Rudolph Francis Dungee was born on March 7, 1946.

 The Philadelphia Inquirer posted the following story on  on February 16, 1967:

 “Little Rudy" as he liked to be called (his dad was "Big Rudy"), a 20-year-old Army pilot from Phoenixville died Monday in Vietnam, the Defense Department announced Wednesday.

The pilot was Warrant Officer Rudolph F. Dungee, husband of the former Constance Dobson, of 1334 Charlestown Rd., and father of their 5-month-old daughter, Deborah Ann.

Warrant Officer Dungee died when his helicopter was shot down by small-arms fire while on a re-supply mission to troops in the field. He had arrived in Vietnam a month ago as a pilot with the 227th Aviation Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division.

 

 

 

He attended Germantown High School and graduated in 1965 from Phoenixville Area High School.

Surviving in addition to his wife and child are his parents, Rudolph E. and Catherine; six brothers, Richard, William, James, Paul, Francis and John; four sisters, Joanne, Kathleen, Diane and Rosemary, and his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Bessie Maloney.

His cousin, Robert Almond posted the following remembrance on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Virtual Wall:

Rudy was my cousin. I remember the day that we got the news that he had been killed. I know that none of us have ever gotten over his death. He will remain in our hearts forever.

Several friends and family members have posted remembrances of Rudy on this site.

Training

In 1966, Rudy received his Warrant Officer Training at the US Army Primary Helicopter Center at Ft. Wolters in Texas. 

Rudy Dungee's Warrant Officer class photo. 
(Click to photo to enlarge)

Photo courtesy: Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association

Incident Reports

According www.flyarmy.org, WO1 Dungee was serving as co-pilot of his UH-1D Huey helicopter along with the pilot, First Lieutenant Donald S. Walker.  Other crew members included gunner Charles Ingraham and Sergeant First Class James N. Cornish.  While on a ground troop re-supply mission in Binh Dinh Province, helicopter UH-1D 65-09942 took heavy small arms fire, severely damaging the engine and other systems.  Rudy Dungee survived the crash but was severely injured and trapped in the wreckage.  Sergeant Cornish and the others aboard the chopper also survived the crash and tried desperately to help Rudy amidst heavy gunfire. 

SFC James N. Cornish posted his story on the incident report page:

I could not get Dungee out because it was too hot in the LZ (Landing Zone), but I did not leave him.  I remember hearing him continuously calling for help.  We assured him (Dungee) that we were still with him, but I could not get him out because [there were] too many bullets flying near us.  I remember when we were taken to the hospital and they brought Dungee out on a stretcher. He gave us his thumbs up. That was the worst day of my life.  I wish I could see...Walker [and] Ingraham and the others that helped out that day.

(The above text was edited for brevity and content).

SFC Cornish was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his actions and for injuries sustained that day.

Warrant Officer Rudolph Francis Dungee died of wounds on February 13, 1967.