DAVID DONALD BERDAHL

Served as a Lancer prior to KIA while serving in new unit

01/16/1953 - 01/20/1972

HOME OF RECORD

MINOT, ND

PFC – E3 - Army – Regular

Casualty was on Jan 20, 1972

QUANG TRI PROVINCE, SOUTH VIETNAM

STATUS – KIA

Hostile, died of wounds

HELICOPTER – CREW

AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND

 

Lancer Carl Raastad: PFC David D. Berdahl was a Lancer (B/158th Avn) crib attendant/parts clerk for about 6 months when we stood down and was transferred to D Troop 3/5 Cav. at Phu Bai.

He became 19 on Jan 16 1972 and was assigned as Door Gunner.

4 days later January 20 1972 his aircraft was shot down, While on a rescue mission,

I believe northwest of Quang Tri.

He is on the wall of faces.

 

Family clings to missing son’s memory

MINOT, N.D. -- Minot native and U.S. Army Private 1st Class, David D. Berdahl, is one of the many servicemembers who was deemed missing in action during the Vietnam conflict. Arlene Berdahl, David's mother, and Linda Seaman, sister, seen here holding memorabilia of David, still remember their family hero nearly 40 years later. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Jesse Lopez)

MINOT, N.D --  In the fall of 1971, David D. Berdahl, a local Minot resident, took an oath to protect his country when he enlisted in the U.S. Army during a time of war.

At the age of 17, David begged his parents for their consent to enlist, but due to the dangers of the Vietnam War, his parents quickly denied his every request.

However, when he turned 18, David took on the responsibility to sign for himself.

"He came to us as soon as he turned 18 and said, 'I am ready. You don't have to sign for me now. It's not your responsibility anymore,'" said Arlene Berdahl, David's mother.

His parents' decision came from the fear of never knowing if they would ever see their son again if they allowed him to leave.

When he signed for himself, Arlene replayed David's words, "Oh don't get shook Ma, I'll be back," continuously as comfort.

Following his initial training, he received leave for a few days from Joint Base Lewis McChord, Wash., before deploying to Vietnam.

David's mission in life was to save the world. Enlisting provided him the opportunity to defend his country, as well as others.

"He never really showed any emotion toward going to war," Arlene said. "I guess it was one of his dreams to go. I don't know where he ever decided it, but he did it."

The constant thought of her son being in danger and at war left Arlene worried for a long time until she began receiving letters which eased her mind.

Arlene learned in the letters that her son had become a helicopter tail gunner for rescue missions instead of a mechanic like she believed he would be before he deployed.

"I thought 'oh my gosh, how did he get himself into that,'" Arlene said. "But that was David, you couldn't tell him different."

On Jan. 20, 1972, David set out on a mission to rescue injured soldiers, but his helicopter came too close to enemy fire and was shot down. Another helicopter was there to assist with his rescue, but due to enemy fire and since the helicopter was engulfed in flames, they could not get close enough to provide assistance.

Two days after the helicopter went down, Donald Berdahl, David's father, told Arlene to come downstairs as a soldier and a Casualty Assistance Officer were walking toward the house.

"I knew right away," Arlene said. "I thought 'oh my.' All they told me was he was missing in action."

The Berdahl family received updates from the government on the search for David through letters, but it was never confirmed that anything was found or that anyone was rescued.

"It took a long time for me to find out that his remains would not be returning home," Arlene said.

Nearly three months later, in April 1972, the Berdahl family held a memorial service on behalf of David.

"It's hard to go to the cemetery-- and it's just the marker," Arlene said. "That's that hardest."

As a young man, David was known throughout the Minot community for always willing to assist others when needed. His disappearance during the Vietnam conflict affected everyone he surrounded himself with.

"It still very much affects me," Linda Seaman, David's sister said. "I never got over it and I never will, but I still want to bring him home."

Nearly 40 years later, the Berdahl family clings to the letters they exchanged, as well as a cassette tape he recorded while he was deployed.

"I thought maybe one day he would just come walking through the door," Arlene said. "I thought maybe he was just a prisoner, and he would come walking through the door, but it's never happened."

The last dig at the coordinates where David's helicopter went down was conducted in 1997. Although pieces of the aircraft were discovered, no signs of David have been identified.

"I think somebody someday will find something," Seaman said. "It may be his remains or his dog tags, something so we can bring him home.

FINAL MISSION OF U.S. ARMY HELICOPTER UH-1H TAIL NUMBER 69-16717

There are two accounts of this incident: First Account - On January 20, 1972, SP4 Harry J. Edwards, one of four riflemen, PFC David D. Berdahl, the door gunner, and a four-man crew were aboard a UH-1H helicopter (tail #69-16717) on a recovery mission for downed F-4 fighter jet pilots. At about 1815 hours, the aircraft was returning from the mission northwest of Khe Sanh in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, when an anti-aircraft weapon fired on and hit the aircraft, causing it to catch fire. At first, the fire appeared at the forward end of the tail boom, but immediately spread over the boom and then engulfed the entire aircraft. The helicopter autorotated to the bank of the Raoquan River, landed hard and rolled over onto its left side. The aircraft commander of another UH-1H followed the burning aircraft down, made a pass overhead, and came to a hover adjacent to the downed helicopter. Landing was impossible because of jagged rocks. While in a hover, the aircraft commander saw one man dressed in a flight suit, helmet and armored vest pinned down in the burning aircraft. This individual was apparently Berdahl. The hovering helicopter was forced to leave because the downed aircraft started to explode. He did not observe anyone leaving the aircraft alive but picked up 5 survivors from the crash site and flew about 50 feet downstream to pick up another survivor. Berdahl and Edwards were declared Killed in Action, Body Not Recovered. It has not been possible since that day to locate them if alive, or to recover their bodies, if dead. It was not uncommon for men to die trying to rescue another wounded or downed comrade--each would say it was their duty, and that the same would be done for them. They kept the faith with each other. Edwards had only turned 20 years old the previous November, and Berdahl was only four days older than the legal age for being in a combat zone. He was just 19 years old.

 

Second Account - PFC David D. Berdahl and SP4 Harry J. Edwards were KIA in 69-16717. Two other men died as a result of the crash but several days later. Sgt. Fernando Figueroa died January 24, 1971 of burns received on 20 January and SP4 Walter C. B. Moran died on January 23, 1971. Both died at Camp Zama. Confirmed KIA on the Military USA site and per WO1 Frank Angotti, the PIC who was at Zama with them. Edwards, Figueroa, and Moran were Army Rangers assigned to D 3-5 after the 75th Rangers stood down. They crewed our Hueys as rescue forces for downed aircrew. They were crewmembers and not passengers. Interestingly, they wore Nomex instead of fatigues under the web gear. The aircraft was on a mission to rescue two F-4E pilots who ejected from a stormy Fast Fac from Da Nang who had landed on a road in Laos. Dustoff snagged the pilots and enroute, AAA got Charlie Horse 25 and the crash happened in the Ba Long River Valley. Pilots were William L. Allen and Frankie L. Angotti (CH 25). Bill Allen was our scout platoon leader who happened to be in a Huey that day. Of those who did not die, all were burned pretty badly. [Taken from vhpa.org]