you are remembered you will always be with us….
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POSTED ON 10.3.2021
POSTED BY: ANON
Burial Information
SGT Russell Edwin Nihill Jr. is buried in Section 26, Lot 187, Grave 1 of the Saint Ann Cemetery in Cranston, RI.
Your sacrifice is not forgotten.
HOOAH
Your sacrifice is not forgotten.
HOOAH
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POSTED ON 1.27.2021
POSTED BY: Lucy Micik
Thank You
Dear Sgt Russell Nihill, Thank you for your service with the 377th Combat Support Group. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. It’s a New Year, but not necessarily better. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.
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POSTED ON 4.18.2017
POSTED BY: [email protected]
Final Mission of SGT Russell E. Nihill
On October 21, 1968, a USAF Douglas C-47D (#45-0934) transport plane belonging to the 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Tan Son Nhut Air Base was flying military personnel from Saigon to Hong Kong for R&R with a stop at Da Nang. While enroute the pilot declared an emergency, stating that the port engine had failed and that the propeller would not feather. He requested and received vectors for an emergency landing at Ban Me Thuot Airfield, but instead hit a mountainside at the 2300-foot level approximately 19 miles southwest of Ban Me Thuot in Darlac Province, RVN. A total of 23 fatalities (some news services reported 24) resulted in the crash, including a listed 11 crewmen and 10 passengers, plus two civilians. A medical helicopter spotted the wreckage three hours after the crash. More helicopters were dispatched to the scene to remove the dead. The lost C-47D crew members included pilot LTC Howard E. Van Vliet, co-pilot LTC Council L. Royal, navigators MAJ Gerald E. Burgener and MAJ Basil L. Ciriello, flight attendant TSGT Donald W. Bruck, flight engineer TSGT John D. Thomas, flight mechanic TSGT Billy R. Morris, and crewmen (unassigned positions) MSGT William P. Bowman, SSGT Eugene W. Hendricks, LTC Robert B. Richardson, and MAJ Gerald D. Ziehe. The passengers included (USAF) TSGT Arthur L. Brewer, LTC Ray E. Codding, SSGT Karl E. Kelley Jr., SSGT Bernard F. Kissell Jr., SGT Russell E. Nihill, LTC Alden W. O’Brien, SGT Ruben E. Reyes, and CAPT Gayland O. Scott; (USA) SP5 Bruce M. Miley and SFC Klaus D. R. Ruhland. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, aviation-safety.net, togetherweserved.com, and “C-47 Crash! 24 Killed.” Chicago Tribune, October 22, 1968]
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