Casualties
For an operation of the size and complexity of Frequent Wind, casualties were relatively light. Marine corporals McMahon and Judge killed at the DAO compound were the only KIAs of the operation and were the last US ground casualties in Vietnam.
A Marine AH-1J SeaCobra's engines flamed out from fuel starvation while searching for the USS Okinawa and ditched at sea. The two crew members were rescued by a boat from USS Kirk. A CH-46F Swift 1-4 of HMM-164 from the USS Hancock flown by Captain William C Nystul and First Lieutenant Michael J. Shea crashed into the sea on its approach to the ship after having flown a long and exhausting night sea and air rescue mission (SAR). The two enlisted crew members survived, but the bodies of the pilots were not recovered. The cause of the crash was never determined.
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