THE MEN BEHIND THE MISSION
Five Men. One Final Mission.
On February 2, 1968, five American servicemen were lost during a mission in Vietnam. Decades later, their story would become deeply connected to the creation of the Flight Home Memorial. Their story helped inspire this memorial. Its mission now reaches every American POW/MIA.
What Happened – February 2, 1968
A Mission That Never Came Home.
On February 2, 1968, a UH-1H Iroquois, tail number 66-16442, was carrying three passengers and two crew members while making a ground radar-controlled approach to Da Nang Air Base in Vietnam.
During the approach, the ground controller suddenly and unexpectedly lost both radio and radar contact with the aircraft.
The Huey never arrived.
On board were five American servicemen.
For months, there were no answers.
In May 1968, the wreckage of the helicopter was discovered in a heavily wooded gully surrounded by dense underbrush. Some remains were recovered from the crash site, but they could not be individually identified as members of the crew.
Subsequent efforts to locate and identify the remains of the five men have been unsuccessful.
More than five decades later, their story remains unfinished.
THE FIVE
Staff Sergeant Kenneth James Patton
United States Army • Pennsylvania
Kenneth James Patton entered the U.S. Army from Pennsylvania and served with Troop B, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.
Specialist Five Patton was the crew chief of UH-1H 66-16442 when the helicopter was lost on February 2, 1968. His remains have not been recovered.
Following the loss, the Army promoted Patton to the rank of Staff Sergeant.
Today, Staff Sergeant Patton is memorialized at the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
His case remains categorized by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency as Active Pursuit.
A Personal Connection to Flight Home
For the Flight Home Memorial, Kenneth’s story carries an especially personal connection. His cousin, John Cap, is one of the Thomas E. Hartung American Legion Post 1977 officers who helped renew the decades-old effort to bring a military aircraft to New Lenox and transform that idea into a permanent POW/MIA memorial.
The story of Kenneth and the four men lost with him helped give the project a deeply personal purpose — one that has grown into a mission to honor all American Prisoners of War and those still Missing in Action.
Lieutenant Colonel Donald Dawson Burnham
United States Army • Alabama
Donald Dawson Burnham entered the U.S. Army from Alabama and served with Troop B, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.
Captain Burnham was the pilot of UH-1H 66-16442 when radio and radar contact with the aircraft was lost during its approach to Da Nang Air Base on February 2, 1968. His remains have not been recovered.
Following the loss, the Army promoted Burnham to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
Today, Lieutenant Colonel Burnham is memorialized at the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
His case remains categorized by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency as Active Pursuit.
Sergeant First Class Charles Leroy Adkins
United States Army • Ohio
Charles Leroy Adkins entered the U.S. Army from Ohio and served with Troop B, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.
On February 2, 1968, Specialist Four Adkins was one of three passengers aboard UH-1H 66-16442 when the aircraft was lost during its approach to Da Nang Air Base. His remains have not been recovered.
Following the loss, the Army promoted Adkins to the rank of Sergeant First Class.
Today, Sergeant First Class Adkins is memorialized at the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
His case remains categorized by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency as Active Pursuit.
Sergeant Major Joe Harold Pringle
United States Army • West Virginia
Joe Harold Pringle entered the U.S. Army from West Virginia and served with Troop B, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.
Sergeant First Class Pringle was one of three passengers aboard UH-1H 66-16442 when the aircraft was lost on February 2, 1968. His remains have not been recovered.
Following the loss, the Army promoted Pringle to the rank of Sergeant Major.
Today, Sergeant Major Pringle is memorialized at the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
His case remains categorized by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency as Active Pursuit.
Sergeant First Class Joseph David Puggi
United States Army • New Jersey
Joseph David Puggi entered the U.S. Army from New Jersey and served with Troop B, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.
Staff Sergeant Puggi was one of three passengers aboard UH-1H 66-16442 when the aircraft was lost on February 2, 1968. His remains have not been recovered.
Following the loss, the Army promoted Puggi to the rank of Sergeant First Class.
Today, Sergeant First Class Puggi is memorialized at the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
His case remains categorized by the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency as Active Pursuit.
THEIR MISSION CONTINUES
From Five Men to Every POW/MIA
The story of these five men helped give the Flight Home Memorial its beginning and its personal connection to the POW/MIA mission.
But the memorial being built in New Lenox is not solely their memorial.
Their story represents the thousands of American service members who became Prisoners of War or never returned from conflicts around the world — and the families who have spent decades waiting for answers.
The Five are where our story began.
Remembering them all is where our mission leads.