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Daniel L Arnes, CMDCM
to remember
Guinn, Harold Wilson, LCDR.
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Contact Info
Home Town Williamsport
Last Address Virginia Beach, VA
Date of Passing Jun 19, 1975
Location of Interment Wildwood Cemetery - Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
Media Articles: Providence Evening Bulletin
June 20, 1975 Search for 2 Crewmen Missing in Crash of Helicopter Continues NEWPORT--A Navy minesweeper and a barge continued to search today for two missing crewmen and their helicopter, which crashed yesterday immediately after takeoff from the deck of a destroyer escort.
At the same time, investigators were questioning other crewmen of the escort Aylwin.
The Navy identified the two missing men as Lt. Cmdr. Harold Guinn, 35, of Virginia Beach, Va., the pilot, and Lawrence W. Kamas, 38, an aviation antisubmarine warfare operator, of Moyock, N.C.
Two other crewmen were rescued after the crash and were reported in excellent condition with bruises and cuts this morning at the Regional Medical Center. They are Lt (j.g.) Timothy Stone, 27, of Lexington, Ala., the co-pilot, and Lt. (j.g.) Phillip Hennaford, 33, of Essexville, Mich., one of the Aylwin's officers.
The search for the missing men continued until dusk yesterday, but spokesmen were not optimistic about finding the bodies in the 100-foot-deep waters two miles east of the Brenton Reef Light, six miles of the coast.
Cmdr. Gordon Jones, skipper of the Aylwin said, "It was like losing a member of your family. There's not much one can say."
"I was on the bridge and couldn't see the deck the helicopter takes off from, I heard a thump. What happened was: As soon as the chopper took off, it just fell off to the side and hit the water. It seemed like two years later when a head popped up."
He said the crew began rescue operations immediately and, within seven minutes, two survivors had been taken aboard ship.
A helicopter from the destroyer escort Ainsworth, an accompanying ship, took the survivors ashore for treatment.
Both ships were recently assigned to Newport as summer training vessels for midshipmen from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. Each week during the summer, 115 midshipmen undergo shipboard training on the destroyers, ships used in antisubmarine warfare.
The ship was following a routine training assignment when the crash occurred about 10 a.m. The helicopter, a light airborne multi-purpose system (LAMPS) helicopter made by the Kaman Aerospace Co. of Bloomfield, Conn., is used as a spotter. The ship was traveling at about five knots, a slow speed to allow the helicopter to take off.
"There was no explosion," said Jones. "It just seemed to break apart."
The four crewmen were assigned to the ship two weeks ago, when the Aylwin reported to Newport. They were not midshipmen.
One unconfirmed report has it that the helicopter was found and actually partially lifted once, but the cable snapped, and the 12,000 pound helicopter sank again.
Plans were being made for a local memorial service, and men aboard the Aylwin were asked by the skipper to stand silent for a minute in prayer.
At sea, several pleasure boats continued leisurely sailing and fishing, oblivious to the crash.
The helicopter has the capability of carrying torpedoes, but had no weapons aboard, according to its commander. It only had a magnetic locating device and smoke floats to mark sightings.
Unknown Newspaper
June 20, 1975 Resume Search for Missing Navy Men NEWPORT, R.I. (AP)--The search resumed today for two Navy men reported missing after a Navy helicopter crashed in the ocean after taking off from a ship during a routine training exercise.
Two other men aboard the helicopter were rescued shortly after the helicopter crashed Thursday morning about six miles offshore.
The missing men were identified by the Navy as Lt. Cmdr. Harold Guinn, 35, of Virginia Beach, Va. and Lawrence W. Kamas, 38, of Moyock, N.C. Kamas was listed as an aviation anti-submarine warfare operator.
The rescue men were in excellent condition at the Naval Regional Medical Center. They were identifed as Lt. Timothy Stone, 27, of Lexington, Ala., who was being treated for concussion, scrapes, and bruises; and Lt. Philip Hannaford, 33, of Essexville, Mich., who suffered facial cuts and scrapes.
A Navy spokesman said Guinn was the pilot of the helicopter and Stone was the co-pilot. He said Stone and Hennaford were expected to remain in the hospital at least a week.
Navy and Coast Guard ships and helicopters were involved in the search for the two missing men. The Navy spokesman said efforts were under way to salvage the helicopter to determine the cause of the crash.
The helicopter sank in 100 feet of water in the vicinity of the Brenton Reef light tower which is south of Narragansett Bay. A Navy ship equipped with a crane was on the scene.
