basically corroborating, very generally, at least, what we ve been hearing. the problem is what happened next, and as you know, the possibilities as far as where this plane is, even as we become perhaps a little more comfortable with the idea that it was, in fact, foul play, we know less than ever about where this plane ended up. there was a pretty amazing theory that, you know, it s very simple, that we ll get to in just a minute because i m really curious to hear you guys talk about the pocket this could have just been a fire. we ll get to that in a minute. captain timothy taylor. the washington post quoted this aviation expert by the name of ron carr. he basically threw out he said the way the plane hit the water, if it hit the water, could determine if we ever find the plane. so he threw out these three scenarios. scenario one, if the plane came in as though landing, it would float and sink, so it would be really huge under water which would be great for sonars to try to find
disregarding the enemy fire, he pulled the pin from a hand grenade and advanced on the bunker, leveling suppressive fire until he could drop the grenade into the bunker, mortally wounding the insurgent and destroying the fortification. without hesitation, he employed identical tactics as he proceeded the eliminate the next two enemy positions. with the destruction of the third bunker, specialist 4 erevia had exhausted his supply of hand grenades. he courageously charged forward behind the fire emitted by his m-16 rifles. arriving at the very edge of the bunker, he silenced the occupant within the fortification at point-blank range. through his heroic actions, the lives of the wounded were saved and the members of the company command post were relieved from a very precarious situation. his exemplary performance in the face of overwhelming danger was an inspiration to his entire company and contributed immeasurably to the success of the mission. specialist 4 erevia s
fire. clearly, richard, i hear you loud and clear. you re saying maybe not a fire because that throws in a lot of other variables, but indeed mechanical. one, we knew that this plane flew. let s say it was mechanical. continued to fly for hours and hours. could it have continued to do so on auto pilot, right? right. and let s just begin there. auto pilot. does that work? sure, absolutely it works. even with a fire, let s say? even with a fire. and the thing about the fire is now you ve opened up a kind of a random scenario of failures. it can explain any kind of sequence of failures because you don t really know where exactly it originated. and where it propagated. it depends how quickly it starts. it s very random and could be expeditious. i handled actually the legal claim arising out of the last
through the phone, he almost passed out. you see, for their gallantry under fire, each of these soldiers were long ago recognized with the army s second-highest award. the distinguished service cross. but ask their fellow veterans, ask their families, and they ll tell you that their extraordinary deeds merited the highest recognition. and today, we have the chance to set the record straight. this ceremony reminds us of one of the enduring qualities that makes america great. that makes us exceptional. no nation is perfect. but here in america, we confront our imperfections and face a sometimes painful past. including the truth that some of these soldiers fought and died for a country that did not always see them as equal.
company c, first battalion air mobile, 501st infantry, 101st airborne division air mobile during search and clear mission near the republic of vietnam on may 21, 1969. after breaching an insurgent perimeter, specialist 4 erevia rendered first aid to several casualties and the rest of the platoon moved forward. as he was doing so, he came under intense hostile fire from four bunkers to his left front. although he could have taken cover with the rest of the element, he chose a retaliatory course of action. with heavy enemy fire directed at him, he moved in full view of the hostile gunners as he proceeded to call from one wounded man to another gathering ammunition. armed with two m-16 rifles and several hand grenades, he charged toward the enemy positions behind the suppressive fire of the two rifles. under very intense fire, he continued to advance on the insurgents until he was near the first bunker.