12 Dec 2003 My father, Sergeant James A. Drummond, named me after Randall. Randall P. Drummond

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall In mid-November 1970 a recon team from the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion got in trouble while on patrol: their Corpsman broke his leg, necessitating that the team be extracted. Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263 was tasked with extracting them, a task that turned out to be impossible for two days. On the third day, in CH-46D (BuNo 154837), the HMM-263 crew succeeded in picking up the eight-man team - but all fifteen men aboard the CH-46 died when it collided with a mountainside after the extraction. Three of the crewmen were from HMM-263, two from H&MS-16; the Commanding Officer of the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion was aboard, as well as the extracted team. Aircrew: 1LT Orville C. Rogers, Dallas, TX; pilot, HMM-263 1LT James E. Stolz, Hicksville, NY; copilot, HMM-263 SGT Robert A. Donnell, Clymer, NY; crew chief, HMM-263 CPL Enver Bajin, College Point, NY; gunner, H&MS-16 LCPL Richard R. Buttry, Anaheim, CA; gunner, H&MS-16 1st Recon Battalion: LTC William G. Leftwich, Germantown, TN; CO, 1st Recon 1LT Cleveland R. Harvey, Alexandria, VA; B Co HM2 Russell G. Daniels, Phoenix, AZ; B Co CPL Randall P. Manela, Eugene, OR; B Co CPL John F. Stockman, Marcus Hook, PA; B Co CPL Fernando Villasana, El Paso, TX; B Co LCPL David V. Delozier, Altoona, PA; B Co LCPL Gary D. Hudson, Joplin, MO; B Co LCPL Charles A. Pope, Independence, MO; B Co LCPL Robert E. Tucker, Abbyville, KS; B Co More information is available on the Pop-A-Smoke site

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