On 7 February 1968, the 134^th suffered it's first combat casualties. An entire crew and aircraft were lost while on a MACV support mission at Phu Bon near Cheo Reo. The aircraft flew MACV senior advisors and local commanders to a village that was to have been secured earlier in the morning by nearby PF (Popular Forces) ground troops. On arrival over the village there was no radio contact with the ground unit supposedly at the site but smoke was popped by someone on the ground and the crew landed. However, the PF troops had not yet arrived and the village was occupied by VC who had taken it over the previous night.

After landing and shutting down the aircraft, the crew and six others were ambushed and killed. The aircraft was set on fire and destroyed. Members of the crew were CW2 Roy E. Worth, CW2 Guido S. Reali, SGT Ronald R. Loveland and SGT Harold O. Hoskins. This was a very traumatic experience for everyone in the unit since the 134^th was a close knit group and everyone knew the lost crewmembers well. The war hit home to all in a very personal way. After this, aircraft from the 134^th were not allowed to land in remote locations without establishing radio contact with ground personnel or positive identification.

In a bizarre twist, less than an hour before the ambush of the crew, WO Trainee Hall and WO Mike Harding had been searching for a MACV advisor with the PF troops and had landed at the same village after smoke was popped on the ground. However, they did not shut down or get out of the aircraft. They saw what appeared to be local troops, waved to them (their waves were returned) and realizing their intended passenger was not there, they took off again.

On 6 February 1969, the 134th conducted a Combat Assault with ROK units near Phan Rang. At the landing zone, the VC were waiting in spider holes for the incoming aircraft. The lead ship was hit by ground fire and crashed in the LZ while another (66-16326) was destroyed by a B-40 rocket as it landed. CW2 William M. Harrison, the AC with 24 days left in country, was killed by shrapnel from the B-40. The crewchief, SP4 John Baxter, was hit numerous pieces of shrapnel and also took a hit in a leg that had to later be amputated. The last ship (66-16319) in the 3 ship formation went around the crashed lead ship. As it did, it was hit by a hail of fire and a round hit the gunner, PFC William Ogden, in the neck killing him instantly. The rest of the crew somehow escaped serious jury and managed to get the badly damaged ship back to Phan Rang Air Base.