Moon Landing July 26, 1969
I remembered lookin up at the moon & wondering if anyone was really there. I yelled “Hey, you want to swap places with Me”....no answer so I stayed in Bien Hoa.  I sent out to my Unit Brothers...see below..Danney

Danney, I was flying with the 609th out of Hunter Army Airfield, in Savannah, Georgia in July of 1969. We were in support of the 25th Division over at Fort Stewart. My wife and I had rented a room several months in advance, just outside the Kennedy Space Center. (Cape Canaveral) We had no idea the launch was scheduled for the 16th. It was pure dumb luck. The motel balcony got crowded in a hurry. Even with our distance from launch complex 39A, everything shook when they lit that baby off. It was absolutely awesome. We went on over to Tampa, then to Orlando, and back to Savannah. We made it back to Hunter just in time to watch the moon walk. I'm glad to see the government is going jump start our NASA astronaut program. My next assignment after Hunter, would be with the 190th in December.  Warm Regards   Ole Swede "Stable Master 46"

 Danney, This is cool! I was also flying that day with the 68 th ASLT Helicopter co as a Peter Pilot and remember the announcement as we flew a resupply at Nui Ba Din mountain. Best, Nick  Hun 

 I was at Fort Stewart Georgia Stewart Georgia I had two squads of guys loading ammo trucks go out to gun ranges how I went from Ace mechanic 2A 2 squad leader loading ammo trucks I have no freaking idea that I do remember listen to the radio about it.Ken King 

I was in the 249th General Hospital in Japan after being wounded and they brought T.V.’s into every ward so we could all watch the landing.Pretty cool at the time.  Tom Gilmartin, Gladiator/Spartan 1968-69  

I was  between tours as Brigade Duty Officer at Ft Lewis That day and watched it on a small black & white TV  in the headquarters building.Joe Cancellare Spartan 16

 I remember listening to AFVN, grooving on the tunes through the ADF, heading back to to Bien Hoa, McKee at the controls, and looking forward to a beer at the club. Wondering which thought gave me more pleasure, a man on the moon, not getting killed or savoring a cold one. I think they ranked 3, 2, 1 then. Probably 2,3,1 today!Jim Meunier (Mooner)  Spartan 26 

 I was back on my 2d tour and can remember sitting in a 4-hole'er, outhouse, reading about it in Stars and Strips. Bill Zanow Spartan 69 

 Hi Danney, I also remembering hearing the landing on radio Saigon on the NDB channel when some humorous pilots used guard to make some smart ass calls , ie “ Earth this Apollo 11 send up some CRACKERS “ or “Earth this is Apollo 11 we need an APU “ I distinctly remember one transmission “ Apollo say again you were cut out by a mayday “ Mick “Irish”

 Danney, Trinchitella (KIA) asked me if I heard about the guy going to the moon.  A Vietnamese  girl said: no, there were three.  Three went to the moon.  Ron O’Dell 

 I also remember flying that day and hearing it come over guard or AFVN...everybody started talking about it in all I could think about what the WTF my doing here... People aren't thinking about me or us.    When we later flew president Nixon and his entourage around the area I flew 2nd ship with Patricia Nixon and astronaut Eugene Cernon and CIA guys... I was so proud of myself and I was so proud of all of us there together doing are support role to those in combat... Spartan 12 Moon Mullen

Danny,   I remember hearing it on FM while flying that day. John Bryant   Spartan 4\

Danney , I was flying west of Saigon that day and heard the same broadcast. Bud Holzman   Spartan 13

Good morning, Danny, Buenos Días and Greetings from Mexico City!!   I wanted to share with you and our Brothers my recollections of 50 years ago this day, when Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon. He stepped onto the lunar surface at 02:56 Greenwich Mean Time, which would have been 12:56 p.m. local Vietnam time (thank you, Google!) I was flying peter pilot with Jim Meunier (Spartan 26, a.k.a. “Moon”) that day, and listened to Armstrong’s “That’s one small step...” over the intercom, courtesy AFVN Radio.    I’d wondered in recent years if it was really a delayed broadcast that I’d heard (C.R.S. Syndrome) or if it was live; but Google’s confirmation of the hour would definitely have put Moon & me up in the air, flying single ship missions that day at that time. ALL of us were going about our business that day, in the air, in the hangar, in the Orderly Room, Operations Shack, or wherever; I’ve always felt so honored to have shared that day with the Spartans!!     Jon McKee Spartan 25

 Flying POTUS Nixon - July '69

What was so Special about 190thAHC Life 50 Years ago today.  7/30/69 As I remember we had been locked out – so to speak – of the hangar for the past 24 Hours. For it seems like the past 2 months Strange people had been hanging around watching everything we did. Yesterday and last night it seems like the Hangar area was surrounded by MP, AP, Who Dat P, so what was the Occasion?   

Hi Danney, As the guys have mentioned, it was a remarkable day. Thanks to Colonels Turner and Top for awarding the190th with the mission.  From the daily log I maintained in RVN, I offer the following:1.Flew 29 July with Col Boyer to recon the President’s and Mrs. Nixon’s flight routes.2.Col Boyer and CWO Brenzle flew the president on 30 July.3.I flew lead for Mrs. Nixon’s flight, as Carl Seager mentioned below,  with Major Hill of the President’s Flight Detachment as the PIC.4.On board my aircraft were: Mrs. Nixon, Mrs. Thieu, Mrs. Ky, Mrs. Bunker, and Mrs. Bates plus a Secret Service officer. (Note: I believe I have provided you  a copy of the 9mm film I shot while airborne of these pax.)5.Mrs. Nixon was amazing at 24th Med where she visited burn victims. You can imagine what a tough visit that was for her, or anyone.  Nancy Dickerson just combed her hair and updated her makeup at the 24th using her reflection from the helo cargo door.6.Gave Mrs. Nixon a bunch of Spartan cards per her request.7.Attached below is the picture from Stars and Stripes of Col Boyer and me escorting Mrs. Nixon off the helo at the Palace.Respectfully, Larry Mullendore/Spartan 3 and 3A

  Danney: I can add a little insight on Nixon’s visit to Vietnam. A few days before the President’s arrival, Col Turner (12th Group Commander) came to see me and told me that the 145th had been chosen to support President Nixon on his visit and specifically that the 190th would fly him and his party, based on some very strict aircraft criteria. They needed a specific number of aircraft with engine and power train times within certain defined limits (based on component). The only one I can remember is that engines had to have a minimum of 300 hours. I don’t remember the upper limit for the engine or the times for any of the other dynamic components. The company would be given a down day, the day before (unheard of) under the guise of a DoD inspection. I could not tell anyone. I convinced him that I had to at least tell Joe Jobe, which I was allowed to do. The inspection team (Presidential Flight Detachment) showed up a day or so later and the hanger was locked down. The selected aircraft were given a super thorough Tech Inspection and when declared ready, drained of fuel and placed under armed guard. We obviously had and absolute priortiy for parts, etc and took advantage of it to bring the entire fleet into top notch condition. One of our fuel trucks had been drained of fuel, refueled, tested, surrounded by concertina and placed under armed guard and used to refuel the selected aircraft. By late in the afternoon, it was beginning to become obvious to everyone present that this was no ordinary inspection, but only Joe and I knew what was really going on. When the “inspectors" started covering the floor of the aircraft selected to fly the President with flack vests, I stopped them. We had a 3/4 ton truck with Kevlar armor mounting a Quad 50 machine gun that we used to drive the perimeter at night. I had one of the sides removed, cut to size, and drilled to accommodate the seats and tiedowns and installed on the floor. Col Turner and I had special secure voice radios installed in our ships and flew C&C all day, alternating, so one of us in a freshly refueled ship was airborne, covering the operation the entire day. The 334th had heavy fire teams of Cobras and pathfinders airborne, out of sight, but, covering the President all day. The 68th & 118th were flying insertions along the route of flight all day. Ready to pile on if anything went wrong. Toward the end of the day, Col Turner came up to replace me and cover the visit to the 1st Infantry Division. I was just about bingo on fuel when Mrs. Nixon decided to visit the wounded at the 24th Evac Hospital in Long Binh.  Col Turner stayed with the main party and I accompanied Mrs. Nixon. When she was safely on the ground I ducked into the medevac helipad and begged enough fuel to finish the day. An interesting aside — both Airforce 1 and Airforce 2 made the trip. One landing at Tan Son Nhut in Saigon and the other at Bien Hoa. We were not told which one was carrying the President until the very last minute. As a sour footnote. I requested two signed Presidential photos from the flight detachment, one for the 190th and one for the 145th. Instead I was given a cheap ballpoint pen with the President’s signature on it. One of the hundreds passed out to Congressmen when new legislation is signed and totally inappropriate as a memento of such a historic day. They may have just been getting even because I told them that I had been invited to join their outfit during the Johnson administration while I was stationed at Ft. Hood but had turned them down because I was promised a platoon in the UTT in Vietnam which sounded like a hell of a lot more fun. Old Warrior 6   John Top 

 Danny,  I had Nixon’s daughter on board with two men in suits. All doors were put back on. Must have been very hot.I think they were Secret Service. Spartan 4  John Bryant 

That was when we flew President Nixon around Vietnam. I was with the three aircraft that flew to Than Son Nhut airport to pick him up and then flew him and Pat Nixon to the Presidential Palace in Saigon, then on to Dian to review the Big Red One, then back to the airport. Bell helicopter had their techs at Bien Hoa and gave me a new engine etc.  (1st Inf Div. ) Attached are two pictures--one is of me in front of the Palace waiting for President Nixon and the second is of President Nixon on the flight line at Dian. Bud Holzman  Spartan 13

Bud must have been flying with me,. Our crew chief was Brian  McMahon. Brian had a super 8 color camera and shot film of much of the flight. He sent that film home to his brothers...took it to school and we never saw it after that I never saw it in the 1st place. Bud, hope we remember together we were chalk 2 and had pat and I think Tricia Nixon on board with Eugene Cernan astronaut with cia guys...Pictures of us at Saigon are in my page on the 190th photos. Pat Mullen Spartan 12

We  also had Ambassador  Bunker and his wife aboard to the Presidential Palace. From there another  Huey took Mrs Nixon to the hospital. We flew to DiAn with President Nixon and his group. Bud Holzman Spartan 13

 Several aircraft including mine 694 were placed in the hanger and locked down. These aircraft served to fly President Nixon and his family and entourage during his 1969 visit to RVN Patrick Adcock Sounds like preparation for Nixon’s visit.  Curt Loop  According to Google it was 30 July 1969 that President Nixon landed at Tan Son Nthat  airport and 10 Spartan slicks landed next to Air Force One to pick up the President and Mrs. Nixon. On that day all aircraft were grounded in, I suppose, 3 Corp. we took off from Bien Hoa and there no helicopters anywhere in the sky. I was flying with LaRay Todd and we had the reporters and news crew on our aircraft in a flight of 5 with Mrs. Nixon. We first visited the 24th Evac Hospital for a short visit and then landed at an orphanage half way back to Saigon. Our next stop was the Presidential Palace downtown Saigon. When we left, I will never forget looking up at some very tall trees in front of me that I had to climb over for take off in our weak engine “D” model. The 2 flights of 5 joined up and headed back and landed in front of Air Force One and discharged our passengers. We headed home to Bien Hoa and that is how I remember that eventful day. Does anyone else have any more information? Carl  Seagar Spartan 68 

I talked to Ray Todd and he wants me to interject a few more items: Departing the Presidential Palace, the flight of 10, with the lead aircraft (chalk 1) being piloted by a non-Spartan, landed at a TWA 707 and not Air Force One. All of the passengers and news people departed our ships and had to be called back by the crew chiefs to reposition the flight. The 10 ships returned to full RPM, went to a high hover and touched down at Air Force One. Life is interesting! Nancy Dickerson made a news shot at the 24th Evac in front of our aircraft and Todd, myself and the crew had our mugs in the film clip. Carl Seager 

Hi Danney, I had to smile when I read this email. My memory is not perfect but I do distinctly remember working on my aircraft one morning around that time . I was approached by either our CO or XO and a very smartly dressed civilian. I was asked if the aircraft was available for immediate flight and of course it was. I can not remember who was gunner that day but off we went. We flew to a number of sites which were familiar to me then but I cannot remember them now. We ended up in Saigon (Hotel 5 maybe) and shut down. Whilst there I was approached by a unit member who was just back from R and R looking for a spin back to Bien Hoa . I explained the situation to him including all the areas we had been to earlier. He decided he would find a alternative way back to base.Later the CO/XO and the civilian returned and we all flew back to base. On shutdown the civilian approached me and warned me that I was not to tell anyone of our route that day as it was top secret. Needless to say I did not tell him of my encounter in Saigon 😂🤣  We had just flown part of the route POTUS would later take. I think it may have been Dale Armstrong that I met that day in Saigon. Regards Mick C (Irish)

I was the R&R returnee. My memory was I walked from Tan Son Nhut to Hotel 3. Just returned from Singapore I was in my khakis with suitcase and a couple of souvenir packages. There was a guard at the gate in his class As. It looked like the whole 190th was there. I asked if I could go in. That was my company and I needed a ride. "Sure man, go on in". I had no idea what was going on. The Horse was the last ship out. I tried to wave. The pilot waved me off. My company was gone and I needed a ride to Bien Hoa. Operations found me a ride with the 68th. I got back to the company, went to the mess hall and was told by the Pilot of the Horse that the men in suits had their weapons out intent on shooting me. SNAFU.  "It’s Vietnam".        Dale Armstrong

I Remember Us Tin Bender Engineers taking out the jump seats in C&C Ship and installing a 3” thick piece of fiberglass plate, then putting the jump seats back. It was supposed to stop anything less than 50 cal. Had to take it out to get back to normal lifts as it was Too heavy.  Danney Pickard

Flying VPOTUS Agnew - January '70

1/1/70 190thAHC Spartans Flew The Vice President, after Flying POTUS 7/31/69. I found this pic of the VPOTUS in the "Attic Album".  Wonder whose hand UC from Peter Pilot seat?
 Danney, All four of the aircraft used that day to fly the VP and his entourage came from the 2nd Platoon, 190th AHC (my platoon).  I flew as AC in one of the other ships.  The pilots for the VP were a MAJ Green (that was flown in specifically as his pilot) and MAJ Jobe, the 190th Commander.
They flew in many technical people to inspect our aircraft.  We flew the ships every day but they said they all had problems.  But they fixed them.  We had guards around the clock and on the fuel truck.  The morning of the flight, we all had forgotten to fill up so we hustled to get fuel and headed to Saigon (Tan Son Nhut) to pick up the VIP party.  Once we picked everyone up, we found out that we were given a FM frequency of Cu Chi tower.  MAJ Green said for him go to his alternate.  Some SP4, I’m sure, said he didn’t have an alternate and for us to go to our alternate (that we didn’t have either).  But all my ships had VHF radios.  So I found a quiet frequency and asked for a commo check.  No one answered, so I used our platoon code to tell the other aircraft to go to the new VHF frequency.  We spent the entire day on that frequency.
What I didn’t realize was that none of the other aircraft (filled with Bn Cdr, 1st Bdr Cdr, Arty Cdr, and Inf Cdr) that followed us at 500’ higher altitudes know where we were and never heard a word the entire day.
The VP was supposed to depart for the Philippines that night, but instead stayed in a hotel (or the Embassy) overnight.  One other ship and my ship spent the eventing retracing the route picking up the Secret Service people that missed the flights.  We then stayed overnight in Saigon (on call) to pick up the VP just in case.  That was my first night spent in Saigon. Curt Loop (190th AHC XO)
Awesome Sir. That is practically Same Same as POTUS visit end of July '69, as I remember. We had lots of "Special Folks" all over the hangar for a couple of weeks before the flight. Looking into and watching everything. 24 Hr Prior to mission, Hangar & POL was Off Limits and guarded round the clock. We installed a fiberglass like plate across the floor of the C&C ship. Had to drill holes, for jump seat legs to go thru. It was 2"-3" thick as I remember & "supposed" to stop everything short of a .50 cal round. We had to take it out before returning to Regular Flight as it was too heavy. I am still Amazed to this day that POTUS & VPOTUS were flown by the 190th AHC Spartans. I also Kick my Own Butt that I did not save the "President's Choice" patch that was made & that no one has a Pic of that patch today.   Danney
Hi Danney, Spartan 14 here.  I too flew with the aircraft for the VPOTUS visit.  I flew as right seat to a senior AC from either the 118th or 68th.  I think we were either chalk 3 or 4 with Secret Service guys on board.  Remember it pretty much as MG Loop stated.  Remember landing on the embassy roof the first day then again the morning of the second day.  VP Agnew went to one of the hospitals at Long Bing then on to Bien Hoa to depart. Randy Rife



 Danney, In 1969 I remember seeing debris somewhere in III Corp that was what I believe was an old French derailed train engine and cars on an abandoned track. I cannot recall where it was. May I ask you to inquire of your contacts if anyone else recalls the train or has photos or information about it? Happy New Year,  Jimbo Harris

Danney, The rail train was on the rail that went from between Saigon to Xuan Loc and then east near the ocean then all the way north near the ocean.  The train was near Xuan Loc. This is about how I remember and hope I am right. Danney,  The train rail went from Saigon to Xuan Loc and then near the ocean and up all the way north.  I think that the train junk was near Xuan Loc. Tony Peters

It was out by Xuan Loc,,,, near the base of Gia Ray mountain on the west side,,, 8-10 klicks,,,Jon Logan

Wasn’t that the one that we used for a target and free fire zone?  Jimmy Webb

Danney, The first 2 responses triggered my memory. Thank you & Happy New Year. Jimbo H

Yes, one was between Xuan Loc and Vung Tau Jon CarricoIt was near Xuan Loc. It was on a very flat area . We landed on top of one of the cars still on the track.  Bud Holzman Spartan 13I rolled in on a train with maybe 6 to 8 box cars north  of Xuan Loc  shot them up. Other crews had shot it up to. It been sitting there long time. About 1969 or 1970. Door gunner Quentin Pitra 190AHC.

See attached photo.  I was told it was a ambushed French train and it looked like someone recently used it for target practice. I remember it as east of Xuan Loc in III Corp. Carl Jacobs

In 1967 & 68 there was a train just north of Xuan Loc it was laying on its side. The Viet Mien blew it up during the French time. Early 1972 the train ran between Phu Bai and Da Nang, stopped running during Easter Offensive. That is all I know about Viet Trains.Jerry Shelton

                                     French Train Pic Above from Pat Mullen

 Our 190th AHC spent at least three (3) Christmas Days In Country. Any Christmas Care Packages Shares  that you Remember?
My Christmas was ’69 and I have shared my Memory of that day in the past, but not about a Care Package.  We got care packages from The World that were simply wrapped in brown paper – my memory – no particular name.  These were from folks back in The World that simply wanted to give us something special.  Mine had a wash cloth and towel, maybe a tooth brush & tooth paste. They were not brand new, but washed & Clean. I thought it was Awesome & they were Not OD Green.  It was from unknown folks who simply cared about us.
Any memories you care to share??     
On my first tour, Christmas 1965, before I ever heard of the 190th, I was in An Khe.  We received several boxes of pillow cases that were collected by members of VFW Post 2122, Inglewood, CA.  They were all different sizes and colors, and were greatly appreciated by all.  There was also a good supply of goodies to eat packed in with them. Bill Long
I flew all Christmas Day in 69' we took donut dollies to around 8 fire bases by the end of the day we were all pretty drunk 😵 The chaplains were mixing drinks at every stop. The ladies were lying on the floor board when we dropped them off in Long Bien. When we landed back at Spartan base it was dusk and we staggered back to our houches.  But it was a Merry Christmas 🎁  Jim Newsomhi pickard - my mother sent me several bean burritos in a care box to share with my buddies. since i am half mexican ( my mother was mexican ) we ate just mexican food while i was growing up. so she thought every one would enjoy the burritos. she sent the package three weeks before Christmas (it took three weeks to get to me) and when it arrived the burritos were petrified, hard as rocks. i laugh so hard as did some of the guys that watched me open the box. but bless her heart she did her best. i sure do miss her. ernie powell (christmas of 1969)
This was Pat ( Stoney's) and my room for Christmas 69. My mom sent all the goodies ,quite festive..Attachment 1   John Mathiesen
Hey Danney! Merry Christmas to you and Mama!My Christmas was '69 also. I got in country Dec 21-22nd. And arrived at the 190th on the afternoon of the 22nd Went to jungle Training(yup- you remember jungle training)For a day and a half. So, on Christmas I was Pretty much my own-knew no one. Pretty Blue for the 25th. By New Years- things were much better. Missed the care packages, but learned very quickly that care packages picked up at mail call from home made you friends Instantly! I was  be- friended by Bauer, Streeter, and Martin that day! Hunger Can be a glue that binds us together!!  Joe Fisher
Guess I was one of the unlucky ones, I arrived Jan 6 and went home Dec 2, 1970. And for basic they gave us two weeks off to go home at Christmas and I was home at Christmas on 30 days leave before leaving for Nam. Missed out all the way around but I did owe the Army 20 days leave when I discharged 3 months after Nam with 2 years, 2months and 2 days of active duty. Carl Jacobs
John: Do U know what happened to the  Mess hall poster on yo wall? Danney 
Nope.     Did someone bring it home, was it u. ?

Danney: Fish found it as the Unit was closing & turning over to the VNAF. He took it down off the wall & back to the world. At Our First Reunion he gave it to me. I had it Laminated at Staples & it was on Display at Our Rucker Reunion Supper. It's with All My Reunion stuff. From Bien Hoa, to California, to Pennsylvania, to Georgia, to Alabama & back to Georgia. AWESOME✌️Dude....jus sayin.  

