Silver Spurs
A Troop, 3/17th Air Cav
KIA-BNR Biographies
A Troop, 3/17th Air Cav
KIA-BNR Biographies
SCOUTS
Missing Soldiers' Table
Silver Spur 2002 Reunion
Photo Courtesy of Jim Higgins
Thomas W. Knuckey
Courtesy of Pamela Cole
Philip C. Taylor
Courtesy of the Taylor family
KNUCKEY, THOMAS WILLIAM
TAYLOR, PHILIP CHARLES
27 May 1971
Picture taken of Lt. Knuckey (right) & Sgt. Taylor (left)
at Quan Loi approx. 1/2 hour prior to fatal mission
[From Dan Sutherland's collection]
Picture taken of Lt. Knuckey (right) & Sgt. Taylor (left)
at Quan Loi approx. 1/2 hour prior to fatal mission
[From Dan Sutherland's collection]
- Name: Thomas William Knuckey
Rank/Branch: 02/US Army
Unit: Troop A, 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry, 12th Aviation Group
Date of Birth: 02 June 1945 (Morriston NJ)
Home City of Record: Wharton NJ
Date of Loss: 27 May 1971
Country of Loss: Cambodia
Loss Coordinates: 120105N 10631333 (XU661289)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2 Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: OH58A
Other Personnel in Incident: Phillip C. Taylor (missing)
Name: Philip Charles Taylor
Rank/Branch: E5/US Army
Unit: Troop A, 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry, 12th Aviation Group
Date of Birth: 15 April 1949 (Elmyra NY)
Home City of Record: Grand Island NY
Date of Loss: 27 May 1971
Country of Loss: Cambodia
Loss Coordinates: 120105N 10631333 (XU661289)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2 Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: OH58A
Other Personnel in Incident: Thomas William Knuckey (missing)
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: On May 27, 1971, 1Lt. Thomas W. Knuckey was the pilot and
Sgt. Philip C. Taylor the observer on board an OH58A helicopter
which was part of a force conducting battle damage assessment (BDA)
in Kracheh Province, Cambodia, where air strikes had been made in
attempts to destroy an enemy machine gun position. The location of
the gun emplacement was near the border of Cambodia and South Vietnam,
about 8 miles southeast of the city of Snuol.
[From Dan Sutherland's collection]
[From Dan Sutherland's collection]
During Knuckey's final pass over the gun emplacement, his aircraft was hit by enemy groundfire, and exploded while still in flight. The helicopter then crashed and exploded a second time and burned. Witnesses reported that the crew could not have survived. Because of heavy enemy activity in the area, a ground search was not possible.
Knuckey and Taylor were [until 1993] listed as killed, bodies not recovered.
Additional Information
1/98: NOTE: DIA/DoD lists both Knuckey and Taylor's remains recovered 26 FEB 93 with a remains identification of 10 AUG 93. I thank Andi Wolos of AIIPOWMIA, Inc. for this information.
10/00: Both soldiers are interred in Section 34 Grave 4323 at Arlington National Cemetery. Please see: 2000 D.C. Mini-Reunion
Courtesy of Pam Young
The Recovery of 1Lt. Thomas W. Knuckey
& Sgt. Philip C. Taylor
Courtesy of the Taylor family - Synopsis of JTF-FA search and recovery of our
fellow troopers in 1993
DPMO Reports
Additional case details on KNUCKEY, THOMAS WILLIAM (from PMSEA)
Additional case details on TAYLOR, PHILIP CHARLES (from PMSEA)
For additional Spur information on Sgt. Taylor, please see: Silver Spurs Photo Corner
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JTF-FA CASE REOPENED on
Spurs Gregory Antunano & Randall Dalton!
Read JTF-FA report dtd 14 Apr 03 provided by Gary Antunano: 
Antunano/Dalton PDF File
[Posted 16 Dec 03]
Please allow time to download and open PDF file!
Note: For privacy, Pam redacted address and phone number
Requires free Adobe® software to open
===============
UPDATE: 26 July 2006
GOOD NEWS TO REPORT!