The helicopter, identified as a Light Airborne Multi Purpose craft, was attached to the destroyer-escort USS Aylwin, which is based in Norfok, Va.
The USS Aylwin and a sister ship were in Newport this week as training vessels for Naval Academy midshipmen who are training at the Surface Warfare Officers School Command.
Sharks have been sighted in the Newport area throughout the week but Coast Guard officials said such sightings have been of little concern to the search operations and no special precautions have been taken.
Cmdr. F. Gordon Jones, skipper of the Aylwin, said the helicopter took off from the Aylwin's deck and then suddenly dropped to the water and sank.
Unknown Newspaper
June 20, 1975 2 Navy men saved, 2 missing, in crash NEWPORT, R.I. (AP)--Two Navy men were rescued and another two were reported missing Thursday after a Navy helicopter crashed in the ocean and sank about six miles offshore.
The crash occurred about 10 a.m. during a routine training exercise.
The missing men were identified by the Navy as Lt. Cmdr. Harold Guinn, 35, of Virginia Beach, Va., and Lawrence W. Kamas, 38, of Moyock, N.C. Kamas is an aviation antisubmarine warfare operator.
Navy and Coast Guard ships and helicopters were involved in the search for the two missing men. The Navy spokesman said efforts were underway to salvage the helicopter to determine the cause of the crash.
Providence Journal Bulletin
June 21, 1975 Body of helicopter crash victim is recovered off Newport
By Doane Hulich Journal-Bulletin Staff Member NEWPORT--The body of one of two Navy men missing since Thursday morning in the crash of a light helicopter from the destroyer-escort Aylwin was recovered shortly before dark last night in Rhode Island Sound six miles off Newport.
The Navy said the body of Lt. Cmdr. Harold Guinn, 35, of Virginia Beach, Va., was found in 100 feet of water about two miles east of Brenton Reef Light Tower.
Still missing is Petty Officer 2.C. Lawrence W. Kamas, 38, of Moyock, N.Y.
Two survivors, Lt. (j.g.) Timothy Stone, 27, of Lexington, Ala., the co-pilot, and Lt. (jg) Philip Hennaford, supply officer of the Aylwin, were reported in good condition in the intensive care unit of the Naval Regional Medical Center here.
Guinn was piloting the light helicopter which crashed seconds after liftoff from the aft deck of the Aylwin.
His body was recovered by divers from the Naval Underwater Systems Center operating from one of their diving boats and from the minesweeper Adroit.
Both vessels were working with the research ship Subsig, owned by the Raytheon Company's Submarine Signal Division in Portsmouth.
Sonar and other special electronic equipment was used by all three ships, which the Navy said, located the wrecked helicopter.
A Navy spokesman said the wreckage will be recovered today for examination by a five-member board of investigation sent to Newport yesterday from the Light Helicopter Squadron 34 of Norfolk, Va.
The search for the other missing crewman was to resume this morning.
A spokesman for Kaman Aerospace Co. of Bloomfield, Connecticut, meanwhile, said the Light Airborne Multi-Purpose System helicopter had the best safety record of all Navy helicopters. More than 100 of the model have been used by the Navy for two years without a fatality, according to the company.
The company spokesman sadi the engine was powerful enough to "easily" handle a crew of four, despite the fact there is normally a crew of three. He also said the engine would not be affected by the slight rise in temperature experienced Thursday. Some helicopters have more difficulty flying on hot days because the density of the air changes. "It is a very unusual accident," he said.
Unknown Newspaper
June 22, 1975 Second Body is Found by Divers The recovery of the second body by divers ended a four-day search yesterday for two Navy men whose helicopter crashed in the ocean Thursday about six miles off Newport.
The body of Petty Officer 2c Lawrence W. Kamas, 38, of Moyock, N.C. was recovered shortly after noon near wreckage in the area where Cmdr. Harold Guinn, 35, of Virginia Beach, Va. was found Friday night.
The wreckage was spotted late Friday after a two-day search hampered by choppy seas and winds from 10 to 20 knots.
First reports were that the wreckage consisted of several pieces of the craft scattered among boulders eight to ten feet in diameter, said Navy spokesman Al Inglesias.
The helicopter crashed Thursday morning while on a routine training mission near the Breton Point Light Tower south of Narragansett Bay.
The wreckage was found and the body recovered shortly before dusk Friday.
