It was May 12, 1970, when Maj. Gen. John A.B. Dillard Jr. and nine others boarded a Huey helicopter for a mission in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.
But they quickly encountered heavy enemy fire 10 miles southwest of Pleiku, close to the Cambodian border and 220 miles northwest of Saigon.
The Lake Charles, La.-born Dillard, 50, a married father of three, was killed along with eight others when the chopper crashed into rough terrain. Only one man aboard survived.
Dillard, head of the Army Engineer Command, was the sixth American general killed in combat in Vietnam, according to records from Arlington National Cemetery, where he was buried.
The 28-year veteran was deployed to Vietnam in November 1969.
Dillard also served in World War II and in Korea.
Other generals killed in Vietnam include:
- Army Brig. Gen. William R. Bond.
- Army Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware.
- Air Force Maj. Gen. Robert F. Worley.
- Marine Maj. Gen. Bruno A. Hochmuth.
- Air Force Maj. Gen. William J. Crumm.