7/26/2006
Mr. Young, [Spur Trooper & Webmaster]
Antunano and Dalton were lost in Cambodia on 24 July 1971 and a grave site at XU6928036344 and possibly some of the crash site at XU6925636319 are scheduled to be excavated this October [2006] in Cambodia.
Keep your fingers crossed.
Special Assistant to the Commanding General
Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC)
JPAC Command Staff
UPDATE: 24 July 2006
From Gary Antunano:
Sunday July 23, 2006, Daily Republic
Brother of MIA still waiting for closure
by Ian Thompson
Daily Republic
FAIRFIELD -- Recent evidence about the fate of a Fairfield man's brother who was shot down over Cambodia 35 years ago has him hopeful that his brother's remains may finally come home.
Lack of funding to send a Joint Task Force-Full Accounting excavation team over there has Gary Antunano frustrated that this final closure may still be more than a year off.
"I am in the waiting period now for the excavation," said Antunano. "It could be a couple of years. It could be next year."
Funding cutbacks to the JTF-FA command due to other military needs has put the excavation of the possible site of Army Sgt. Gregory Antunano remains in a holding pattern.
Recently collected eyewitness accounts of the crash site and a possible grave site have pushed the excavation high on the Task Force's list of recovery projects.
Monday marks 35 years since Greg Antunano crashed in Cambodia "and I just don't want him forgotten," said Gary Antunano who was only 8 years old at the time.
But with only enough funds to carry out one excavation a year, the excavation of Greg Antunano's crash site remains undone.
"This year, my brother's case is the backup case for this year's excavations," Gary Antunano said. "Funding for the Task Force is not good due to the war."
Greg and Gary Antunano grew up in South San Francisco, with Greg born 14 years before Gary. Gary worshiped his brother, enjoying wrestling with him and getting rides in Greg's car.
Greg Antunano joined the Army in 1968, became an Airborne Ranger and was sent to South Vietnam where he was wounded twice in the first six months he was there.
His love of flying got him a job flying [in] the OH-6 Loach helicopter, the small, egg-shaped helicopters which the 1st Cavalry Division used to search for the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army.
In mid-July 1971, Greg Antunano became part of the [ARVN] invasion of Cambodia to destroy the NVA supply bases and sanctuaries hidden there.
One month before he was due to come home, Greg Antunano flew into Cambodia on July 24 as an observer on a Loach to look for the NVA near Snoul, Cambodia. The Loach was shot down.
A medivac helicopter found the pilot alive with a broken leg, but Greg Antunano was found dead inside the helicopter. Another crewman died at the site before he could be evacuated.
The two bodies were left at the site because of fears the NVA were nearby, but when the Americans came back the next day, they found the helicopter stripped and the bodies gone.
The family has lobbied since to find Gary Antunano's body and bring it home.
Gary Antunano's father died in 1986, without ever knowing his son's fate. His mother, Virginia Antunano lobbied hard to get her son's remains found and returned.
She died in 2001 and now Gary Antunano is carrying on the fight to bring closure for his family.
"I would like to get anything home to bury with my parents," Gary Antunano said. "If not, I want to go to Cambodia to see my brother's final resting place." [End]
Webmaster's note: JTF-FA is currently known as JPAC.
DALTON, RANDALL DAVID
24 July 1971
Randall David Dalton
Courtesy of Dan Rhodes
- Name: Gregory Alfred Antunano
Rank/Branch: E5/US Army
Unit: Troop A, 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry (Air Cavalry), 12th Aviation Group
Date of Birth: 18 May 1949
Home City of Record: San Francisco, CA.
Date of Loss: 24 July 1971
Country of Loss: Cambodia
Loss Coordinates: 120327N 10635223 (XU730333)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2 Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: OH6A
Other Personnel in Incident: Randall D. Dalton (missing); Timothy G. Wiltrout (rescued)
Name: Randall David Dalton
Rank/Branch: E4/US Army
Unit: Troop A, 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry (Air Cavalry), 12th Aviation Group
Date of Birth: 05 December 1950 (Alton IL)
Home City of Record: Collinsville IL
Date of Loss: 24 July 1971
Country of Loss: Cambodia
Loss Coordinates: 120327N 10635223 (XU730333)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2 Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: OH6A
Other Personnel in Incident: Gregory A. Antunano (missing); Timothy G. Wiltrout (rescued)
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: The 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry was part of the 12th Aviation Group during its service in Vietnam. It was responsible for air cavalry support in the western part of III Corps Tactical Zone. In late 1970 it was placed under the operational control of the Ist Cavalry Division to form a highly successful ad hoc air cavalry brigade.
