— 14 Aviation Forum. “US military accidents in 1972 to 2000 in Okinawa, Japan.”

— 14 Baugher. US Navy…Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (150139 to 156169). 10-29-2011.

— 14 Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. “14 Marines Sought after Crash.” 6-1-1989, p. A2.

— 14 The Capital, Annapolis, MD. “Marine Helicopter Crashes; 14 Feared Dead.” 5-31-1989, 3

— 14 USMC History Div. “Yearly Chronologies of the United States Marine Corps – 1989.”

Narrative Information

Aviation Forum: “30 May 1989: In Okinawa Prefecture, southeast of Itoman City, at night, an US CH-46 crashed into the sea, about 32 km south of Kyanmisaki. It belonged to the 265th Squadron, USMC, based at Futenma AB. 14 missing.” (Aviation Forum. “US military accidents in 1972 to 2000 in Okinawa, Japan.”)

Baugher: “Boeing Vertol CH-46F Sea Knight. 154848 (c/n 2455) (HMM-265) crashed May 29, 1989 in operations off Okinawa, Japan. 14 of 22 onboard missing. The helicopter was taking part in a routine amphibious training exercise when it pitched over to the right and went into the water upside down.” (Baugher. US Navy…Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (150139 to 156169). 10-29-2011.)

May 31, AP: “Tokyo (AP) — A U.S. Marine helicopter crashed upside down into the sea during night training exercises off Okinawa, and 14 Marines were missing today and feared dead, U.S. military spokesmen said. Authorities said eight other Marines on board the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter, based in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, were rescued shortly after the 11:55 p.m. crash yesterday about 30 miles south of Okinawa’s Kadena Air Force base….

“The cause of the accident was under investigation.

“The Sea Knight helicopter had just taken off from the USS Denver, said Marine Master Sgt. Jake Rodrigues, spokesman for U.S. Forces, Japan. Rodrigues said the helicopter, built in 1967, was carrying a crew of four and 18 soldiers assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment,

Okinawa, for six months’ training as part of a unit-rotation program.

“In Washington, Marine Corps spokesman Lt. Col. Fred Peck said the helicopter “pitched over to the right and went into the water inverted, upside down. I have nothing to indicate why it did that.” Lt. Col. Peck said the four injured men were being treated aboard the Denver, an amphibious transport vessel designed for amphibious assaults and capable of carrying up to six CH-46 helicopters….Capt. Lenny Ryan, a Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station spokesman, said the four suffered minor injuries…. “As soon as they’re able to talk, we’ll start getting information immediately so we can start trying to piece together what happened in this tragedy.”

“Capt. Ryan said the pilot was not wearing night-vision goggles at the time of the accident.

“The helicopter went down 9½ miles southeast of Kiyan Cape, said Nagatoshi Naruse, spokesman for the Maritime Safety Agency, Japan’s coast guard. He said three Japanese aircraft and six Maritime Safety Agency patrol boats joined two U.S. vessels, including the Denver, and four U.S. aircraft in the search.

“Another coast guard spokesman, Kazuhiro Sameshima, said the weather in the area was fair at the time of the crash, with waves about three feet high.

“Okinawa, Japan’s southernmost prefecture, has the highest concentration of Marines outside of the United States. The 20,000 Marines stationed there comprise about 10 percent of the corps.

“Okinawa was under American administration from 1945 until it was turned over to the Japanese in 1972. Under a mutual security pact, 64,000 U.S. troops are stationed throughout Japan, including 35,000 on Okinawa.” (The Capital, Annapolis, MD. “Marine Helicopter Crashes; 14 Feared Dead.” 5-31-1989, 3.)

June 1, AP: “Tokyo (AP) — A search Wednesday for 14 U.S. Marines missing after their helicopter crashed into the sea off Okinawa yielded only four pieces of metal, American military officials reported. The other eight Marines aboard were rescued after the CH-46 Sea Knight, based at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, went down late Tuesday soon after taking off from the USS Denver in an amphibious training exercise, the officials said.” (Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. “14 Marines Sought after Crash.” 6-1-1989, p. A2.)

June 2, AP: “Honolulu (AP) — Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Station has released the names of seven Marines and a Navy corpsman rescued from the ocean off Okinawa, Japan, following the crash of a Marine helicopter Tuesday. They are:

Marines

Sgt. John R. Becker, 24, Slidell, La.

Lance Cpl. Keith A. Brower, 20, Washoe, Nev.

Lance Cpl. Marvin T. Cook, 22, Bonneville, Idaho.

Lance Cpl. David M. Fleming-Jones, 19, Pierce, Wash.

Cpl. George S. Sanchez, 20, Denton, Texas.

Cpl. William R. West, 22, Jefferson, Colo.

Pfc. Jason S. Wiggins, 18, Ouachita, La.

Navy

Hospitalman 3rd Class J. K. Largent, 23, Barboursville, W.Va.”

(Pacific Stars and Stripes, Tokyo. “Crash Survivors Identified.” 6-2-1989, p. 2.)

USMC History Division: “30 May – Another CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter crashed into the sea off the southern coast of Okinawa, Japan. The accident came seconds after the CH-46 took off for night flight operations from the deck of the USS Denver (LPD-9) as part of Exercise Valiant Mark 89-4. Of the 22 servicemen on the aircraft, 13 Marines and one Navy corpsman were killed in the crash.” (USMC History Division. “Yearly Chronologies of the United States Marine Corps – 1989.”)

Sources

Associated Press, Tokyo “Marine Helicopter Crashes; 14 Feared Dead.” The Capital, Annapolis, MD 5-31-1989, p. 3. Accessed 6-21-2016 at: http://newspaperarchive.com/us/maryland/annapolis/annapolis-capital/1989/05-31/page-3?tag=marine+helicopter&rtserp=tags

Aviation Forum. “US military accidents in 1972 to 2000 in Okinawa, Japan.” Accessed 6-21-2016 at: http://forum.keypublishing.com/showthread.php?t=43214

Baugher, Joseph F. US Navy and US Marine Corps BuNos Third Series (150139 to 156169). Oct 29, 2011 revision. Accessed at: http://www.joebaugher.com/navy_serials/thirdseries19.html

Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. “14 Marines Sought after Crash.” 6-1-1989, p. A2. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=28756157

United States Marine Corps History Division, Reference Branch. “Yearly Chronologies of the United States Marine Corps – 1985.” http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/HD/Chronologies/Yearly/1985.htm

1989 — May 29, USMC CH46 Sea Knight Helicopter Crash, Trng. Ex., off Okinawa — 14