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Recon Team ALASKA, consisting of three US special forces soldiers and three Nung troops, was inserted into the Da Krong Valley, Thua Thien Province, SVN, reportedly on 8 May 1971. On 18 May, when located about a mile from the Laotian/SVN border, RT ALASKA was engaged by an NVA force and called for an emergency extraction.
Two Americans - SP5 Gary L. Hollingsworth and SSG Dale W. Dehnke - and one Nung were killed in the fighting; Entrican and the other two Nungs attempted to evade the NVA. Surviving commando Truong Minh Long and interpreter Truong To Ha stated that they rolled downhill after a hostile search party detected them hiding in the bush. Entrican, who apparently was wounded, yelled at them to move out and try to make the pickup alone. Meanwhile, the pick-up helicopter, a UH-1H Huey (tail number 67-17607, C Co, 158th Avn Bn) crewed by
WO David P. Soyland, pilot,
WO Dale A. Pearce, copilot,
SP5 Harold E. Parker, crew chief, and
SP4 Gary A. Alcorn, door gunner,
was hit by automatic weapons and RPG fire as it approached the pickup point, rolled over, impacted on its right side, and slid down a slope. Warrant Officer Pearce was killed in the crash, but the other three crewmen were able to exit the aircraft. Additional ground forces were inserted in an attempt to recover the survivors of both RT ALASKA and the downed Huey. SP5 Parker, SP4 Alcorn, and the two surviving Nungs were found alive. While Pearce's remains were identified the rescue party lacked the tools needed to free his body from the wreckage. The bodies of Hollingsworth, Dehnke, and the two Nungs were recovered. SP4 Alcorn reported that he saw a man, believed to be WO Soyland, running on the crest of a nearby ridge, but although search efforts continued until 27 May the searchers were unable to locate either 1LT Entrican or WO Soyland. Enemy documents dated May 1971 were later captured mentioned an American captured in the area, but it was impossible to determine if the documents referred to Entrican or Soyland. Both men were carried as Missing in Action until the Secretary of the Army approved Presumptive Findings of Death (Soyland on 10 Apr 1978; Entrican on 6 Dec 1978). First Lieutenant Entrican had previously been awarded three Bronze Stars for heroism in action.
Other Comments:
POSTED ON 5.29.2017
POSTED BY: Carrie Ann Stallings (niece of Daniel Day Entrican)
You will never be forgotten
Love always, ca
POSTED ON 5.31.1999
POSTED BY: Ken Smith
"THINKING OF YOU DANNY"
I am a former Brookhaven High School classmate of Danny and too served in Vietnam with the 1st Air Cav in 1968-69. Danny is truly an American hero and I think of him and the ultimate sacrifice he made. I can still see his smiling face and always positive attitude. We miss you Danny......Ken Smith, Rome, Ga. 5/31/99
Danny went through Infantry OCS in 1969. He graduated as a 2Lt on September 28, 1969. He then went through SFOC and graduated at the end of March 1970. He was then stationed at Fort Devens with the 10th SFG and then in Vietnam with the 5th SFG. He was assigned to A-236 at Bu Prang and then went through 1-0 school in late 1970. He was then assigned to RT Alaska, CCN, at Marble Mountain near Danang, which had been redesignated as TF1AE (Task Force One Advisory Element) at the time of RT Alaska's loss.