On July 24, 1971, WO1 Timothy G. Wiltrout, pilot; Sgt. Gregory A. Antunano, observer; and SP4 Randall D. Dalton, door gunner; were crew members on an OH6A "Loach" observation helicopter (serial #68-17257) which was shot down by enemy fire while on a reconnaissance mission in Cambodia. The aircraft went down about 5 miles inside Cambodia, in Kracheh Province, just a few miles southeast of the city of Snuol.
When rescuers arrived at the crash site, they found the pilot outside the downed aircraft. He suffered a broken leg in the incident, but was otherwise unhurt. The other two crew members were still strapped in their seats inside the wreckage. Both were taken out of the helicopter and at that time, SP/4 Dalton was still alive. Sgt. Antunano was believed to be dead.
[3/17th Note: According to Vern Gregrory, Spur Observer, the aircraft crashed in triple-canopy jungle. The medic had to be lowered through the thick jungle canopy via a penetrator to reach the wreckage and evacuate the pilot, WO1 Wiltrout. This thick canopy greatly impacted efforts to recover the bodies of Gregory Antunano and Randall Dalton. Vern states "We did recon in that area the next day."]
A short time later, SP/4 Dalton stopped breathing. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. The medic checked both Dalton and Antunano several times, and told other rescuers that they were dead.
With the heavy concentration of enemy soldiers in the area, search and rescue aircraft evacuated the rescue team and Wiltrout, the pilot. Because of overwhelming enemy presence, no attempt was made to extract the two bodies. They were left lying near the downed helicopter.
The following day, several SAR aircraft returned to the location in an attempt to recover Antunano and Dalton, but noted that the aircraft had been stripped and moved several feet. Personal effects of the crew, such as their helmets, weapons and the aircraft radio had also been removed. Sgt. Antunano and SP/4 Dalton's bodies were gone. A search of the area from the air did not reveal fresh graves or any sign of the two men.
Antunano and Dalton's bodies were never found. They are listed with honor among the missing because their remains are still on enemy soil.
Additional Information
Oct 2000: NOTE - DIA/DoD lists Antunano and Dalton at this time officially as KIA/BNR nor is there future plans for recovery at this time. Since their bodies were moved by the NVA it will be most difficult locating their remains, but with new cooperation from the Cambodia authorities, (see: DASD Jones Cambodia/China Trip Report, 24 Jan - 01 Feb 00) we will continue to work for their return..
Nov 2000: Reference Randall Dalton from Bob Wallace *:
Bob Wallace"
- Roger Young - Webmaster
UPDATE - Dec 03:
Recently I spoke with Gary Antunano, brother of Gregory Antunano, regarding the case of Gregory Antunano and Randall Dalton who were both lost but never recovered inside Cambodia on 24 July 71 when their OH-6 was shot down by enemy fire.
Gary informed me that JPAC (formerly JTF-FA) plans to excavate a new potential burial site in Jan-Mar or 2004 or 2005. This case had been closed but due to new eye-witness testimony there is new hope that their remains might yet be found & recovered.
We hope and pray that JPAC is successful for the families, friends & comrades of Greg and Randy.
- Roger Young - Webmaster
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following in from B Troop 3/17th Slick pilot, Roger Searcy, regarding the rescue of Wiltrout.
Searcy can be reached at: AirRog76@aol.com
I thank Roger for allowing me to share this with my fellow Spurs. If you have questions, comments, please contact Roger Searcy directly.
=============
9/04/2001
From: AirRog76@aol.com
To: BEAR317@aol.com
Hi Bear,
Good job on the site... I noticed a request for the KIA MIA for 3/17.... I saw the report on MIA Antunano and Dalton.... I was the Slick (A/C B Trp) that picked up Wiltrout... I had just been released that day and was flying back from Tay Ninh to Phu Loi... on board I had CE Beck and Gunner Elrod... also I had Mike Long, a Loach pilot with B TRP, and an ARVN interpreter
I got a call that help was needed south of Snoul, in Cambodia... we were full of fuel and headed in that direction... when we got there we were told that A TRP had dropped off a medic to help but he fell from a great height and was wounded and needed assistance also.... when I manuevered my ship I could see the wreck and Wiltrout up against a tree.
