Albert Tijerina Jr., Captain, USAF (KIA)
July 25, 1943 – March 01 1971

On March 1, 1971, a U.S. Air Force helicopter CH-53C (tail number 68-10931), call sign Knife 34, from the 21st Special Operations Squadron, departed Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand at 0830 hours local on a classified mission to deliver Laotian troops to Lima Site 20 (Sam Thuong) in northern Laos. Knife 34 was hit by enemy fire while enroute, knocking out one engine, but the crew was able to sustain flight until they reached Lima Site 20. At approximately 1130 hours local, with the second engine failing, Knife 34 crashed on landing, spun right, rolled downhill, flipped and burst into flames. The flight engineers were able to bail out and were rescued. They were treated for minor abrasions and contusions. The pilot and copilot, MAJ Milton H. Ramsey and CAPT Albert Tijerina Jr., did not exit the helicopter and sustained fatal injuries in the crash. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, vhpa.org, and veteransmemorial.us]