It is possible that their combat support mission was in Cambodia, and the subsequent rescue flight took a circular northwesterly course around the mountains in northern Cambodia along the Laos border, circled back east towards Dak To (its destination). Some records pinpoint the actual location of loss at the beginning of the flight, while others record it during flight. Regardless, when the aircraft landed, Burris, Purser and Hunsicker had survived the crash, but they could not locate the door gunner, James Kennedy. WO Hunsicker and WO Burris escaped through the left cargo door uninjured. They found the crew chief Purser, who had also scrambled free of the wreckage. He had a broken arm. A search of the general area around the crashed helicopter revealed no trace of SP4 Kennedy, and he was not trapped in the wreckage. As door gunner, and at a position on the side of the main cargo area of the aircraft positioned at an open door, Kennedy may have decided to bail out of the descending aircraft. He may also have fallen, although this is unlikely since the gunners were generally strapped in to the frame of the helicopter. Minutes after the helicopter crashed, a recovery helicopter arrived in the area and lowered ropes with McGuire rigs attached through the dense jungle to the downed men. The survivors were not trained in the proper use of this equipment, and SP5 Purser fell out of his rig a few feet off the ground. WO Burris and WO Hunsicker remained in their rigs and were lifted out, and the helicopter started toward Dak To, with the two rescued men still on the ropes. Five minutes into the flight, Burris lost his grip on the rope and fell from an altitude of from 2500 to 3000 feet. The rescue helicopter continued to the nearest landing area. A search and rescue team was inserted into the crash site area and recovered Purser. The team searched widely for SP4 Kennedy, but found no trace of him, and concluded their search on December 25. No search was made for Burris because of the lack of positive information to pinpoint his loss site and the hostile threat in the area.

• Purple Heart
• Air Medal
• National Defense
• Vietnam Service
• Vietnam Campaign Medals

 I went, to school with Donald. We belonged to Wayne Presbyterian Church. He was the nicest person I have ever met. He had a smile for everyone and never met a stranger. He was a musician. He was always involved in school activities. He was the guy your mother always wanted you to be like, but you couldn't dislike him for that, because he was just nice. Truly the good died, too young in this case.

Credits