Coffman, Clyde Lee

Three men of the 121st Assault Helicopter Company died when their UH-1H (tail number 66-16991) was hit in the cabin by a B-40 rocket, crashed, and burned. The pilot, WO Ed Skuza, and the copilot, name unknown, survived with injuries. The three men killed were

· SGT William Louis Vaspory, gunner

· SP4 Thomas Joseph Silva, crew chief

· SP5 Clyde Lee Coffman, gunner

UH-1H 66-16991 was named "Tiger Surprise" and had been with the 121st since January 1969. There are several mentions of "Tiger Surprise" to be found on the Internet.

 

Tiger Surprise