A U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook lowers a water trailer to a hilltop camp in Tam Ky, Vietnam, on Sept. 15, 1967. (U.S. Army)
The U.S. 7th Fleet’s flagship recently wrapped up a five-day port call on Vietnam that included a visit to the site of an Army helicopter lost during the Vietnam War.
The USS Blue Ridge steamed into Cam Ranh Bay alongside the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Waesche on July 8 as part of the amphibious command ship’s summer deployment, 7th Fleet spokeswoman Lt. Jamie Moroney told Stars and Stripes by email Tuesday.
A day after their arrival, senior crew members of the two ships visited the site of a CH-47 Chinook that crashed more than 50 years ago and claimed the lives of all five crew members and five passengers, according to a 7th Fleet news release Monday.
The site in the South China Sea is about five miles off the coast of Nha Trang City in Vietnam’s Khanh Hoa province, with excavation taking place about 100 feet below the surface.
The helicopter, call sign Warrior 143, crashed Oct. 26, 1971, after it lost radio communication in bad weather during a supply mission to Cam Rahn Bay, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency’s website.
The remains of four soldiers were recovered immediately after the crash; another two were recovered in subsequent excavations. The agency continues to probe the site to find the last four soldiers’ remains, according to the 7th Fleet news release.
Deep sea divers with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency prepare for a dive supporting the investigation of a 1971 helicopter crash site in Nha Trang Bay, Vietnam, on July 9, 2024. (Caitlin Flynn/U.S. Navy)
The most recent excavations began May 2, with personnel working from a barge almost every day, barring bad weather and an occasional holiday, said U.S. Army Capt. Weston Iannone, the recovery team leader.
“We’re all here from 7 a.m. until about 4 p.m. — us, the Vietnamese, all the contractors and security you see,” he said in the release. “This is not to float our own boat. Really, it’s a combined, multinational effort across all services just to bring them all home.”
Blue Ridge’s skipper, Capt. Nicholas DeLeo, described the visit as a “moving experience,” according to the release.
“I was greatly impressed by the hard work and focus demonstrated by the DPAA site team,” he said. “Their effort to recover our missing-in-action service members truly demonstrates our country’s support of the men and women who wear the uniform.”
The Blue Ridge arrived nearly 13 months after the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan stopped in Da Nang with two cruisers and 10 months after President Joe Biden met with the country’s leaders in Hanoi.
Biden’s visit signaled a diplomatic upgrade in the U.S. relationship with Vietnam to a level Vietnam already shared with China and Russia, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
Among other opportunities, the improved relationship with the U.S. means increased military-to-military ties between the two old foes, who now share a common interest in countering China’s ambitions in the region, according to a council blog post in September.
The USS Blue Ridge transits the Gulf of Thailand on July 15, 2024, three days after concluding a port visit to Vietnam. (Ryan Breeden/U.S. Navy)
In December, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Vietnam, followed in June by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During their stay, crews from the Blue Ridge and Waesche took part with locals and foreign dignitaries in sports events, ship tours, a visit to a local orphanage, maritime security discussions and other engagements, Moroney told Stars and Stripes by email Tuesday.
“These visits provide an opportunity to pursue new areas of cooperation and partnership and are a testament to the vital importance of the U.S.-Vietnam relationship,” she wrote.
The Blue Ridge concluded its visit Friday, according to the news release.
Before Vietnam, the ship stopped in Manila on June 18 for the first time in five years and on June 28 visited Laem Chabang, Thailand, according to 7th Fleet news releases.
