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On the morning of December 5, 1969, two U.S.
Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-4C Phantom II jets from the 558th Tactical
Fighter Squadron, call signs Boxer 21 & 22, took off from Cam Ranh Bay
Air Base in Vietnam. When they were unable to contact a Forward Air
Controller (FAC) in central Laos, they were diverted northward to a
target near Ban Phanop, ten miles below Mu Gia Pass, a major entry to
the trail from North Vietnam. After a briefing by the FAC on station,
the Phantoms began their runs. Boxer 21 made the first run successfully.
Boxer 22 followed, but at the bottom of the dive, after releasing
ordnance, the aircraft was hit by ground fire causing the pilot and the
navigator to eject. Mayday and chute beepers were picked up by rescue
aircraft and radio contact with the Nail FAC confirmed that two good
chutes had been seen. Search and rescue operations began immediately.
The Phantom crewmen landed on either side of the Nam Ngo River. At 11:20
AM, a flight of USAF Douglas A-1 Skyraiders carrying antipersonnel
ordnance arrived on scene supplemented by F-100 Super Sabres and F-105
Thunderchiefs which beginning the first step of the rescue operation,
suppression of the ground fire. There was heavy antiaircraft fire from
both sides of the river, including a 37mm anti-aircraft gun located in a
cave at the foot of a karst 300 yards directly behind the downed
navigator. Intense groundfire during the afternoon drove off all
helicopters attempting rescue the stranded aviators. During a descent at
2:00 PM, an HH-53E Super Jolly Green Giant sustained multiple hits to
the fuselage and rotor system. A Pararescue Jumper aboard, tail gunner
A1C David M. Davison, was wounded in the head while firing suppressive
bursts from his gun position on the rear ramp of the helicopter. He died
enroute to Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Base. Davison was posthumously
awarded the Silver Star. Later that day, Major Benjamin F. Danielson,
pilot of the Boxer 22, was killed before he could be rescued. His back-seater,
Lieutenant Woodrow Bergeron was rescued.
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