John: Hope to see it again this fall in Atlanta, flippin cool..👍🚁🚁✌️ Danney: Somethin tells me that you will.
I flew all day on Christmas of 67, we saw many sampans on the rivers that normally didn't have any, I guess this was in preparation for the Tet of 68.  At least we didn"t get shot at.  Mel Yanda Spartan 53
I guess I remember Thanksgiving of 1969 sitting on the rice Patty Roades , at TAN AN ...NEAR THE TESTICLES...perpendicular line ships side by side . eating the turkey patties from our c-rations that the crew chiefs had been saving up. We had been doing combat assaults. It was very hot. The Infantry were just able to get around the nose of the aircraft to board the ships.As we sat there in the heat someone came on the intercom and said listen to the Armed Forces Radio. We are whooted and Hollard...did it because it was the doors Jim Morrison extended version of Light My Fire.  Pat Mullen Spartan 12

 From Bill Zanow - Spartan 69 - to Lisa Oglesby about the day Eric Oglesby earned the DFC during a DCS for 9th ID near Dong Tam:

Hi Lisa - I wanted to take a minute to say hello and to let you know how saddened I am for your loss of Eric. Beyond that, I am also saddened that I never saw or talked with Eric following our shared Viet Nam tour together in 1967/68.  Those of us that were fortunate enough to fly choppers as young kids versus slogging through the rice patties as infantrymen shared a special bond.  Like kids I went to high school with in the early 60’s its easy to forget names and faces until you thumb through an old year book and see a name or a picture that bridges the short 50 years that have somehow slipped into a rearview mirror. Seeing Eric’s name reminded me of his friendship, good sense of humor and great looks. Beyond that, it also reminded me of a day in April of 1968 when we both received Distinguished Flying Cross awards while flying a rescue mission in the Dong Tam area of Viet Nam in support of members of the 9th Infantry Div.  I thought that maybe you, members of your family and others that knew Eric might like to hear about the events that led up to the award.
Background.
Eric and I both flew UH-1D “Huey's” as members of the 190th Spartans. We were on a typical combat assault mission that day (I think it was April 17th) flying sorties for the 9th ID in an area of Viet Nam called the Delta. The Delta was mostly all flat terrain with miles of rice patties. We typically flew 10 ship formations while carrying loads of infantry men (aka grunts) into landing zones in pursuit of Viet Cong (VC).  We all hated flying in the Delta area as everyone there seemed to be enemy and not at all timid about shooting at us as we flew over their houses. On this particular mission I was flying an aircraft called “Smoky”; a Huey that was modified to carry an oil solution that when pumped onto the hot exhaust of the helicopter’s jet engine, would immediately vaporize and cause an dense cloud of smoke. Our mission was to fly between suspected enemy locations (usually tree lines) and place a smoke screen such that the 10 troop carrying helicopters could land and drop their grunts into the landing zone and quickly exit the zone before the smokescreen lifted.  I loved flying Smoky for all the reasons a young kid likes to drive fast cars - it was the best of all. Besides, you were typically flying over 100 MPH so less likely to get hit by enemy fire than the guys landing in the zone to drop off the grunts. 
On this mission while I was putting the screen of smoke down and the 10 troop ships were just off-loading their grunts, a huge explosion occurred, followed closely with 2 more. As you might imagine things get pretty crazy when enemy fire is coming in and your basic instinct tells you to get out of the area as quickly as possible or you will soon be filling a body bag. Well we didn’t know if the explosions were as a result of a soldier stepping on a land mine or possibly a result of enemy mortars dropping into the landing zone. That said, truth be known the source didn’t make much difference to us as one was equally as bad as the other. The good news was as the smoke cleared, all 10 aircraft were flying out of the landing zone and for a brief moment I was feeling relieved that the worst of it was behind us and none of Spartan team members were hit.  Then I heard Eric say "Lead (e.g. our flight leader), one of the grunts that just got out of my ship, took a direct hit with the mortar and lost his legs - and I’m going back in to get him!  Still suffering telltale traces of PTSD from as earlier episode when my aircraft was shot down and our crew was left overnight in a "gone-bad" rescue mission in Laos, my knees were shaking so hard that I was having trouble keeping my feet on the helicopter floor pedals. I knew the next call I was about to hear was “Smoky, this is Lead, get enough smoke dow so Eric and crew can execute their rescue mission and get the soldier the medical care he needs to survive.  Yep - Eric quickly brought his ship around, landed, loaded the soldier and was out heading to a nearby med-evac site. For him it was just another  day’s mission - one that could have easily been turned down because of the unknown source of the explosions and another soldier’s name would have been added to the Wall. And as the story goes, we completed our day like hundreds of other 20' something warriors and celebrated another day of our 365-day tour with a cold beer and a cold shower that night, not knowing what the next day would bring.
Eric was a hero and I am proud to have known him. Bill Zanow

From Jack Brennan '67-'68

So, I'm sending you the photo that you can use for the Called Before Us Page... JackB  Looks like a .45 Thompson in Yo Lap. I love my .45's....Danney Yep..  an old Chicago Chopper..  that was at Di An..  before we got to the 190th..A  1st DIV  base camp..  we ran convoys up Highway 13 to Lai Khe and points north..  a lot of WW II &  DIN BIN FOO  surplus was floating around out there.1st AVN BN  was there...  tower across the road from us..  just as our orders came through for the 145th...August 67...  a Delta model lost the main rotor on takeoff at about 1000 ft... some colonel came over to question  us witnesses...  but he insisted that a cargo door came loose ..  causing the FUBAR..I  read years later..  maybe on VHPA..   that there was a problem at Bell about then...  and a few Hueys in country had  loss of main rotor ..Kind of like why the 190th went north to work with the Marines. Their CH-46s were losing the rear rotor and transmission...very bad for Morale if it happens at 1500 ft.Although.  my brother was a grunt with 3rd Marines and he never was on a chopper..  they always walked..  or traveled   by truck or AMTRAC.When the 101st showed up in the summer of 68 to close down Khe Sanh Mike said they had more helicopters than there were in the entire USMC. Then 1st CAV  arrived with more choppers than the 101st...But they still had to go by truck...  it must be some halls of Montezuma Semper Fi tradition.There you go..  a flock of 46's awaiting "modification"  in the background. Maybe it was safer to walk in those days..JackB

Now...R these pics on the ones U sent me B4- I done seen so many- OR R they New pics I ain't seen? DanneyThese are all from the pix that Ray scanned and sent you 2 or 3 years ago.  They are in the scrapbooks and in a link elsewhere.. I have them in Google.That's why I say...  there are a few hundred..   mostly 3rd platoon EM and pilots..  but so far I have only gotten 1 email ..  from Buzz Roberts  a few years ago...  and...  have  any of those 67-68 guys ever gotten in touch with you to say..  HEY..  THAT'S ME .. In scrapbook 19-3.It was only a $50  camera..  but the slides project well on a screen..  and the pix display well as to color and resolution on 25" computer screens. People should be able to recognize each other. Ray did a great job..I have some good pix there of the first year in country..  are people not seeing them ?But..  its possible some guys may not want to come forward...  I myself am half and half on that. There are only 5 guys I talk to..  2 from the 190th...  and, we were all 3 infused or a transferfrom elsewhere in country. Maybe some just want to forget it all.  I've met a few. JackB

Just yesterday one emailed me about an Unknown AC in a pic that was him. U have to realize that of the 4,600 pics on Our website - that I uploaded One-At-A-Time - they get lost in my head. Some do let me know ID but most don't - Go Figger. It's like the 300 pics I Took..Remember Faces - Can't Remember Name & Remember Names - Can't Remember Faces. I Ain't the Only One. That's why I started the As we were Then / As we are Now Scrapbook page.  It helps jog memories.  Buzz was a Good Un & we Lost him Dec 2014. Danney

Yep..  the old synaptic passages ain't what they used to be..  and there may be a few billion neurons that aren't firing these days. I forget names   faces  places...  dates...  who what when where and why too...Like if you were a cook and made breakfast for 2000 every day..  would you remember who ordered over easy  50 years later.. unless something unusual happened..  like he shot the mess sergeant. There are guys in my pix I cannot recall their names...at all...But we didn't all work in the same place every day..  Like the hangar or the orderly room...Plus..  we were transfers from elsewhere..  didn't come over on the boat. Some things will just remain an eternal mystery....  like who is that guy? It could be anyone. JackB

From W.O. (Bill) Crabbe '67-'68

Cudos Danney... How many people can say they reunited an Irishman with his Angell? Great Story & it is always good to hear a Grunt's appreciation for out efforts because at the end of the day that's why we did what we did...  In December of 1965 after Basic, Advanced Airborne Infantry Training I graduated from Jump School at Ft Benning. My orders assigned me to the 82nd Airborne Div at Ft. Bragg. After a year I spent several months in the Bragg hospital from the first mass jump from a C141paraschute failure. All but a few of us had not been levied to RVN as replacements for the 101st Airborne or other divisions in need of replacements. I found myself training National Guard legs and disliked it intensely. My one and only friend Harold E. (Buddy) Fetner came to me all excited regarding a memo posted on the Company bulletin board asking for volunteers to Door Gun helicopters & Vietnam. We both volunteered & to my surprise the First Sergeant allowed me to go. He said; “You been trying to get over there ever since your brother went over so I’m going to let you go. If you stay hear I’ll get you 3 stripes and you can serve out your remaining 18 months in the States training NG’s. I replied “ Let me go Top” & he did…   The 4 months @ Ft Campbell was bizarre to say the least but that’s another story. I gunned a slick for 6 months with the 2nd platoon out of Dau Tieng & Phu Hiep / Tuy Hoa before being transferred to the 190th AHC Spartans / Gladiators. I remained a slick gunner & extended my tour. It was during this extension that the following flight took place.The PIC always asked the crew if it was OK, to go do mission impossible, that had many times been turned down by medivac. One night at the outdoor movie a CQ stopped the movie and asked for a crew of volunteers to fly into a Firebase that was being overrun with ammo & to pick up wounded. Nobody stood up or spoke a word. He just stood there not knowing what to do next. Having been in the infantry the thought came to me that if I was out there I would want someone to bring me ammo & come & get me if I was wounded. I stood up & my crew chief who had also been in the infantry looked at me as if I was a lunatic. I said to him if you were out there wouldn’t you want someone to bring you ammo & pick up your wounded. He stood up & we walked to the flight line where we were met by two pilots we never saw before. The PIC had the look of a pilot who had been in country for some time but he didn’t give off that inexplicable aura of angry determination that came with time. The Co- Pilot was a FNG, baby faced, with fear in his eyes, better that then an FNG with fake arrogance trying to cover up his fear. We took off into the darkness flying direct to the Firebase. Upon arrival the fighting was at a fever pitch with tracers flowing in both directions. A high performance Jet aircraft was making a run on the area that the Firebase was concentrating its fire. We made contact with the Firebase command that was eager to get the Ammo. We were fully loaded with ammo of all kinds for small arms & other munitions. The PIC took us down through the enemy fire while the grunts used there last bit of ammo to cover us on approach. In addition the Jet made another run unloading bombs & strafing the enemy positions. The Crew Chief ( Big Tom) a 6ft  Floridian of intimidating demeanor, a former 101st Airborne Grunt on his 2nd tour that went from Gunner to Crew Chief  & I were both firing full tracer, full suppression fire all the way to the Firebase perimeter. We touched down & Big Tom & I went to work tossing out wooden ammo boxes. My adrenaline was at beyond peak & the boxes were as light as a feather. I was hurling them as far as 10 feet from the ship, one of the grunts who had come over to the right side of the ship as I tossed the boxes. One box hit him in his foot as he backed away. I hoped he wasn’t hurt badly but kept unloading. The ammo was being dispensed to the perimeter by the grunts on the left side as Big Tom unloaded ammo. The Ground commander thought it would be best if the ship was closer to a group of trees. I jumped from the ship to guide the PIC closer to the trees so that we would not have a main blade strike. I was unplugged from Communication so I don’t know what was being discussed. I ran toward the left side of the ship to aide Big Tom. The fighting was getting more intense especially since the infusion of ammo to our side. We were released to head back to the Firebase HQ base with one wounded and the grunt I had hit with the box. I leaned over before we took off & apologized for hitting him. His reply was classic Grunt: “Are you kidding me man you got me out of that shit storm” As we were gaining altitude I spotted the Jet making a another pass as I was  suppressing fire, fighting our way out of the “Shit Storm”. As the jet unloaded he banked his ascent right in our direction. I immediately informed the PIC that the Jet was headed at us at 5 o’clock low. As the jet continued his ascent his position changed to 3 o’clock still ascending towards us. I repeated the warning several times but the NFG co-pilot couldn’t see him. By now my brain was calculating time, speed & distance in the same manner as if I was quarter backing my HS football team throwing a pass. I was past frustration with my communication attempts that were being ignored. The PIC had noticed my resignation of silence & asked where the jet was? My reply was “Never Mind”! The Jet jockey spotted us & lowered his left wing to the point that the tip his wing was parallel to the ground. The PIC finally saw the Jet & pulled back on the Cyclic until the ship nose was pointing in a straight up flare. I could actually see the Jet Jockeys face & white helmet as he roared past our path. The PIC got control of the ship after that near miss continuing on our course. After a few silent minutes we gained altitude & the cold wind became intolerable. I asked the PIC if we could close the doors because of the cold in consideration for the wounded & he responded in the affirmative. We landed at the HQ base & unloaded the wounded expecting to fly back with more ammo, etc. However we were released to return to Bien Hoa. On the flight back to Bien Hoa home base of the Spartans. The PIC said; “If that ever happens again just say break left or right” My reply was “it will never happen again!” I included “Big Tom if I ever volunteer us for anything again you have my permission to shoot me in the head”! Since my time in the Army I have become a pilot myself I fly a conventional aircraft, Maule, M7- 235c, bush plane. I have an appreciation of how difficult it is to see 360 degrees in every direction especially at night. However trusting your crew is paramount to survival. I understand to some extent the rotation of pilots to different ships & placing the more experienced with the less experienced. Although from the Crew Chief /Gunner point of view it did not always benefit the bond that is in my humble opinion a positive that evolves as trust. The bombing crews of WWII were a team that stayed together fought together & sometimes died together. The Huey Crew pilots of Nam were always in a state of flux. We did get a familiar pilot(s) on a day by day basis. In the 188th AHC Captain Charbonneau who was a short timer was infused from another AHC. He became our Flight Platoon leader for a few months. He liked the way I would point to guns forward on an assault firing full tracer ahead into the LZ on approach.  He also had great confidence in Joe Low’s Crew chief knowledge & care for the ship. He decided to fly with our ship on every mission he flew. We bonded as a crew professionally via his leadership. It was an experience that I will always reflect upon because it taught me what leadership was all about.  To this day I still question as to Why? The pilot rotation was so anti team. It could not have been about training because we all know only some can teach! Others may have the task but they don’t have the gift… W.O.(Bill) Crabbe  ’67-‘68


48 Years Ago Today

3/22/16 - morning, danney.  Today in 1968 a rocket hit The hanger where 45 guys were working, these guys were all aircraft mechanics , Doing their job to keep these helicopters in the air, most were wounded.  I was making you aware that at least 45 guys shedding blood that day. I know because I have the list of the number of people that received their purple heart including myself.     James Londers

Also WO-1 Richard Perigo was duty officer that night in the operations Quonset hut next to the hanger.  A piece of the 122 mm rocket shrapnel went through all the walls and hit him in the leg with enough energy and damage to send him home.  If you don't remember Mr. Perigo, he was the Gladiator pilot who took two direct hits in his chicken plate over Saigon during TET.Bob Coveney, Gladiator 25

 I don't remember him but he is on my orders of people that received a Purple Heart for that day. James Londers

Hi Danney.  Yes I remember him very well.  I was there the night we were attacked.  I was on the flight line aligning the rocket pods and the mini guns. When I saw the hanger hit I ran over to the hanger.  There were several people hit / injured.  When I saw Perigo I attended to him first.   I also was on the same mission when he was hit in the chest plate.  I was flying with George Taylor (a great pilot) who was the AC.  We were hit also and both out aircraft had to make an emergency landing in Saigon.   That was a very interesting day.   By the way the CO landed there as well and he told Perigo that he could keep the chicken plate. Hi Danney.  I have this in my diary.  The attack came at 0130 hrs.  Ed Justice and I were on the line sighting in the gun ships. There were many wounded, one killed.  Perigo was the OD he was hit pretty bad on the upper left leg as I recall.  Ed and I did what we could until help arrived.  I took over as OD.   Thanks Joe Mink Gladiator 14

                                                        Richard Perigo

I was there but, remember it well, I was lucky enough to be in the hanger that night.Tony Scarcelli

190thAHC Christmas 1968 - Thanks Dewey Wilhite 

Compiled Sam Denton  Emails -190thAHC Early History 

I also was one of the first members of the 190th when we formed at Ft. Campbell and we had L-11 engines. That included my platoon, the Gladiators, which was the C model with L-11s. Sam 

After many years memories get faded. The original members of the 190th arrived at Fort Campbell well before the 190th formed. I arrived in October 1966 and was assigned to B company general support, 101st AB Division. My W-2 was Jim Newhouse, he was supposed to teach us, as well as show us how to do the right thing in combat. Between him and the other senior warrants they did a great job. The vast majority of us returned safe and sound. Dave Hagler and Charles Vaughn took care of us. They were always out front and in the middle of the action. The 190th was a great unit due to David Hagler because he formed us and led us to Vietnam. He will always be my Hero. Sam

Don Monk was in the 190th. I don't remember him being shot. He died in a Mohawk crash, while flying for the Test Activity, many years ago. Sam

BY the way two additional members joined us mid tour of the first year the 190th was in country. George Taylor and Robert Parks, who was our platoon leader. George lives in Abbeville, Alabama and retired as a DAC. Parks I believe is in North Carolina. You may have them listed and I just missed it. Sam

Due to old age and poor memory I can't remember those I didn't have day to day contact with. These I do remember!Michael Grant, think he lives in Colorado, Richard Innskeep, Phillip Parrish, Ronald Radke, Vernon Reynalds, Lives in Daleville, Al  Jimmy Simon,William Whitney, Not sure but I feel like he died in Vietnam. Bence Pinter I am not sure of. I thought he went to OCS after Flight School and later was rifted. Dick Skaaden was in the unit and retired as longest Warrant Officer on Active Duty. Roy Stewart was in the unit but not sure if he was for the complete tour. Now A Pastor in the Daleville, Alabama area, or at least he was 12 years ago. Those above served during my tour. Will keep reviewing and try to clear my memory. Sam By the way back then Skaaden was known as Skinny Skaaden

Danney, Vern Reynalds e-mail is. He would welcome contact and looks forwarded to contributing what he can. Roy Stewart did not stay with us in Vietnam very long. He was infused fairly quickly. Sam

I noticed three others that caught my attention.  Ron Cody: Think he lives in Washington, State or in that part of the country, Billy Sprague: He was the Platoon leader when we flew our aircraft to Stockton, Ca. Don't really know much after that, George Underwood: Don't remember if he stayed with us in Vietnam. Vern might remember better than me. Sam  Larry Sanders was also in the unit at Campbell. Don't know any follow on information. Danney I can get Jerry Drennon’s email address. He worked for me for years. He is a great guy. I tried to get him to take a management position for several years. But, he loved flight instruction

Danney when I saw the name Kenner it rang a bell. We also had a pilot named Curt Kenner or (Curtis). He was a Captain and was from Tennessee. He and I flew together on numerous missions to include several in I Corp. Don't know what happened to him. We called him Mr. Clean because he looked like the guy in the commercials. He was in the gun platoon. Vern Reynalds might remember more about him. Sam

Danney look at Field Artillery OCS class R2-62. I would bet a beer that is our Curt Kenner. He owns and operates an airport in Seymour Tn. Phone for the airport is: It is called Kenner Farm Airport. Sam  Danney no need to ponder. I just talked with Curt. He is our Kenner and he is the one I flew a lot of missions with. The phone number for the airport is correct and his email address is:

Danney two additional people that were 190th members are Richard Daum and James Boyd. I found an old photo of them from New Year’s 1968. Robert Parks was also in the photo. Where they are I don't know. I did run into Daum in the middle 80s and he was a full Colonel at the time. Sam

Danney, First I want to thank you for taking on this project. Second I want to remind you that all memories are faded. I was flying with Curt Kenner on that day, night, and next day that this action took place. I remember vividly the action and where our fire was directed and when the Jolly Green and our UH-1 went down. I also remember vividly seeing the enemy fire. I also remember vividly the instructions given to each rescue crew before they went in to make the extraction. The information provided by Major Hagler is for the most part accurate. The crew member on the ground also was accurate as far as my memory allows. I know for sure that none of our gunships, as I was able to see, shot down any of our crews. My call sign was Gladiator 23 and we were very careful to direct our fire as directed by the Special Forces on the ground. Remember we were using strobe lights for our guiding points for directing our fire. I do know that there was no better aircraft commander than Curt Kenner on that mission. As I said memories aren't the greatest after all these years, but when I hear that they don't know if the enemy shot the UH-1 down it bothers me, because I know they did. I was above and privy to the action. This is my only comment, I will not respond in the future to people guessing as to causes. Sam

Danney I forgot to tell you that Capt. Ware was the Pilot that was badly burned when the grenade was dropped by an infantry troop leaving the aircraft. Either the door gunner or crew chief was killed in the blast. I can only remember Capt. Ware as a member of the crew. Sam  Danney, the pictures you sent me, The first one is me, Sam Denton, The second is Les, the third may be Major Boyd, the fourth may be Zebehazy, and the fifth appears to be Coveney. I believe this was the ceremony when I got the Silver Star but don't know for sure. Sam .9263, the guy in the middle, short on hair may be Curt Kenner .9266, on Les's left is me, Sam Denton, to my left is Zebehazy. The two guys to Les's right I recognize their face but can't remember their name. Sam

.9266 Les says to his far R (1st guy L in pic) is Jim Narup. He said .9263 middle was Capt. Kenner.  Did Les call U? Yes, we talked for a while last night. Relived old memories, Good and Bad. Sam  It is possible that the guy between Les and Narup may be Skinny Skaaden. Don't know how Skaaden spelled his last name. Sam Would that be Richard (Dick) Skaaden?  He is on our lookin 4 list. Danney, Skaaden is our man. Don't know where he is but, he is the one we are looking for. The last place I can find is Keller, Texas. Cell phones have increased the difficulty of location. VHPA may have an updated address. I haven't checked. But, that is probably a good way to go. Sam

See below from Arentowicz, who Gambill Dick told me was writing a book about the Laos incident where Spartan 53 went down. We both know more pilots were involved and that none of our guys were put in for awards. I do not want to kick the can over again and upset any of our guys. At the same time if a book is coming out I think All of our guys involved should be mentioned. Please give me direction on this one as how you think I should answer, or pass him off to Maj Hagler?? Danney

Danney I think you need to pass this on to Dave Hagler. I don't want to be mentioned or involved in something that happened almost 45 years ago. Those who deserve recognition can speak for themselves. Those who don't, have to live with themselves. My philosophy has been don't look back, only look forward. I am quite satisfied with going forward. I was out of town for a few days so wasn't able to respond. Sam

Bottom row Les Howell, to his right in order, George Taylor, Sam Denton, Forgot next two's names. I think Justin is the last. Top row right is Capt. Parks Platoon leader, to his right in order, first one unknown, second one is Wade Young, Don Monk, Wayne Walker, Minkewicz (spelling is wrong) next unknown, last is Zebehazy.  Hope this helps! Sam Denton  Danney you show George Taylor and Irby Shipp as Gladiator 23. That can't be correct. I was Gladiator 23 from the time we got to Vietnam until I left in June or July 1968.   Sam Denton

 Danney, I have attached the Gary Anctil photos you requested along with the pic of Gary emailed previously.  Also, here's a link to a showbiz site that lists his accomplishments as a helicopter pilot in the movies:  http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0025861/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

As I mentioned, he had a long and successful career flying helicopters on all kinds of missions from traffic watch to sightseeing to commercial work installing big things on buildings to charter flights, you name it.  He was one of the best in the business.  And he was always known around the airport as "Helicopter Gary," just as he was called in his days at Bien Hoa.  For about the last 40 years, he flew his Taylorcraft L-2A for the fun of it.  As I mentioned, he flew the L-2 across the country to meet the families of Whitney, Ford, Wilcox and Goff, who passed before him.      John Marshall

This mission Mr. Harney describes was Jan – Apr 1970 Time Frame. Does anybody remember who the Crew members were?     Danney  

I picked up the 5^th SFG mission, which started off as a daily single ship ash and trash deal doing resupply, taking troops around, the chaplain on Sunday, etc.  One day I took a new Captain out to Ton Le Chon and when we got there they asked me to do a resupply to some guys out in the woods on the Cambot border.  They had been in contact but swore the shooting was over.  While loading everything in the ship the Captain kept begging me to let him go on the flight.  I told him we were too heavy already but he wouldn’t let it go.  I finally said he could come along but he would have to help unload.  It was to be a “hover-kick off”.  When we got over the guys on the ground I found a place to kick off and gave the order to throw it out.  The gunner and CE came forward and the three of them started tossing ammo, water, food, etc. out the door.  About half way through there was a loud pop and I could feel the hit.  Everyone on the ground started a “mad minute”.  I turned around to see the Captain spread eagle on the floor and the crew still throwing stuff out.  Once everything was out I headed back to the A-team camp.  When we got back on the ground I explained to the Captain that hugging the floor like that just made him a bigger target and we all had a pretty good laugh.