It took a long time to get low enough for someone to get on the "Rig", a long piece of rope with a log tied to the end, as a jungle penatrator.... without the graces of Charley and Elrod we would not have made it... the tail rotor was just feet from the trees and between manuverings it took about 5 minutes to get in place.. a long time when someone needs help but we had to stay right.
Charley Beck wanted to go down the rope and so did Elrod, but Mike Long said he would do it and keep our crew intact... it took a while but Beck and Elrod got the rope as far down as they could... Mike Long, Stogie 18, went down that rope and did all he and the A trp medic could do....
I hovered for forty five minutes, and remembering that Ed Lee, my great buddy and Peter Pee that day, asked if I needed a break, I told him I was afraid to turn loose.. we were so tight in the trees and not because of his abilities... when after a time I wondered what was going on, the site being on my blind side, SGT Beck would fire a shot to get Mike's attention and Mike would send a note via our penetrator, and Charley would hall it on board and then drop the line back down.
Mike tied Wiltrout on the line.. God knows how he carried him up the tree to do that.. the line was about15 feet off the ground...... it took a long time to manuever Wiltrout above the canopy but we made it. The Medavc boys weren't allowed across the "Fence" and we cried for one... We couldn't get back in time for Mike Long and the medic to be rescued... One fine Medavac crew said "Shove it" and went in to pull Mike and the Medic out... Mike said that the bad guys were on the trail and when he and the A TRP Medic got on it that the bad guys were there.. Mike said the Penatrator kept spinning and when it came to his time, he just shot.... the medic was incapacitated and could only hang on. Bless them MEDEVAC BOYS!!
We went to the Viet/ Cambodia border and had another Medevac waiting in Tall Cotton (Unsecured) as they say... before we got there the bad guys were shootin, not at us but at Wiltrout on the rope... we kept swinging Wiltrout... they missed! When we got back to Loc Ninh we had bout 70 pounds of fuel indicated.. we flew back high knowing our fuel state... Lucky Me.And Bless my crew..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2 Jun 05
My name is Mike Bergbauer. I was the Medic who was initially inserted to rescue Randy, Antunano and MR. Wiltrout. If I could answer any question anyone might have about that day I would do so.
You have done an outstanding job remembering some very fine soldiers.
Thanks again,
3 Jun 05
Mike Bergbauer - I feel - having been on one of the choppers in that area watching things unfold, deserves a hero's mention - absolutely for sure, for what he did that day getting on the ground to give medical aid to those men. Captain Wiltrout was the rescued and Mike was one of the rescuers. He was an amazing (hero) medic who should have been given a Silver Star for heroism above and beyound the call. Did anyone tell you he wouldn't leave until Wiltrout was out of that site? True! He was hurt and carried on to save that also hurt pilot.
25 Jul 05
I was the first Slick on site after the crash and I inserted Mike Bergbauer on the site. I was able to come to a hover in the trees over the crash and finding that what slings and ropes we were able to put together were not long enough to reach. With some maneuvering and chopping of branches, was able to get the end of the rope about 15 to 20 feet from the ground. Mike went down the rope and had to drop resulting in injury to himself. I stayed on site till relieved, flew to Tay Ninh and picked up another aircraft due to damage to my main and tail rotors. I then flew back to an LZ near the crash where WO Wiltrout arrived on the end of a rope hanging from another aircraft. We picked him up and flew him to a medical facility. I would like to say I was impressed by the selfless dedication of all involved in this rescue especially to Mike Bergbauer for his willingness to put his life on the line for others.
Spur 22
A Troop, 3/17cav
9/70-9/71
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DPMO Reports
Additional case details on ANTUNANO, GREGORY ALFRED (from PMSEA)
Additional case details on DALTON, RANDALL DAVID (from PMSEA)
-----------------------------
[ Biographies courtesy of Homecoming II Project ]
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