In Memory of ...... GSGT. Victor John Pirker.
*** Staff Sergeant Pirker was a member of the Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 362, Marine Attack Group 36, 1st Marine Air Wing. On November 22, 1965, he was flying in a Sikorsky Seahorse Utility Helicopter (UH-34D) on a combat mission. Bad weather forced his aircraft out to sea between Chu Lai and Quang Ngai, South Vietnam and contact with the aircraft was lost. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
You may be gone, no longer living on this earth; but you will live on - in the memories of your family and friends. There will always be a part of you living in those who knew you. You will live on because we remember you!
VICTOR JOHN PIRKER - Marine Corps - GSGT - E6
Age: 33
Race: Caucasian
Date of Birth Jun 27, 1940
From: TROUT CREEK, MT
Marital Status: Single - Parents: Father, Albert Pirker, Born 1906 in Erkenschwick,Germany and Died 1980 and Mother, Johanna Kanduch Pirker, Born 1912 in Vienna, Czechoslavakia and Died 1999. They got married May 17, 1934 in Lewis and Clark Co.,Montana, He was 27 and she was 22 yrs of age.
* Paternal Grandparents are Grandparents, Victor Pirker (FAG #113878003) and Barbara Bachmann Pirker (FAG #113877948).
* Maternal Grandparents, Joseph Kanduch and Maria Dical Kanduch.
His tour began on Nov 22, 1965
Casualty was on Jan 31, 1974
In QUANG TIN, SOUTH VIETNAM
Hostile, died while missing, HELICOPTER - CREW
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND
Body was not recovered
Panel 03E - Line 108
Other Personnel In Incident: Capt. Francis E. Visconti was the pilot, Richard A. Miller, Francis E. Visconti, Thomas E. Douglas and Victor J. Pirker.
On November 22, 1965, Capt. Francis E. Visconti was the pilot of a UH34D helicopter flying with other aircraft on a combat mission in South Vietnam.
Bad weather forced Visconti's aircraft out to sea about halfway between Chu Lai and Quang Ngai, and he was separated from the rest of the group.
The helicopter went down and all four Marines were classified Missing in Action.
There has been no word of any of the crew of that ill-fated chopper since that day.
The Vietnamese have denied any knowledge of them.
Richard A. Miller and Francis E. Visconti were promoted to the rank of Major, Thomas E. Douglas to the rank of Staff Sergeant and Victor J. Pirker to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant during the period they were maintained missing.
*************
To say this mission was on a foggy night is like saying hell is a warm place. It was a multi ship mission in the Quang Ngai area and we were all returning to Ky Ha in two aircraft flights after dark. The weather was intensely bad - towering thunderstorms with solid sheets of water and lightning that was so bright that it was often hard to see the instruments while the night was totally dark and the rain so intense that it was difficult to see the lights of the aircraft that was a few yards from you. The two aircraft in my flight developed vertigo that night too, and most of us thought we would crash -- it was probably the most terrifying situation I experienced in Nam. We heard a verbal exchange (maybe just from one of them) on the radio between Frank and Richard (I can't remember if he was called Richard or Dick)-- I don't remember what was said but it sounded a little excited and seemed to have been meant to be on the intercom. Having just been through our vertigo session, whatever was said caused me to think: "those poor guys are having the same trouble. A top-notch GCA controller brought my flight into Chu Lai -- we didn't see the runway lights until after the tail wheel touched down.
Submitted by D. Larry Fraser, on same mission in another a/c.
MAG-36 Command Chronology - November 1965: 22 November 1965 - An emergency lift was made by HMM-362 to relieve the ARVN outpost at THACH TRU, south of Quang Ngai. The mission was successfully completed in very poor weather conditions which apparently caused the loss of YL-36, last seen in IFR conditions in a climbing turn at night over the sea, northeast of Quang Ngai.
To date no sign of the aircraft or crew has been found, and it is assumed that it crashed at sea with the loss of all hands: 1stLt F VISCONTI, 1stLt R A MILLER, Cpl V J PIRKER and Cpl J E DOUGLAS
*********************************************
.