I did a quick post flight and found a half inch hole in the tail rotor drive shaft cover and where the bullet had gone through the drive shaft.  On the shaft we had an entry hole an exit hole and three other exit holes where small pieces of drive shaft from the entry hole went out the other side.  I called Ops to let them know the aircraft was not flyable the way it sat.  I was chided a bit by the Maintenance Officer who thought I should fly it home.  Then he told me he was coming out so he would fly it so I told him to come on.  Once they got there and looked at the damage he decided he didn’t want to fly it either.

I was told later by the SF guys that we had been shot by a 12.7mm that had jammed after the first round.  What a lucky day for us, but the VC machine gunner….not so much.  I wish I could remember the names of the other crew members but I just can’t. It happened sometime between Jan-Apr 1970.  Aside from being hit by that big old bullet there was really some humor involved, especially with that SF Captain.  I only wish I could remember the names of the rest of the crew.  It might have been Coons and Harmon but I just don't remember.  Hopefully someone will remember the mission and fill in the holes (no pun intended).  That would be wonderful. No one wanted that mission so I got it.  It turned out to be pretty interesting. Hope to see you at the next Cartersville show.  Tom Harney 

On my 1^st actual mission as a brand new peter pilot I was assigned to fly with Jim Petrie an a typical ash and trash mission. We picked up some SF troops including a Capt. Valentine and flew them out to their basecamp. I seem to think it was near Dau Tiang. As we approached we got a radio call asking if we could pick up ammo for a unit in contact. We dropped off the mail and guests except the Captain and picked up several cases of 7.62 and 223 ammo and some grenades and headed out to the troops. When we made radio contact we were told the bad guys were all North of their position and if we came in from the south, kicked off the ammo (from a high hover over the trees) and departed to the south we should be alright. 

We saw yellow smoke drifting up through the trees and confirmed that this was the spot. Jim did a deceleration coming to a steady hover while I sat on my hands and played tourist. As the ammo was going out we started taking fire. I don’t remember the Captain hugging the floor but the rest sounds awfully like our experience. When we got back to Bien Hoa I remember someone suggesting that I might be another “magnet ass”. Shortly thereafter I went over to the Gladiators until the 190^th stood down. Rock Lyons

Greyhounds and Bulldogs Question

I went overseas from Campbell in early August '67, a bit before most of you. Once there, I was "infused" into the Greyhounds. They had a sister company called the Bulldogs. I don't remember, nor can I find what Battalion they were attached to. They worked out of Bear Cat and Ben Hoa. Any help you guys?  Thanks... Ray Canaday 

Danney; Good morning, Nick Mullet here. I arrived in Bien Hoa in late Sept.67 and do remember the unit with the Greyhounds call sign. I don't remember the Bulldogs, but it sounds as though that they could have been the gunships for that company. I do not remember them working out of B.H. but they were in III corp. My best guess is that they were part of the 1st Aviation Brigade so Ray might start there with his search. Bear Cat sounds possible, but I don't have as good of memory as I once did. Maybe this will help in his search. Keep up the good work. Nick (Spartan 13) Sept.67-Mar.69 

When I was at Bearcat, with the 191st Boomerangs. We were part of the 214th CAB. I don't remember the other companies.    Rom 

Danney, Ray might be talking about the Mad Dogs.  They were the gun platoon for the 240th AHC Greyhounds at Bear Cat. Bob 

Hi Danney , It has been awhile since we talked, I saw the note about the Bulldogs, 129th AHC if same outfit they were in the 1st aviation brigade, 10th combat aviation Battalion  this is the only AHC that I could find called the Bulldogs    Brother Tim 

I was stationed and An Son (Lane Army Heliport) in the 61st AHC and I seem to remember the 129th AHC had a Bulldog on some of their choppers.  Long time ago so I could be wrong. John Bergeron 

Brothers, Thank you all for the leads. I'm sure I'll be able to pinpoint both units in the near future. I flew as a slick gunner of the Greyhounds during Aug. thru Oct. '67. I then transferred to the 2/39th Inf., 9th Inf. Div. where we grunts operated in the rubber and jungle within about 80-100 miles North of Bearcat. At Tet, we were unceremoniously dumped into the grasses, canals, and paddies in order to operate West of Saigon to the Cambodian border from that point onward, and the Greyhounds and Bulldogs were our dominant movers.  I'm trying to reach my old pilots and crew chief in the Greyhounds. I'd also like to hear from some of the guys that were in the Bulldogs on June 1-3, '68, whereas rumor had it, none of their slicks made it back to base after dropping off a second infantry platoon (me included) in the Plain of Reeds battle. Ray G. Canaday 

Danney, from my copy of "Vietnam Order of Battle" by Shelby L. Stanton, Captain, US Army (SF) the 129th AHC is listed with call signs Bulldogs/King Cobras.  IAW this reference they were located at An Song 21 Oct 65.  They were part of the 10th CAB and were transferred at some time to the 268th CAB and in Jul 71 to the 7th/17th Cav. The reference book is a great source of information, with a forward by W.C Westmoreland.  Regardless of what you think of Westmoreland I believe this book is worth having.Tom Harney 

We supported Greyhounds one day after we were released from mission out of Duc Hoa we were in bound to air base half way back flight 9 slicks and 4 guns and we got diverted to finish Greyhound mission they got into big fight, bunker complex many of there a/c shot down. finish their job. maybe it was end of 1969 or early 1970.I was door gunner 190AHC 1 Flt Plt.    Pitra 

Danney; The Greyhounds were part of the 214th @ Bearcat - their gun platoon were the Mad Dogs. I was 214th XO prior moving on to become S-3 of 12th Group enroute to the 145th.John Top, Cougar 5, Black Jack 3, Old Warrior 6 

Danney, I think these may help.  Images are from Larry Alexander 129th AHC 268 CAB Anson Area of operation, 68-69.  Two 129th Bulldog UH-1C gunships, War Wagon and Free and Easy.  Is this the Bulldogs you guys are looking for?     Ray W

Wow, guys, I knew the Army was fluid in those days; but this is way out there. It’s clear that many units changed addresses and call signs during '67 and '68. 

What is interesting is that nobody seems to remember Bull Dogs as a company of slicks at Jun. 3,'68, and the 6-8 birds (without gunships)that dropped me and my infantry platoon buds into a NVA/VC rice paddy shooting gallery on June 3,'68 Plain of Reeds. Having been comfortable previously in a slick's left back seat and one time in the front right seat (just happened one night); now as an infantry Platoon SGT, I always looked to see who was flying us in. West of Saigon, the Greyhounds moved us most of the time, but the slicks were Bulldogs on Jun 3,'68. 

All credit due to our 2/39th Battalion Commander (who didn't know that artillery had wheels on it), our only support came much later that day; 2 Cobra gunships showed up(too high up to read markings!), one with a 7.62 mini and one with 40mm grenades, they made 2 telegraphed obvious passes and then di-di'ed. While lying in the 110 degree mud for 6 or 7 hours, I figured they were delayed covering for their downed slicks on a long train back to Ben Hoa, OK; I get it, no problem. The fight continued for another day, bad guys (in the hundreds) mostly escaped out the stupidly uncovered back door.  Our ground casualties, including support infantry, were way higher than they needed to be; and the results way too low! I have an NVA hat with our CO's name on it.       Ray Canaday

190^th Mellow Yellow - Oh, and by the way, I believe we are lead

Hey D and Mama; I am amazed at the response you received about the Bulldog/ Mad dog question and so, I have one for you to pass around. Does anyone have a picture of `Mellow Yellow'? This is not `Flower Power' which I believe was the maintenance recovery ship. When I returned from my leave to Europe in late '68, My crew chief and I, (on one of our few stand down days), painted our aircraft with the words `Mellow Yellow II' on the cargo doors. I stuck two of  those, so called,`hippy' flowers on the nose next to the a/c and peter pilot doors.(My thinking was that if they shot at the flowers, they would only hit the tail boom).. I would also like to know if  that crew chief. is still out there, because I would like to thank him for those mornings that he had to come get me out of bed with a cup of Joe and a `Mister Mullet, it's almost zero four thirty, and the flight is ready to launch ' . Oh, and by the way, I believe we are lead . So if anyone can answer these quires I would be most appreciative. Brothers in arms. Nick (Spartin-13)

Hey Danney:  Nick Mullet was my roommate after he returned from Germany in October 1968. Terry Sutphen, his roommate prior to me, DROSED in September 1968. I was present during the painting of "Mellow Yellow", but I cannot remember the crew names. (I think the admin made Nick remove the paintings soon after he finished them!).  Jay Elliott

Hey Danney, Terry Sutphen - Spartan 17, Oct. '67 - May '69
I think Nick Mullet arrived in VN sometime in Oct. '67 and assigned to 190th.  I arrived VN Oct. 1,'67, deployed with the 135th AHC to Vung Tau.  I was transferred along with several other officers and enlisted to 190th early Dec. '67. 
Nick and I became roommates soon after each of us extended our tours for 6-months effective Oct. 1968.  Later both Nick & I both rotated state side in May '69.  
The reason we both extended our tours at the same time was a little interesting.  It seems the battalion discovered in the summer of '68 that several 190th pilots had rotation dates closely bunched together.  If something was not done, the 190th would lose a lot of senior and experienced pilots at approximately the same time.  To help alleviate this problem the battalion ordered Major Charles Vaughn, 190th CO, to select those who could be transferred to our sister company the "Thunderbirds". 
A couple of months earlier 190th had set an Army record for extended safe flying (over 33,000 hrs., combined flight time, without any accidents).  The company moral was very high.  Major Vaughn found it difficult to choose who would be transferred.  So he posted the eligible names on individual pieces of paper, placed them in a container and pulled out the one out to be transfer.  The unlucky one was me.
I was devastated.  I did not want to be transferred.  I was felt secure be in the 190th.  I had great living quarters, great friends, well maintained aircraft , and I enjoy the safe flying.  What could be better.  What was I to do?
I consulted with several people trying to figure out what could I do.  One suggested I might want to offer to extend my tour 6-months with a guarantee that I could stay with the Spartans.  Another motivator for extending was the fact that pilots were being returned to VN on a "Second Tour" after one year stateside. 

 If I extended, I wouldn't have to return for a second tour.  Life was good in the 190th, but the "Thunderbirds" were have a bad streak of aircraft loses to hot LZ's and accidents. 
So I thought it over and offered to extend my tour 6-months with a guarantee that I could stay with the Spartans.  Major Vaughn accepted.  He then pulled out another name.  It was Nick.  He too did not want to be transferred.  So Nick offered the Major the same deal as I had.  Major Vaughn accepted.  A few weeks late Major Vaughn expressed to the battalion CO that everyone was extending and he didn't know what to do about the transfer issue.  Later we learned a recently arrived "second tour" pilot who had no strong connection to the Spartans accepted the transfer.  This, with My and Nick's changed rotation dates, solved the problem of too many pilots rotating about the time.
When Nick & I returned from leave, we both became "Slick" Instructor Pilots.  Near the end of our extended tours one FNG WO referred to us as "Old Dogs".  Interesting.  We were well seasoned and tied after 18-month of flying, but can you really call two 22-year-olds "Old Dogs"
When Nick and I became roommates, Nick, being a fledgling artist, started decorating our hooch.  Does anyone remember the red door panel on our hooch?  A large white peace symbol was painted on the panel and the words "Di Di Mau" was inscribed below.  
Nick liked to improve his aircraft as well.  He painted flowers on both sides of the aircraft nose and inscribed "Mellow Yellow" on the nose in front of the of the A/C's door.  When "Mellow Yellow" was destroyed in a rocket attach, Nick painted "Mellow Yellow II" on his new Huey.  I do not think the nose art was removed while we were in country.
When Major Vaughn was near the end of his stint as CO of the 190th, Nick constructed a poster sized collage of a Huey with caricatures of passengers and crew, a shark strapped to the top of the Huey, representing a shark fin antenna, and expressions illustrating some of experiences Major Vaughn had flying missions as "Charlie-Charlie".
The collage was presented to Major Vaughn at his change of command ceremony.  Major Vaughn was very impressed as was everyone else.
One mission commented on in the collage was a mission supporting the 9th Infantry.  It was a 13-hrs. long day of continuous flying.  The aircraft never shut down providing troop insertions and resupply while the Gladiators provide continuous gun support.  Near dark, Major Vaughn, after provided support to a very demanding 9th Inf. General, notified him that the Spartans & Gladiators were going HOME.  Every one cheered.  We thought very highly of Major Vaughn.  He always looked after the company and acknowledged everyone efforts. 
When Nick and I rotated stateside we were assigned to Ft. Wolters as instructor pilots.  We moved into a Ft. Worth apartment complex named the "Behind The Wall" as did many other returning pilots.
One day at the flight school, an Army directive came down authorizing that anyone having served 18-months or more in Nam, could receive an "Early Out" up to one year.  Both Nick and I had a less than one year left of our commitment so we both accepted the offer.  Within two week we were both civilians again.  Has anyone ever heard of the Army moving so fast? 

Hey Danney!  I got one for ya. Do you remember when the 118th Mess Hall was blown-up in a rocket attack? It was between April, and maybe July of 1970. As I recall we were hit the evening before at around 2300 hrs. the first time, and around 0400 hrs. and 2nd time. Steve Bowers and I went out the next afternoon to check out a ship that went down in a rice patty, I think it might have been 402- the VIP ship. We no sooner landed when, the next thing I know, everyone from the downed aircraft was in the Horse, and were in the "continue the mission" mode and off they went, leaving us there. A space of time passed and it was getting late in the afternoon, and no Chinook to get us out of there, and they were moving a platoon of Infantry in to set up a perimeter around us, as they were not going to pick us up, because Bien Hoa was under attack, and we might have to pull a "sleep over". As it turned out, a Chinook arrived a time later, and we rigged that baby up for recovery. Being willing to try anything , the Crew chief of the Chinook "let" me stand on the rotor  head and as the Chinook lowered itself down-got to hook-up the straps and get pulled by hand into the cargo hole. That was kinda fun (after I was in the Chinook!) But, I don't remember if there was an attack in the day time, and was the 118th Mess Hall hit the night before, or during the day time attack? As I recall, There were some guys hurt that were in the Mess Hall. Everybody -let's put our thinking caps in for this one!!! Joe Fisher

I remember the mess hall getting blown half in two….right in the middle. Anyone else Remember this??  Thanks Fish!   Danney 

The rocket attack came in June or July, do not remember the date (old timers disease), other than it was shortly after we provided support for the ground push into Cambodia around the Parrots Beak. I was in HQ company barracks (across the street from Mess Hall) area visiting friends, when the rocket came in and hit the 118th Mess Hall (pieces of Mess Hall fell into the HQC area). It happened between 5:00 PM and 6:00 PM when they (Viet Cong) expected the Americans were to be in the Mess Hall. Luckily the 118th had late flights that day and only a few troops were in the Hall. When I ran over to the Hall, the worst injury I saw was a Vietnamese worker (moma son?), who had a severe leg injury. Never heard any more about any bad injuries to Americans. Heard that they caught another Vietnamese base worker walking off distances before she was caught around the NCO club around that time as well. The entire base was on alert for a couple of days. I think we had interrupted their supply chain of arms from Cambodia and it quieted down after a few days after the Viet Cong used up their rocket stockpile.  Ron Stairs 

  Hi Danney; I remember that ,I do have a few pictures of it on page 18 in scrapbook .As I remember myself and my gunner had just came out of mess hall from having supper and just cross the road to the other side and boom, so time was around 1700 hrs, the date if I can find the pics of the mess hall the date is on the back, I looked through all the pics and you know they are not there , don`t know where they went I will give you the date when I find em.  Tim  Gallant, crew chief 619er,  the last smoke ship

Danny...You may like this...Jimmy Webb "Welcome Home" is a new series being produced by Sleeping Dog Productions, Inc. It tells the story of Viet Nam Veterans, from all branches of the service. It is scheduled for release in 2015, the 40th anniversary year of the end of the War. It is a thank you -- and a welcome home that is long, long, overdue.For updates on the series visit our website, www.sleepingdogtv.com info@sleepingdogtv.com 10 minute version

Danney: Look close at the belly of the ship in the picture below and see if this was 624 ? This bird and a slick I was crewing were being sent North to the DMZ to be turned over to an outfit there. We flew mostly the coastal route to get there and I have other pics of the country. Jerry Grappi

 Hi brothers...yep our 624 was indeed a Charlie model. Sometime after Bob Coveney flew her, Larry Christy was the CE, and I flew her mostly. I took good care of her, Bob, and so did Christy. We flew her 'til she was crashed while I was on R&R in April '69. Mike Suenram - Gladiator 11 '68-'69

  Danney, I though this looked familiar.  This is from Doug Swanstrom's pictures.  Since he left Vietnam on 1 Apr 1969, this is probably a roll of film he took home to process.  You can almost feel the heat reflecting off this picture.  --Vi

 

What was your MOS?  Danney, I have been aiming to contact you. This gives me a good reason. I graduated from Ft. Eustis in September 1968. Single Rotor Utility Helicopter Repairman, 67N20. I had two weeks of,"Environmental" at Ft. Eustis. This included shooting shrimp boats in the James River with blanks with our M-60s and being pushed out of the door thanking god we had our monkey straps. I arrived at the 190th one Sunday evening after spending the previous night laying on a cement slab with about a hundred other GIs sleeping in the rain at the 90th Replacement Center. This would have been the latter half of October, after my 30 day leave. I was told by the Charge of Quarters that I wasn't going to fly. "Grunts volunteer to fly". Officially I was in the 605th Technical Detachment assigned to the 190th. My first two weeks I rode Shotgun in a Deuce and a half to Phu Loi. This was the parts run. The 605th was stationed in Phu Loi. I remained in Maintenance until the spring of 1969. Bergeron, (I think I got it right), was our quality control clerk. Yes the guy who worked with the Tech Inspectors. He approached me one day. "Armstrong, you're the new quality control clerk."  My reply was simple;" I don't want to be a clerk." His retort was quick enough and unarguable. “You don't understand. You're the only one who can type. You don't have a choice!" From then on to my DeRos in April 1970, I was the quality control clerk. I was the guy with the little green books on each bird. I was the guy with the big plexi-glass boards in the office with the hours of each ship and the time remaining on the time exchange components; i.e. Rotor blades, short shafts, transmissions, engines, etc. I was the guy the crew chiefs brought their little plastic bottles of oil into. I had to package, label them and get them off for metal analysis. I was the guy who had to submit readiness reports to Battalion and Brigade. I was the guy who had to track down the hours on time change components when a ship was cannibalized. I was the guy who rode with the ship into Saigon when we maximized the hours. Then I had to turn over reports on the avionics, weaponry and all the maintenance data. I'm sure someone remembers me, at least I hope so. 

     My sergeant was the guy with the Vietnamese family in Saigon, who owned, 3 bars? Our helicopter was the Horse. I still remember the 137 ship going down. I had looked up the maintenance records.  The ship had too many short shaft replacements in very little time. This would seem to say that there was an engine misalignment.  I hope I haven't bored you or taken up too much of your time. Like everybody who was in Nam I have maybe a million experiences that were unique. I have a friend who says I should write a book. The problem with that is the only people who would believe it are the people who were there.

     On a different subject. Does anyone remember Evans? He was in Armament. During summer 1969, when the old man volunteered us for every mission he could and ships were pouring into the hangar for periodics faster than we could fix them we were both on night crews. We had to eat at the Air Force. (Don’t get me started). They got the Budweiser, we got the Blatz. Better than 33, made with real formealihyde. Evans and I sometimes went into Saigon during the day. Riding in a South Vietnamese Jeep with another mechanic who didn’t go to his reserve meetings in Iowa. So, Back to the Nam, for another year.      Hope this finds you well.       Dale Armstrong 

Jack,  Thanks for answering my note to Danney.  First I would like to give kudos to Danney for pulling us all back together as a unit.  He and his helpmate wife have been a God-sent.  I believe the website will be a true blessing to us all as well as a means of deep healing as we recall our experiences in a strange time. I, as you were, was a transfer to the unit.  I arrived in the 190th. a week or so after Tet.  I was originally trained as a heavy equipment maintenance/operator stationed at Long Binh in December 1967.  I remember arriving in company one morning and being shown around the company area.  Went to the flight line and looked over the helicopters, met some of the pol guys, hanger guys, a couple of off duty crewmen.  Was shown a little about the helicopters and was later that day assigned to guard duty on the flight-line so that I could become more familiar with the helicopters.  I was assigned the first shift of guard duty so that I could get off after the midnight shift and get some sleep before the crews took off the next day.  I was assigned to fly the next morning and flew for the next 40 days straight.  They gave me no time to back out of what I had volunteered to do...
 I remember the first helicopter I flew on, a slick numbered 66-762.  What a mind blower of a time.  Anyway, I came to realize that most of the original helicopters the unit had assigned to it were numbered in a sequence.  The ones I remember flying on that were slicks were: 66-759, which I was a crew-chief on before going to guns; 66-760; 66-762; 66-769.  There were other "stragglers" as a called them which were added to the list.  One of them was 65-619.  On the guns I crewed 66-627.  There was at the time the hog ship, which I believe was 66-626.  Larry Christy crewed 66-624.  I think I remember 66-625.  I flew on slicks until around September '68 and then went to guns.  I extended in December '68 and stayed until July '69.
When I first got in the company I was pretty lost.  Ron Earles was the slick platoon Sargent.  He went to Nam with the company from the States, from what I understand.  Loren Clark was a slicker and eventually went to the guns and crewed the hog ship.  Rom Maher flew on the Smoke ship. 
I remember a guy named Coy who was with the guns, I think.  Also a guy called Big Tom.  Also a guy named Jerry Shelton.  They were all short in time when I got in the company so they didn't like to fly with FNG's.  My first crew chief was a black guy called Sully.  His last name was Sullivan.  He didn't fly too long after I got in the company.  He was a great teacher and very patient with me. 
Sorry if I have put out too much info all at once.  I do remember you, at least I remember seeing you for your face is familiar.  I was wondering about some of your pictures because I did not recognize some of the places.  Did you hook up with the company when they went TDY to the North?  I understand that was a really hard time for the company, getting shot up a lot when TDY there.  From what I gather the company was the first Army unit to support the Marines in a combat area situation, ever.  You have submitted some great pictures and I have enjoyed reminiscing through them.  When I came home I had hundreds of pictures but ended up burning about everything I brought home from Nam.  I have lived to regret it, to some degree. 
Again, thanks to you for answering my note to Danney and I do appreciate him for forwarding it to you.  It helps to put the pieces of the company together.  Thanks for your being there and welcome home, Bro!  Delbert "Robbie" Buzz Roberts. 

