“ You may be gone, no longer living on this earth;
but you will live on - in the memories of your family and friends.
There will always be a part of you living in your family and those who knew you and loved you. You will live on because we remember you! "
Allen Richard Lloyd
Banch: E5/US Army Special Forces
Unit: CCN/MACV-SOG, 5th Special Forces Group
Date of Birth: 21 February 1949 (Rochester MN)
Home City of Record: St. Charles MN
Date of Loss: 18 February 1971
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 160431N 1071910E (YC481785)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: UH1H
Refno: 1706
SYNOPSIS: WO Gerald E. Woods, pilot; WO George P. Berg, aircraft commander; SP4 Gary L. Johnson, door gunner; SP4 Walter Demsey, crew chief; were assigned to Company A, 101st Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division.
On February 18, 1971, their UH1H was dispatched as part of a flight of four on an emergency patrol extraction mission on the west side of the A Shau Valley in Thua Tin Province, South Vietnam. The patrol to be rescued included Sgt. Allen R. Lloyd, Capt. Ronald L. Watson and SFC Samuel Hernandez, part of Special Operations Augmentation, Command & Control North, 5th Special Forces Group.
The team was assigned to MACV-SOG (Military Assistance Command, Vietnam Studies and Observation Group). MACV-SOG was a joint service high command unconventional warfare task force engaged in highly classified operations throughout Southeast Asia. The 5th Special Forces channeled personnel into MACV-SOG (although it was not a Special Forces group) through Special Operations Augmentation (SOA), which provided their “cover” while under secret orders to MACV-SOG. The teams performed deep penetration missions of strategic reconnaissance and interdiction which were called, depending on the time frame, “Shining Brass” or “Prairie Fire” missions.
During the attempt to recover the patrol, Woods’ helicopter came under heavy fire and had to leave the pick-up zone with Lloyd, Watson and Hernandez attached to the three-staple rig. While in flight, the rope broke, and Hernandez fell 30-40 feet, landing in double canopy jungle. He was rescued the following day. The helicopter continued a short distance, and was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire, crashed and burned.
On February 19, 1971, a Special Forces recovery team was inserted at the crash site to search the area. Woods and Berg were found dead in their seats. Johnson’s body was found in a tree. One leg of Demsey, the burned crew chief, was found in the cargo compartment. All remains were prepared for extraction, and the team left to establish a night defensive position. En route, the team found the remains of Lloyd and Watson, still on their rope slings, in the trees on the edge of a cliff. Because of the rugged terrain and approaching darkness, the rescue team leader decided to wait until morning to recover these two remains. However, the following morning, the search team came under intense fire, and the team leader requested an emergency extraction, and in doing so, left all remains behind.
All the crew and passengers on board the UH1H downed on the border of Laos and Vietnam west of the A Shau Valley that day were confirmed dead. It is unfortunate, but a reality of war that their remains were left behind out of necessity to protect the lives of the search team who found them. They are listed with honor among the missing because their remains cannot be buried with honor at home.
The Missing Men of RT Intruder
RT Intruder performed highly classified, strategic reconnaissance and interdiction missions along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. These missions were most often performed in Laos, well beyond radio range and artillery support.
In early 1971, RT Intruder, SOA CCN, MACV-SOG was manned by three American Special Forces troopers.The Team Leader, or One Zero, was CPT. Ronald L. (Doc) Watson. The second in command, or One One, was SGT. Allen R. (Baby Jesus) Lloyd and I, Raymond L. (Robby) Robinson, was the One Two. Additionally, the team had ten, Bru Montagnard tribesmen assigned. The team makeup changed, according to the needs of the mission but, most of our missions were conducted with all three Americans and five of the Bru tribesmen.
Watson was nicknamed "Doc", because he had a Ph.D. I was and still am called "Robby", because it is a contraction of my last name. Allen's nickname was special!
We trained some of the Chopper crews in one of our methods of exfiltration, the STABO rig. STABO operations consisted of using four, 120' ft. ropes attached to the floor of the helicopter and each rope secured to one of the STABO harnesses that each team member wore. On this training day, Jon Caviani and Allen Lloyd decided to train with the chopper crews. The helicopter ascended, dangling two crewmen, Caviani and Allen on the ropes below. Allen didn't weigh as much as the others and his rope didn't stretch as much as did the other three. Consequently, he was about five feet higher than the rest.
