On July 19, 1966, while on a mission supporting 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry, 3rd Brigade Task Force, 25th Infantry Division, U.S. Army helicopter UH-1D tail number 64-13891 had a mid-air collision with a reconnaissance Cessna L-19 Bird Dog airplane. The two aircraft collided at approximately 1500 feet while flying along the Cambodian border west of Pleiku. The airplane slammed into the helicopter from behind, causing the main rotor system of the helicopter to separate and its fuselage fall into a thick grove of trees below where it completely burned. There were no survivors. The impact also caused the left wing of the airplane to fold back and separate from its fuselage. The L-19 spiraled downward and crashed into the Ia Drang River in 10 to 15 feet of water from which it was not recovered. Its pilot also perished in the crash. The helicopter had just volunteered to take its two passengers airborne on a short flight so they could adjust the unitâ??s evening mortar and artillery fire around the defensive perimeter. Most eyes in the helicopter were spotting mortar rounds landing on the ground to the east. The pilot of the L-19 was flying parallel to the Cambodian border looking for enemy targets to the west. They never saw each other. Crew members of the helicopter included aircraft commander WO1 Johnny F. Long, pilot WO1 Jesus DeLa Rosa Jr., crew chief SP4 James M. Radzelovage, and gunner MSGT Leroy Barnes. The two passengers on board were MAJ Raymond E. Johnson and FSGT Yoshiiwa Nagato. The pilot of the L-19 was CAPT Charles L. Getman. His remains, still in the aircraft, were not recovered from the river until the next day.