Two other Navy men, who were pulled from the water shortly after the crash, were listed in excellent condition Friday at the naval hospital in Newport.
They were identified as Lt. Timothy Stone, 27, of Lexington, Ala., and Lt. Philip Hannaford, 33, of Essexville, Mich.
The Navy spokesman also said a five-member aircraft investigation team arrived from Norfolk, Va., to begin the probe into the causes of the crash.
The helicopter, described as a Light Airborne Multi Purpose craft, was attached to the destroyer-escort USS Aylwin, which is based in Norfolk.
Unknown Newspaper
June 22, 1975 Crash victim's body found off Newport NEWPORT--The body of the last Navy man missing since Thursday morning after the crash of a helicopter from the destroyer escort Aylwin was recovered yesterday afternoon in Rhode Island Sound, about six miles off Newport.
The Navy said the body of Petty Officer 2c Lawrence W. Kamas, 38, of Moyock, N.C. was recovered about 12:30 p.m. in the wreckage near the place where the body of Lt. Cmdr Harold Guinn, 35, of Virginia Bach, Va., was found Friday night.
Two survivors from the crash were reported in good condition in the intensive care unit of the Naval Regional Medical Center here.
The bodies of Guinn and Kamas were recovered by divers from the Naval Underwater Systems Center operating from one of their diving boats and from the minesweeper Adroit.
A Navy spokesman said video tape recordings of the wreckage will be studied by a five-member investigation board send to Newport Friday from Norfolk, Va. He said a decision probably will be made today on whether to recover the wreckage.
Unknown Newspaper
July 1, 1975 Determine Cause of Copter Crash NEWPORT, R.I. (AP)--A helicopter crash in which two Navy crewmen were killed last month occurred when the helicopter's main rotor struck an antenna on the destroyer USS Aylwin., the ship's captain said.
"It must have been a gust of wind," said Cmdr. F. Gordon Jones, skipper of the Aylwin. "It could have been pilot error or even an act of God."
Jones said the helicopter struck the antenna during takeoff and the rotor was ripped off the fuselage. The craft then pitched off the starboard side of the ship.
Providence Evening Bulletin
July 1, 1975 Copter Hit Antenna, Navy Says NEWPORT, R.I.--A helicopter crash that killed two Navy men 10 days ago occurred when the aircraft's rotor hit a starboard radio antenna.
Initial reports were that the helicopter dropped into the water from the deck of the destroyer escort Aylwin without apparent cause. Now Navy officials say the craft was pitched into the sea when its main rotor slashed the antenna.
"It might have been a gust of wind. It could have been pilot error, or even an act of God," said Cmdr. F. Gordon Jones, skipper of the Aylwin, in an interview yesterday.
Jones said he understands the helicopter has been taken to Norfolk, Va., where a five-man investigating team is continuing its probe, Lt. Cmdr. William A. Wendt, head of the team, had no comment yesterday afternoon.
The 35-foot antenna that was hit is just above and forward of the helicopter pad on the aft section of the ship. It is about three inches in diameter. The rotor broke free when it hit the antenna.
The crippled craft sank within 30 seconds, Jone said. The two crewmen who survived were somehow thrown free of the wreckage but were dragged down with it until their life preservers buoyed them to the surface.
Jones said the investigators have attached particular significance to the fact that the tail section broke off as the copter fell to the water, apparently a rarity in such cases.
However, a spokesman for Kaman Aerospace Co. of Bloomfield, Conn. discounted the possibility of a mechanical or design failure. If this was suspected, he said, the Navy would have called the firm into the investigation.
Both surviving crew members suffered only minor injuries and both have returned to duty.
The bodies of Lt. Cmdr. Harold Guinn, the pilot, and Petty Officer 2C Lawrence W. Kamas, the helicopter electronics operator, were discovered by Navy divers last week.
Providence Evening Bulletin
July 2, 1975 Copter Victims Drowned NEWPORT, R.I.--Drowning, not injuries, claimed the lives of the two Navy crewmen who died in a helicopter crash six miles off shore on June 19, according to a preliminary autopsy report by the state medical examiner's office.
Two other crewmen escaped with relatively minor injuries.
According to Dr. Faye Spruill, deputy chief medical examiner, Lt. Cmdr. Harold Guinn, the pilot, had a bruise on the side of his head which indicates that he may have been knocked unconscious when the helicopter hit the water. The other dead crewman, Petty Officer 2c Lawrence W. Kamas, had several bruises on his body, but none that indicates he might have been knocked out.