*** Staff Sergeant Pirker was a member of the Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 362, Marine Attack Group 36, 1st Marine Air Wing. On November 22, 1965, he was flying in a Sikorsky Seahorse Utility Helicopter (UH-34D) on a combat mission. Bad weather forced his aircraft out to sea between Chu Lai and Quang Ngai, South Vietnam and contact with the aircraft was lost. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
You may be gone, no longer living on this earth; but you will live on - in the memories of your family and friends. There will always be a part of you living in those who knew you. You will live on because we remember you!
VICTOR JOHN PIRKER - Marine Corps - GSGT - E6
Age: 33
Race: Caucasian
Date of Birth Jun 27, 1940
From: TROUT CREEK, MT
Marital Status: Single - Parents: Father, Albert Pirker, Born 1906 in Erkenschwick,Germany and Died 1980 and Mother, Johanna Kanduch Pirker, Born 1912 in Vienna, Czechoslavakia and Died 1999. They got married May 17, 1934 in Lewis and Clark Co.,Montana, He was 27 and she was 22 yrs of age.
* Paternal Grandparents are Grandparents, Victor Pirker (FAG #113878003) and Barbara Bachmann Pirker (FAG #113877948).
* Maternal Grandparents, Joseph Kanduch and Maria Dical Kanduch.
His tour began on Nov 22, 1965
Casualty was on Jan 31, 1974
In QUANG TIN, SOUTH VIETNAM
Hostile, died while missing, HELICOPTER - CREW
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND
Body was not recovered
Panel 03E - Line 108
Other Personnel In Incident: Capt. Francis E. Visconti was the pilot, Richard A. Miller, Francis E. Visconti, Thomas E. Douglas and Victor J. Pirker.
On November 22, 1965, Capt. Francis E. Visconti was the pilot of a UH34D helicopter flying with other aircraft on a combat mission in South Vietnam.
Bad weather forced Visconti's aircraft out to sea about halfway between Chu Lai and Quang Ngai, and he was separated from the rest of the group.
The helicopter went down and all four Marines were classified Missing in Action.
There has been no word of any of the crew of that ill-fated chopper since that day.
The Vietnamese have denied any knowledge of them.
Richard A. Miller and Francis E. Visconti were promoted to the rank of Major, Thomas E. Douglas to the rank of Staff Sergeant and Victor J. Pirker to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant during the period they were maintained missing.
*************
To say this mission was on a foggy night is like saying hell is a warm place. It was a multi ship mission in the Quang Ngai area and we were all returning to Ky Ha in two aircraft flights after dark. The weather was intensely bad - towering thunderstorms with solid sheets of water and lightning that was so bright that it was often hard to see the instruments while the night was totally dark and the rain so intense that it was difficult to see the lights of the aircraft that was a few yards from you. The two aircraft in my flight developed vertigo that night too, and most of us thought we would crash -- it was probably the most terrifying situation I experienced in Nam. We heard a verbal exchange (maybe just from one of them) on the radio between Frank and Richard (I can't remember if he was called Richard or Dick)-- I don't remember what was said but it sounded a little excited and seemed to have been meant to be on the intercom. Having just been through our vertigo session, whatever was said caused me to think: "those poor guys are having the same trouble. A top-notch GCA controller brought my flight into Chu Lai -- we didn't see the runway lights until after the tail wheel touched down.
Submitted by D. Larry Fraser, on same mission in another a/c.
MAG-36 Command Chronology - November 1965: 22 November 1965 - An emergency lift was made by HMM-362 to relieve the ARVN outpost at THACH TRU, south of Quang Ngai. The mission was successfully completed in very poor weather conditions which apparently caused the loss of YL-36, last seen in IFR conditions in a climbing turn at night over the sea, northeast of Quang Ngai.
To date no sign of the aircraft or crew has been found, and it is assumed that it crashed at sea with the loss of all hands: 1stLt F VISCONTI, 1stLt R A MILLER, Cpl V J PIRKER and Cpl J E DOUGLAS
*********************************************
.
