ARD, RANDOLPH JEFFERSON

Name: Randolph Jefferson Ard
Rank/Branch: W1/US Army
Unit: Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry
Division
(Mechanized)
Date of Birth: 16 June 1951 (Pensacola FL)
Home City of Record: West Pensacola FL
Date of Loss: 07 March 1971
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 163700N 1063250E (XD653388)
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: OH58A
Refno: 1719

Other Personnel In Incident: Phil Bodenhorn; Jerry Castillo (rescued);
Sheldon J. Burnett (missing); Mike Castro (fate unknown)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 September 1990 from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources,
correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK.

REMARKS:   Survived to call MAYDAY

SYNOPSIS: LAM SON 719 was a large offensive operation against NVA
communications lines in Laos in the region adjacent to the two northern
provinces of South Vietnam. The operation was a raid in which ARVN troops would drive west from Khe Sanh on Route 9, cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail, seize Tchpone, some 25 miles away, and then return to Vietnam. The ARVN would provide and command the ground forces, while U.S. Army and Air Force would furnish aviation airlift and supporting firepower. The 101st Airborne
Division (Airmobile) commanded all U.S. Army aviation units in direct
support of the operation.

Most of the first part of the operation, begun January 30, 1971 was called
Operation DEWEY CANYON II, and was conducted by U.S. ground forces in
Vietnam. The ARVN met their halfway point on February 11 and moved into position for the attack across the Laotian border.

On 8 February, ARVN began pushing along Route 9 into Laos. The NVA reacted fiercely, committing some 36,000 troops to the area. The ARVN held its positions supported by U.S. airstrikes and resupply runs by Army
helicopters.

President Nguyen Van Thieu ordered a helicopter assault on Tchepone, and the abandoned village was seized March 6. Two weeks of hard combat were necessary for the ARVN task force to fight its way back to Vietnam.

Randy Ard had been in Vietnam only a few weeks when an emergency call came in for him to fly the squadron commander to a platoon command post to work his way down to his Third Platoon, which was in ambush in the northwest segment of South Vietnam. He flew his Kiowa Scout chopper from the 5th Mech and picked up LtCol. Sheldon Burnett, the squadron commander; Capt. Phil Bodenhorn, Alpha Company commander; and SP4 Mike Castro, Third Platoon RTO.

Ard mistakenly flew past the command post and west into Laos. Seeing yellow marking smoke, he took the chopper down lower. It was too late to pull up when they heard the sound of an RPD machine gun and AK-47's. They had been tricked into a North Vietnamese ambush.

The helicopter went down fast, and smashed into the brush, coming down on its side (or upside down, depending on the version of the account). Ard and Burnett were trapped in the wreckage, but alive. Ard got on the radio and began mayday calls. Bodenhorn and Castillo, who had been in the rear seat, got out of the aircraft. Bodenhorn managed to free Art, but he had two broken legs and possibly a broken hip. Burnett was completely pinned within the wreckage and injured, but alive. Bodenhorn and Castillo positioned themselves on opposite sides of the aircraft for security and expended all the colored smoke grenades they had, marking their position for rescue.

[Note: Mike Castro's name appears in one account of this incident, but his
fate is not given. He does not appear in a second account from the U.S. Army Casualty Board.]

Bodenhorn and Castillo soon heard North Vietnamese approaching, and killed these Vietnamese. The two listened for nearly an hour as others advanced towards their position from two directions, and 155 artillery rounds impacted very near them. They couldn't understand why they were not being rescued, unless it was because the enemy was so close to them. A helicopter flew over, but took heavy fire and left. They decided to leave Ard and Burnett and escape themselves. They told Ard, who nodded wordlessly. Burnett was drifting in and out of consciousness. Both men were alive.

Bodenhorn and Castillo worked their way to 80 yards away when a UH1C came in on a single run, firing flechette rockets which seemed to explode right on the downed chopper. Later, they watched an F4 roll in for a one-bomb strike over the crash site. Ard and Burnett were surely dead.

Bodenhorn and Castillo were rescued by ARVN troops an hour later. Ard and Burnett were classified Missing In Action. The story was released to
reporters at Khe Sanh three days later. The army spokesman accurately
described the ambush, but told the press that Burnett had been in radio
contact with the ambushed platoon, and that he and Ard had appeared dead to the two escaping officers. The names of the survivors were not released.

