THE WALL OF FACES

Rest in peace with the warriors.

This aircraft departed its parking area at approximately 100 hours. It made an approach and terminated at a hover near the maintenance area of the engineer battalion at Lai Khe. There were seven persons aboard the aircraft: CAPT David A. Carlin, CW2 George F. Lapan, SP5 John C. Deaton, SP4 Paul R. Dew, SP5 Fredrick L. Holder, SP5 John Mirich, and PFC Jon O. Osheim. They hovered over a play ground teeter-totter which the engineers had constructed for an orphanage. The teeter-totter had previously been rigged as a sling load by the aircraft commander of this helicopter. The sling was attached to the lifting hook of the helicopter. The aircraft hovered straight up to an altitude of 50 to 75 feet, checking the load. He then called the Lai Khe tower for takeoff clearance. He was cleared to depart parallel to and east of the runway. As he began to accelerate the load began to oscillate badly. After a few hundred meters, and at perhaps forty knots of forward speed, the end support bracket broke off the pivot bar of the teeter totter. This caused the load to shift and the steel triangle, which was the support bracket, to whip violently at the end of its rope. At a point when the main load was at its aft most position of oscillation, this steel triangle flipped forward, then aft, allowing the tail rotor to strike the rope which attached it to the rest of the teeter totter. At that point the tail rotor was observed to slow down and almost stop. The load was jettisoned at this point and the helicopter proceeded forward on a track of about 050 degrees with its nose turning slowly to the right. When the fuselage had turned to approximately 90 degrees to the flight path, the forward speed had decreased to near zero. At that time the helicopter began to spin to the right. Witnesses disagree as to the number of turns the aircraft made, but generally agree that it was numerous turns, the nose swinging to the right. When the tower operator observed the load fall to the ground, he advised the pilot 'you have dropped your sling load'. The pilot's answer was, 'Thank you.' At about the time the fuselage began to turn the pilot said to the tower, 'I have tail rotor failure.' The tower rogered this and advised that the crash crew was notified. The pilot was apparently unable to increase his forward speed to the point that the aircraft would streamline and continue to fly without the tail rotor drive. He was, however, able to keep it airborne for a considerable period of time. Witnesses observed what sounded to them like repeated increasing and decreasing power applications and erratic attitude changes that appeared to be attempts by the pilot to move the aircraft away from the troop area, over which he was spinning. A crew member, thought to be the crew chief, was seen standing in the cabin of the helicopter, leaning out waving his arms in an effort to get people to leave the area where it was apparent they were going to crash. Just prior to striking the trees the pilot said over the radio 'We're going in.' All personnel aboard suffered fatal injuries. [Taken from vhpa.org]

If I should die, and leave you here awhile, be not like others, sore undone, who keep long vigils by the siklent dust, and weep...for MY saske, turn again to life, and smile...Nerving thy heart, and tembling hand to do something to comfort other hearts than thine...Co0mplete these dear, unfinished tasks of mine...and I, perchnace, may therein comfort you.

David was in A227. Buried at Belcrest Memorial Park, Salem,OR. DFC BSM AM-2OLC

I remember Capt. Carlin well as our Executive Officer. I am proud to have served with him and under his command. He was always a gentleman and treated others with respect.