Vietnam
-
MIA
Fallen
Circumstances:
In Quang Tri, South Vietnam
Hostile, died while missing, Helicopter - Pilot Air Loss, Crash on Land
On February 7, 1994, Joint Task Force–Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of First Lieutenant Byron Kent Kulland, missing from the Vietnam War.
First Lieutenant Kulland entered the U.S. Army from North Dakota and was a member of Troop F, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 196th Infantry Brigade. On April 2, 1972, he piloted a UH-1H Iroquois (tail number 67-17801, call sign "Blueghost 39") assisting on a rescue operation for a group of American military personnel shot down over South Vietnam. The aircraft was approaching the target area in Quang Tri Province when it came under heavy enemy ground fire that caused it to crash, killing First Lieutenant Kulland. An active enemy presence in the loss area prevented the recovery of First Lieutenant Kulland's remains at the time. In 1993, a joint team traveled to Quang Tri Province and excavated the crash site and interviewed witnesses, which led to the recovery of human remains. In 1994, investigators were able to identify First Lieutenant Kulland from these remains.
First Lieutenant Kulland is memorialized in the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Kulland was lost with fellow soldiers: WO John Wesley Frink of New Mexico and SP5 Ronald Page Paschall of Washington. All have been accounted for.
Biography:
Task Force Omega
From 24 April through 3 May 1993, another Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA) joint team returned to the previously surveyed site. In addition to excavating aircraft wreckage, the team recovered small bone fragments, a few teeth/partial teeth, 2 dogtags for Lieutenant Kulland, 1 dogtag for WO Frink and an aircraft data plate which exclusively correlated the crash site to this loss of these men.
On April 2, 1972, he was the Pilot of a Bell Iroquois Utility Helicopter (UH-1H) #67-17801 trying to rescue Air Force Personnel shot down north of Quang Tri, South Vietnam. His aircraft was shot down and he was killed, declared missing for years.
His remains were recovered on February 8, 1993, and identified on February 7, 1994. He has been laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery along with other members of his crew. First Lieutenant Kulland is memorialized at Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial. This is an American Battle Monuments Commission location. He is honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington, DC, name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 2w, Line 127. Notable awards are the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal, and the Purple Heart.