The pilot decided to give his "passengers" a bath! The training area was on the ocean near Danang, the chopper flew over the breakers and slowly, gently, lowered his cargo into the warm waters of the South China Sea! Three of the "trainees" found themselves standing, knee deep, in the charging surf, with Allen suspended above them! A large wave rushed at the helpless men and broke where they were standing. A turquoise wall of briny water slapped them in their chests! The water washed over their heads and cascaded down their backs. Allen only got the bottoms of his boots wet.
The chopper hauled them back into the air and ferried them back to the camp. When the camp residents saw these "drowned rats", one of them asked how Allen had managed to stay dry. Caviani replied, "Hell, that's baby Jesus! You know that he walks on water!" The name stuck and Allen Lloyd wore that appellation with pride and good humor. "After all," he exclaimed, "if you are a member of RT Intruder, you're expected to walk on water." (Jon Caviani was later awarded the MOH)
Unlike most units, the officers on CCN recon teams did not segregate from the troops. We lived in the same small "hootch", laughed together, drank together and learned to anticipate each others actions. Rank was immaterial in the hierarchy of Recon Company. The position of "One Zero" went to the man with the most experience or demonstrated the most ability. We became closer than brothers. CPT Watson, SGT Lloyd and I quickly became best friends.
On 18 February 1971, we pulled our final mission together.
RT Intruder was being considered for a HALO mission. For this reason, our performance was to be evaluated on a road interdiction mission in the Ashau Valley. SFC Sammy Hernandez and SFC Charles Wesley joined our team as "strap hangers". They would determine if we got the nod for the HALO training and subsequent missions. Both of these men were already HALO qualified and needed team members that they could trust for these difficult missions.
The A Shau was probably the most NVA infested area south of Hanoi! This valley was not a place for amateurs, and a road interdiction mission was doubly hazardous. RT Intruder was judged to be ready. The mission of road interdiction required that we go in a little heavier than usual so, the addition of two Americans was welcomed.
The ten of us choppered in to a small clearing, west of the Ashau Valley and just over the Laotion border. We waited for the choppers to leave and tried to attune our ears to the jungle noises. Threading our way through the lush jungle growth, we disappeared into the forest. Travelling east, we soon crossed the Vietnamese border and arrived at the westernmost ridge of the Ashau.
The ridgeline was heavily canopied and there, hidden by the overhanging boughs and safe from aerial observation, was the road! This wasn't just a trail. A large truck could travel on this veritable highway!
We crossed the road and that's where we ran into trouble. We made contact with a small element and quickly put them to flight. All around us was enemy movement from a much larger unit. We decided to call for a STABO extraction. I had captured an NVA couriers rucksack that had several documents so, it was decided that I would go out on the first bird with Wesley and two of the Bru. The chopper struggled to lift us in the thin, mountain air and almost crashed. Because the first bird had so much trouble, only three Montagnards were extracted on the next lift. This left Watson, Lloyd and Hernandez for the last helicopter.
Wesley and I didn't know that anything had gone wrong until we started to land at a 101st ABN DIV firebase. Instead of lowering us to the pad, the helicopter made a flared landing. The chopper slammed us into the ground outside of the perimeter and dragged us through the concertina wire. An engineer stake pierced me and left me unable to walk. Another helicopter evacuated us to the hospital at Phu Bai.
After being released from the hospital, I learned the horrible truth. The last helicopter had crashed! A Bright Light Team had gone in and found Watson and Lloyd, dead in their STABO rigs, hanging over the side of a cliff. The chopper crewmen were also killed in the bird. Sammy Hernandez was not with them. The Bright Light Team came under intense enemy fire and were not able to recover the bodies. Sammy was found back at the infiltration LZ. His STABO rope broke, during the exfiltration and dropped him 30-40 feet, to the ground. NVA pressure forced him to evade the area. He didn't realize that the chopper crashed until he was rescued.
Later missions to the area, located the helicopter but, the bodies were not there. Presumably, they were taken by the NVA.
Source: Compiled from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK in 2020. Other Personnel in Incident: Walter E. Demsey; Gary L. Johnson; Gerald E. Woods; George P. Berg; (all missing from UH1H); Ronald L. Watson (missing from Special Forces team) REMARKS: KIA CRASH – REMS TAGD – NO RECV – J