THRUSTON ROBERT READE III

Narrative

as related by a witness. Also: Bobby Paik was CE of the ship () Summary: Took one hit from a 45 cal weapon in the windshield. Hit in the head and killed him immediately. WO1 Shelton landed back at Nha Trang. Crew Members: AC WO1 THRUSTON ROBERT READE III KIA CP WO1 SHELTON PHILLIP CARY CE E5 PAIK ROBERT KAMAKA G E3 GRAVES War Story: This ship and crew had been TDY to Ban Me Thuot prior to this mission. I was the CE on this ship. We had flown to Nha Trang. We had an ARVN General and an ARVN Captain as passengers plus two US Army LTCs. The mission was to recon the area around the base. We had just taken off. I'd estimate we were about 2 miles from the aircraft and still at a low altitude. A single 45 calibar round came through the windshield and hit WO1 Thruston in the head. It removed part of his head and his flight helmit.