SEELEY JOHN STUART

Narrative

After takeoff from confined area, the aircraft crashed into trees and burned. Supplimental to follow - survivors indicate engines and components were functioning properly. The aircraft was located in hostile area so was not recovered. War Story: Mission - to extract captured rice from a confined PZ. Load appeared normal. All internal sacks of rice. What wasn't known was that the rice had spent the night in the rain and now the 100 lb. sacks probably weighed closer to 200 lbs. At any rate the aircraft was brought to a high hover and as forward airspeed was tried, the rotor RPM bled off with the aircraft settling into the trees right side down. The internal load broke loose on impact shifting forward and right burying SP5 Adkins on the right gun. SP6 Luster made it out the back before the blades stopped turning. By now the ship was burning pretty good. The gunner got out OK and went to help the pilots. Mr. Logan got out OK but CPT Seeley was hopelessly tangled in the wreckage and could not be freed. He did not make it. In the meantime my buddy Paul "Chet" Adkins kept a cool head in a very hot situation. He laid under that rice waiting for the sacks to burn away so he could free himself. He eventually appeared from the flames, badly burned but alive. He was evaced to Japan and then to Fort Sam Houston. Amazingly he recovered enough to become an instructor at Ft. Rucker. SP6 Luster was transferred to the 147th. written by Steve Niedbala.