General Sutherland stated, ".. the decision was not made to employ the Air Cavalry and the Hoc Bao to attempt to retrieve either LtCol. Burnett alive or his body. ..Burnett had no mission nor units in Laos. He had no reason or authority to take his helicopter over the Laotian border."

After 11 days of heavy resistance, the 11th ARVN Airborne Battalion fought their way into the area where the helicopter had crashed. The searched the wreckage and the surrounding area for several days, but found no sign of the two missing men or any of their belongings or anything to indicate that either man was buried in the area.

In 1989, a large part of this loss incident was still classified.

There can be no question that Randy Ard and Sheldon Burnett were abandoned by the country they served.

Losses in LAM SON 719 were heavy. The ARVN suffered some 9,000 casualties, almost 50% of their force. U.S. forces incurred some 1,462 casualties. Aviation units lost 168 helicopters; another 618 were damaged. Fifty-five aircrewmen were killed in action , 178 were wounded and 34 were missing in action. There were 19,360 known enemy casualties for the operation lasting until April 6, 1971.

Nearly 600 Americans were lost in Laos during the war in Vietnam. Although the Pathet Lao stated on several occasions they held "tens of tens" of American prisoners, Laos was not included in the agreements ending American involvement in the war, and the U.S. has not negotiated for the freedom of these men since that day. Consequently, not one American held in Laos has ever been released.

These Americans, too, were abandoned.

God Bless You Randolph and may you be safe wherever you are

Name: CW3 Randolph Jefferson Ard
Status: Body Not Recovered from an incident on 03/07/1971 while performing the duty of Pilot.
Declared dead on 09/18/1978.
Age at death: 19.7
Date of Birth: 06/16/1951
Home City: West Pensacola, FL
Service: AV branch of the reserve component of the U.S. Army.
Unit: 1 BDE 5 MECH
Major organization:
Flight class: 70-31
Service: AV branch of the U.S. Army.
The Wall location: 04W-030
Short Summary: Shot down in Laos. Ard trapped in wreckage when NVA arrived. Passengers E&E. See Into Laos.
Aircraft: OH-58A tail number 68-16814
SSN: 264960907
Country: Laos
MOS: *
Primary cause: Laos-BNR
Major attributing cause: aircraft connected not at sea
Compliment cause: vehicular accident
Vehicle involved: helicopter
Position in vehicle: pilot
Vehicle ownership: government
Started Tour: 11/26/1970
"Official" listing: helicopter air casualty - pilot
The initial status of this person was: missing in action - bonified
Length of service: *
Military grid coordinates of event: XD652382
Reason: aircraft lost or crashed
Casualty type: Hostile - died while missing
single male U.S. citizen
Race: Caucasian
Religion: Protestant - no denominational preference
The following information secondary, but may help in explaining this incident.
Category of casualty as defined by the Army: battle dead Category of personnel: active duty Army Military class: warrant officer
This record was last updated on 02/21/1994

____________________________________________

Helicopter OH-58A 68-16814

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Information on U.S. Army helicopter OH-58A tail number 68-16814
The Army purchased this helicopter 0170
Total flight hours at this point: 00000563
Date: 03/07/1971 MIA-POW file reference number: 1719
Incident number: 71030725.KIA
Unit: HHC 1 BDE 5 INF
This was a Combat incident. This helicopter was LOSS TO INVENTORY
for Command and Control
Unknown this helicopter was Unknown at 0004 feet and 004 knots.
Laos
UTM grid coordinates: XD653388
Count of hits was not possible because the helicopter burned or exploded.
Small Arms/Automatic Weapons; Gun launched non-explosive ballistic projectiles less than 20 mm in size. (7.62MM)
Systems damaged were: PERSONNEL
Casualties = 02 DOI, 02 INJ . .
The helicopter Crashed. Aircraft Destroyed.
Both mission and flight capability were terminated.
Original source(s) and document(s) from which the incident was created or updated: Defense Intelligence Agency Reference Notes. Defense Intelligence Agency Helicopter Loss database. Survivability/Vulnerability Information Analysis Center Helicopter database. Also: 1719, LNNF, FM386, CASRP (Lindenmuth New Format Data Base. Casualty Report. )
Loss to Inventory