Hi Buzz, Yep it’s good to have the website of Danny and Mama.  best thing that happened since the internet started.
I got to Long Binh in April 67.  I was in Germany before that.  TDY to 3rd Division in Kitzingen.  I was originally A 95-B.  MP, but didn't care for that, so after getting to LB, put in a 1049 for aviation with 3 other guys. The 1st Shirt got upset, so when a levy came down for 1st Division to take convoys up Highway 13, he sent all the 1049 people and anyone else he wanted to get rid of.
Did that for a few months, orders came through, went to 145th, then 190th about late august 67.  In a short time they were sent up to help out the marines, their CH-46s were having a problem and were grounded. Rear pylon and the transmission were falling off at inconvenient times, like at 1500 ft...  some even fell off at startup; sometimes they did a ground loop, not good for morale.
The marines had CH-34s, a few CH-53s, and a couple of Hueys. We were at Phu Bai, a marine airfield on the Coast, tents and bunker photos on website page, marine bases had the red and gold signs.  Some of the slicks and gunships were sent South, to work with one of those infantry brigades, 196th, 198th??
Some pix from up north are of Hue, the cathedral and Citadel, old cannons and thick walls.  Khe Sanh,  red dirt, the mountains and the AF tower..  HQ, 26th Marines & 3rd Recon BN...  and places with no name out in the bush.
I was a PFC  new guy, didn't know much about aviation, and went OJT...  learned a lot years later when I read a few books, then the internet came along.
The part of the company that was at Phu Bai returned to BH just before Thanksgiving..  got set up again, then Tet came along. My camera was KO'd the first morning, so no more pix..  went to Saigon a few times, Cholon,  Dong Tam, My Tho, and places I don't know the name of.
Tried out slicks in April 68..  Capt. Cancellere and a few other pilots..  to see what they did..  left for the States at the end of the month.
My brother was a marine..  with 3 BN, 4th Regiment.. 3/4..  68 - 69..  they walked everywhere..  or went by truck if it was a long trip. Or took some boats or Amtrak’s if they had to cross a river...  Never by chopper.
A Mister Coveney transferred in from the 118th around Tet..  he has some good pix..  there's a link on the 190th history page.
I just got a tablet..  my computer died a while ago..  everything is different on Android...  and I have to figure out how to put captions on the Picasa page..  Danney has most of those  albums on the 190th site now.
It’s good to hear from you..  my memory is fuzzy on some things..  but if you're in any of my photos let me know, or one in another album on Danney's page, so I can associate the name and face. Like one of the hootch girls used to say  GI..  Number One.. JackB

Hi Danney I met with Jon Logan last Saturday it was a wonderful experience . I was just wondering does anyone remember a short shaft failure summer  ? 69 I was CE that day and I remember going down so fast that I had to hold on to my 60 ammo to prevent it flying up into the rotor. I suspect the a/c was 66-17137 .The a/c survived to fly again but to the best of my memory it was always a bad luck hanger queen. Can anyone shine a light on this? Regards, Mick  Conneely 

Danney, That was my ship. Dobias and I were flying southwest of Saigon and the A/C went into a high nose position and our tail rotor failed. We put it down in a rice paddy with no damage. We had to drop like a rock to maintain control. Bud Holzman Spartan 13 

YES, I was gunner that day ,you run off with no gun when we hit the ground lucky no NVA. My knee got screwed on that a/c failure. The BN COL  pick us up were the hell he came from heaven. He told Mr. Villa good landing, we went thru two trees on our flair. I was hoping no  reception committee on the way down we would not be here today. She was bad luck a/c after that WITCH FINDER.   I been back VN 6 times. My wife is from Nha Trang ,VN Last spring Mr. Logan and I went north of Xuan LOC to crash site where Hatfield got killed mountain too big for old soldiers today. I rode train Saigon to Nha Trang year half ago thru where I shot up train in 69. Hey Danney forward my email to mick ok I was his gunner that crazy day, I can never forget. we had just let off 199 Light Inf at their base camp west of Xuan Luc, lucky they were not on board, they would have fell out cause they would sit in the door no seat belts. We joined up with the flight, bam down like a flying f…in rock, out of the formation of 9 slicks 4 guns into dry lake. Thought I was going to die that day. Qunitin Pitra 

Howdy, Danny-    It's me again- Jon McKee... I recall 2 short-shaft failures during that time. One occurred immediately after take-off from the Coliseum; 2nd Pltn. Ldr. Jim Meunier ("Mooner"), and he lived up to his nickname one time in the formation; does anyone recall that??) was the AC, and he managed to land the bird safely just outside the barbed wire perimeter.
   The other short shaft failure occurred in-flight, in the full company formation, while flying over some very precarious terrain- lots of slopes, trees, & rocks below. Yeah- that bird just plummeted, and the whole formation went into an immediate orbit overhead. The AC managed to put her down beautifully, intact, in a clearing among the rocks, trees, and uneven terrain. I don't recall who the AC was; does anyone recall?? He was heroic; I do recall the Peter Pilot- it was Luis Vila, sadly deceased. He was one of the first out of the aircraft, and I can still see him in my mind's eye, big smile on his face, arms raised up to the orbiting formation, jumping up & down in excitement to have SURVIVED!!    And big HOWDY to Jon Logan...    Jon McKee 

Hi Danney this is Jesse Mallory. I was in there from 68-69 and worked in the hanger, and the only one I remember is a Charlie Model. It was in the hanger forever, but we finally got it flying, but I don't really remember what happened to it. I remember a slick that was slammed into the ground, because the pilot thought he was on the ground. We was told that was the story. The skids was wrapped around the body, and it flew again. I don't know if I was any help.

Danney, I did not have a short shaft failure while in the 190th, but I did have one while assigned to the 187th.  End of a day of CA's, went to POL to top off for the next day, just past the berm around POL when it gave out.  Lucky situation! We were at about a 10' hover to clear the berm when the rotor RPM went down and engine RPM went up (classic symptom).  As luck would have it we were over a large mud puddle and settled into it.  No damage aside from a lot of mud, etc.  I always ran my finger around that rubber boot checking for grease.  It was OK when we took off in the AM, but sometime along the way some pin hole let all the grease out.  The rest is history.  No one got hurt.  Just muddy fatigues and boots.  Timing is everything sometimes.  It's a good thing we had no other missions that day before the grease ran out.   Tom Harney

Danny, I have a story from Tet 1968. It was the first night of Tet,  the sirens were blasting when a rocket hit close to our barracks our barracks. My bunk was on the second floor close to the center I was trying to get my smokes and pants on so I hit the floor and pulled my mattress over me then a rocket hit our barracks. 

 I remember calling out asking if anyone was in the barracks when I heard someone calling out who was hurt, he had shrapnel in his leg, maybe his knee. I helped him to the bunker between the barracks. I don't remember his name, and have always wondered what happened to him. If any one remembers this and who that injured brother was please let me know. 

Also when I was working aircraft armament there was a brother, I think his name was Melvin Meadows. Does anyone remember him or another brother who's nick name was Sugar Bear? Thanks, Wally Krupkowski

A Bill Crain  or Crane was wounded  3am  Tet.. I think ...  also, he was previously with the 187th or 188th..  and infused..?  Hung out with a Thomas..  ?  Maybe Both were with the Rat Pack or Black Widows..? Did not return to 190th that I know of. Melvin Marcellus Meadows..  armaments guy.. flew with us a few times ..   there may be a photo, But visor is down.. try album 19 number 21   Sugar Bear There’s a photo of a tall guy working at the flight line shack on an M 60..    album 19  number 7, And  19-1  number 3 and 6..  white T shirt... Album  19-2 number 51, 55  white T,  Who is it ? JackB  

That rocket landed right above Aubrey Goff’s bunk, he was flying ESB that night and his bird got shot up They came back with a hydraulic leak & stole 626 (my ship) and flew back into action.  He gave all that night. I thought that it was Carl (door gunner, from the LRPs) that got hit in the leg with shrapnel that night Check with Max Rattner, I think that he took a photo of the hole in the roof and the damage to the barracks.  In the picture, I seem to remember a ‘No Smoking in Bed’ sign hanging from the ceiling under the hole. Rodney Lawrence  

His name was Imants Celtnicks. He was my roommate. I was faster than him as I was already in the bunker. He was sent to Japan. I saw him in 1973 in DC where he lived at the time. He originally came from the 187 AHC. I came from the 191 AHC. I emailed him re 190 AHC reunion. He has been going to 187 reunion since he got out. I do not have his email address. Google him and you will find him. Good Luck.  Paul Ouellette

 The wounded person was imants celtnieks. he was evacuated to japan. he was my crew chief. for years afterward I thought he was dead. he came to the vhpa reunion in Nashville  Tennessee. it was quite a party we had. he is active in the 187th ahc. incidentally my mos before aviator was combat engineer for the reason that I had an architecture degree from Notre dame. I was the person who designed and supervised the construction of the bunker between the barracks. I placed the bunker between the barracks thinking that incoming would hit the barracks before it hit the bunker--I was right. Spartan 20/Spartan smoke. Tom Connelly 

I know that Bill Bottles was wounded when the rocket hit the barracks, put he was in the ditch between the barracks and the road. Rom Maher 

After we got the above information & new name, Mama googled, I called and we found Imants. He came to Carlisle PA in September, To The 145^th Reunion Supper on Saturday Night. He told me he did not see any 190^th guys there. A few of us were, but did Not know to look for him at the time. I just told him, “you came to the wrong supper Brother, Ours – 190^th AHC – was on Friday night”.

I would like to hear from anyone who can fill me in on the details of the following incident which occurred in mid-August 1969. My memory does not retain the names of the individuals involved, nor do I remember the AC (a Cpt.) with whom I was flying as PP. 

On one of my first 2 missions with the 190th we were operating in or near Tan An or Tan Tru and were shutting down on some rice paddy dikes, when one of the aircraft began spinning and crashed settling on its side in a fairly deep paddy with the engine howling. I watched this occur perhaps 200' or less directly in front of me as I was sitting in the right seat shutting down and waiting for the blade to stop in my ship.  

After about 10 or 15 seconds, and while numerous crewmen from other aircraft were starting to run toward the hissing fuselage, a tall crew chief or door gunner, wearing very faded nomex, frantically scrambled up and out the right side door of the downed Huey and dived head first into the rice paddy to escape what he probably thought was a forthcoming explosion.

                                                    "Charles Portwood"

He then stood up and waded back to assist the remaining crew members. It is my recollection it was a tail rotor failure, probably unrelated to battle damage, and I don't recall that anyone was injured. 

I have always been curious about the real story on this event, and at the time I was so occupied with what I had on my own plate, that I did not pursue the information.  Best regards, Jimbo Harris  

Jim, sounds like your memory of this event and many others is about as good as mine. I don't remember the a/c number any more but we were at the Tan An refuel point. I was flying with my roommate Dana Toothaker in the VIP aircraft that we supplied to the South Vietnamese Division Commander and His Full Bird American adviser.  

                                                        Dana Toothaker

Dana was PIC with about 1500 hours but I was the pilot (also a PIC with 500 hours, but not for this flight) on the controls. We were backing out of refueling when a tail-rotor hangar bearing disintegrated. From there it was not much more than good ole army training that took place. As I backed up I was looking out the right side door and something just felt wrong. As I looked back inside the cockpit I noted the tack needles were still joined. I looked up and could not focus outside the aircraft because of the speed at which we were already spinning. I immediately rolled the throttle off. Obviously Dana knew that something was amiss also and had joined me on the controls.  When he tried to move the pedals he realized they were already full right and he also tried to roll off the throttle. From that point forward we were all passengers. There were several people who witnessed the incident as they recognized the aircraft.  They were casually watching us, and like you, they were shutting down.  

There were estimates of three to four rotations as we settled but on the last rotation the tail stinger hit the rising ground behind us and flip us to the right. The main rotor struck the water and flipped us back on our left side. Things were eerily quiet after that, even though as you mentioned the engine continued to run at full RPM. I remember distinctly looking at Dana and asking if he was alright. We then set about trying to shut down the engine. We rolled off the throttle and shut off the fuel but all of the controls to do that had apparently been broken in the crash. When that didn't work we made the decision to exit the aircraft. We managed to check on the crew. Everyone had made it out of the water and onto land.  

We were lucky that jet fuel does not easily ignite. We had just refueled with about 1400 lbs of fuel and it was pouring out into the water. When the aircraft came to rest, the engine exhaust was just a few inches above the water. I think Dana came up with the idea that we were only a few yards from the POL point and he yelled for the fire extinguisher. Someone (I'm still not sure who it was) waded into the water and gave it to Dana and he emptied it into the intake which had the desired effect. 

                                                 196 VIP Ship Tail Rotor Failure

Ok, that is my story and I am sticking to it! Of course if we talked to Dana (and Hutch) about it I am sure he would have different impressions and memories. I also believe that Hutch (Chuck Hutchinson??) was the crew chief that day. We might ask him. How about it, Hutch? I do not recollect the gunner nor did I know the name of the Gen Aide who was on board for the ride. Let me just leave it that at 66 years old and 35 years ago that's my best shot.  As a side note, that is the first time I have tried to put those memories into words. Most of us had those kinds of events happen to us and it is probably worth the effort to get them written down for our grandchildren and posterity. Danney, I believe this will come back to you. Please feel free to invite others with knowledge to relate their memories of this event and pass on to all who are interested.  Bobby Leonard Spartan 11 

Howdy, Jim & Danny-   Jim- I should remember you, but I don't... chalk it up to CRS Syndrome (Can't Remember Spit!) I'd arrived at the 190th in April of '69... I, too, was a PP at the time of the tail rotor failure you mentioned. On that day, our whole company was shut down (I think it was Tan An... it was a frequent POL point for us), waiting to crank for our next CA, when the VIP bird from our company, flown by WO Dana Toothaker, came in to refuel. He had one of the few "H" models, and always kept it pristine. He was a great pilot, and I recall that PP's were generally somewhat intimidated to fly with him, though I appreciated his attention to detail very much. I recall that he was from Maine, and I think he got a job flying forestry hello’s up in that region after his discharge. Any who, long story short, it was indeed a tail rotor failure; and poor Toothaker wasn't able to recognize it as such in time to chop the throttle for a hovering autorotation. His bird spun violently and settled into the rice paddy, where the mud caused it to immediately tip over on its side. I had only recently been involved in a rotor-mesh on the Coliseum flight line, so I was extremely aware of the havoc an uncontrolled main rotor blade could wreak inside the cabin; I literally held my breath as I counted the crew members emerging from the bird, and only resumed breathing after I'd counted all four. Just like you, I can still see them in my mind's eye, climbing out of the side doors (which were then pointed skyward) and jumping to the paddy below. As I recall, Dana Toothaker was exonerated, given a new "H" model, and resumed his duties as VIP pilot until his rotation back home.    God bless you, my Brothers, and Happy New Year... in the words of my best friend from the 190th, John Bryant, "We are lucky to be alive!!!"     Jon McKee, Spartan 25 

Hey Danny and Mr. Leonard. Hutch here, Mr. Leonard got it about right the American Gen was not onboard with us, however his Avan radio man was. The gunner was Charles Portwood, he was the first out, I was kicking the radio guy in the ass trying to get out. Once out I didn’t see AC or P/P & went back to make sure they was ok. At this time they got out and the rest is history, I think the # or last 3 were 196. Pic's on web site. Hutch.                                            "Hutch"

 The Promise by Jack Murphy Redcatcher with D Co/5th Bat/12th Inf 199th LIB

Sept '69 - '70 - Look at 2:28 into video...Spartan Slicks picking up 199th LIB Troops.  Thanks Jack!

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQloA6SGF5U

Danney…My Name is Ronald(Ron) J. Rogers…I was in Viet Nam 7/68-7/69 with the 190^th Assault Helicopter Co. We were based in Bien Hoa…I think that’s spelled right!  Can you help me? I was a crew chief on helicopter 007 …pilot’s last name was Kiwi? I think!  Please help if you can…the web site says nothing about me…Thank You…Ron

Danney... The pilot called "Kiwi" was actually William McKeown.  He was the AC the
day we crashed near Xuan Loc on 20 June 69.  Haven't been able to locate him over the years. Thanks for all the work you do. Frank Dancsecs

Frank: Your reply to Danney jogged my memory. The Huey you guys put into
the woods was the first aircraft that was lost during my tour with the 145th. I went out to the site, landed and convinced myself that it wasn't worth recovering so I had it stripped and left it in the field - a bad mistake I learned later.
I don't know if you were still in country when the 118th (I think) lost a gunship in the same area, one night, a month or so later. It had been part of a fire team supporting ARVN on the back side of Nui Ba Dinh. It got separated in bad weather returning to Bien Hoa and nobody saw it go down. We didn't know where it was. I asked the units flying in that area to look for it on their way out and back from Xuan Loc and spent several days bumping around at low level looking for it myself.
I found a downed ship with 145th markings in thick woods and couldn't see enough of it to identify it. So I called in the pathfinders and went in with them to check it out. It turned out to
be your aircraft. I didn't recognize the site and I had been on the ground there a couple of months earlier.
We found or had reported several downed aircraft during the period of that search and they all had to be checked out. I learned my lesson and never left another ship in the field after that - we recovered them all. Even one that the Black Cats had dropped from a couple of thousand feet when it started oscillating during the recovery - see below.
Several days later I was flying with Jack Oliver in a cobra when we got word that a wood cutter had reported a downed aircraft in a patch of bamboo south of the highway about 1/3 of the way back toward Bien Hoa. We went to the site, which was a very small patch of tall, mature bamboo. The ship had gone down right in the middle of it. Even knowing where it was, we had a tough time spotting it, and, it was like I said, a very small patch of bamboo. You had to be just above the tops and directly over where the ship went in to see down into it and see the aircraft.
We landed on a nearby road, shut down and walked in a couple of hundred meters to confirm that it was the right one and that the bodies were still there. Not to bright. We were lucky to still have a ride home when we got back to the cobra an hour or so later.
Wow - brings back memories. I will offer one more tale. A day or so earlier I had been flying the Cobra with Jack, this time hovering low over the trees on east side of Nui Ba Dinh, peering down into them, looking for wreckage. Jack spotted some fresh footprints at a stream crossing, he had been an H-13 scout pilot with the Cav on his first tour and could see things that I had a hard time finding even after he pointed them out to me.
We widened our search and discovered quite a large bunker complex along the side of the mountain. When we got back that evening I called II Field Force and reported our find. It must have confirmed some previous Intel because they put in a B-52 strike the next day.
We went back after the strike and did another low, slow recon hoping that we wouldn't find evidence that the gun ship was in that mess.
I had seen the results of the B-52's before, but never a before and after, within 24 hours, as low and as slow as we looked the area over that day - amazing the whole area was pulverized. I mentioned the Black Cat incident earlier. I'll pass that on before I quit.
I got a call early one morning that a ship was down south of Saigon and headed for the scene. The pilot had experienced a tail rotor failure flying low level, in formation, with a full load of troops. He managed to put it down in a rice paddy with no damage – a fantastic bit of flying.
I got to the scene before the company could arrange for a replacement ship and a recovery crew and loaded the crew into my ship to take them back to Bien Hoa after the relief showed up.
I was more than a little miffed an hour or so later when I got a call from the Black Cat commander that they had dropped my totally undamaged aircraft and that they were going to blow it in place. I told him "the hell you are. I want it picked up and back here on my ramp"It was quite a scene when they brought it in. My perfectly good H model was a mass of crushed aluminum about 3' high, bent u-shaped under the Chinook with pieces falling off both ends of it.
The Black Cats and the road that we found the gunship near brings back memories of two other incidents while flying my favorite C&C with Jack - but I will leave it at that. I have rambled on long enough.  Thanks for bringing it all back.  John Top

Sometime in November or December 1967 I was assigned to Spartan 850 as CE. 850 was converted to a new phase in Assault Helicopters; Smoke Ship. The purpose of the smoke was to supply thick, heavy cover on one side of the flight landing while the other was covered by Gunships.  It was under test and we worked very hard to make it work without failure. There were some faults and we were able to correct them by mechanical corrections and flight approach. I very quickly named 850 as “Spartan Smokey” and that was its call sign. Being a mechanical draftsman in civilian life, I designed a logo for the nose. I completely forgot about doing this logo until I saw the 190^th web site pictures and saw it. It has Ace of Spades on both sides which were addition to what I had done. Danney, I left in May, 1968 and it is good to know that Spartan Smokey carried on after I left. I have included a couple of pictures; one of the logo and one of the original crew. WO Bill Zanow was AC and SP5 Paul Ouellette was the CE. I am happy to say that Bill & I have renewed our friendship after 45 years. The picture that I have sent is of us at a bar in DC (some things never change). Bill in on the right and I am on the left. Thanks to Danney and Mama creating the 190^th web site Bill and I were able to connect. We both look forward to the reunion!!!!   

                              Paul Ouellette                              Bill Zanow

God meets us where we are and provides what we need. 

“Do not let your hearts be troubled,” good words – but hard to follow. It was just after Christmas 1969 and I was a brand new Helicopter Pilot in Vietnam. Dan Toothaker was my trainer. My first combat mission Dan made me fly. The formation was so tight I could read the instrument panels in the other helicopters. We started to Land, guns firing all around, we got closer to the ground, dust went up in the air and all of a sudden I couldn’t see anything. It was like dropping into a river bottom around here when it is full of FOG. O, Lord – what have I got myself into. Dan keyed the mike, “What’s the emergency procedure for hydraulics failure?” Who is this guy? I’m up to my neck in trouble here! I said a prayer, “Lord, help me.” I believed in prayer, Jesus said, ask and I would receive, I prayed, but I was still scared. I looked between my toes through a lower window, a small hole opened up, I could see the ground – I keyed the mike and and answered the question. If I had only known what Dan was really saying!  

Philip said, “Lord, show us the father.” Jesus had been with the disciples a long time, teaching and showing. Can you hear Jesus responding to Philip, “Have I been with you all this time … [and] you still do not know me!” It was at a difficult moment, Jesus told them he was going away, it was time to die and life would change forever, BUT! -- Don’t be afraid, don’t let your hearts be troubled, .easy to do – unless your world is falling apart. Maybe you’ve had moments in your life when things seemed upside down. There is a song by Janis Joplin that some of you may remember or have heard. I have some new words for an old song.  

O Lord won’t you buy me a big SUV;  And while you’re at it some gas money please

You said if I needed I just need to ask;  So Lord won’t you buy me a big SUV 

I think the guy that wrote and sang that song woke up in the ARMY driving a big TANK! Do we sometimes think prayer is just giving God our laundry list? Throughout the Book of Acts we find different ways that the Gospel is shared. God provided the message and the means for each person to hear the Gospel. God prepared each one to deliver the right message at the right time. I don’t think any of them knew what was in store for them ahead of time. But at the moment they needed, God provided what they needed.  

