This site is dedicated to my adopted POW/MIA
C.W.O. David Pecor Soyland
This American Hero has been lost to us now for.....
Isn't it time we brought him home?
| Name: |
David Pecor Soyland |
| Rank/Branch: |
W1/US Army |
| Unit: |
Company A, 158th Battalion, 101st Airborne Division (see note) |
| Date of Birth: |
29 April 1951 (Fullerton CA) |
| Home City of Record: |
Rapid City, South Dakota |
| Date of Loss: |
17 May 1971 |
| Country of Loss: |
South Vietnam |
| Loss Coordinates: |
163425N 1065323E (YDO48268) |
| Status (in 1973): |
Missing in Action |
| Category: |
2 (Two) |
| Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: |
UH1H |
| Other Personnel in Incident: |
Dale A. Pearce (missing) |
| Note: |
The bio for David P. Soyland lists him to be a member of Company A of the 158th Aviation Battalion. Actually he was a member of Company C of the 158th. Reference in Tom Marshall's book, "The Price of Exit". (From Gary and Becky Earls)
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Synopsis
W1 Dale A. Pearce, pilot; W1 David P. Soyland, aircraft commander; SP5 Harold E. Parker, crew chief; and SP4 Gary A. Alcorn, door gunner. comprised the crew of a UH1H helicopter on an assault/extraction mission on May 17, 1971.
The aircraft departed Camp Evans in South Vietnam as the assault aircraft of a helicopter team attempting toextract a reconnaissance team that was under heavy fire by an unknown size enemy force about 10 miles northeast of Khe Sanh in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam.
Upon approach to the target, WO1 Pearce's aircraft began taking heavy enemy fire. The aircraft began to bank to the right and hit. causing the helicopter to start to turn over. An RPG hit and severed the tail boom, and the violence of the explosion threw Alcorn from the aircraft just before it crashed. After impact, the aircraft slid to the bottom of a slope.
On May 18, a recovery team was inserted in the area to recover the remains of the original reconnaissance team and to search the aircraft wreckage for survivors. At this time, both Parker and Alcorn were discovered alive, and remains which were assumed to be those of Pearce were found. Without tools, the recovery of the remains was impossible, as they were wedged beneath the aircraft debris. The left pilot seat was completely intact, and no sign of blood on it or in the immediate area was found. All harnesses in the aircraft had been unfastened.
Alcorn reported that he saw a man in a white t-shirt running across the ridge line. A search aircraft in the area reported hearing a loud beeper distress signal. It was concluded that the man had been W1 Soyland, who would have been the occupant of the left pilot seat. From the way the aircraft impacted, on its right side, Soyland, seated on the left side of the aircraft, would have had a high probability of surviving the crash.
Searches continued until May 27, 1971 for Soyland, but no trace was found of him. It was concluded that he survived the crash and was probably captured. It was concluded that W1 Pearce died in the crash.
W1 Soyland was not among the prisoners of war that were released in 1973. High ranking U.S. officials admit their dismay that "hundreds" of suspected American prisoners of war did not return.
Alarmingly, evedence continues to mount that Americans were left as prisoners in Southeast Asia and continue to be held today. Unlike "MIA's" from other wars, most of the nearly 2500 men and women who remain missing in Southeast Asia can be accounted for. Soyland could be one of those thought to be alive today. The U.S. believes there is a strong possibility that the Vietnamese know the fates of both men - alive or dead. Isn't it time we brought our men home?
This is the only photograph that has been found of David. David is in the third row, the farthest to the left.
This is a map of the crash site, click on the map to see larger view.
This is a photo of a UH1 Helicopter just like the one David Pecor Soyland and a crew of 3 others crashed in on May 17, 1971. David is the only one un-accounted for from that crash. Names of the other 3 crew members are W1 Dale A. Pearce, pilot; SP5 Harold E. Parker, crew chief and SP4 Gary A. Alcorn, door gunner.
Designed exclusively for my POWMIA David Pecor Soyland by ©SpiritdeWolf
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