The Navy is still investigating the incident and a final report is not expected for several weeks.
US Navy Helicopter Attack (Light) Squadron Three (HA(L)-3) Seawolves Vietnam 1966-1972 (5 1/2 Years) (Narrative still in progress, email Unit Administrator with questions or comments.)
US Navy Vietnam Gunship Ops began in the summer of 1966 using 8 borrowed Army UH-1B Helicopters from the Army's 197th Armed Helicopter Company to form the nucleus of a Navy armed helicopter unit.
Pilots and crewmen for the new venture were initially drawn from Helicopter Combat Support Squadron One (HC-1) based at NAS Ream Field, Imperial Beach, California.
The first eight pilots and enlisted crewmen of HC-1, Detachment (DET) 29, arrived in Saigon, Vietnam on 4 July 1966, followed on the 17th and 29th of July by DETS 27 and 25, respectively and Combat Operations in Vietnam began on 19 September 1966. DET 21, last of the original HC-1 detachments, was not deployed to Vietnam until several months later, arriving during the last week of November 1966.
HC-1 DETS officially became HA(L)-3 established on 1 April 1967 originally home based at Vung Tau, with operations later moved to Binh Thuy permanently on 1 May 1969 after Seabees completed enough construction of the base to move.
HA(L)-3Commanding Officers:
LCDR Joseph B. Howard, (Acting CO) Apr 1967 - May 1967
CDR Robert W. Spencer, May 1967 - May 1968;
CAPT Arthur H. Munson, May 1968 - Apr 1969;
CAPT Reynolds Beckwith, Apr 1969 - Apr 1970;
CAPT Martin J. Twite, Apr 1970 - Apr 1971;
CAPT Charles O. Borgstrom, Jr., Apr 1971 - Feb 1972;
CDR William J. Mulcahy, Feb - Mar 1972
HA(L)-3 operated NINE DETS throughout the Delta in addition to the Sealords operating out of Binh Thuy.
DET 1 – Originally HC-1 DET 29, August 14, 1966 began operating from the USS Tortuga (LSD 26) with Army split crews until August 30, 1966 when DET 29 relieved Army Fire Teams. 10 days later moved to the USS Comstock (LSD 19) and November 11, 1966 the USS Jennings County (LST-846). Moved to the Gulf of Thailand in 1969 and operated alternately from 4 LST's, USS Garrett County (LST-786), USS Terrell County (LST-1157), USS Windham County (LST-1170) and USS Washtoe County (LST-1165). During the construction of an Advanced Tactical Support Base (ATSB) called Sea Float, DET 1 operated there during the day and went back to the LST at night. When Solid Anchor was completed on 1 September 1970 near Nam Can on the southern tip of the Ca Mau Peninsula, DET 1 relocated there permanently. DET 1’s area of operations is the southwest Ca Mau Peninsula supporting Naval Craft, SEAL Unit’s, and Vietnamese Marines in the CauLonRiver and southern Mekong Delta area. Support provided by DET 1 was part of an effort to establish the government of South Vietnam in this area for the first time in many years and providing security for the nearby village of Nam Can allowing local people to sell their goods to government agencies rather than at a fixed price to the Viet Cong.
DET 2 – Originally HC-1 DET 27, based at Nha Be part of Military Region III in April 1967, the only DET that didn't move to another location during the squadron's existence. Assigned the mission of keeping the Long Tau shipping channel to Saigon open, and patrolling the Rung Sat Special Zone flying overhead cover for special interest ships including ammunitions ships and tankers. If a ship was sunk in the channel, Saigon would be cut off from the sea until the ship could be refloated and removed. DET 2 became a "Double DET" with 4 aircraft and crew in June 1969.
DET 3 – Originally HC-1 DET 25 based at Vinh Long Army Airfield. They moved to an LST off Ha Tien September 1969 and finally to Ca Mau on 5 August 1970. Previously DET 3 had night staged at Vinh Gia and the To Chau Civilian Irregular Defense Group Camp. There were two air strips at Ca Mau; the Long and Short strips. Facilities at the Long strip were minimal for quite a while. The Seawolves had to sleep in the open and eat C-rations. Conditions eventually improved and a permanent staging structure built, living in the Province Senior Advisor’s (PSA) compound. Area of operation was the southern and eastern U Minh Forest; the Dam Doi Secret Zone in Solid Anchor’s area of operation, and throughout the southern Ca Mau Peninsula, often providing support for DET’s 1 and 6.