In Memory of ...... GSGT. Victor John Pirker.
*** Staff Sergeant Pirker was a member of the Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 362, Marine Attack Group 36, 1st Marine Air Wing. On November 22, 1965, he was flying in a Sikorsky Seahorse Utility Helicopter (UH-34D) on a combat mission. Bad weather forced his aircraft out to sea between Chu Lai and Quang Ngai, South Vietnam and contact with the aircraft was lost. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
You may be gone, no longer living on this earth; but you will live on - in the memories of your family and friends. There will always be a part of you living in those who knew you. You will live on because we remember you!
VICTOR JOHN PIRKER - Marine Corps - GSGT - E6
Age: 33
Race: Caucasian
Date of Birth Jun 27, 1940
From: TROUT CREEK, MT
Marital Status: Single - Parents: Father, Albert Pirker, Born 1906 in Erkenschwick,Germany and Died 1980 and Mother, Johanna Kanduch Pirker, Born 1912 in Vienna, Czechoslavakia and Died 1999. They got married May 17, 1934 in Lewis and Clark Co.,Montana, He was 27 and she was 22 yrs of age.
* Paternal Grandparents are Grandparents, Victor Pirker (FAG #113878003) and Barbara Bachmann Pirker (FAG #113877948).
* Maternal Grandparents, Joseph Kanduch and Maria Dical Kanduch.
His tour began on Nov 22, 1965
Casualty was on Jan 31, 1974
In QUANG TIN, SOUTH VIETNAM
Hostile, died while missing, HELICOPTER - CREW
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND
Body was not recovered
Panel 03E - Line 108
Other Personnel In Incident: Capt. Francis E. Visconti was the pilot, Richard A. Miller, Francis E. Visconti, Thomas E. Douglas and Victor J. Pirker.
On November 22, 1965, Capt. Francis E. Visconti was the pilot of a UH34D helicopter flying with other aircraft on a combat mission in South Vietnam.
Bad weather forced Visconti's aircraft out to sea about halfway between Chu Lai and Quang Ngai, and he was separated from the rest of the group.
The helicopter went down and all four Marines were classified Missing in Action.
There has been no word of any of the crew of that ill-fated chopper since that day.
The Vietnamese have denied any knowledge of them.
Richard A. Miller and Francis E. Visconti were promoted to the rank of Major, Thomas E. Douglas to the rank of Staff Sergeant and Victor J. Pirker to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant during the period they were maintained missing.
*************
To say this mission was on a foggy night is like saying hell is a warm place. It was a multi ship mission in the Quang Ngai area and we were all returning to Ky Ha in two aircraft flights after dark. The weather was intensely bad - towering thunderstorms with solid sheets of water and lightning that was so bright that it was often hard to see the instruments while the night was totally dark and the rain so intense that it was difficult to see the lights of the aircraft that was a few yards from you. The two aircraft in my flight developed vertigo that night too, and most of us thought we would crash -- it was probably the most terrifying situation I experienced in Nam. We heard a verbal exchange (maybe just from one of them) on the radio between Frank and Richard (I can't remember if he was called Richard or Dick)-- I don't remember what was said but it sounded a little excited and seemed to have been meant to be on the intercom. Having just been through our vertigo session, whatever was said caused me to think: "those poor guys are having the same trouble. A top-notch GCA controller brought my flight into Chu Lai -- we didn't see the runway lights until after the tail wheel touched down.
Submitted by D. Larry Fraser, on same mission in another a/c.
MAG-36 Command Chronology - November 1965: 22 November 1965 - An emergency lift was made by HMM-362 to relieve the ARVN outpost at THACH TRU, south of Quang Ngai. The mission was successfully completed in very poor weather conditions which apparently caused the loss of YL-36, last seen in IFR conditions in a climbing turn at night over the sea, northeast of Quang Ngai.
To date no sign of the aircraft or crew has been found, and it is assumed that it crashed at sea with the loss of all hands: 1stLt F VISCONTI, 1stLt R A MILLER, Cpl V J PIRKER and Cpl J E DOUGLAS
*********************************************
.
