War Story:

From After Action Report: 11 November 1966: A battalion quick-reaction lift of the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry was accomplished this date, but not without a tragic loss of three members of the company and a total of three gunships. A Special Forces MIKE force was surrounded approximately 200 meters from the Cambodian border and had suffered 70% casualties. A total of eighteen slicks and six guns were involved in the assault to place the 1st of the 12th in a fire base position. Three guns were lost with a loss of seven lives and five wounded. 1LT Dee W. Stone, SP4 Edmond Schoenig, and Captain Walter R. Speare, who has been keeping this daily account of the company. The gunner, SP4 Gennardo, crawled nearly 1,000 meters through an airstrike and artillery barrage to the landing zone, although severely burned. One of the guns crashed on an enemy anti-aircraft emplacement, destroying the machine gun and the three enemy team members. In conjunction with this lift, a company of troops was airlifted to the Special Forces landing zone, without loss or injury, and effected rescue of the remaining force. Following the mission it was found that in the immediate vicinity of the original landing zone, two companies of 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine guns were located. Captain Speare and his crew were awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for their actions. Major Edwards, Major Gosney, Captain Courts, WO1 Williams, SGT Tomphins, PFC Bohannon, SP4 McAda, and PFC Spellman were all cited for heroism.

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RGK adds:

Some accounts put a Special Forces officer named Paul Hess on 08600, possibly as gunner. He was not. According to S.L.A. Marshall's "West to Cambodia" Hess was shot and killed earlier in the day on another Huey that attempted to get into the same LZ. As noted above, the 119th gunner on 08600, Gennardo, survived and, badly burned, E&E'd about 1000 meters to safety on an LZ.