Ricky Wittner
Ricky “R.D.” Wittner joined the army in 1969 at the age of 19, motivated by the death of his next door neighbor. By February of 1970 he was a flight engineer and door gunner on a Chinook helicopter in Vietnam. Ultimately, he served an 11-month deployment in Vietnam.
Wittner was a crewman on a CH-47 Chinook that was shot down on July 10,1970. At the time of the accident, the chinook was hovering over a load of empty fuel blivets when it took RPG in aft plyon. The chinook had just picked up 15 passengers. According to others involved, “the crew had been flying regular missions all day, a Friday, and late in the day, three of us had been flying together most of the day, and were finishing up together.”
After being struck by the RPG to the rear of the aircraft and the chinook crashed. The cockpit broke off and immediately rolled over. The left door gunner was killed on impact. Wittner, who was serving as the right door gunner and crew chief survived and was able to make it to safety. The copilot and aircraft commander crawled out through the outside air temperature gauge window. Both had small injuries and were not burned.
Wittner, who was one of those wounded in the attack, was medivacked to the hospital where he spent 28 days. After he was released, he asked to go back into combat despite his hands still being bandaged. After additional time in the country, R.D. Wittner returned home.
After his time in the Army was complete, Wittner returned to Texas and married
