From the comments section of the Incident report submitted by Navy Captain Ansley Horton, they were shuttling bags of flour/rice into country from the 'Sweet Pea' (USS Princeton) due to horrendous flooding from the monsoons and the vietnamese were starving. I remember the Mayday call and could see the bird auto rotating, and could see bags of flour being thrown out to lighten the bird. When the pilot tried to gently let the aircraft roll on it's side, the blades hit the water and it violently flipped over to the other side. My thoughts have always been of Richard [CPL Richard Don Slack] who obviously, as part of The Team going to deliver food to starving people, who all of a sudden found himself in a personal challenge of survival...and who chose to stand up and make a difference fully knowing he could and did make the ultimate sacrifice. Slack was recovered but could not be revived while Nipper's body was not recovered. According to a Georgia State Senate Transportation Resolution from the time, David Nipper was born in Douglas, Coffee County, Georgia, on September 15, 1940, the son of Jesse Nipper and Oleph Kirkland Nipper. He grew up in a big family, with 11 brothers and 7 sisters. He spent his boyhood in Coffee County, enjoying sports and outdoor activities. He was a bright student, reading whenever he wasn't outdoors, an active member of the Future Teachers of America, and the winner of the 1958 Future Teachers of America Essay Contest; and he graduated from Nicholls High School and attended Berry College in Rome, Georgia. He courageously answered his country's call to defend freedom halfway around the world. Read more details and witness reports here. -- The Virtual Wall

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