I had been in Vietnam seven months; had flown nearly 1,000 hours of combat time and had not been shot down. It was 4 in the morning when we took off for an assault on one of the largest North Vietnamese strongholds in the area. I had a brand new 1st lieutenant on his first mission and I made him fly. We were the trail ship, the last one out and the most likely to be hit. We dropped our troops off in the middle of blazing gun fire. As we crossed the edge of the trees I could see the enemy below shooting at us. All of a sudden the helicopter shook violently. Alarms going off and we were dropping like a rock. I took the controls and started giving instructions to the crew, we were going down. All this was happening in heartbeats. I quickly started my standard ingrained checklist, calling it out as I went. Rotor in the green, 80 knots, Charlie I’m going to lay it over on our side get ready, N1 – this thing is still running. N1 is the turbine speed indicator – it is like an RPM gauge on a car. As we touched the top of the trees I rolled on the throttle and we flew away safely. You see Dan Toothaker was God’s way of preparing me for a moment when others would have died. From the first day in Vietnam God was preparing me for that moment. David Mays

Buzz, Just a picture of Bien Hoa Then, the first thing I say after exiting my room with camera in hand – looks like an outgoing rocket. Strange lights, First of the explosion Really going up, What was left. Hope you can see all this. Yes, it was determined the 334^th decked one of our ships. I am not so sure.  I heard the sirens go off.  Grabbed my camera and went outside. I caught a few pictures of what looked like outgoing rockets and captured the bird going up and have a picture of the residue. All that seems to support  the 334^th mistake.  However, I would not have caught the pictures had not the sirens gone off so my question is: what made the sirens go off. Seems like, if it was the gun ship I would not have had time to get my camera, run outto the edge of the barracks and snap the pictures if the rockets from the gunship set off the sirens. Maybe I don’t know how long it takes for a podto salvo.  You would know. David Mays

Danney:  I Received this from David Mays.  It is the first I have seen this.  He said this is a picture of the chopper hit by the rockets from the Playboy ship that accidentally misfired its load of rockets, possibly from a frequency mishap between the Playboy ship and our tower...  If this is the Gladiator gunship I flew it was located in the corner revetment which this shows to be.  I am trying to zoom in on the tail piece and see if it says 627 on it.  How much do you know of this?  I asked David if he recalls what time this happened.  Thanks  Danney.  Buzz Roberts.

Buzz: This rings some bells with me as I remember something about one of our Gunships, in the corner near the flight line bunker, getting hit with a rocket that came from a Cobra up the flight line. It seems that they had an APU hooked up to the bird and the switches were set for “armed” and it punched off one that got our bird.

The slicks I remember gunning on or crew chiefing were 66-760, 66-762, and 66-759.  I also flew on 65-619 and 66-787.  All the other aircraft I forget the tail numbers, been tooooo long ago.  The gunship I crewed was 66-627.  There was also 66-624, 66-625, and 66-626.  They were the original a/c which came from the states with the unit.  Same thing with the 66- numbers above.  I heard that there was an aircraft which got blown up by one of the cobra ships from the 334th. that accidentally fired off its rockets from some electronic charge by the tower.  Supposedly it was the corner revetment on the end towards the 334th flight line.  That was where my gun ship was parked.  Wished I knew if that was my ship.  I am sure some of the ships were getting some high hours on them by the time you got in the unit.    Buzz

 Danney, Can you ask Jack Brennan if he can remember if any of the Gladiator helicopters had a tail number of 66-627? The one which got hit by the 334^th Playboy rocket looks like it was parked in the revetment that my ship, 66-627, was parked in.  Also, when exactly was Jack there and which Gladiator ship did he gun/crew in?  Thanks Danney, Buzz   Roberts

Hi Danney.  Hello Mister Roberts.
I got to the 190th about late august, 67.  4 of us from Long Bihn / Di-An.. to the 145th.
2 went to the 190th, 2 went to the 68th..  we drove on convoys up Highway 13,
some of those pix are in an album..  Lai Khe and other  1st Division basecamps.
I was a new guy, and not even from an aviation unit..  so it was OJT..  I started out first flight with Dave Shaffer at BH..  before going north.. must have been on 630..they had just finished bore sighting the 40mm... It was a test flight. Took me along.. I remember the water tower. Not much else.  In 2009 I met a Dr. Nguyen at the hospital here..she was born in BH and lived a few blocks from the water tower when she was 7 or 8, during Tet. It sure is a small world.

I guess I was a floating fill in guy.. I kept  no log book. But flew with (Marty)Alexander, Jaycox, (Max) Rattner, and (Dave)Shaffer..and others. I guess....  can't tell from some pix, their visors were down.. I drove the 3/4  at other times.

 (I added First Names to Jacks last names listed below. Danney P)
I recall  by names mostly, not tail numbers..  some pilots I remember were Mr. (Don) Monk, (Wade)Young, (Irby) Shipp, (Les) Howell, (Buda) Baker, Mister George Taylor,  LT (Walt) Whittier, Major Sanders, was there a Captain (Curt) Kenner..  and flew with a few others from the Hawaiian shirt party pictures, a Mister (Sam) Denton..  but I don't match all the names and faces at this time.. And there was a Major (Jim) Boyd.. and a Captain Parks....  Maj Boyd was on 630 when there was a fire at Phu Bai..See pix,

and,  a Captain (Joe)Cancellare, in April 68, just before going home... I  wanted to  see what slick drivers did.... I think his CC was a Sgt Thomas..?  He liked the modifications I made to his 60's.

Also, I think 3rd platoon tail numbers ran in sequence, as the company arrived in country with almost new ships..  maybe 66-621  to  66-630 ? Ray may know better, as we talked about that.. he checks the gold book..  and no nose art in any of my pix..But..  my locker took a hit the first morning of Tet, so no camera for February march and April, 68. Looking at the Phu Bai bunker building pix..  I think  there was a CC Ely..  and a CC GREG  something...  I Hope that helps Buzz. JackB

Jack,   Thanks for answering my note to Danney.  First I would like to give kudos to Danney for pulling us all back together as a unit.  He and his helpmate wife have been a God-sent.  I believe the website will be a true blessing to us all as well as a means of deep healing as we recall our experiences in a strange time. 
  I, as you were, was a transfer to the unit.  I arrived in the 190th. a week or so after Tet.  I was originally trained as a heavy equipment maintenance/operator stationed at Long Bihn in December 1967.  I remember arriving in company one morning and being shown around the company area.  Went to the flight line and looked over the helicopters, met some of the pol guys, hanger guys, a couple of off duty crewmen.  Was shown a little about the helicopters and was later that day assigned to guard duty on the flight-line so that I could become more familiar with the helicopters.  I was assigned the first shift of guard duty so that I could get off after the midnight shift and get some sleep before the crews took off the next day.  I was assigned to fly the next morning and flew for the next 40 days straight.  They gave me no time to back out of what I had volunteered to do...
  I remember the first helicopter I flew on, a slick numbered 66-762.  What a mind blower of a time.  Anyway, I came to realize that most of the original helicopters the unit had assigned to it were numbered in a sequence.  The ones I remember flying on that were slicks were: 66-759, which I was a crew-chief on before going to guns; 66-760; 66-762; 66-769.  There were other "stragglers" as a called them which were added to the list.  One of the was 65-619.  On the guns, I crewed 66-627.  There was at the time the hog ship, which I believe was 66-626.  Larry Christy crewed 66-624.  I think I remember 66-625.  I flew on slicks until around September '68 and then went to guns.  I extended in December '68 and stayed until July '69.
  When I first got in the company I was pretty lost.  Ron Earles was the slick platoon Sargent.  He went to Nam with the company from the States, from what I understand.  Loren Clark was a slicker and eventually went to the guns and crewed the hog ship.  Rom Maher flew on the Smoke ship.  
  I remember a guy named Coy who was with the guns, I think.  Also a guy called Big Tom.  Also a guy named Jerry Shelton.  They were all short in time when I got in the company so they didn't like to fly with fng's.  My first crew chief was a black guy called Sully.  His last name was Sullivan.  He didn't fly too long after I got in the company.  He was a great teacher and very patient with me. 
  Sorry if I have put out too much info all at once.  I do remember you, at least I remember seeing you for your face is familiar.  I was wondering about some of your pictures because I did not recognize some of the places.  Did you hook up with the company when they went TDY to the North?  I understand that was a really hard time for the company, getting shot up a lot when TDY there.  From what I gather the company was the first Army unit to support the Marines in a combat area situation, ever.  You have submitted some great pictures and I have enjoyed reminiscing through them.  When I came home I had hundreds of pictures but ended up burning about everything I brought home from Nam.  I have lived to regret it, to some degree. 
  Again, thanks to you for answering my note to Danney and I do appreciate him for forwarding it to you.  It helps to put the pieces of the company together.  Thanks for your being there and welcome home, Bro!  Delbert "Robbie" Buzz Roberts.

 Hi Buzz, Yep..  it’s good to have the website of Danny and Mama..  best thing that  happened since the internet started. I got to Long Binh in April 67..  I was in Germany before that..  TDY  to 3rd Division in Kitzingen..  was originally A 95-B..  MP...  but didn't care for that..  so after getting to LB, put in a 1049 for aviation with 3 other guys.. the 1st Shirt got upset, so when a levy came down for 1st Division to take convoys up Highway 13, he sent all the 1049 people and anyone else he wanted to get rid of.
Did that for a few months, orders came through, went to 145th, then 190th about late august 67.  In a short time they were sent up to help out the marines..  their CH-46s were having a problem and were grounded..  rear pylon and the transmission were falling off at inconvenient times..  like at 1500 ft...  some even fell off at startup..  sometimes they did a ground loop...    not good for morale..
The marines had CH-34s too..  and a few CH-53s..  and a couple of Hueys..  we were at Phu Bai, a marine airfield on the Coast..  tents and bunker photos..  marine bases had the red and gold signs..  some of the slicks and gunships were sent South..  to  work with one of those infantry brigades..  196th, 198th ?  (See SB Pages 19-19-3)
Some pix from up north are of Hue, the cathedral and Citadel..  old cannons and thick walls..  Khe Sahn,  red dirt, the mountains and the AF tower..  HQ, 26th Marines & 3rd Recon BN...  and places with no name out in the bush.
I was a PFC  new guy, didn't know much about aviation, and went OJT...  learned a lot years later when I read a few books, then the internet came along..
The part of the company that was at Phu Bai returned to BH just before Thanksgiving..  got set up again, then Tet came along. My camera was KO'd the first morning, so no more pix..  went to Saigon a few times, Cholon,  Dong Tam, My Tho..  and places I don't know the name of..
Tried out slicks in April 68..  Capt. (Joe)Cancellere and a few other pilots..  to see what they did..  left for the States at the end of the month..
My brother was a marine..  with 3 BN, 4th Regiment.. 3/4..  68 - 69..  they walked everywhere..  or went by truck if it was a long trip. Or took some boats or Amtrak’s if they had to cross a river...  Never by chopper.
A Mister (Bob) Coveney transferred in from the 118th around Tet..  he has some good pix..  there's a link on the 190th history page..
I just got a tablet..  my computer died a while ago..  everything is different on Android...  and I have to figure out how to put captions on the Picasa page..  Danney has most of those  albums on the 190th site now. It’s good to hear from you..  my memory is fuzzy on some things..  but if you're in any of my photos let me know, or one in another album on Danney's page, so I can associate the name and face.
Like one of the hooch girls used to say  GI..  Number One..JackB

Hi guys, awesome totally awesome. Aircraft tail numbers I remember: Of course the Horse—66-16942 66-16841- 66-16844- which I think went down with a turbine bucket failure. Supposedly the 66 designation was for the year built. I will look for other tail numbers in my things and get back to you.  Ken King

Danney, I have a little notepad in which I kept a record of my flying hours, including tail numbers of aircraft I flew on a given day. I joined the guns on 15 Nov 68. Here's what I know of the tail numbers. My ship (actually Cristy's ship) 66-624, photo attached.

66-626 I think was a mini gun ship, too. 66-627 was a hog, as was 171 (crewed by Bob Escamilla). Also flew 66-625, 513, 027, 678, and 528. In mid June '69, we had to turn in our C models and got B models instead, due to ARADMAC's being unable to replace our C models. I didn't keep any tail numbers after we lost our beloved Charlie Models. Gunship tactics all changed with the B model, since it would not perform like the Charlie Model. Mike Suenram - Gladiator 11 '68-'69

 I have no memory but I can tell you about 769, which was my ship for a while.  It became known as 'patches'.  Reason is we were flying a CA inserting US, I think 9th div but don't quote me, and when it came time to take them all home some of these idiots put claymores in the PZ between the groups they form into.  Well, as a 'late' chock/chalk - whatever - the ships have a tendency to land farther and farther back.  I was flying 769 on that mission about #7 or so and I came to a hover between groups and BLAM.  A claymore went off.  Minor injuries and the crew chief's helmet was nearly blown off, so bad so that he couldn't communicate anymore.  Do I remember who the crew chief was?  Not a chance.  Anyway, picture of 769 afterward and the reason it was called patches.  You can see all the silver colored patches everywhere. Gonzo (Greg Gove)

 Danny that is right for the gun tail numbers I was crew chief on 630  Dave Shaffer

 My bird just came out of the hanger & I was doing button up when a Warrant shows up. ' ,I'm the check pilot," he says, "let's go flying".

 Does anyone know who painted the art work on Door post in the attached Pic?  This was in ’70.                                              Carl Jacobs w/ Bandito Bandolier

Howdy Danney... and Howdy to you, Carl & Ray!!
   I can tell you all about that bird... she was mine... mine and Len Muller's! Tail No. 64-13549 was a brand newly-reconditioned D-model, freshly arrived in-country from Corpus Christi around August or September of 1969 and assigned to the 190th at the same time that I was promoted to left seat; AC's generally were "given" their own bird to fly, and crew chiefs were always assigned to the same aircraft. I was blessed to get 549; not as powerful as an H-model, but I think only Dana Toothaker with the the VIP bird and the C.O. (I can't remember if it was Maj. Murray or Maj. Jobe at the time) had H-models...  maybe Jon Carrico's Smoky, too, and maybe the Hoss. Anyway, I was thrilled with this one, and even more blessed to have Spec. Len Muller as crew chief- so competent, courteous, efficient... bottom line- he kept us flying!! I remember bringing pizza out to him from the club some evenings when he was still out on the flight line doing maintenance work by flashlight, long after the day's missions had ended. I've always wished him well and wondered what became of him... Danney- I found his name near the beginning of your roster reuniting the company; could you forward this email to him??
   Anyhow, the name is an amalgam of an acid rock band of that era, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and the Walt Disney Movie "Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang". The policy had only recently come down that we could name our birds; Mike Krueger had already named his the "Big Green Pleasure Machine"; inspired, and reaching into the "culture" of the time, I came up with this name. And I was doubly-blessed when I came down to the flight line early one morning to find that Len had painted the name onto our machine... yes- full credit for that artwork goes to Spec. 4 Len Muller!
   You're probably familiar with Joe Kline's beautiful Vietnam helicopter paintings; years ago I special-ordered his rendition of a combat assault with a Spartan head on the nose, 64-13549 for the tail number, and pilots' doors removed. I hung it in my elementary school classroom so that whenever I thought I was having a bad day, I could remember when every day was a bad day. I gave it in retirement to my best friend and fellow Spartan John Bryant. By the way, Carl's photo doesn't show it, but the greenhouse window directly above the AC's seat had a really crappy patch job in it. This was the result of a combat assault on a day I wasn't flying and some object, possibly shrapnel from a Gladiator's rocket, struck the AC's helmet and ricocheted straight up, through the greenhouse. I was always unhappy about this; years later, I discovered that it was John Bryant himself flying her that day!!
   Danney- I'm also the guy to whom you emailed the photos of the flight line rotor mesh, remember? Thanks to those pictures (did Bud Holzman take those, by chance?), our local newspaper published an account I'd written of the event; I'll forward the story & accompanying photos to you, in case there's some way you can post them. No one that was there at the time will ever forget it.    God bless you, my brothers; and Ray- I'd like to know about the book, too!!   Jon McKee   Spartan 25

                     Where Have You Seen This Sign??  Where Was It Located??

I think this was the back door entrance to the Operations Quonset hut just to the left of the hanger.  This is the front entrance and you can see the power lines to the left of my picture and to the right of yours which would make sense.  Bob Coveney

If memory is not completely shot....seems to me the OPS shack had a small porch as you entered from the flight line. Sure does look like the right sign tho.  Bobby Leonard 

it was on the left side and it was where we turned in our flight record for the day... there is a couple of pictures of the first and second flight platoons in from of the building.  I will see if I can find them.  Buzz Roberts

I remember it to be the preflight Quonset hut where we met the night before  to go over the next days mission. I was with the 190th I. 67 - 68.  Maybe I am way off base. Blame it on my age!! lol   Paul Ouellette

Danney, Never seen this B4.  Nice.  Didn't know the lift platoons had names. I was leader of 2nd Plt. Ok, now give us the history about this banner. Curt Loop

Hello Danney.  Good to hear from you.  Hope I can help with you delimma, and not confuse the issue.  At almost 70, it's hard to believe us old farts have CRS so badly; but here goes:  1st Plt. = MERCURY, 2nd Plt. = TROJAN'S, Gun Plt. = GLADIATOR'S, and the Maint. Plt. = HORSE. 

 The building in both of the pictures is exactly the same as our Operations Shack, which was just to the west of our hangar.........however, the Ops shack had an overhead front porch on it, which extended out to the south about 10 feet. 

 The building in your pictures Danney, is of the consolidated Re-enlistment hut, which was over by the enlisted barracks.  In the second picture, if you look at all the stuff to the right side of the building, that' where our hanger would have been.  If we all stick together, and each provides bits and pieces, we've got a hell of a story to tell.  HA!  Have a good one.  Ole Swede  "Stable Master 46"

Engine Failure Long Bien Pad - Can anyone ID the Crew involved?? As well as my memories serve me. A short version of what happened. On standby at a FSB somewhere in 3 Corp my ship was called out for a Medevac. Arriving on scene we found a too small clearing at the base of a cliff surrounded by a Bamboo Forest. The A/C lowered us from a hover chopping with the main rotor until I could reach down from my position to lift by the arm pits the wounded point man. After picking up the medic also we Red lined to Long Bein (half hour) where on our final approach, control waved us off to the next open hospital pad.. We were told, while off  loading to clear the pad NOW, another ship was on approach. Pulling pitch & going into a nose down attitude we departed. About 30 feet the engine failed but with the forward air speed the A/C lifted the chopper over the barb wire fences, over the power lines & the road to put us down in the empty field just beyond with one of the smoothest landings ever. All I can recall after that was checking out the bird after it being lifted to the hanger. The main rotor blades had deep grooves on the bottom edge from chopping bamboo which were changed out with the engine. No other damage was noted. The Broken Wing Award for the A/C was announced several days later. Does anybody know who the A/C was for this incident ?CE Jerry Grappi '69 - '70

Swede, This is around the time you and I were there, perhaps you remember this incident.  You might remember having the engine replaced.  Curt Loop

Curt, as memory serves me, (not often) I would narrow it down to WO Peck, WO Mike Krueger, or WO Doug Smiley.  I do remember Pipe Smoke (CH 47's) departing Chu Chi or Phu Loi to bring this one back on the "hook", and wondered why......because other than the bottom of the main rotor blades, there was no visible damage to the aircraft.  Turned out later that some of the smaller tree "particles" they had been hacking, were ingested in to the engine.  Other than that, my friend, I've forgotten what I had for lunch.  Ha.  Ole Swede

All the door gunners and crew chiefs were issued a Kevlar vest called a chicken plate and a body harnesses called a monkey strap that was secured to an o-ring on the transmission housing compartment. The chicken plate consisted of a vest with an open sleeve on the front and the back of the vest where the Kevlar plates were inserted. The one size fits all vest was secured by adjustable Velcro straps. Because most of the enemy fire came up through the floor, the guys in back removed their back plate and sat on it to protect the family jewels. The monkey straps insured that the crew chief and door gunner didn’t get blown out of the aircraft if they were wounded. During a gun run the monkey straps made it easier for the guys in back to move around the aircraft; but if they did go down they had to make sure that they released the catch on their monkey strap before hitting the ground otherwise they could wind up trapped under the gunship

All of the gunners and crew chiefs used the M60D light machine gun as their primary weapon and what an excellent weapon it was. The gunners were responsible for two light machine guns, which of course they had to sign for. If the weapons were lost or stolen they had to pay the Army for the cost of each weapon. It was the door gunner’s primary job to make sure that both machine guns were clean and in good working order. The machine gun weighed 23 pounds, had a cyclic rate of 550 rounds per minute, fired NATO 7.62 mm linked ammunition in 100-round belts and had an effective range of 1100 meters. The M60D was suspended from the ceiling of the cargo bay by a rubber bungee cord, which made it easier for the guys in back to maneuver their machine gun in all directions while engaging the enemy. The rubber cord had some bounce to it; the trick was to maneuver the machine gun with your upper body and arms and let the bungee cord do the work The monkey strap and bungee cord made it easy for the guys in back to hang outside the aircraft, stand on the skid and direct their fire where it needed to be. They had to be careful not to hit the rotor blades when the pilot banked to their side. The machine gun was fed from a good sized metal ammo can or wooden box on the floor, usually filled with three or four thousand rounds of linked 7.62. The ammo belt fed straight up into the feed tray and then made an abrupt right-angle turn to the horizontal plane before being drawn into the weapon. When the machine gun was fired, the ammo belt would bind-up and jam, causing the weapon to stop firing. If that happened during a fire fight it could be fatal for everyone on board. Using good old American ingenuity the gunnies made use of the most plentiful material around, a C-ration can, which fit perfectly into the receiver and worked like a charm. Ham and lima beans were far and away the worst tasting of the C-ration meals and the most commonly used can.

Door gunners usually did the refueling, which in most cases was hot, while the engine was running. After each mission the door gunners used a tie down to secure the main rotor blades. The tie down consisted of a long flat nylon braided strap that was attached to a metal hook. Before starting the engine they removed the hook and secured it after shutting down. The hook was inserted into a small hole at the end of the main rotor blade. The door gunner would then pull down on the main rotor blade and secure the strap to the stinger.

The M-23 armament subsystem used on the slicks was attached to the helicopter fuselage to provide a stable mount for the M60D machine gun. Each mount incorporated a pintle for attaching the machine gun to allow elevating, depressing, and traversing the muzzle for aiming and firing. There was a left and right mount marked “LEFT” and “RIGHT” respectively. The term “RIGHT “and “LEFT” were based on the reader facing forward in the helicopter. The M60D on a slick used a butterfly trigger assembly with hand grips. There were stops on the mounts which prevented the guys in back from traversing the machine gun too far inboard and accidentally shooting up the cockpit and the pilots. The crew chiefs and gunners did away with the government issued side mounted 100-round ammo box; the ammunition feed chute and the cartridge case collector bag. During a fire fight one hundred rounds of ammo just didn’t get the job done.

Most of the flight crews carried extra weapons during missions. The pilots were issued Smith & Wesson .38 caliber pistols and the enlisted men were issued Colt M-16’s. These early versions of the M-16 were seldom used by the crew chiefs and door gunners because they had a tendency to jam and besides that; they had the best weapon in the Army inventory, the M60D light machine gun. Other personal weapons carried on board were captured AK-47’s, M-79’s, M-1carbines, Colt .45 pistols, grenades and anything else that would give them an advantage if they went down. Spider 67, WO Robert Mudge liked to use his personal M-79 grenade launcher to pop off rounds on the break. Slick driver Black Widow 47, WO1 Wes Gager carried his trade mark M-79 with him on every flight; strapped to the back of his seat.

