Thomas Michael Hanratty
Private First Class
HMM-265, MAG-16, 1ST MAW, III MAF
United States Marine Corps
Beulah, Colorado
June 19, 1946 to June 11, 1967
THOMAS M HANRATTY is on the Wall at Panel 21E, Line 89

Combat Aircrew
 
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Thomas M Hanratty
1stmaw.gif mag16.gif hmm-265.gif

 
11 Jun 1998

REMEMBERED

by one who wears his MIA bracelet.
bex@bexboomer.com

Visit my
complete memorial


 
7 Jul 2004

You were the Crew Chief on the CH-46 when it crashed.
You were with LCpl Havranek.
I'll never forget any of you.
Semper Fi, Marine

From a friend,
A1c Christopher R. Kenck USAF
christopher.kenck@polk.army.mil


 
17 Feb 2005

I was named after this person. My father and his brother both named their first-born male child after him - me Thomas and Uncle Dan's son Michael. May the Lord bless this man.

From a cousin,
Thomas Markette
thommarkert@earthlink.net


 

Notes from The Virtual Wall

On 11 June 1967 a reconnaissance team from the 3rd Force Recon Company was scheduled for insertion into position on the southern border of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) four kilometers north of Hill 208 and 900 meters west of Hill 174, both well known NVA positions.

The insertion force consisted of two CH-46As from HMM-265 and two UH-1E gunships from VMO-2. The lead CH-46A (BuNo 150270) carried four crewmen and seven men of the recon team:

Hank Trimble, pilot of one of the VMO-2 gunship escorts, recalls that three insertion attempts were made. The first and second attempts were aborted due to enemy activity and fire in the intended landing zones, but the third LZ was clear. As the CH-46 approached the LZ it
"transitioned to landing speed, in almost slow motion his nose rose, then rose more sharply, then climbed toward the vertical. Then the aircraft rolled inverted, split S, and dived down and exploded."
Trimble's recollection is that there was no evident enemy action and that the likely cause was mechanical failure.

The crash was not survivable. The enemy presence in the area prohibited recovery of the bodies at the time, and as of 30 May 2002 their remains have not been repatriated.

From the
USMC/Vietnam Helicopter Association


Notes

The POW Network page contains the statement that
"Machinegunmen had been waiting for the opportune time to fire on the aircraft. Portions of the rear blades were seen to separate from the aircraft and a radio transmission was received from the aircraft indicating that it had been hit."
and the Task Force Omega page states that "Capt. Bohlscheid radioed that they had been hit by machinegun fire".

No source is given for these statements, which contradict Trimble's recollection that there was no observed enemy fire or radio call stating that the aircraft had been hit.


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