DET 4 – Originally HC-1 DET 21 deployed to Vietnam in November 1966, operated from the USS Garrett County (LST-786), under the command of OinC LCDR George (Rocky) Rowell. Flew with Army gunship companies and entered combat early 1967 when it was re-designated HC-1 DET 4 just prior to commissioning of HAL-3 in April. DET moved to Dong Tam in early 1969 and later to Ben Luc. They supported the PBR’s and other Riverine Warfare Units. Operation Giant Slingshot, their primary mission to interdict Viet Cong and North Vietnamese troops infiltrating into South Vietnam from the Parrot’s Beak and Angel’s Wing area of Cambodia, also placing strikes on Dufflebag activations.
DET 5 – Activated in 1968, stationed aboard the USS Hunderton County (LST-838) on the Co Chien River. July 30, 1968 DET 5 moved to PBR Mobile Base (MB) II at Thuong Thoi. DET 5 moved to YRBM-20 off Rach Gia in the Fall of 1968, then to YRBM-16 in November 1968 to Dong Tam, and finally to south of Chau Doc on the Bassac River a few miles from Cambodia. They operated an interdiction program known as “Tran Hung Dao I”, ostensibly to keep the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese from infiltrating from Cambodia into South Vietnam. Operations also included the Tram Forest and Seven Mountains area.
DET 6 – Activated in 1967, operated from Dong Tam, moved to USS Garrett County (LST-786) at the mouth of the Song Ong Doc River night staging, then land based at Song Ong Doc. Moved to Phu Loi May 1971.
DET 7 – Established at Binh Thuy until June 1969, operating from a small helipad by the Bassac River in front of the enlisted barracks. It was just SEALS, PBR guys, Seawolves and a few FASU Binh Thuy enlisted men. The pad had two trailers on it for the officers and one for the enlisted separated by a walkway with corrugated steel for a roof surrounded by wire. In April of 1969, the Seabee Detachment finished enough of the new base across the street for the DET to move there. DET later moved in June 1969 for Tay Ninh for what was supposed to be temporary, but ended up permanent. In 1970, DET 7 moved to Dong Tam and remained until stand-down.
DET 8 – Activated in July 1969, the first new detachment created since squadron established, operated from Tay Ninh with DET 7, then to LST near Rach Gia. May 1970 staged off USS Hunderton County (LST-838) at Long Xuyen near Cambodian border. July 1970, returned to Rach Gia.
DET 9 – Activated at Binh Thuy in September 1969, then moved to YRBM-21 near An Long. June 1971 moved from YRBM at Tan Chau to USS Vernon County (LST-1161) off Kien Hoa and Vinh Binh. October 1971 relocated to Binh Thuy also staging out of Thanh Phu.
SEALORDS – January 1970, Sealords were added to provide logistics to the DET's and support various U.S. Navy and Free World Force Units, based at Binh Thuy. Also involved in combat missions with SEAL insertions/extractions, and medivacs.
FINAL DAYS OF HA(L)-3 IN 1972
26 January – HA(L)-3 commenced stand-down.
1 February – CDR Mulcahy relieved CAPT Borgstrom as CO of HA(L)-3. HA(L)-3 commenced a 60 day stand-down period in preparation for disestablishment.
3 February – DET 6 at Phu Loi was disestablished.
6 February – DET 1 at Nam Can was disestablished. LT Ralph M. Tea (DET 8) wounded during an air strike.
10 February – DET 7 at Dong Tam was disestablished.
14 February – DET 5 at Chau Doc was disestablished.
18 February – DET 8 at Rach Gia was disestablished.
19 February – DET 4 at Ben Luc was disestablished.
23 February – DET 3 at Ca Mau was disestablished.
25 February – CNO Admiral Zumwalt arrived in Saigon for a two day tour of Vietnam to include Binh Thuy.
26 February – DET 2 at Nha Be was disestablished.
1 March – DET 9 at Binh Thuy was disestablished.
6 March – The last HA(L)-3 Seawolf gunship was retrograded and the last Sealord flight flown by HA(L)-3 CO CDR Mulcahy, pilot and HA(L)-3 XO CDR Nichols, co-pilot.
9 March – The first HA(L)-3 Sealord was retrograded.
11 March – The last HA(L)-3 Sealord was retrograded.
16 March 1972 – HA(L)-3 completed stand-down procedures and was officially disestablished.