All of the crew chiefs and gunner’s had to make sure they followed the Army’s Rules of Engagement before opening up on the enemy. Rule 4c below was the most commonly used rule in the Spiders.

 Rules of Engagement for Armed Helicopters:

Fire only when:

1. Under control with direct radio contact of the designated control agency.
2. You can visually identify target or target marker
3. Friendly and civilian positions are positively identified.
4. Defending yourself against ground fire and:
   1. You can visually identify the source.
   2. You can positively orient strike against source.
   3. The fire is of such intensity to warrant counter-action.

Remember

1. When in doubt hold your fire!
2. Always know the positive location of friendlies.

 All flight personnel were issued the APH-5 flight helmet, which was grossly inadequate for ear protection. Everyone that flew or worked on helicopters learned real fast that the noise levels were off the charts; the high-pitched whine of the turbine engine, the whop, whop, whop sound of the rotor blades, the noise from the tail rotor and the high pitched hum coming from the transmission. The guys in back flew day in and day out with their backs up against the transmission housing panels. They sat real close to the rocket and mini gun systems. When the pilot fired the mini guns the noise level was deafening. The noise and back blast from the rockets being fired always guaranteed to get their attention. Over a period of time those noise levels caused high-frequency hearing loss and tinnitus. Very few of the Black Widows who put claims in for high-frequency hearting loss and tinnitus ever received a rating % for compensation from the Veterans Administration for their time in Vietnam. A sad fact they all had to except.

 By Spider door gunner Dick “CHERRY BOY” Detra 188thAHC

Bad Vibrations  (Tribute to Prop & Rotor)

By: Mark S. Crist Air Cav Troop, 398th Trans: 68/70 .The Huey (Bell UH-1 Iroquois) Thunder Run 3^rd Quarter 2012

I've heard it been said a helicopter is a collection of rotating parts flying in for­mation. The word "flying" being some­what of misnomer because a helicopter isn't supposed to fly. I heard that one too. Having been around them for over forty years I can dispel that misconception. Lift overcomes weight and drag and up you go. Unlike a fixed wing though, let go of the controls without an automatic control system and you'll be earthbound in any number of unusual attitudes, none of them good for the occupants.

I spent most of my maintenance time working on the Huey. Yes, the Huey had its share of rotating parts; all packed together is something that was called the "power train."

It began with its turbine engine which drove a shaft to the main transmission. The incoming RPM's were reduced to turn the main rotor. A separate gear in the transmission, thru a lengthy dri­veshaft, powered the tail rotor, at roughly 3 times the RPM of the main. All of these rotating gizmos and whatsits had fine tol­erances. Just think of the wheels on your car. Get the front end out of alignment or throw a weight and you know what I mean. Multiply them times ten in a heli­copter. I lost count how many times I heard, "those damn things will shake the fillings out of your teeth!"

Perhaps there was a balance problem above your head. Those 2 rotor blades had to fly together as a team. None of this "big­ger is better" stuff. Get one blade heavier than the other or some pitch problem and you as a passenger would catch the flack. So how did we in maintenance act as mediators? In the old days I think it took some skill. It was called "tracking and bal­ancing." The negotiations began in Prop and Rotor. As with most rotating parts on a helicopter there are term limits, even the nuts and bolts. Let's face it, there's a lot of stress at the top! The main man is actually called The Hub. The two rotor blades were attached to him. This trio had to work together to provide a smooth ride. Prop and Rotor were the consultants. They joined them together. There had to be bal­ance. Enter the blade pins which held the blades to the hub, and were hollow. No two blades weighed the same. There is a spe­cial tool called the Marvel Balancer named after the company. And think of a see-saw while the hub and blades were on this tool.

The rotor had to be level. Lead weight was either added or subtracted in the blade pins. And the blades had to march togeth­er. None of this best foot forward stuff. Dress right, dress! The hub also had 2 drag braces to adjust the sweep of the blade. The balancer actually has a rifle scope to insure things were on the straight and nar­row along the span. All of this was called Chord and Spanwise balancing. Once the negotiations were on track, and no pun intended, either the main or tail rotor was released for further arbitration and fine tuning, us mechanics on the flight line.

At the old Blackhorse basecamp with Air Cav, and later with the 398th at Redcatcher, the hub and blades were set on the mast using a "wrecker." I know that may sound ominous, but it was a crane mounted on a 5 ton truck chassis. The operator required some finesse. No dings and dents allowed in doing this maneuver. Once in place the "Jesus" nut was screwed on top. Ya, ever know that one big nut held the main rotor in place? Then all the other tubes were bolted on, to include what's called the "pitch change" links. All these subordinate employees were a requirement for a smooth operation of the company. No layoffs here!

Once all of this was accomplished, time for the test pilot, the internal affairs guy. He'd get that 01' Huey up to 100% on the turbine and rotor. "Let's see how the com­pany is doing?" Our main tool was the "tracking flag." It was a piece of pipe about 10 feet long. Two smaller pieces of pipe were welded to it giving it the look of the letter "F." Between those 2 pipes mask­ing tape was wound. On the tip off each rotor blade was an attachment with a hole for not only the main rotor tie down, but also the application of grease pencils, black and red. With the rotor turning the tracking flag was slowly pushed into it. And I do mean slowly. Push it in too fast and the blades might sever the tape. The purpose of the grease pencils was to see if the blades were flying together up and down. If the black was below the red or vice versa then some adjustment was needed on those pitch change links. The two colors had to be on top of each other. For the tail rotor a broom handle was used. Just a black grease pencil was taped to the end. While the helicopter was running it was "slowly" pushed into the blades. One had to make sure they did this facing aft. Facing forward and they stuck the broom handle in to far; they might be missing some teeth. If both blades on the tail rotor were showing grease pencil on shutdown we were good to go. If not, the tail rotor had its own pitch change links. If the tail­ rotor was out of whack the helicopter might have a high frequency vibration in the pedals. It's been said it could put a pilot's feet to sleep.

However, there might still be vibra­tions. The most common was what's called a I to 1. That is, for every rotation of the main rotor, there'd be a shuffle either up and down or sideways. Sideways, or later­al, was a weight problem, time to add or subtract weight from those blade pins. This was usually a rare occurrence. Up and down was a vertical. In flight, time to either adjust the pitch change links again, or bend the trim tabs that each blade had. It was more or less a fly by the seat of your pants thing. Most pilots at that time were fairly young and had tight asses. That did­n't sound right. If any test pilots read this I didn't think you were a tight ass! Now that I got that straightened out, vertical vibra­tions came in at certain airspeeds depend­ing how bad they were. A test pilot might tell me, "it's in at 60 knots, put 1 degree of tab in the black blade!" We'd make the adjustment, on the ground and shutdown of course, and go back up. I might hear, "it's coming in at 80 knots, add another quarter degree. We did have a special tool for this. The goal was to get her up to cruise airspeed and be smooth as silk. Well, better than sandpaper!

I've heard many stories in my Aviation career. One involved a Huey that had a foot of one blade shot off from a .51 Cal. The vibration was shall we say, excessive. That crew landed and surveyed their options. They had to get out of there. The crew chief supposedly got his toolbox out and sawed a foot off the other blade with a hacksaw. True story, I don't know, maybe some legend.

A Private, new to the company, walks into the Mess Hall at Camp Gorvad, Phuoc Vinh.....
He sits down next to a scruffy (Gladiator) Pilot with a long handle bar mustache and notices the (Gladiator) Pilot with his arms folded staring blankly at the last full bowl of chili in the Mess Hall.

After fifteen minutes of the (Gladiator) Pilot just sitting there staring at this bowl of chili, the new Private bravely asks the scruffy (Gladiator) Pilot, 'If you ain't gonna eat that, mind if I do?' 

The (Gladiator) Pilot slowly turns his head toward the young Pvt and in his best (Gladiator)Pilot manners says,'Nah, go ahead .. it's all yur's.  

Eagerly, the Pvt reaches over and slides the bowl in front of him and starts spooning it in with delight.He gets nearly down to the bottom and notices a dead mouse in the chili.
The sight was very shocking and he immediately barfs up the chili back into the bowl. 

The scruffy (Gladiator) Pilot quietly says, 'Yep, that's as far as I got, too.'       Quintin Pitra

Danny, can you tell me who the pilots  in the Hustler pics are, because I was the gunner and I can't for the life of  me remember their names. Heck I didn't even remember the picture until I  enlarged it and mama told me that it was me.  Talk about C.R.S.  Ha  ha      H. Higgs 

 Harold, So funny!  Doug said the same thing (CRS) this morning when I asked  him who the guys were in the picture.  He said the pilot was Jim (Mr.)  Curtis. He suggested that Mr. Curtis might remember who the  other pilot was.  Let me know if you figure it out . . . Doug also  mentioned the little painted wine or champagne glass on the pillar next to the  door you were standing in, with the name "Dino" under it.  He said that Mr.  Curtis liked his wine, so they called him Dino. Since Doug took the picture, he wasn't in it, but he's the other crew member.  He was the crew (SP5) chief/gunner

My wife and I agreed that it is Alan Fredrick. Jim Curtis  Gladiator 15

Here's the "Original" Hustler the helicopter was named after, that Doug (Swanstrom) left at home in Seattle: He thought you might enjoy the history. 

Doug doesn't mess with the computer, so this is his wife writing this, in case I didn't explain things correctly . .  Vi Swanstrom - for Doug Swanstrom.

We are 17 days away from Christmas 2012. Where were  you Christmas '67...Christmas '68...Christmas '69.....Christmas '70??   What are your memories of that Christmas??  Send me your memories and which Christmas and I will put em together and add to Our website.  Let's create Christmas 190th AHC......together.    Danney

I WOULD LIKE TO HELP YOU BUT I WAS SHIPPED OUT OF THE 190TH FOR THE 335TH NOV 25. I WENT FROM AN AIR CONDITIONED ROOM WITH TELEPHONE IN BEN HOA TO A TENT IN KONTUM. IT WASN'T A VERY GOOD CHRISTMAS. CURT KENNER, ORIGINAL GLADIATOR 12. Curt Kenner

Hey Danney, I believe that on Christmas day 1967 I voluntered for guard duty so that others could go and see Bob Hope. Just remember it was hot!!! Wally Krupowski

Hi Danney,
I remember Christmas 68 and 69 - standing in the MARS line waiting for my
turn to wish my two boys 7 and 4 at home in San Diego a "Very Merry
Christmas - Over".  Merry Christmas to all you great guys, I'm so glad you
were there to share our holidays with me and thanks again for your service
to our nation,  Jim d'

Danney, Dec 25, 1967 I flew 7 hours 30 minutes direct combat support missions on 66-759 out of the Bien Hoa area.  We had the portable P. X.  and chaplain on board and went to the out posts in a 45 min flying time.  Jack Metzler

Christmas 1969 I flew chow and turkey from morning till night to the troops in the field. When we were done went to the mess hall and all that was left was A turkey sandwich. Wow what A let down after watching all that food go by.  But I'm sure the troops enjoyed it. Hutch

Hi Danney, On Christmas 68 the hanger was "closed" and I was playing Monopoly with Capt. Nightingale and two other guys, cause they needed someone at the hanger just
in case. Ken King

I came across this picture taken on Dec. 11, 1968.  It is of Rick Bohlinger and Martha Ray the day we picked her and body guard up at the soccer field and flew them around to "A" team camps. I believe you have Rick Bohlinger's email address and if you would kindly forward it to him he may want to have it. Thanks to you and your spouse for your efforts. Thanks. LaRay Todd

 It has been so long ago....... man, I must have been flying on Xmas day 1968 because shortly thereafter I took an R&R to Sydney Australia and was in Sydney for New Year's Day 1969.  Seven days in Sydney.  Great time, great place, summer time, short skirts and beautiful  bikinied ladies. Bob Escamilla      

 Hi Danney, My log shows that Jon Carrico and I flew to Tay Ninh as standby on 1 January 1969 for a prisoner exchange.  The 190th took the C&C party to the area. Also, I recall that the 190th pilots told me upon return that the site, west of Tay Ninh and the straight edge woods, had a giant NVA flag on the ground to mark the spot.  Our pilot stated he seriously wanted to land on that flag.  Larry Mullendore                                                 

Danney, Attached please find the prisoner exchange plus eye candy. I believe it was around this time of the year when we were young. No doubt those three guy’s lives improved. Best, Nick Hun

Thanks Nick. Do U know the story behind the prisoner swap? Did we give em VC/NVA for our guys? Danney     Danney, I honestly do not, since I did not fly the mission but am pretty sure the guys who did would know more. The whole event should be archived somewhere. Best, Nick

The first pic man on right of army guy face looks familiar, maybe coincidence. Dean Martin

 Danney,  I don't know the answer to this question but what I see is that the pilot’s door has been removed.  There were very few companies, that I've seen,  that flew with the pilots doors removed. Tony  Peters  ( Spartan43 )

 Danney, I was on a mission 1st of January 1969 in which we exchanged prisoners. I can't remember if it was Tay Ninh or Go Da Ha. Jon Carrico

I know there was a Christmas prisoner exchange at Tay Ninh Province Dec 68. Flew a General around the province, before and the exchange, checking out the area during some kind of truce that was set up beforehand. Heard one of the prisoners was a French soldier that was held since 1954. Steve Caliendo 

  From Buzz Lasch                 What is an Army Aviator?

 Between the innocence of enlistment and the dignity of retirement, one can find a delightful soldier called an ARMY AVIATOR. This pilot comes in assorted sizes, weights, ranks, and colors, but all follow the same creed: To fly every second of every minute of every hour of every day, protesting about crew rest (their only weapon), until their last flight is finished and he gets the word that all the aircraft are in maintenance.

 They are found everywhere on top of, underneath, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around, or jumping to every aircraft in the Army inventory. Wives love them, their branch ignores them, and Heaven protects them. This pilot is dashing with a mustache on his face, beauty with a brand new aircraft, wisdom with a star on his wings, and the hope of the future with a maxed officer’s efficiency report in his pocket.

 When you are busy, an Army Aviator is an inconsiderate, bothersome, intruding chatter of noise. When you want him to make a good impression, his brain turns to jelly or else he becomes a savage sadistic kamikaze pilot bent on destroying the aircraft and himself with it.

 This Aviator is a composite. He has the appetite of a horse, the digestion of a sword swallower, the drinking habits of an alcoholic, the curiosity of a cat, the lungs of a dictator, the war stories of Sky King, the shyness of a mad bull, the factfulness of a steel trap, the enthusiasm of a South American sloth and when he flies something he has five thumbs on each hand.

 He likes days off, survival knives, day light missions, Christmas leave, aviation books, his co-pilot, TDY trips, flying (in his natural habitat ), happy hour, large aircraft, the unit Commander, women, weekends, and a PCS move to a fixed wing flight detachment, but not necessarily in that order. He doesn’t care much for field problems, postage stamp size landing zones, marathon safety meetings, mandatory social functions, instrument check rides, Army regulations without pictures, indecision, barbers, must go night low level training missions, or the flight surgeon’s probing finger.

 Nobody else gets up any earlier or stays up any later, gets any hotter or any colder in a given day. Nobody else gets so much fun out of diving on targets, dodging wires and trees, flying VIP’s, while dancing with a max wind gust spread. Nobody else can cram into one survival vest a rusty weapon, a week’s supply of tootsie roll pops, an empty map case, two signal flares, six packs of cigarettes, a chunk of unknown substance and a genuine supersonic flight school graduation ring with a secret compartment.

 An Army Aviator is magical creature. You can kick him out of the Army, but the Army won’t function without him. You can get him out of your office, but you can’t get him out of your mind. You might as well give up he is your pilot, your maintenance officer, your boss and your contemporary; a mustache-faced, assorted size, girl-chasing drunk.

 But when the Ground Commander goes to work in the morning with only the shattered pieces of his hopes and dreams, the Professional Army Aviator can make him feel like a king when he transmits those four voluntary words -

 “We're on short final”        Thomas W. Owens - 1971

Hi Guys, A friend just sent this to me and I thought you might be interested. As an aside;  The current issue of "Viet Nam" magazine has an article on Steinbeck's visit to Viet Nam.

 Only a handful of people have won both the Nobel and Pulitzer prizes in literature. One of them was iconic American novelist John Steinbeck. His incredible body of work stretched from Tortilla Flat to Of Mice and Men, from Grapes of Wrath to Cannery Row to East Of Eden. He had a gift for the language that few, before or since have possessed.

Not widely known is the fact that in 1966-67, a year before his death, he went to Vietnam at the request of his friend Harry F. Guggenheim, publisher of Newsday to do a series of reports on the war. The reports took the form of letters to his dear friend Alicia Patterson, Newsday's first editor and publisher.  Those letters have been published in a book by Thomas E. Barden, Vietnam veteran and professor of English at the University of Toledo. The book is entitled, “Steinbeck on Vietnam: Dispatches From The War.”

Alicia, I wish I could tell you about these pilots. They make me sick with envy. They ride their vehicles the way a man controls a fine, well-trained quarter horse. They weave along stream beds, rise like swallows to clear trees, they turn and twist and dip like swifts in the evening. I watch their hands and feet on the controls, the delicacy of the coordination reminds me of the sure and seeming slow hands of (Pablo) Casals on the cello. They are truly musicians hands and they play their controls like music and they dance them like ballerinas and they make me jealous because I want so much to do it. Remember your child night dream of perfect flight free and wonderful? It's like that, and sadly I know I never can. My hands are too old and forgetful to take orders from the command center, which speaks of updrafts and side winds, of drift and shift, or ground fire indicated by a tiny puff or flash, or a hit and all these commands must be obeyed by the musicians hands instantly and automatically. I must take my longing out in admiration and the joy of seeing it. Sorry about that leak of ecstasy, Alicia, but I had to get it out or burst.”

The man just had a way with words, no?   Rock Lyons

Danney: I do remember having an engine failure Just south of Siagon near the river. On a single ship mission with a a fairly new copilot flying trying to find a someone to pickup about 500 to 700 feet. We could not get radio communications so we were going to climb up to try to get communications.

When we started to pull pitch the engine blew and the panel lit up like a christmas tree. I remember the words YOU YOU YOU got it. I took the controls made three mayday calls and set it down in a rice paddy. When got to the ground I got out and check the crew got the fire extinquisher put out the rest of the smoke. And then my knees began to shake and I could not stop them for a while. What you don't know is a few days before I had a nightmare that scared the hell out of me and in that dream I had a engine failure and went thru all the procedures. I reviewed them the next day. So buddy we had help someone was looking after us. How does that make you feel? Victor Deese

  Two more caveats to the story are the mission started northeast at Swan Lock (English not Vietnamese spelling) where all the trees are and it was unusual to end up in the south from there. Also the ship was red "X" ed the day before for a "loss of power", checked out that night by maintenance, and cleared with a "could not duplicate the problem". Carl Jacobs

Danney: 30 July 1969 was Nixon's visit to Saigon. 5 years ago I visited COL Gene Boyer,  Seal Beach, CA 90740 at his home. Gene was the president's chief pilot for this flight and many others. You may try to contact him. Carl Seager

 Danney,  Let me add my memories to the Presidents visit.  I crewed the the smoke ship 425, I was on standby one rainy morning layed out on the back seat when the left cargo door slid open and two pilots, not from our unit, started giving orders.  Untie the rotor and get in.  They complained that plexiglass was scatched and the wipers blades didn't clean very well. I tried to tell them that real pilots didn't use wipers or front doors and that 50 gals of smoke oil a day on the tailboom had ruined the mirror finish.  They were not very friendly.  I learned that this was a practice run for the route they would fly with the President a few days later.  On our return home I was told not to talk about our mission. Dave Coons

Danney: Here's a copy of award recommendation that was submitted for the Jul 69
mission signed by Capt. Allen and Maj Jobe. It also mentions John Top, Joe Jobe, Kirk Pardee and others.

What I remember is that the pilots from the Presidential Flight Detachment
were flown in from DC( A LTC and a W4); they flew our C&C bird that you guys and the Belvoir mechanics reconfigured for the visit. I was the #2 bird with Sec Of UN,C&C Pacific Abrams, and Chief of Staff RVN, plus an couple of aides, 2 other of our with birds were carrying other dignitaries. WE took them to Zian. Mullendore and four other birds took Ms. Nixon to another location. WE had another flight of 4 with security troops on board in case something went wrong. I believe we had some guns orbiting along route( Not real sure about this though) I don't remember that CO Jobe was airborne with us. Maybe he and BAT CO Top were overhead. After each group concluded their visit , the flights returned them to Tan Son Nut AFB. There were other flight missions flown by our pilots prior to this day in prep for JUL 69 execution. Hopefully this sheds some light. I was Spartan OPS Officer for almost nine months. Thank God we made it, there are so many that didn't. Roger Kincaid

Sir:  This is going to sound like a Truck Driver story. They always start off with "you ain't gonna believe this".....well the John Top that is mentioned in the Unit Orders..... I found him tonight. What I did not know when I called him is that he is The "Old Warrior" as he was CO of the 145thCAB. He was very nice and we swapped emails.

The Award recommendation is almost impossible to read; however, I believe it states that Capt. Roger Kincaid Done Real Good, transporting POTUS on a special mission. I was in the Hangar when that happened. Speaking of being in the Hangar, that visit put us two months behind. The Secret people showed up and looked all around. About a day B4 the visit the hangar was Off Limits and that night MP's,AP's, Secret P's, ringed the hangar, within arms reach of each other, as I remember. They guarded the C&C ship and the POL truck, and when all was said and done, we worked extra hours, as if 12 were not long enough, just to try and get caught back up. I am not complaining, as I was working 12 hr shifts with a mining company B4 I got the letter from POTUS asking me to join his team. I always voted for Nixon after that, as he at least came to see some of us.  Danney

  Danny, I am awfully sorry to see Joe Jobe on the list of deceased folks.  I have very fond memories of him as a fatherly figure.  He was put in charge, most likely to prepare the unit to be involved with President Nixon’s visit.  I say that, because he knew the President’s pilots on a personal basis.  My fond memories are two.  While my normal aircraft was in for an annual inspection, I was flying co-pilot on the C&C aircraft.  We had a new captain in the aircraft commander’s seat.  Down, near the testicles, he bowed to pressure from the guys in the back, and we descended to shoot some “trophies”.  Unfortunately, the “trophies” had friends in the Nippa Palm line and they shot the snot out of the C&C aircraft.  Colonel Jobe met me at the aircraft and asked what had happened.  Then he put his arm around my shoulders and said that he already figured it out, and I should go get a good night’s sleep (or something to that effect).  I will never forget that moment.  The second thing he did was to select me as one of the chase pilots for the Nixon visit.  For about three weeks before the visit, I was pulled out of the normal mission and introduced to a couple of guys in business suits, carrying weapons I didn’t recognize.  I was told to do whatever they wanted me to do, and don’t discuss it with anyone.  I had a great time.  We really pissed off the air traffic controllers at Ton Son Nut (spelling) Hotel 3.  They tried to turn us away.  As you may remember that was for VIPs only, and we would not tell them who we had on board.  One of the suits climbed into the tower and engaged in a very animated conversation.  After that, we pretty well did whatever we wanted to do – no more complaints.

