SGT Paul Reid Frazier, Milwaukee, WI on www.VirtualWall.org The Virtual Wall® Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall

On 3 September 1968, Sgt. Paul R. Frazier was the door gunner aboard a UH-1C helicopter (hull number 66-66613) that was participating in a combat mission near Saigon. As the Huey flew low over the hotly contested countryside, it was struck by hostile ground fire, crashed and exploded on impact approximately 5 miles north of Can Duoc and 10 miles south of Saigon, Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam.

Numerous hamlets and villages of various sizes surrounded the area of loss. It was also laced with rivers, canals, waterways and rice fields. There were two primary roads running south from Saigon that bracketed the crash site. One was located 1 mile west of the helicopter's wreckage, and the other was 3 miles east of it.

Search and Recovery (SAR) operations were immediately initiated and American ground forces inspected the crash site within 4 to 8 hours of the crash. With the exception of Sgt. Frazier, the remains of the rest of the personnel aboard the Huey were recovered. Those remains were transported to a US military mortuary in Saigon where they were later identified and returned to the men's families for burial.

The crash site was inspected thoroughly on 7 and 8 May 1973 by a Graves Registration team from the Joint Casualty Resolution Center (JCRC) who confirmed the identification of this helicopter as being Sgt. Frazier's aircraft. No remains were found in or around the crash site during this search. At the time this SAR operation was terminated, Paul Frazier was listed Killed in Action/Body Not Recovered.

On 29 June 1973, nearly 5 years after his loss and 6 months after the end of US involvement in the war, JCRC personnel determined that for Paul Frazier "no remains were recoverable as his remains were destroyed by explosive ordnance, aircraft fire or removal from site by other means." Further, JCRC recommended that no further operations be planned to recover Sgt. Frazier unless new information became available and that the case be closed.

Over the years several reports have been received by US government agencies pertaining to the location of remains that might relate to Sgt. Frazier; but to date no positive correlation has been made. Likewise, no remains have been recovered or identified as his.

There is no doubt Paul Frazier died in the loss of his Huey. However, by JCRC's evaluation of his record there is a good possibility that his body was removed from the wreckage by either local villagers or Communist forces and buried.

Two other men died when the helicopter was shot down. Their remains were recovered:

These men are remembered by their comrades on the
191st Assault Helicopter Company Honor Page

A memorial from his school friend,
Jeff Doc Dentice
Muskego Wi
jdentice@execpc.com
6 Mar 2001

Visit Doc Dentice's POW/MIA Pages