William E. Hingston, Jr. – Captain, United States Army

by

wehingston-rub

William E. Hingston, Jr. was born on November 26, 1940 and joined the Armed
Forces while in Braintree, Massachusetts.  He graduated from the United States Military at West Point in the Class of 1963.

He served in the United States Army as an aviator (helicopter) and in three years of service, he attained the rank of Captain.

He began a tour of duty in the Republic of Vietnam on August 3, 1966.

On January 24, 1967, at the age of 26, William E. Hingston, Jr. perished in the
service of our country in South Vietnam, Binh Dinh.

Information on U.S. Army helicopter UH-1C tail number 66-00517
The Army purchased this helicopter 0766
Total flight hours at this point: 00000125
Date: 01/24/67
Incident number: 67012424.KIA
Unit: A/2/20 ARA 1 CAV
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

Crew Members:

  • P CPT HINGSTON WILLIAM E JR KIA
  • CE SP4 SMITH ROBERT HAROLD KIA
  • G PFC HERRERA JIMMIE ANDREW KIA
    This record was last updated on 05/25/98

The following is crew member information for this incident:

Name: CPT William E. Hingston, Jr. 

Status: Killed In Action from an incident on 01/24/67 while performing the duty of Pilot.
Age at death: 26.2
Date of Birth: 11/26/40
Home City: Braintree, MA
Service: AT branch of the regular component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: A/2/20 ARA 1 CAV
Major organization: 1st Cavalry Division
Service: AT branch of the U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 14E-074
Short Summary: Crew Chief Smitty and Door Gunner Jonesie were also killed. West Point graduate and good friend of Rodger McAlister.
Aircraft: UH-1C tail number 66-00517
Service number: O98760
Country: South Vietnam
MOS: 1981 = 19 Rotary Wing Aviator (Unit Commander)
Primary cause: Hostile Fire
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: weapons
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: pilot
Started Tour: 08/03/66
“Official” listing: helicopter air casualty – pilot
Length of service: 03
Location: Binh Dinh Province II Corps.
Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
Casualty type: Hostile – killed
married male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Relgion: Roman Catholic
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
This record was last updated on 11/11/96

Name: SP4 Robert Harold Smith 

Status: Killed In Action from an incident on 01/24/67 while performing the duty of Crew Chief.
Age at death: 20.2
Date of Birth: 10/27/46
Home City: Warminster, PA
Service: component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: A/2/20 ARA 1 CAV
Major organization: 1st Cavalry Division
Service: U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 14E-073
Aircraft: UH-1C tail number 66-00517
Service number: 52664490
Country: South Vietnam
MOS: 45J20 = Aircraft Armament Repairman
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: weapons
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: crew chief
Started Tour: 09/25/66
“Official” listing: helicopter air casualty – other aircrew
Length of service: 01
Location: Binh Dinh Province II Corps.
Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
Casualty type: Hostile – killed
single 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: enlisted
personnel
This record was last updated on 11/11/96

Name: PFC Jimmie Andrew Herrera (posthumously promoted)

Status: Killed In Action from an incident on 01/24/67 while performing the duty of Gunner.
Age at death: 25.9
Date of Birth: 03/11/41
Home City: Melvindale, MI
Service: component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: A/2/20 ARA 1 CAV
Major organization: 1st Cavalry Division
Service: U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 14E-073
Aircraft: UH-1C tail number 66-00517
Service number: 55892496
Country: South Vietnam
MOS: 67N20 = UH-1 Helicopter Repairer
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: weapons
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: door gunner
Started Tour: 09/07/65
“Official” listing: helicopter air casualty – other aircrew
Location: Binh Dinh Province II Corps.
Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
Casualty type: Hostile – killed
married male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Relgion: Roman Catholic
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 11/11/96

The following is Goldbook information on US Army helicopter UH-1B tail number 66-00517
It is provided here as an ESTIMATE of the history of this helicopter and is not intended to be the final authority.

This helicopter was purchased by the US Army in 0766.
Please provide any additional information on this helicopter to the VHPA.

DATE  FLT HRS    UIC      UNIT          AREA          POST          COUNTRY
6610   0    0 W0MHAA DIROF SUP TRAN   6TH ARMY   SHARPE GD        SUPMACOM
6611  33   33 WAG3A0 ABTRY2BN20A1CAV  VIETNAM                     RVN
6612  45   78 WAG3A0 ABTRY2BN20A1CAV  VIETNAM                     RVN
6701  47  125 WAG3A0 ABTRY2BN20A1CAV  VIETNAM                     RVN
6702   0  125 WAG3A0 ABTRY2BN20A1CAV  VIETNAM                     RVN

Read our general and most popular articles

Leave a Comment