 Lou Vila and I were the two PICs involved in the famous flight line rotor meshing incident.  He had a VNAF in the right seat.  As you may recall, the two revetments involved were unusually close together and faced one another in such a manner that an aircraft backing from one had to get really close to the aircraft in the other.  According to the accident report, the VNAF was on  the stick and he backed into me, while I was on the ground.  My main rotor struck his tail rotor, then the aircraft yawed and the main rotors collided.  The VNAF was killed when the advancing blade struck the right side of the cockpit, as they usually do.  The rest is history, and you sent me some good pictures of it.  Thank you. Ben Wadsworth

Howdy Danney!!   This is Jon McKee... I've SO appreciated what you've done & what you continue doing; same goes for your wife!!! I was a pilot & AC with one of the slick platoons- Spartan 25 was my call sign. Is there a picture of you anywhere in the Website? I know I'd recognize you; we were both there at pretty much the same time- April, '69 - April, '70. I was the peter pilot with Ben Wadsworth the morning that Vila accidentally swung his tail rotor gear box into the tip of our main rotor blade while he was coming out of the maintenance revetment in front of the hangar... we all sadly remember what happened to his VNAF pilot. I'm attaching a couple of pictures of myself from that era... maybe you'll remember me. I really enjoyed our conversation the night you reached me here at home to confirm my Spartan past; God bless you, my brother; I have a feeling we'll be seeing one another before too much longer. And most of all, THANK YOU, again, for what you & Mama have done!!!    Jon

 Danney- This is the story I'd mentioned in my previous email to you; the Ramona Sentinel published the whole thing just before last Memorial Day; the aircraft pictures are the ones you'd sent me...

Three-Thousandths of a Second:  Grace and Tragedy on a Vietnam Helicopter Flightline

 Numbers- I like numbers; I like doing math… as a vanguard boomer, it’s a mental gymnastics thing, not unlike the cycling I turn to for the cardio. Like certain sights, sounds, and smells, numbers, too, can trigger for me any variety of recollections and associations- numbers like 40, 1969, 212, 3/1000…

The number 40 was in the news this past week; that’s how many years ago Richard M. Nixon launched his opening to China. That’s how many years ago I was down to my final few weeks of an obligatory 4-year stint of service to country in the U.S. Army, which included an earlier tour of duty in the Republic of South Vietnam. How did a college kid like me get so lucky? Probably by taking nearly five years to graduate and, hence, choosing to join Army R.O.T.C. as an “escape” from the Draft Board’s summons. I’d also figured out a brilliant way to avoid being sent to Vietnam- I volunteered for the Flight Cadet program. Not only would Uncle Sam pay for flight lessons toward a pilot’s license in my senior year and thereby guarantee Army flight school afterwards, but the time all this training entailed would virtually guarantee that the war would be long over before I completed it… 

1969- one full year after graduating from college- and they’d held the war over, just for me! The R.O.T.C. Flight Cadet program? Beautiful- I’d received my pilot’s license by the spring of ’68… the government had spent some nine hundred dollars on me for this airplane training; in no way were they going to waste that kind of money by sending me to helicopter school, right? On to fixed-wing glory, and later on choices between Pan Am and TWA… pretty heady stuff for an oblivious 22-year old. Reality check No.1 arrived in the form of Army orders while still an undergraduate: commissioning as a second-lieutenant upon graduation; basic branch training at Fort Benning, Georgia; and something called ORWAC at Fort Wolters, Texas. And a reporting date for Vietnam: April 20, 1969. This last was no worry; no way would this war continue THAT long! But “ORWAC”- what’s that? The Professor of Military Science didn’t disappoint: “Officer Rotary Wing Aviator Course.” Rotary wing? What does that mean?? “CHOPPERS!!”

Reality check No. 2: To add insult to injury, the Army knocked ten days off my leave time prior to reporting to Vietnam; hence, on April 10, 1969, a brand-new and utterly jet-lagged UH-1 Huey pilot reported for duty to the 190^th Assault Helicopter Company ‘Spartans’.

The number 212? That’s the operational RPM- rotations per minute- of a Huey’s main rotor blade. The math will tell you that the rotor is making three and a half rotations every second. With two blades emanating from the rotor mast, it means that one or the other of the two blades is passing over the cabin seven times per second. The diameter of the rotor disk is some 55 feet; here, the math gets a little trickier, but, essentially, the tip of a Huey’s main rotor blade is spinning at close to the speed of sound, and when something substantial strikes it, it will flex down, drastically, catastrophically… as I was to learn graphically early one morning a month later, in May.

I was right-seat, copilot, with a fine pilot from Sacramento named Ben Wadsworth. First light of dawn was barely spreading over the heliport, but all company aircraft were already at full operational power, awaiting each one’s turn to hover on to the departure lane, take off, and call “clear” so that the next aircraft in formational order could depart- some 13 Huey’s in all: 9 troop ships, 2 gunships, the CO’s command & control, and maintenance. Each bird carried a crew of four- pilot, copilot, crew chief, and door gunner. Full fuel bladders, we were to depart, marry up in formation, pick up our infantrymen, and insert them in any landing zone they’d choose.

And that was when 3/1000 of a second saved my life. Ben and I were to be “Chalk 5” that morning; that is, the fifth aircraft in the formation. We sat in our cockpit, monitoring our headsets as each aircraft called “clear”, awaiting our turn for take-off, which would come immediately after Chalk 4, parked in the revetment immediately to our right. Revetments were tricky things; some six feet high, “L”-shaped, they were designed to protect the nose and one side of each aircraft from incoming rocket and mortar fire. Each aircraft was assigned to its own revetment, and hovering into and out of these could be difficult because of their effect on rotor wash while at a hover; nonetheless, it was a necessary skill, developed through experience… except for that morning.

“Chalk 3 is clear.” Ben and I looked over to Chalk 4 on our right as he brought his bird up to a hover, and then directed our attention back to our instrument panel in preparation to follow upon his departure…

I have no recollection whatsoever of any sound from the collision that ensued, even though a pilot on the tarmac later told me he thought a howitzer shell had exploded on the flight line. I only remember feeling the most violent, concussive force I had ever experienced in my life. Neither Ben nor I had any idea of what had just happened; we simply stared at each other across the center console in wide-eyed and open-mouthed astonishment. “Maybe our blade hit the revetment from his rotor wash”, I remember speculating aloud. Then I looked out my cockpit door and saw an utter shambles of what had been, just seconds earlier, Chalk 4 at a stable hover with pilot and copilot in front and a friendly door gunner in back exchanging a thumbs-up with us at the start of “just another day in Vietnam.” And alongside the wreckage, on the tarmac, lay a sight I shall never forget: the body of the copilot, lying stretched out as though in sleep, headless. Chalk 4’s tail rotor gear box had struck the tip of our main rotor blade.

3/1000 of a second- the time it takes a rotor blade to pass through a quarter of its rotational arc; the difference in time between a helicopter’s rotor blade that flexes down and slices off its own tail boom with enough leverage to then rip out its own main transmission assembly before sailing off down the flight line; and a rotor blade that flexes down just that much later, and instead of slicing through the tail boom in its clockwise rotation, slices through the cabin. The hapless pilot had unknowingly drifted away from his revetment, toward us, before swinging his tail boom around in order to hover on to the flight line for departure, thereby making inevitable the collision. Upon impacting, their main rotor blade had sliced through the roof of their own cabin and smashed into the ¾-inch ceramic armor of the copilot’s seat, the right seat, crumpling it forward, snapping both his shoulder harnesses and seat belt, launching him into eternity before he could even begin to realize that anything was amiss. As for the pilot, he was trapped in his seat, the overhead console having come down against his face, pinning him in the wrecked cockpit; I could see him flailing at the console with both hands, attempting to free himself.

Aboard our own aircraft, Ben was attempting to shut down our Lycoming jet turbine engine, whining out of control, full fuel bladders at the start of the day- a fruitless effort, since the controls from our throttle to the engine had been severed. Somehow, the force of the impact had knocked our door gunner out of his seat by the transmission well and onto the tarmac; he now walked up to my door with an extremely skinned and bloodied nose. At the same time, our crew chief climbed onto the roof of our aircraft, fire extinguisher in hand, and emptied its contents directly into the jet turbine’s air intake, literally putting out the fire and shutting down the engine. Rescue personnel were already pulling the trapped pilot out of his cockpit; but his engine, too, was screaming out of control, maximum fuel on board. A maintenance officer walked directly to the engine compartment, opened an access panel, snapped safety wiring with a screw driver and uncoupled the quick-disconnect valve of the main fuel line. For this selfless bravery he would receive a medal.

Later, it was discovered that our rotor blade, boomeranging across the flight line, had landed length-wise in the revetment of Chalk 3, who less than a minute earlier had pulled pitch and departed the heliport. In a daze in the cockpit, I recall deliberating momentarily whether or not I should disconnect my flight helmet headphone cord prior to leaping to the tarmac (I did not.)Safely out of the aircraft, I recall actually walking back into the wreckage to retrieve my cap from under the tail rotor pedals, suddenly conscious that I was outdoors “without cover”, such was my state of shock at the moment.

A mandatory post-crash visit to the Flight Surgeon by both air crews revealed my only injury: under a slight tear in the left pant leg of my flight suit, the Flight Surgeon found a small scratch on the inside of my left thigh; he determined that I had struck my leg on the control stick in jumping out of the cockpit. Over the next three weeks, my thigh was to swell and turn every conceivable shade of green, blue, black, purple, and yellow.

Still later, an investigation review board recommended that the pilot of the misdirected aircraft be relieved of his aircraft commander’s rating. He was to remain on flight status, but never again flew left seat for the remainder of his tour.

When the Lord was creating Vietnam veterans, He was into His 6th day of overtime when an angel appeared, "You're certainly doing a lot of fiddling around on this one." And God said, "Have you seen the specs on this order? A Nam vet has to be able to run 5 miles through the bush with a full pack on, endure with barely any sleep for days, enter tunnels his higher ups wouldn't consider going into, and keep his weapons clean and operable. He has to be able to keep watch and fire accurately at the enemy from a hole all night during an attack, hold his mates as they die, go scout in unfamiliar territory known to be VC infested, and somehow keep his senses alert for danger. He has to be in top physical condition existing on 1 man rations and very little rest. And he has to have 6 pairs of hands."

 The angel shook his head slowly and said, "6 pairs of hands....no way."

"It's not the hands that are causing me problems.... it's the 3 pairs of eyes a Nam vet has to have." "That's on the standard model?", asked the angel.

The Lord nodded. "One pair that sees through elephant grass, another pair here in the side of his head for his fellow soldiers or Marines, another pair here in front that can look reassuringly at his bleeding, fellow soldier and say, 'You'll make it' when he knows he won't."

 "Lord, take a break, and work on this tomorrow."

"I can't," said the Lord. "I already have a model that can carry a wounded soldier 1,000 yards during a fire-fight, calm the fears of the new replacements, and feed a family of four on a grunt's pay check."

 The angel walked around the model and said, "Can it think?" "You bet," said the Lord. "It can quote much of the MBI's, recite all his Unit Standing Orders, and engage in a search and destroy mission in less time than it takes for his fellow Americans back home to discuss the morality of the War, and he can still keep his sense of humor. And you know what else? He can make a meal from a can of 'Ham and Beans', a dog biscuit, and maybe a little condensed milk, and feed all the guys in his bunker!"

 "This Nam vet also has phenomenal personal control. He can deal with ambushes from hell, comfort a fallen soldier's family, and then read in his home town paper how Nam vets are baby killers, psychos, addicts, killers of innocent civilians."

 The Lord gazed into the future and said, "He will also endure being vilified and spat on when he returns home, rejected and crucified by the very ones he fought for."

 Finally, the angel slowly ran his finger across the vet's cheek, and said, "There's a leak. ..I told you that you were trying to put too much into this model."

"That's not a leak", said the Lord. "That's a tear."

"What's the tear for?" asked the angel. "It's for bottled up emotions, for holding fallen soldiers as they die, for commitment to that funny piece of cloth called the American flag, for the terror of living with PTSD for decades after the war, alone with its demons with no one to care or help." "You're a genius," said the angel, casting a gaze at the tear.

The Lord looked very somber as if seeing down eternity's distant shores and said. "I didn't put it there," Author Unknown   -   From Jim Newsom

Danny:  RE: 190th Change of Command. 

There is a great story behind those picture. I had a young man come to me when I first took over the 145th and tell me he wanted to be the battalion photographer. (I am sorry, but I can't recall his name) He had his own camera so we arranged to buy his film and paper and set him up with a little darkroom and that is what he did for the remainder of my tour..

 I ran into him again several years later at the Washington National Airport and he was assigned to the Army Photographic Service in Washington and going all over taking official pictures for the Army.  John Top

Danney:  My name is Harry Mills and I received your post card this week and was very pleased to find that our unit has this site to connect us with an important time in our lives.  From day one in company I was on flight status as a huey crew chief, MOS 67N20, that was late July 1968.  I crewed slicks (Spartans) for most of the year but the last few months I was on a gunship (Gladiators) ship number "678".  Loren Clark was the platoon Sargent when I arrived, when he was away on leave I served as acting Sargent.  I was wounded in a rocket and mortar attack about six weeks before coming home and received a purple heart. 

 One other notable accomplishment was the mission where I managed to shoot out the chin bubble of my aircraft with my M60. You might have been the one who did the repair, seems to me their were a lot of rivits that held those on the nose of the aircraft.  My pilot got a fragment from the door jam in his leg, since that happened on a combat mission he received a purple heart. 

 I do not know how you managed to find me but I am glad you did. Thanks for your work putting all this all together, I look forward to seeing this site grow.  Here is my contact information; feel free to contact me anytime.    Harry G. Mills

“RATS RULES FOR  ROTORHEADS” 

1. I do not drink after 2000 hours.
2. I sleep at night. I’ll play when I return to CONUS.
3. I preflight my aircraft like my 3 year old son was the TI that released it.
4. I pick up from PSP assuming always one skid has been chained to the ground.
5. I fly as though I am the target of all other aircraft’s “Kamikaze” runs.
6. I always fly IFR “I Follow Roads”. I know the engine would fail if I didn’t.
7. I don’t hurry. The conflict was in session when I arrived and they haven’t cancelled the requisition for my replacement.
8. I don’t fly in the “Dead Man’s Curve”. There is too much controversy about the beyond.
9. I don’t make high overhead approaches or nose low take-offs. They both make me air sick.
10. I don’t fly with my rotor in the overcast. I know several who do and I may not see them.

Danney  I’m the “rat”; I’m the author. I was just looking through all the material on our web site and came across  picture #2 on Scrapbook page 5. These simplistic rules I wrote in 1968 while I was Unit Safety Officer and Assistant Operations Officer and Unit IP following my stint as 2^nd platoon leader. By this time the 190th had returned from I Corps having supported the Marines at Hue Phu Bai  and the Americal Div in II Corps at Duc Pho and survived Tet in Jan 68 without an accident. I became concerned that we had become a bit too proud of where we had been and what we had done and getting a little lax in good basic flying procedures when I  came up with Rat’s Rules for Rotorheads. I have no way of knowing what good came by them other than to say for me personally they reflected my sense of the seriousness of our circumstance as a helicopter pilot in a combat zone and for the safety of my crew!

 I really appreciate your effort in rounding up all this information for former 190^th members to enjoy.   Owen Ratcliff

   Hot Brass on the Peter Pilot's Neck

Awhile back Mr. Coveney noted that as peter pilot, he flew with his shirt collar up.  Let me explain.
First off during refueling and rearming, I, the CE would refuel while the pilot would monitor the fuel gauge.  My gunner would tend to our ammo.  Then when I was finished, I would help him out.  The C/P, (if not finished by then, the Pilot would lock down the friction on the aircraft and would depart the helicopter and help out best he could) would leave the aircraft and would help out rearming the rockets.  Now we all know that there is a correct way and the wrong way.  Left side the rockets went in wire down and out and so on for the other side.  When this didn't happen, the wire would come out and slap up the pant leg of me or my gunner and most times it hurt.  Something like a bee sting when not expecting it.  And on the C/P firing the mini's, he was supposed to alert which side he was firing from.  As we all know, we used the armament as a platform to stand on or rest a leg while shooting our 60's.  Out came a burst of the left side totally unannounced and would singe our leg or pants.  So, our only retaliation on the left side was to turn the gun right side up and put a few casings of M-60 down the back of the peter pilot’s neck.  Now you remember that we flew with the left gun upside down on the bungi cord so the brass would go out the back way.

Danney, Mr. Coveney probably mentioned why the collar was up but it wasn't the real reason.  Just wanted to clarify that.  But they still did it anyway. Thanks Gladiator 68-69

Engine Mechanic:

 You pilots, crew chiefs and door gunners have all my respect and

admiration for the courage that you had flying those missions everyday.

That being said, did you ever look into that beaten up little hanger

sitting on the edge of the flight line, and think about what was going

on in there? Inside you would see a bunch of kids, many of us not old

enough to vote. Just a few months earlier, most of us had never seen a

helicopter, much less worked on one. I can't speak for everyone, but us

guys in the engine shop 68/69, we worked long hours with a skeleton crew

to keep those T53 engines running, and we cared very much about the

safety of every one of you guys that flew with them. For awhile, in the

first part of 69, there were only three of us in the engine shop, and

two of us, Gary Bolger and I, were not really engine mechanics.

Gary's MOS was "prop & rotor" and mine was "transmissions". I can't

speak for Gary, but as for me I had never seen a helicopter engine

before walking into that little engine shop. It was on-the-job training

and you had to pick it up real quick. Just six months before getting to

Vietnam my father did not trust me to change the oil on his car, and now

I was expected to troubleshoot and repair helicopter engines, with your

lives in my hands.Gary arrived in country just a month before me, the

guy training us, Don Bortz, went home a month after I arrived in

country, so that is a very short amount of time for us to learn this job

and to do it well, but we did. In my opinion,Gary became one of the

best engine mechanics in Vietnam, and the 190th was fortunate to have

him. A couple of months later Bill Ray came into the engine shop, he was

a real engine mechanic with state side experience, we were glad to

get him. Flying into battle in a Huey is courageous, but flying into

battle, with an engine that was just rebuilt, and installed by a twenty

year old kid, who saw his first engine just three months earlier,

.......that's crazy!                  MikePeak

Don, I'm not very good with names but remember people and stuff very well. I started in the engine shop shortly after Gary did and worked with him for most of my tour there. Neither of us were engine mechanics as far as MOS is concerned, Gary was prop & router and I was power train (transmissions). What month did you go back to the world? I remember someone training both Gary and me when I started in the engine shop, but I'm not sure if it was you or not. I last spoke with Gary on the phone about five years ago, but lost track of him since. He became a top notch engine mechanic and I was fortunate to work with him. He was living in Genoa, Illinois the last time that I spoke to him. He & I both became pretty good friends with a test pilot with the last name Nightingale, you probably remember him, he was a cool guy. They promoted him from warrant to second lieutenant. Gary use to tease him that he was going to become a lifer, but I don't think that he did. Gary and I both extended one month to get out of the Army when we left Nam. I was nervous when Gary went home, but all the training that he gave me paid off and I did all right troubleshooting the engines, he did most of that before he left. Gary was six years older then me so I really looked up to him, as you can probably tell. I do hope that Gary gets on the found list. I wish they would list guys by where they worked or what they did so I could find guys better. It's good to find someone from the engine shop.

Take care Don.  Mike Peak (June 68/July 69)

Danney, Thanks for this article.  I was in the engine shop when Gary arrived in country, and worked with him.  I have wondered many times over the years what ever happened to him.  Shortly after he arrived we got caught out on the flight line when some rockets started hitting.  We climbed into a storm sewer together then two guys from the 334th followed us in.  Since he was a plumber he referred to himself as a "Turd Chaser".  I have been hoping that he would show up on your found list.  Thanks again, Don Bortz

  This is one of Mike Peak's & Don Bortz's  Engine shop Buddies - Gary Bolger Pretty Cool stuff.   Danney

http://www.draglist.com/artman2/publish/yesterdays_heroes/The_Racing_Career_of_Gary_Bolger_86.shtml

Pedro E. Rodriguez:  "The Huey Pilot" 

 Casually he walks to the slick, a helmet with dark

visor in his hand, stepping from the skid into the cockpit,

the switches and dials at his command.

 He may be tired from many runs, it seems he lives

under this plexi dome, but with the stick between his legs

and the pedals at his feet, he feels once again at home.

 He fires up that turbine as the pre-flight is performed,

the Jesus nut begins to turn, that machine begins to rock

and now starts that steady "Whop” and air begins to churn.

 As those massive blades begin to claw the air he skillfully lifts

his baby off the ground, the tail begins to rise and the front

seems slow to follow but no better pilot will be found.

I never saw his face,

I never knew his name, but I'll never forget the day the Huey Pilot came.

With surgical precision he causes that Huey to hover,

dip and dance behind a hill, then he routinely skims the tops of trees,

rising only to have his door gunner make another kill.

 He listens to the Peter Pilot and Crew Chief as well

as he watches for popped smoke, glancing down he sees looks of relief

on haggard faces, they know he will not choke.

 With bullets pinging on the thin metal and stars appearing on the windshield

he holds steady to the stick, people are screaming to his rear,

mortars dropping dangerously near, but he maintains a firm control of

his slick.

 He saves a dozen lives and takes supplies where no one else wishes to go,

for him it is just another day, at base camp he helps wash blood from the rear cabin

and after he fingers new bullet holes he casually walks away.

 I never saw his face, I never knew his name, but I'll never forget the day

the Huey Pilot came.

About Helicopter Pilots:    Helicopter flight -  Thanks Jim D Spartan / Gladiator

 "A bunch of spare parts flying in close formation." "Anything that screws its way into the sky flies according to unnatural principals."

 You never want to sneak up behind an old high-time helicopter pilot and clap your hands. He will instantly dive for cover and most likely whimper...then get up and smack the crap out of you.

 There are no old helicopters lying around airports like you see old airplanes. There is a reason for this. Come to think of it, there are not many old high-time helicopter pilots hanging around airports either so the first issue is mute.

 You can always tell a helicopter pilot in anything moving: a train, an airplane, a car or a boat. They never smile, they are always listening to the machine and they always hear something they think is not right. Helicopter pilots fly in a mode of intensity, actually more like "spring loaded" while waiting for pieces of their ship to fall off.

 Flying a helicopter at any altitude over 500 feet is considered reckless and should be avoided. Flying a helicopter at any altitude or condition that precludes a landing in less than 20 seconds is considered outright foolhardy.

 Remember in a helicopter you have about one second to lower the collective in an engine failure before the craft becomes unrecoverable. Once you've failed this maneuver the machine flies about as well as a 2 ton meat locker. Even a perfectly executed autorotation only gives you a glide ratio slightly better than that of a brick.

 When your wings are leading, lagging, flapping, processing and moving faster than your fuselage there's something unnatural going on. Is this the way men were meant to fly?

