Thomas Green was the first of the “San Diego 19” to be honored by Dago Chapter with a Forgotten Warrior Run on Labor Day weekend 2006.
Media coverage included an article published by the North County Times Online.
| Thomas Fredrick Green | |
|---|---|
| Location on the Wall: | Panel 02W - Line 51 |
| Age at Loss: | 19 |
| Race: | Causasian |
| Sex: | Male |
| Date of Birth: | 10 Sep, 1952 |
| Home of Record: | Ramona, CA |
| Religion: | Protestant |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Branch: | Army |
| Length of Service: | 68th Aviation |
| Grade: | E3 |
| Rank: | Private First Class |
| ID Number: | |
| Unit: | 1st Avn Bde |
| MOS: | Helicopter Crew |
| Date of Loss: | 30 May, 1970 |
| Country of Loss: | Offshore MR2 South Vietnam |
| Loss Coordinates: | 121301N 1091847E |
| Status: | Body Not Recovered |
| Type of Loss: | Non-Hostile, died missing |
| Reason: | Air Loss, Crash at Sea |
| Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: | CH47B |
| Incident Ref. #: | 1775 |
Other info:
Other Personnel In Incident: Michael Lautzenheiser; Mickey Eveland; Albert Trudeau; Sanford I. Finger; Robert A. Nickol (all missing); Leonard Maquiling (aircraft commander-remains recovered); three other non-crew aboard-bodies recovered.
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.
Source: P.O.W. NETWORK
TOM GREEN WAS THE 1st FLAG WE GAVE OUT. AND THAT STARTED WHAT IS NOW KNOWN AS THE FORGOTTEN WARRIOR RUN.
Flash–
This page has been updated to reflect that info and the article from NC Times is now onsite. ~RW