*** Staff Sergeant Pirker was a member of the Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 362, Marine Attack Group 36, 1st Marine Air Wing. On November 22, 1965, he was flying in a Sikorsky Seahorse Utility Helicopter (UH-34D) on a combat mission. Bad weather forced his aircraft out to sea between Chu Lai and Quang Ngai, South Vietnam and contact with the aircraft was lost. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
You may be gone, no longer living on this earth; but you will live on - in the memories of your family and friends. There will always be a part of you living in those who knew you. You will live on because we remember you!
VICTOR JOHN PIRKER - Marine Corps - GSGT - E6
Age: 33
Race: Caucasian
Date of Birth Jun 27, 1940
From: TROUT CREEK, MT
Marital Status: Single - Parents: Father, Albert Pirker, Born 1906 in Erkenschwick,Germany and Died 1980 and Mother, Johanna Kanduch Pirker, Born 1912 in Vienna, Czechoslavakia and Died 1999. They got married May 17, 1934 in Lewis and Clark Co.,Montana, He was 27 and she was 22 yrs of age.
* Paternal Grandparents are Grandparents, Victor Pirker (FAG #113878003) and Barbara Bachmann Pirker (FAG #113877948).
* Maternal Grandparents, Joseph Kanduch and Maria Dical Kanduch.
His tour began on Nov 22, 1965
Casualty was on Jan 31, 1974
In QUANG TIN, SOUTH VIETNAM
Hostile, died while missing, HELICOPTER - CREW
AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND
Body was not recovered
Panel 03E - Line 108
Other Personnel In Incident: Capt. Francis E. Visconti was the pilot, Richard A. Miller, Francis E. Visconti, Thomas E. Douglas and Victor J. Pirker.
On November 22, 1965, Capt. Francis E. Visconti was the pilot of a UH34D helicopter flying with other aircraft on a combat mission in South Vietnam.
Bad weather forced Visconti's aircraft out to sea about halfway between Chu Lai and Quang Ngai, and he was separated from the rest of the group.
The helicopter went down and all four Marines were classified Missing in Action.
There has been no word of any of the crew of that ill-fated chopper since that day.
The Vietnamese have denied any knowledge of them.
Richard A. Miller and Francis E. Visconti were promoted to the rank of Major, Thomas E. Douglas to the rank of Staff Sergeant and Victor J. Pirker to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant during the period they were maintained missing.
*************
To say this mission was on a foggy night is like saying hell is a warm place. It was a multi ship mission in the Quang Ngai area and we were all returning to Ky Ha in two aircraft flights after dark. The weather was intensely bad - towering thunderstorms with solid sheets of water and lightning that was so bright that it was often hard to see the instruments while the night was totally dark and the rain so intense that it was difficult to see the lights of the aircraft that was a few yards from you. The two aircraft in my flight developed vertigo that night too, and most of us thought we would crash -- it was probably the most terrifying situation I experienced in Nam. We heard a verbal exchange (maybe just from one of them) on the radio between Frank and Richard (I can't remember if he was called Richard or Dick)-- I don't remember what was said but it sounded a little excited and seemed to have been meant to be on the intercom. Having just been through our vertigo session, whatever was said caused me to think: "those poor guys are having the same trouble. A top-notch GCA controller brought my flight into Chu Lai -- we didn't see the runway lights until after the tail wheel touched down.
Submitted by D. Larry Fraser, on same mission in another a/c.
MAG-36 Command Chronology - November 1965: 22 November 1965 - An emergency lift was made by HMM-362 to relieve the ARVN outpost at THACH TRU, south of Quang Ngai. The mission was successfully completed in very poor weather conditions which apparently caused the loss of YL-36, last seen in IFR conditions in a climbing turn at night over the sea, northeast of Quang Ngai.
To date no sign of the aircraft or crew has been found, and it is assumed that it crashed at sea with the loss of all hands: 1stLt F VISCONTI, 1stLt R A MILLER, Cpl V J PIRKER and Cpl J E DOUGLAS
*********************************************
.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