Crew Members:
P CW3 ARD RANDOLPH JEFFERSON BNR

Passengers and/or other participants:
COL BURNETT SHELDON JOHN, AR, PX, BNR



REFNO Synopsis:
Laos Randolph J. Ard Sheldon J. Burnett (1719) On March 7, 1971, Warrant Officer Ard and Lieutenant Colonel Burnett were with two other U.S. soldiers on an H-58 ostensively on a transport mission over South Vietnam. The aircraft was hit by hostile machine gun fire while at an altitude of 250-300 feet and crashed three kilometers from Ban Houay San Airfield, Savannakhet Province, Laos. After action reports indicate the aircraft was attempting to recover U.S. wounded in Laos when it was hit by groundfire. The two Army crew members who escaped the crash site reported that prior to leaving the site, Warrant Officer Ard had both legs broken, several bullet wounds and possibly a crushed hip. Lieutenant Colonel Burnett was bleeding from the head, neck, arms and was speaking incoherently. The site was taking incoming 155mm artillery fire, shrapnel from exploding rounds was hitting the aircraft after it crash landed, there was incoming rocket fire onto their position and People's Army of Vietnam forces were approaching their crashed aircraft. On March 18, 1971, South Vietnamese Army forces recaptured the area and were unable to locate any sign of the two U.S. officers. They reported the entire area showed clear evidence of the extremely heavy fighting which had taken place in the area which was within the Operation Lamson 719 area of tactical operations. North Vietnamese prisoners later interviewed in South Vietnam reported sightings of U.S. POWs being escorted north along the Ho Chi Minh Trail but none could be correlated to these two missing officers. Neither officer was ever reported alive in the northern Vietnamese prison system. Both individuals were reported missing and in May 1979 were declared dead/body not recovered. CASE SYNOPSIS: ARD, RANDOLPH JEFFERSON ============================================================================ Name: Randolph Jefferson Ard Rank/Branch: W1/US Army Unit: Date of Birth: 16 June 1951 Home City of Record: West Pensacola FL Date of Loss: 07 March 1971 Country of Loss: Laos Loss Coordinates: 163700N 1063250E Status (in 1973): Missing In Action Category: 2 Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: OH58A Other Personnel In Incident: Phil Bodenhorn; Jerry Castillo (rescued); Sheldon J. Burnett (missing) SYNOPSIS: Randy Ard had been in Vietnam only a few weeks when an emergency call came in for him to fly the squadron commander to a platoon command post to work his way down to his Third Platoon, which was in ambush in the northwest segment of South Vietnam. He flew his Kiowa Scout chopper from the 5th Mech and picked up LtCol. Sheldon Burnett, the squadron commander; Capt. Phil Bodenhorn, Alpha Company commander; and Sp4 Mike Castro, Third Platoon RTO. Ard mistakenly flew past the command post and west into Laos. Seeing yellow marking smoke, he took the chopper down lower. It was too late to pull up when they heard the sound of an RPD machine gun and AK-47's. They had been tricked into a North Vietnamese ambush. The helicopter went down fast, and smashed into the brush, coming down on its side. Ard and Burnett were helplessly trapped in the wreckage, but alive. Ard got on the radio and began mayday calls. Bodenhorn and Castillo got out of the aircraft and soon heard North Vietnamese approaching. Bodenhorn and Castillo killed these Vietnamese, and listened for nearly an hour as others advanced towards their position. They couldn't understand why they were not being rescued, unless it was because the enemy was so close to them. A helicopter flew over, but took heavy fire and left. They decided to leave Ard and Burnett and escape themselves. They told Ard, who nodded wordlessly. Barnett was drifting in and out of consciousness. The two worked their way to 80 yards away when a UH1C came in on a single run, firing flechette rockets which seemed to explode right on the downed chopper. Later, they watched an F4 roll in for a one-bomb strike over the crash site. Ard and Burnett were surely dead. Bodenhorn and Castillo were rescued by ARVN troops an hour later. Ard and Burnett were classified Missing In Action. The story was releasd to reporters at Khe Sanh three days later. The army spokesman accurately described the ambush, but told the press that Burnett had been in radio contact with the ambushed platoon, and that he and Ard had appeared dead to the two escaping officers. The names of the survivors were not released. General Sutherland stated, ".. the decision was not made to employ the Air Cavalry and the Hoc Bao to attempt to retrieve either LtCol. Burnett alive or his body. ..Burnett had no mission nor units in Laos. He had no reason or authority to take his helicopter over the Laotian border."

This record was last updated on 05/25/1998