WO Jimmie Floyd Nabours US Army

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  4. WO Jimmie Floyd Nabours US Army

Air Medal

Jimmie Floyd Nabours was born January 8, 1944 to Walter and Verla Nabours in Deming NM. His family lived on a farm located west of Deming.  He married at a young age and worked at a local filing station while raising his family. He then went on to start his own business in Deming. In the spring of 1968 he enrolled at NMSU to study Business Administration.  He left after one semester. Following that brief stint he was called into active duty.  He was assigned to Fort Wolters TX for training as a helicopter pilot in Flight Class 69-33/69-31. Following his commission as a Warrant Officer he was in-country on January 4, 1970 assigned to “C” Battery, 2nd Battalion (ARA), 20th Artillery Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division.  His unit was an aerial rocket artillery unit flying the AH-1G Cobra gunship. At this time the 1st Cavalry Division was in II Corps, protecting Saigon from attacks coming out of Cambodia.The gunships based at Quan Loi were critically important in protecting fire support bases from being overrun by these attacks.

WO Jimmie Floyd Nabours
On May 1, 1970 the US Army moved into Cambodia to strike at the safe haven the North Vietnamese were enjoying. On 26 June, 1970, while flying at approximately 1500 feet, WO1 Jimmie Floyd Nabours lost the 90 degree gear box from his AH-1 due to ground fire. His helicopter hit the trees at 140 knots at coordinates XU759454 in Cambodia. His co-pilot was located very quickly and evacuated to the aid station at Quan Loi. Almost 4 hours later Jimmie was located and removed from what was left of his helicopter where he had been hanging upside down since the impact. Even though he was alive he had suffered a head injury from which he never recovered and passed away on 30 June 1970. His body was returned to Deming where today he rests in the Mountain View Cemetery. Newspaper reports state that he was survived by his wife, a son and daughter.  WO Jimmie Floyd Nabours was 26 years of age at the time he gave his life in service to his nation.