22 Jul 2002 What an honor it is to speak of a man, a Marine, one who un-selfishly served his country, during a time that so many tried to distance themselves from. My uncle gave his life for our country and I often think of him when I see Marines passing by or when I read stories of Vietnam. He was on his way back to the states for Christmas. During take off, his plane stalled and crashed back to the ground. A terrible way to pass from this earth but only the Lord above knows the time and date He will call us home. I remember the time as a child, he was in uniform, he picked me up and in that burly Marine voice called me a little soldier. I was scared to death and at the same time awed by this big man who could be so gentle. Many years later, I wish I could of known him when I went off to serve my country in the Navy. If there are any veterans out there who served or knew my Uncle, please don't hesitate to e-mail me. I know my Dad would love to hear from you. May God Bless you all who served in that terrible war. From his nephew, Irvin Clifton

 

AIR LOSS - FIXED-WING On December 17, 1968, a USAF Fairchild C-123K Provider (Tail # 54-0708) from the 309th Special Operations Squadron with 44 persons onboard crashed shortly after takeoff from Chu Lai Air Base after reportedly encountering an engine failure following fuel transfer problems. Three crewmen and nine passengers were killed in the crash. Aircrew, C-123K 54-0708, 315th Spec Ops Wing: LTC Richard Allen Brown, Washington, DC, 311th Spec Ops Sqdn 1LT Roger Henry Strout, Somerville, MA, 311th Spec Ops Sqdn SSGT Jesse John Bradshaw, Willard, NC, 309th Spec Ops Sqdn Passengers: CPT Richard Charles Drewes, Trenton, NJ, 27th Surgical Hosp, 44th Med Bde CPT John Kent Hayward, Fort Myers Beach, FL, Div HHC, Americal Div CPT Morton Harold Singer, Flushing, NY, HHC XXIV Corps 1LT John David Krouslis, Ridgewood, NY, HHD, 37th Sig Bn, 1 Sig Bde 1LT John Alexander Blanco, Palatine, IL, HHC, 7th PsyOps Bn, 4th PsyOps Grp CWO John Peter Koob, Lake Hiawatha, NJ, 295th Ordnance Co SSG Wallace Fredrick Simpkin, Alamogordo, NM, D Co, 40th Sig Bn, 1 Sig Bde SGT Ramon Castro-Morales, Santurce, PR, HHC, 23rd S&T Bn, Americal Div PFC Bradley John Bourque, Rayne, LA, HHC Americal Division Five other passengers died subsequent to the injuries they received. They included two Marines and three soldiers: SGT Mancol Raymond Clifton, USMC, Santa Rosa, CA, who died the following day due to burns he suffered; PVT George Washington Brown, USMC, New York, NY, who passed away January 13, 1969, also from burns; SP4 Dennis Guy Benson, Manchaug, MA, 588th Maint Company, who died December 23, 1968, from burns after being evacuated to a burn unit at the 106th Army General Hospital in Yokohama, Japan; SFC Richard Hause Sweger, who died January 2, 1969, from bilateral pneumonia due to his injuries; and SP4 Henry Eugene Russell, who died May 7, 1969, after spending 135 days at Brooke Army General Hospital at Fort Sam Houston, TX, where he was being treated for burns he suffered over 35% of his body. Services for Sgt. Mancol R. Clifton, 38, were held at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, 2 January, 1968 at the Pentecostal Church of God in Sebastopol. Sgt. Clifton was one of 14 persons killed in an airplane crash in Vietnam earlier this month. He was enroute to Santa Rosa where his family lives following the end of a 13-month tour of duty in Vietnam when the accident occurred. The plane crashed on takeoff at Chu Lai Air Base, and the sergeant was critically burned. He died Wednesday, Dec. 18. Memorial services were held Dec. 20 in Vietnam. Born in Oklahoma, the sergeant made his home there, but his family moved to California 12 years ago. He was a 16-year veteran of the Marine Corps. He was survived by his mother, Annie M. Clifton , Santa Rosa; 8 brothers and a sister, Marian Victor [1921-1982], Santa Rosa, Lula A (Clifton) Bryant [1923-2000], Oklahoma, George B 'Jay' [1925-1988], Georgia, Wes William [1927-1997], Santa Rosa, Billy Joe [1932-2005], Santa Rosa, Doyle Androw [1933-1998], Santa Rosa, Leonard Charles [1937-1999], Santa Rosa, Dunnie Lee [1941-2016], Georgia, Bob 'Bobbie' Gene [1942-2003], Santa Rosa, and Nathaniel [1947-2011], U. S. Army, Vietnam. (Information extracted from Sonoma West Times and News, Sebastopol, California, 31 December 1968, Tuesday, Page 5 and supplemented from Ancestry dot com). SGT Clifton was preceded in death by his father, William Marion Clifton [1898-1964] and a brother, Thelbert Ray Clifton [1935-1944]. SGT Mancol Raymond Clifton is buried in Sebastopol Memorial Lawn Cemetery, Sebastopol, Sonoma County, California along with his mother and brother Doyle. - - The Virtual Wall, 17 March 2023

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