Richard Bouche Davis, Jr. – United States Army

Richard Bouche Davis, Jr. was born on November 7, 1948 and joined the Armed Forces while in Dallas, Texas.

He served in the United States Army.  In 2 years of service, he attained the rank of Warrant Officer One.

On February 11, 1970, at the age of 21, Richard Bouche Davis, Jr. perished in the service of our country in South Vietnam, Binh Dinh.

Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1C tail number 66-15093
The Army purchased this helicopter 0467
Total flight hours at this point: 00000929
Date: 08/13/69
Unit: 170 AHC
This was a Combat incident.
This was a Recon mission for Armed Escort , Other Aircraft.
While On Target this helicopter was Attacking at 0075 feet and 080 knots.
South Vietnam
Helicopter took 1 hits from: Small Arms-Automatic Weapons; Gun launched non-explosive ballistic projectiles less than 20 mm in size. (7.62MM)
Systems damaged were: PERSONNEL
Casualties = 1 WIA
The helicopter Continued Flight.
The aircraft was diverted prior to accomplishing any mission objectives.

Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Survivability/Vulnerability Information Analysis Center Helicopter database. Also: UH1P3, 22502.

Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1C tail number 66-15093

The Army purchased this helicopter April 1967
Total flight hours at this point: 00001336
Date: 02/11/70
Incident number: 70021111.KIA
Unit: 170 AHC
South Vietnam
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Also: OPERA (Operations Report.) Loss to Inventory

The following is crew member information for this incident:

Name: PFC Lannie Ray Anderson 
Status: Killed In Action from an incident on 02/11/70 while performing the duty of Gunner.
Age at death: 19.6
Date of Birth: 07/19/50
Home City: Lincoln, KS
Service: regular component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: 170 AHC
Major organization: 1st Aviation Brigade
Service: U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 14W-124
Short Summary: Hit by friendly fire from bunker line at green line (An Khe)
Aircraft: UH-1C tail number 66-15093
SSN: 512544780
Country: South Vietnam
MOS: 67A1F = Aircraft Maintenance Apprentice
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: unknown or not reported
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: door gunner
Started Tour: 09/22/69
“Official” listing: helicopter air casualty – other aircrew
Location: Binh Dinh Province II Corps.
Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
Casualty type: Hostile – killed
single male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Relgion: Disciples of Christ
The following information is secondary, but may help in explaining this incident.
Category of casualty as defined by the Army: battle dead Category of personnel: active duty Army Military class: enlisted personnel
This record was last updated on 10/18/98

Name: WO1 Richard Bouche Davis, Jr. 
Status: Killed In Action from an incident on 02/11/70 while performing the duty of Pilot.
Age at death: 21.3
Date of Birth: 11/07/48
Home City: Dallas, TX
Service: AV branch of the reserve component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: 170 AHC
Major organization: 1st Aviation Brigade
Flight class: 69-13
Service: AV branch of the U.S. Army.
Short Summary: Hit by friendly fire from bunker line at green line (An Khe) W/ Thomas L. Norwood.
Aircraft: UH-1C tail number 66-15093
Call sign: Buccaneers
SSN: 249841465 Service number: W3165057
Country: South Vietnam
MOS: 100E = Attack Helicopter Pilot
Primary cause: Friendly Fire
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: unknown
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: aircraft commander
Started Tour: 07/03/69
“Official” listing: helicopter air casualty – other aircrew
Length of service: 02
Location: Binh Dinh Province II Corps.
Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
Casualty type: Hostile – killed
single male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Relgion: Episcopal (Anglican)

The following information is secondary, but may help in explaining this incident.
Category of casualty as defined by the Army: battle dead Category of personnel: active duty Army Military class: warrant officer.
This record was last updated on 10/18/98

Name: CPT Thomas Lee Norwood, Jr. (posthumously promoted)
Status: Killed In Action from an incident on 02/11/70 while performing the duty of Pilot.
Age at death: 22.7
Date of Birth: 05/14/47
Home City: Abbeville, SC
Service: IN branch of the reserve component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: 170 AHC
Major organization: 1st Aviation Brigade
Flight class: 69-12
Service: IN branch of the U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 14W-128
Short Summary: Hit by friendly fire from bunker line at green line (An Khe) W/Rick Davis.
Aircraft: UH-1C tail number 66-15093
Call sign: Buccaneers
SSN: 464743677
Country: South Vietnam
MOS: 1981 = 19 Rotary Wing Aviator (Unit Commander)
Primary cause: Friendly Fire
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: unknown
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: pilot
Started Tour: 07/01/69
“Official” listing: helicopter air casualty – pilot
Length of service: 02
Location: Binh Dinh Province II Corps.
Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
Casualty type: Hostile – killed
married male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Relgion: Protestant – no denominational preference
The following information is secondary, but may help in explaining this incident.
Category of casualty as defined by the Army: battle dead Category of personnel: active duty Army Military class: officer

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard