F

GARY A. FIELDS
DOD 31 October 2006

Gary Fields 2

Gary was a Rat Pack CE/Gunner" 69-70 and the sole survivor of the April 27, 1970 crash that claimed the lives of the other three crew members. He survived by jumping from the UH-1 and in so doing fell some 200 feet, landing in a rice patty.

Gary died in Springdale, AR on 31 October 2006

DAVID M. FILLMORE

David passed away on 10 Aug 2002. David served in the 281st AHC and his last known Address was Larimore, ND

JOE B. FOSTER

13 february 1948 - 3 August 2002
SSAN: 585-12-4123, Date of Birth: 13 Feb 1948 Date Of Death: 03 Aug 2002 Last Address: P.O. Box 1600, Waterflow, NM 87421 Issued: New Mexico

COL ROBERT J. "PETE" FRAZIER

Colonel Robert J. "Pete" Frazier, 084709, reportedly died of unknown causes several years ago. As a captain he was Executive Officer when assigned to the 145th and 6th Airlift Platoons in the Republic of South Vietnam in 1965 and '66 under Kevin Murphy, the Commanding Officer. These platoons were later integrated into the 281st Assault Helicopter Company. Unit orders from this period showed that Pete had been appointed as an Aircraft Commander. Pete was born and raised near Raleigh, NC. While assigned to the Pentagon between Vietnam tours Pete purchased a home in the Mt. Vernon area. Pete had two daughters. On his second Vietnam tour Pete commanded a CH-47 Chinook unit, Company A, 159th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. [Contributors to this Memoriam are Joe Thurston, John Hyatt and Bill Perren]

WO4 FREDRICK "FRED" G. FUNK
17 July 1934 - 16 May 2011

Retired Chief Warrant Officer 4 Frederick G. Funk, 76, of Fayetteville, NC, passed away on May 16, 2011, in Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Fayetteville from complications following a series of strokes. He was born July 17, 1934, in Calcasleu Parrish, LA. Fred had a 30-year military career, and worked for 19 years as a Department of the Army civilian, serving in Special Operations aviation.

Fred spent a total of six years in Southeast Asia, first as an enlisted man, and then as a helicopter pilot. A number of his enlisted service years were spent TDY in six-month tours from the 1st Special Forces Group out of Okinawa. He was a SFC E7 Special Forces Senior Medic when he entered flight school class 67-15 in January 1967 and graduated in September 1967. His first assignment out of flight school was to Ft. Hood, TX where he helped make up the 2nd of the 1st Cav (Blackhawk) Division unit to be sent to Vietnam. He departed with this unit in July 1968 and was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division in Pleiku. He was later assigned to the 281st AHC in Nha Trang in mid October 1968 where he served and flew as Rat Pack 12 from 08-68 until 09-69. He is and always will be fondly remembered by his fellow Intruders.

Fred was an avid hunter, fisherman, and trapper, and dearly loved his retriever dogs. He once revived one of his retrievers when it collapsed after bringing a duck back to the blind by performing mouth to nose resuscitation. Buddies stopping by Ft. Bragg to visit would be invited home for a dinner of things like quail, duck, goose, squirrel, deer, fish, and frog legs, but no beef or pork i.e. domestic meat. He saw no sense in buying meat in a grocery store when he could provide wild game.

Fred was predeceased by his wife Betty, and is survived by his two sons who are both Air Force pilots and of whom he was very proud, Col. Frederick Hugh Funk and wife Penne of Dripping Springs, TX, and Col. Chris Funk and wife Lori of Fayetteville, NC. Additionally, four grandchildren and one great-grandchild survive him. He was laid to rest in Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery in Spring Lake, NC with full military honors. Fred was truly one of a kind, and will live on in the hearts of those that knew him for a many years to come.

From Dave Dosker
Rat Pack 13
281st AHC

Would you cause this to go out on the SF net. Fred Funk was SF who went to Flight School and came back to the 281st at 5th Group HQ in Nha Trang where I had the honor and pleasure of flying with him during 68-69.

He worked at the SF HQ at Bragg after retirement. I'm sure that there are many in the SF community who will want to know of his passing.

From: "Black, Bain"
Date: Tue, May 17, 2011
Subject: Fred Funk Passing

Hello Gentlemen,

I received a call from Hugh Funk this morning asking that we disseminate to 281st Association members that his dad, Fred Funk, passed away last night at the Veterans Hospital in Fayetteville , NC . Most of you know that Fred has been in declining health for the past several years.

I will always remember Fred as a vibrant, witty man who would always put a smile on your face. He had a funny story to tell every time you saw Fred. There is so much good to remember about Fred.

From: Lee Brewer
Date: May 26, 2011

Fred was a SFC E7 Special Forces Medic when he (we) entered flight school class 67-15 in Jan 1967 and graduated in September of 1967. His (our) first assignment after flight school was to Ft Hood, Texas and helped make up the 2nd of the 1st Cav (Blackhawk Division) unit to be sent to Vietnam. He (we) departed with this unit in July 1968 and was assigned to the 4th Infantry Division in Pleiku Vietnam. He flew UH-1 helicopters in the lift section of the unit until being assigned to the 281st AHC on the 15 of October 1968. He then flew slicks for many missions for Project Delta until his departure back to Fort Bragg, NC., the first of July 1969. (There is another story behind our being assigned to the 281st but maybe I can expand on that at the reunion in St Louis)

I'm not sure of his military assignment at Fort Bragg however at one point he requested Branch to send him back to Vietnam for another tour and was told that after spending 6 years in SE Asia he would not be sent back and to enjoy his family in the US. He retired as a CWO W4 and went on to work for the civilian side of Special Operations, in what capacity I really don't know. I used to call him regularly and while he couldn't tell me specifically what was going on in the Middle East due to security reasons, I was able to read between the lines and get a pretty good idea.

Fred was a senior Medic with Special Forces and I am told, a very good one. I can attest to that as he sewed up my face near the left ear after I had opened it up on the edge of a typewriter case when jumping out of a 3/4 ton trailer.

Fred was an excellent helicopter pilot: On one very dark night he and John Ward were returning to An Khe and entered a heavy thunderstorm over the Mang Yang Pass. Fred and I were room mates for the full year in Vietnam so I got to have a personal talk with him at any given time. As he told me they entered the thunderstorm at 3,000 feet and it finally spit them out at about 8,000 feet after a very violent ride. He made one radio call to an aviation tower that he thought they were inverted and going in. He obviously didn't but the Jack Daniels took a serious hit that night after he arrived at our room. He picked me up from Special Forces Camp in Qiun Nhon on the 9th of April after I had been released from the hospital (Gunshot wound to the right thigh). SMAJ McGuire (of the McGuire Rig fame), Fred and I and one other pilot closed the bar at about 4 in the morning and Fred and I headed back to Nha Trang sometime after sunrise. A helicopter really gets quiet at 2500 feet when the engine quits. Fred did a fantastic job putting the helicopter down on a rice paddy dike and we simply waited for help to arrive some 2-3 hours later.

Fred often talked of his sons and how proud of them he was but not anything specific, just really proud. I remember once his wife (Betty) sent him a box of long peperroni sticks which we made a meal of along with some good ol' Tabasco Sauce (always carried in our helmet bags) and a can of jalapeno peppers, a couple of cans of sardines and chased down by a couple of cold ones. Sure made for a short nights sleep.

A number of his enlisted service years in SE Asia was done (TDY in 6 month tours) from the 1st Special Forces Group out of Okinawa.

I have rambled along with a lot of this but maybe you can make a bit of sense out of it. To make it more pronounced - Fred Funk was a great soldier both as a NCO medic and as a helicopter pilot but most of all he was a good man and I will miss him. I make a point of saying a man is not dead until he is forgotten and he will live on for many more years in my heart. I'll miss him. Lee Brewer

One more little tidbit - Fred and I used to be unbeatable at pinochle. We earned a lot of money at a penny a point. As to how we always won, well Fred took that information with him and I am so old that I no longer remember.

Don't know if you can use that but thought it was information as Fred and I spent a lot of time in the club challenging others to the game. They never did figure us out.

I keep thinking of things about Fred. He was an avid hunter, fisherman, trapper and dearly loved his retriever dogs. He once revived one of his retrievers after it collapsed from bringing a duck back to the blind by performing mouth to nose resuscitation. I once visited Fred in Fayetteville and he invited me to eat with him, Betty was working. He offered me quail, duck, goose, squirrel, deer, fish and frog legs (which he caught by hand at night in places that I wouldn't put my hands) but no beef or pork i.e., domestic meat. He just didn't feel it was right to buy meat in a grocery store when it was so much fun providing wild game for his family.

Lee Brewer

ROBERT L. FUNKHOUSER

DOB:10 Apr 1944 DOD: 28 Mar 2009 Age: 64 POD: Muncie, Delaware County 47303 SSAN Issued: Indiana

CHARLES J. FURCINITE
19 Aug 1949 - 12 Jul 2001

Last residence: 12168 Stephentown, Rensselaer, NY, SSAN 012-40-0346 Issued: Massachusetts