Lam Son 719 was a large-scale offensive against
enemy communications lines which was conducted in
that part of Laos adjacent to the two northern
provinces of South Vietnam. The South Vietnamese
would provide and command ground forces, while
U.S. forces would furnish airlift and supporting fire.
Phase I, renamed Operation Dewey Canyon II,
involved an armored attack by the U.S. from
Vandegrift base camp toward Khe Sanh, while the
ARVN moved into position for the attack across the
Laotian border. Phase II began with an ARVN
helicopter assault and armored brigade thrust along
Route 9 into Laos. ARVN ground troops were
transported by American helicopters, while U.S. Air
Force provided cover strikes around the landing
zones.
During one of these maneuvers, CW2 Frederick L.
Cristman was flying a UH1C helicopter (serial
#65-9489) with a crew of three - SP4 Paul A.
Langenour, door gunner, WO1 Jon M. Sparks, co-pilot,
and SP5 Ricardo M. Garcia, crew chief -covering a
downed U.S. helicopter during a rescue effort.
Cristman's aircraft flew as the trail ship in a flight of
two UH1s on the armed escort mission.
The landing zone (LZ) was under fire, and the pilot of
the downed craft was a buddy of Fred's. He worked
the area with his minigun while another helicopter
successfully extracted the pilot. Cristman and his crew
continued to work the hot LZ while other helicopters
came in. His gunship was hit by enemy gunfire.
Cristman radioed in to the flight leader that his
transmission oil pressure caution light was on,
and that he was making an emergency landing on the
LZ. This was verified by the lead aircraft, who made
several passes over the downed helicopter. Cristman's
aircraft crashed into the ARVN perimeter, and was hit
on the roof by a mortar round just as the crew
jumped out. Cristman, his copilot and the crew chief
were thrown to the ground, while the door gunner,
SP4 Langenour, was able to exit the aircraft and
join a nearby ARVN unit which returned to a U.S.
military controlled area. The others remained with
the chopper, although this was not immediately
apparent from the air. The flight leader's aircraft was
also battle-damaged, and he had to leave the area.
Another helicopter arrived, and although enemy
ground fire was received, made it into the landing
zone. Intense enemy fire necessitated a hasty
departure, and only two Vietnamese troops were
picked up. During the initial rescue attempt by
the rescue helicopter, no American crewmen were
seen on the downed aircraft, and no radio contact
was established.
SP Langenour later stated that after landing, the
aircraft received numerous rounds of mortar fire and
he departed the area. He last saw all the other crew
members alive. Due to enemy activity in the area, no
ground search of the site was conducted.
Proof of the deaths of Cristman, Sparks and Garcia
was never found. No remains came home; none was
released from prison camp. They were not blown up,
nor did they sink to the bottom of the ocean.
Someone knows what happened to them.
Were it not for thousands of reports relating to
Americans still held captive in Southeast Asia today,
the families of the UH1C helicopter crew might be
able to believe their men died with their aircraft. But
until proof exists that they died, or they are brought
home alive, they will wonder and wait.
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