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Cristman, Frederick Lewis, CW3.
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"Lam Son 719 was a large-scale offensive against enemy communications lines which was conducted in that part of Laos adjacent to the two northern provinces of South Vietnam. The South Vietnamese would provide and command ground forces, while U.S. Forces would furnish airlift and supporting fire...
Phase II of the operation involved an ARVN helicopter assault and armored brigade thrust along Route 9 into Laos. ARVN ground troops were transported by American helicopters, while U.S. Air Forces provided cover strikes around the landing zones.
During one of these maneuvers, CW2 Frederick L. Cristman was flying a UH1C helicopter (serial #65-9489) with a crew of three - SP4 Paul A. Langenour, door gunner, WO1 Jon M. Sparks, co-pilot, and SP5 Ricardo M. Garcia, crew chief. - covering a downed U.S. helicopter during a rescue effort. Cristman's aircraft flew as the trail ship in a flight of two UH1s on their armed escort mission.
The landing zone (LZ) was under fire, and the pilot of the downed craft was a buddy of Fred's. He worked the area with his minigun while another helicopter successfully extracted the pilot. Cristman and his crew continued to work the hot LZ while other helicopters came in. His gunship was hit by enemy gunfire. Christman radioed in to the flight leader that his transmission oil pressure caution light was on, and that he was making an emergency landing on the LZ. This was verified by the lead aircraft, who made several passes over the downed helicopter. Cristman's aircraft crashed into the ARVN perimeter..." Source: http://www.pownetwork.org
From this point on the details of the incident grow murky. All scenarios essentially agree that a mortar exploded on the top of the helicopter. The gunner (Langenour) was the first out of the aircraft and joined ARVN forces at the perimeter. Langenour has said the other three men were alive when he jumped out. One version seems to indicate the three were killed instantly by the first mortar. Others hold that the three successfully exited the aircraft, but were knocked to the ground by the concussion from the explosion. At the time enemy forces were encrouching on the area and heavy groundfire and additional mortar fire rained on the LZ. The flight leader's aircraft was heavily damaged and was forced to leave the area. Langenour eventually returned to a U.S. military area. What happened to Cristman, Sparks and Garcia will likely remain a mystery. Most likely the three did escape the initial mortar hit and were killed by NVA mortar shells and gunfire, however in 1973 a Vietnam defector claimed a man looking like Cristman (the defector identified Cristman from a photograph) was captured alive, but died later died, and that the rest of the crew were buried nearby. This story, however, hasn't been verified. All three were initially declared MIA, but later officially declared dead. Their bodies have never been recovered.
Vietnam War/Counteroffensive Phase VII Campaign (1970-71)/Operation Lam Son 719
From Month/Year
February / 1971
To Month/Year
March / 1971
Description Operation Lam Son 719 (Vietnamese: Chiến dịch Lam Sơn 719 or Chiến dịch đường 9 – Nam Lào) was a limited-objective offensive campaign conducted in southeastern portion of the Kingdom of Laos by the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) between 8 February and 25 March 1971, during the Vietnam War. The United States provided logistical, aerial, and artillery support to the operation, but its ground forces were prohibited by law from entering Laotian territory. The objective of the campaign was the disruption of a possible future offensive by the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), whose logistical system within Laos was known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail (the Truong Son Road to North Vietnam).
By launching such a spoiling attack against PAVN's long-established logistical system, the American and South Vietnamese high commands hoped to resolve several pressing issues. A quick victory in Laos would bolster the morale and confidence of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), which was already high in the wake of the successful Cambodian Campaign of 1970. It would also serve as proof positive that South Vietnamese forces could defend their nation in the face of the continuing withdrawal of U.S. ground combat forces from the theater. The operation would be, therefore, a test of that policy and ARVN's capability to operate effectively by itself.
Because of the South Vietnamese need for security which precluded thorough planning, an inability by the political and military leaders of the U.S. and South Vietnam to face military realities, and poor execution, Operation Lam Son 719 collapsed when faced by the determined resistance of a skillful foe. The campaign was a disaster for the ARVN, decimating some of its best units and destroying the confidence that had been built up over the previous three years.