 While hovering, if you start to sink a bit, you pull up on the collective while twisting the throttle, push with your left foot (more torque) and move the stick left (more translating tendency) to hold your spot. If you now need to stop rising, you do the opposite in that order. Sometimes in wind you do this many times each second. Great fun is letting a fighter pilot go for a ride and try this.

 For Helicopters: You never want to feel a sinking feeling in your gut (low "g" pushover) while flying a two bladed under slung teetering rotor system. You are about to do a snap-roll to the right and crash. For that matter, any remotely aerobatic maneuver should be avoided in a Huey.

 Don't push your luck. It will run out soon enough anyway. If everything is working fine on your helicopter consider yourself temporarily lucky. Something is about to break. There are two types of helicopter pilots: Those that have crashed, and those that are going to.

 Harry Reasoner once wrote the following about helicopter pilots: "The thing is, helicopters are different from planes. An airplane by its nature wants to fly, and if not interfered with too strongly by unusual events or by an incompetent pilot, it will fly. A helicopter does not want to fly. It is maintained in the air by a variety of forces and controls working in opposition to each other, and if there is any disturbance in this delicate balance the helicopter stops flying; immediately and disastrously. There is no such thing as a gliding helicopter. This is why being a helicopter pilot is so different from being an airplane pilot, and why in generality, airplane pilots are open, clear-eyed, buoyant extroverts and helicopter pilots are brooding introspective anticipators of trouble. They know if something bad has not happened it is about to."

 Having said all this, I must admit that flying in a helicopter is one of the most satisfying and exhilarating experiences I have ever enjoyed: skimming over the tops of trees at 100 knots is something we should all be able to do at least once.

 And remember the fighter pilot's prayer: "Lord I pray for the eyes of an eagle, the heart of a lion and the balls of an Army combat helicopter pilot."

 Many years later I know that it was sometimes anything but fun, but now it IS something to brag about for those of us who survived the experience

This is something I wrote after I left Vietnam. Just found it in an old box I had!

                                      DOOR GUNNER!

We picked up the troops, the start of another day in th 'Nam

The pilot's were jumpy they felt something was wrong

The gunner's felt it also they packed extra ammo for their guns

Somehow they all knew this assault wasn't going to be fun

 The upcoming fight would test the mettle of the boy's on both sides

At the end of this flight we'd see, who would live and die

Tay Ninh Provience sat next to Cambodia, and it was always hot

Charlie owned the Parrots Beak and Fishhook, we did not

We picked up the troops at Tay Ninh West, I could see they were ready

For the upcoming battle they knew, they had to be steady

We flew into the LZ machine guns blazing

We were busting caps on Mr. Charles to him it was just a hazing

We flew in the first lift, Charlie stayed underground

We got a little lax thinking he wasn't around

We flew in the second lift, he had us zeroed in

I didn't know it yet, but the fighting was going to begin

Charlie had us in his sights, the shit started to hit the fan

My ship started taking hits, felt like being slapped by a giant hand

37 millimeters were the guns of Charlie's choice

anti-aircraft guns to shoot us down and try to kill our boys

We made it into the LZ, three ships already downed

We knew we had no choice, they wouldn't leave the ground

The enemy was in the tree line and bunkers, they had us surrounded

They were trying to do their best to keep the slicks grounded

But our gunship's were in the air rockets and mini guns firing, they were doing their best

I was wearing my chicken plate under my vest, and under my ass to save the rest

Big green tracers were coming at me, about to make me shit

I knew that Mr. Charles wasn't about to quit

I'm glad it was our GI's that we were putting in that night

Cause I knew that when it got rough they were going to fight

Us gunners were also firing, keeping Charlie's head down

We matched his frantic firing, round for every round

I could feel the rounds hitting my ship, I knew Charlie was pissed

How they didn't hit me I'll never know, sure glad that they missed

Charlie was walking mortar rounds toward us, I could see them hit the dirt

They started coming closer, I knew we were really hurt

Like I said before it was our troops we put in that night

And I knew they weren't going to quit, they were ready for the fight

Like a movie in slow motion GI's got up every last man

And brought the battle to Mr. Charles, fighting hand to hand

I saw many acts of bravery that day, courage everywhere abounded

Valor was the order of the day, even as they had us surrounded

We punched a hole in Charlie's lines, the battle turned our way

Suddenly the battle was over, again he slipped away

He left in such a hurry, he left his dead behind

I guess we won the fight, or was it all in my mind

Who really wins a battle, when young men are killed on both sides

Or was it no ordinary battle, but one of genocide

Now many years later this battle still fresh in my mind

I wonder when we'll stop killing ourselves or will this forever be, Mankind!

 Steve Caliendo... Door Gunner...Vietnam1968-69  190th Assault Helicopter Co.

How can they know?

  How can they know who know no war

Of sleepless nights from guns that roar

And days of sweat and beating sun

That sap your strength parch your tongue

  For only troops who flow through trees

Know of the fear that shakes your knees

And blurs your eyes and scars your soul

And one more step becomes your goal.

 How can they know?

   Each day is dawned with life anew

But could this day bring death for you

For every shadow hides the foe

To fire a shot to lay you low

   And If you die within this place

You'll soon be gone without a trace

For those who die a soldiers death

Are just a name with no more breath

 How can they know?

   The miles of lines fallen troops

March past the ranks of new recruits

Unseen, unheard, they pass right through

And consecrate these chosen few

   And these new troops will join the corps

Of those bear the scars of war

They'll face the foe and life will slow

For death becomes a weight in tow

 How can they know?

   And some will die and join that corps

Of fallen troops who fight no more

And some will live to see new days

And warrior days will fade in haze

   But veterans feel a wound inside

A wound unseen they try to hide

No bullet pierced their mortal flesh

But still the wound disturbs their rest

 How can they know?

   Within their souls the war still flows

The memory pain a soldier knows

And years go by and so few see

The price you paid for liberty

   But there are days you feel a breeze

And something pulls against your sleeves

And you can sense the line march by

Of fallen troops who march the sky

 How can they know?

   With cadence call they pass right through

And there's a place reserved for you

But flesh must wait to hear the call

When taps are played to end it all

   The troops are gone, their fight is done

For now they rest beyond the sun

They do not toil or suffer pain

Or feel the wind and falling rain

 How can they know?

   But we who shared their final day

Have marched along a different way

But they reside within us still

The soldiers past that time won't kill

 Because we know

  Bill Melious 129^th AHC -

3/22/16  morning, danney.  Today in 1968 a rocket hit The hanger where 45 guys were working, these guys were all aircraft mechanics , Doing their job to keep these helicopters in the air, most were wounded.  I was making you aware that at least 45 guys shedding blood that day. I know because I have the list of the number of people that received their purple heart including myself.     James Londers

Also WO-1 Richard Perigo was duty officer that night in the operations Quonset hut next to the hanger.  A piece of the 122 mm rocket shrapnel went through all the walls and hit him in the leg with enough energy and damage to send him home.  If you don't remember Mr. Perigo, he was the Gladiator pilot who took two direct hits in his chicken plate over Saigon during TET.
Bob Coveney, Gladiator 25

 I don't remember him but he is on my orders of people that received a Purple Heart for that day. James Londers

Hi Danney.  Yes I remember him very well.  I was there the night we were attacked.  I was on the flight line aligning the rocket pods and the mini guns. When I saw the hanger hit I ran over to the hanger.  There were several people hit / injured.  When I saw Perigo I attended to him first.   I also was on the same mission when he was hit in the chest plate.  I was flying with George Taylor (a great pilot) who was the AC.  We were hit also and both out aircraft had to make an emergency landing in Saigon.   That was a very interesting day.   By the way the CO landed there as well and he told Perigo that he could keep the chicken plate. 

 Thanks Joe Mink Gladiator 14

I was there but, remember it well, I was lucky enough to be in the hanger that night.

So, I'm sending you the photo that you can use for the Called Before Us Page... JackB  67 – 68

Looks like a .45 Thompson in Yo Lap. I love my .45's....Danney

Yep..  an old Chicago Chopper..  that was at Di An..  before we got to the 190th..

A  1st DIV  base camp..  we ran convoys up Highway 13 to Lai Khe and points north..  a lot of WW II &  DIN BIN FOO  surplus was floating around out there.

1st AVN BN  was there...  tower across the road from us..  just as our orders came through for the 145th...August 67...  a Delta model lost the main rotor on takeoff at about 1000 ft... some colonel came over to question  us witnesses...  but he insisted that a cargo door came
loose ..  causing the FUBAR..

I  read years later..  maybe on VHPA..   that there was a problem at Bell about then...  and a few Hueys in country had  loss of main rotor ..

Kind of like why the 190th went north to work with the Marines. Their CH-46s were losing the rear rotor and transmission...very bad for Morale if it happens at 1500 ft.

Although.  my brother was a grunt with 3rd Marines and he never was on a chopper..  they always walked..  or traveled   by truck or AMTRAC.

When the 101st showed up in the summer of 68 to close down Khe Sanh Mike said they had more helicopters than there were in the entire USMC. Then 1st CAV  arrived with more choppers than the 101st...

But they still had to go by truck...  it must be some halls of Montezuma Semper Fi tradition.

There you go..  a flock of 46's awaiting "modification"  in the background. Maybe it was safer to walk in those days..JackB

Now...R these pics on the ones U sent me B4- I done seen so many- OR R they New pics I ain't seen? Danney

These are all from the pix that Ray scanned and sent you 2 or 3 years ago.  They are in the scrapbooks and in a link elsewhere.. I have them in Google.

That's why I say...  there are a few hundred..   mostly 3rd platoon EM and pilots..  but so far I have only gotten 1 email ..  from Buzz Roberts  a few years ago...  and...  have  any of those 67-68 guys ever gotten in touch with you to say..  HEY..  THAT'S ME .. In scrapbook 19-3.

It was only a $50  camera..  but the slides project well on a screen..  and the pix display well as to color and resolution on 25" computer screens. People should be able to recognize each other. Ray did a great job..

I have some good pix there of the first year in country..  are people not seeing them ?

But..  its possible some guys may not want to come forward...  I myself am half and half on that. There are only 5 guys I talk to..  2 from the 190th...  and, we were all 3 infused or a transfer
from elsewhere in country. Maybe some just want to forget it all.  I've met a few. JackB

Just yesterday one emailed me about an Unknown AC in a pic that was him. U have to realize that of the 4,600 pics on Our website - that I uploaded One-At-A-Time - they get lost in my head. Some do let me know ID but most don't - Go Figger. 

It's like the 300 pics I Took..Remember Faces - Can't Remember Name & Remember Names - Can't Remember Faces. I Ain't the Only One. That's why I started the As we were Then / As we are Now Scrapbook page.  It helps jog memories.  Buzz was a Good Un & we Lost him Dec 2014. Danney

Yep..  the old synaptic passages ain't what they used to be..  and there may be a few billion neurons that aren't firing these days. I forget names   faces  places...  dates...  who what when where and why too...

Like if you were a cook and made breakfast for 2000 every day..  would you remember who ordered over easy  50 years later.. unless something unusual happened..  like he shot the mess sergeant.

There are guys in my pix I cannot recall their names...at all...But we didn't all work in the same place every day..  Like the hangar or the orderly room...

So, I'm sending you the photo that you can use for the Called Before Us Page... JackB  67 – 68

Looks like a .45 Thompson in Yo Lap. I love my .45's....Danney

Yep..  an old Chicago Chopper..  that was at Di An..  before we got to the 190th..

A  1st DIV  base camp..  we ran convoys up Highway 13 to Lai Khe and points north..  a lot of WW II &  DIN BIN FOO  surplus was floating around out there.

1st AVN BN  was there...  tower across the road from us..  just as our orders came through for the 145th...August 67...  a Delta model lost the main rotor on takeoff at about 1000 ft... some colonel came over to question  us witnesses...  but he insisted that a cargo door came
loose ..  causing the FUBAR..

I  read years later..  maybe on VHPA..   that there was a problem at Bell about then...  and a few Hueys in country had  loss of main rotor ..

Kind of like why the 190th went north to work with the Marines. Their CH-46s were losing the rear rotor and transmission...very bad for Morale if it happens at 1500 ft.

Although.  my brother was a grunt with 3rd Marines and he never was on a chopper..  they always walked..  or traveled   by truck or AMTRAC.

When the 101st showed up in the summer of 68 to close down Khe Sanh Mike said they had more helicopters than there were in the entire USMC. Then 1st CAV  arrived with more choppers than the 101st...

But they still had to go by truck...  it must be some halls of Montezuma Semper Fi tradition.

There you go..  a flock of 46's awaiting "modification"  in the background. Maybe it was safer to walk in those days..JackB

Now...R these pics on the ones U sent me B4- I done seen so many- OR R they New pics I ain't seen? Danney

These are all from the pix that Ray scanned and sent you 2 or 3 years ago.  They are in the scrapbooks and in a link elsewhere.. I have them in Google.

That's why I say...  there are a few hundred..   mostly 3rd platoon EM and pilots..  but so far I have only gotten 1 email ..  from Buzz Roberts  a few years ago...  and...  have  any of those 67-68 guys ever gotten in touch with you to say..  HEY..  THAT'S ME .. In scrapbook 19-3.

It was only a $50  camera..  but the slides project well on a screen..  and the pix display well as to color and resolution on 25" computer screens. People should be able to recognize each other. Ray did a great job..

I have some good pix there of the first year in country..  are people not seeing them ?

But..  its possible some guys may not want to come forward...  I myself am half and half on that. There are only 5 guys I talk to..  2 from the 190th...  and, we were all 3 infused or a transfer
from elsewhere in country. Maybe some just want to forget it all.  I've met a few. JackB

Just yesterday one emailed me about an Unknown AC in a pic that was him. U have to realize that of the 4,600 pics on Our website - that I uploaded One-At-A-Time - they get lost in my head. Some do let me know ID but most don't - Go Figger. 

It's like the 300 pics I Took..Remember Faces - Can't Remember Name & Remember Names - Can't Remember Faces. I Ain't the Only One. That's why I started the As we were Then / As we are Now Scrapbook page.  It helps jog memories.  Buzz was a Good Un & we Lost him Dec 2014. Danney

Yep..  the old synaptic passages ain't what they used to be..  and there may be a few billion neurons that aren't firing these days. I forget names   faces  places...  dates...  who what when where and why too...

Like if you were a cook and made breakfast for 2000 every day..  would you remember who ordered over easy  50 years later.. unless something unusual happened..  like he shot the mess sergeant.

There are guys in my pix I cannot recall their names...at all...But we didn't all work in the same place every day..  Like the hangar or the orderly room...

So, I'm sending you the photo that you can use for the Called Before Us Page... JackB  67 – 68Looks like a .45 Thompson in Yo Lap. I love my .45's....Danney

Yep..  an old Chicago Chopper..  that was at Di An..  before we got to the 190th..

A  1st DIV  base camp..  we ran convoys up Highway 13 to Lai Khe and points north..  a lot of WW II &  DIN BIN FOO  surplus was floating around out there.

1st AVN BN  was there...  tower across the road from us..  just as our orders came through for the 145th...August 67...  a Delta model lost the main rotor on takeoff at about 1000 ft... some colonel came over to question  us witnesses...  but he insisted that a cargo door came
loose ..  causing the FUBAR..

I  read years later..  maybe on VHPA..   that there was a problem at Bell about then...  and a few Hueys in country had  loss of main rotor ..

Kind of like why the 190th went north to work with the Marines. Their CH-46s were losing the rear rotor and transmission...very bad for Morale if it happens at 1500 ft.

Although.  my brother was a grunt with 3rd Marines and he never was on a chopper..  they always walked..  or traveled   by truck or AMTRAC.

When the 101st showed up in the summer of 68 to close down Khe Sanh Mike said they had more helicopters than there were in the entire USMC. Then 1st CAV  arrived with more choppers than the 101st...

But they still had to go by truck...  it must be some halls of Montezuma Semper Fi tradition.

There you go..  a flock of 46's awaiting "modification"  in the background. Maybe it was safer to walk in those days..JackB

Now...R these pics on the ones U sent me B4- I done seen so many- OR R they New pics I ain't seen? Danney

These are all from the pix that Ray scanned and sent you 2 or 3 years ago.  They are in the scrapbooks and in a link elsewhere.. I have them in Google.

That's why I say...  there are a few hundred..   mostly 3rd platoon EM and pilots..  but so far I have only gotten 1 email ..  from Buzz Roberts  a few years ago...  and...  have  any of those 67-68 guys ever gotten in touch with you to say..  HEY..  THAT'S ME .. In scrapbook 19-3.

It was only a $50  camera..  but the slides project well on a screen..  and the pix display well as to color and resolution on 25" computer screens. People should be able to recognize each other. Ray did a great job..

Hi Lisa - I wanted to take a minute to say hello and to let you know how saddened I am for your loss of Eric. Beyond that, I am also saddened that I never saw or talked with Eric following our shared Viet Nam tour together in 1967/68.  Those of us that were fortunate enough to fly choppers as young kids versus slogging through the rice patties as infantrymen shared a special bond.  Like kids I went to high school with in the early 60’s its easy to forget names and faces until you thumb through an old year book and see a name or a picture that bridges the short 50 years that have somehow slipped into a rearview mirror. Seeing Eric’s name reminded me of his friendship, good sense of humor and great looks. Beyond that, it also reminded me of a day in April of 1968 when we both received Distinguished Flying Cross awards while flying a rescue mission in the Dong Tam area of Viet Nam in support of members of the 9th Infantry Div.  I thought that maybe you, members of your family and others that knew Eric might like to hear about the events that led up to the award.

Background.

Eric and I both flew UH-1D “Huey's” as members of the 190th Spartans. We were on a typical combat assault mission that day (I think it was April 17th) flying sorties for the 9th ID in an area of Viet Nam called the Delta. The Delta was mostly all flat terrain with miles of rice patties. We typically flew 10 ship formations while carrying loads of infantry men (aka grunts) into landing zones in pursuit of Viet Cong (VC).  We all hated flying in the Delta area as everyone there seemed to be enemy and not at all timid about shooting at us as we flew over their houses. On this particular mission I was flying an aircraft called “Smoky”; a Huey that was modified to carry an oil solution that when pumped onto the hot exhaust of the helicopter’s jet engine, would immediately vaporize and cause an dense cloud of smoke. Our mission was to fly between suspected enemy locations (usually tree lines) and place a smoke screen such that the 10 troop carrying helicopters could land and drop their grunts into the landing zone and quickly exit the zone before the smokescreen lifted.  I loved flying Smoky for all the reasons a young kid likes to drive fast cars - it was the best of all. Besides, you were typically flying over 100 MPH so less likely to get hit by enemy fire than the guys landing in the zone to drop off the grunts. 

On this mission while I was putting the screen of smoke down and the 10 troop ships were just off-loading their grunts, a huge explosion occurred, followed closely with 2 more. As you might imagine things get pretty crazy when enemy fire is coming in and your basic instinct tells you to get out of the area as quickly as possible or you will soon be filling a body bag. Well we didn’t know if the explosions were as a result of a soldier stepping on a land mine or possibly a result of enemy mortars dropping into the landing zone. That said, truth be known the source didn’t make much difference to us as one was equally as bad as the other. The good news was as the smoke cleared, all 10 aircraft were flying out of the landing zone and for a brief moment I was feeling relieved that the worst of it was behind us and none of Spartan team members were hit.  Then I heard Eric say "Lead (e.g. our flight leader), one of the grunts that just got out of my ship, took a direct hit with the mortar and lost his legs - and I’m going back in to get him!  Still suffering telltale traces of PTSD from as earlier episode when my aircraft was shot down and our crew was left overnight in a "gone-bad" rescue mission in Laos, my knees were shaking so hard that I was having trouble keeping my feet on the helicopter floor pedals. I knew the next call I was about to hear was “Smoky, this is Lead, get enough smoke dow so Eric and crew can execute their rescue mission and get the soldier the medical care he needs to survive.  Yep - Eric quickly brought his ship around, landed, loaded the soldier and was out heading to a nearby med-evac site. For him it was just another  day’s mission - one that could have easily been turned down because of the unknown source of the explosions and another soldier’s name would have been added to the Wall. And as the story goes, we completed our day like hundreds of other 20' something warriors and celebrated another day of our 365-day tour with a cold beer and a cold shower that night, not knowing what the next day would bring.

Eric was a hero and I am proud to have known him.

Our 190^th AHC spent at least three (3) Christmas Days In Country. Any Christmas Care PackagesShares that you Remember?

My Christmas was ’69 and I have shared my Memory of that day in the past, but not about a Care Package.  We got care packages from The World that were simply wrapped in brown paper – my memory – no particular name.  These were from folks back in The World that simply wanted to give us something special.  Mine had a wash cloth and towel, maybe a tooth brush & tooth paste. They were not brand new, but washed & Clean. I thought it was Awesome & they were Not OD Green.  It was from unknown folks who simply cared about us.

Any memories you care to share??    

On my first tour, Christmas 1965, before I ever heard of the 190th, I was in An Khe.  We received several boxes of pillow cases that were collected by members of VFW Post 2122, Inglewood, CA.  They were all different sizes and colors, and were greatly appreciated by all.  There was also a good supply of goodies to eat packed in with them. Bill Long

I flew all Christmas Day in 69' we took donut dollies to around 8 fire bases by the end of the day we were all pretty drunk 😵 The chaplains were mixing drinks at every stop. The ladies were lying on the floor board when we dropped them off in Long Bien. When we landed back at Spartan base it was dusk and we staggered back to our houches.  But it was a Merry Christmas 🎁  Jim Newsom

hi pickard - my mother sent me several bean burritos in a care box to share with my buddies. since i am half mexican ( my mother was mexican ) we ate just mexican food while i was growing up. so she thought every one would enjoy the burritos. she sent the package three weeks before Christmas (it took three weeks to get to me) and when it arrived the burritos were petrified, hard as rocks. i laugh so hard as did some of the guys that watched me open the box. but bless her heart she did her best. i sure do miss her. ernie powell (christmas of 1969)

This was Pat ( Stoney's) and my room for Christmas 69. My mom sent all the goodies ,quite festive..Attachment 1   John Mathiesen

Hey Danney! Merry Christmas to you and Mama!

My Christmas was '69 also. I got in country Dec 21-22nd. And arrived at the 190th on the afternoon of the 22nd Went to jungle Training(yup- you remember jungle training)

For a day and a half. So, on Christmas I was Pretty much my own-knew no one. Pretty Blue for the 25th. By New Years- things were much better. Missed the care packages, but learned very quickly that care packages picked up at mail call from home made you friends Instantly! I was  be- friended by Bauer, Streeter, and Martin that day! Hunger Can be a glue that binds us together!!  Joe Fisher

Guess I was one of the unlucky ones, I arrived Jan 6 and went home Dec 2, 1970. And for basic they gave us two weeks off to go home at Christmas and I was home at Christmas on 30 days leave before leaving for Nam. Missed out all the way around but I did owe the Army 20 days leave when I discharged 3 months after Nam with 2 years, 2months and 2 days of active duty. Carl Jacobs

John: Do U know what happened to the  Mess hall poster on yo wall? Danney

Nope.     Did someone bring it home, was it u. ?

Danney: Fish found it as the Unit was closing & turning over to the VNAF. He took it down off the wall & back to the world. At Our First Reunion he gave it to me. I had it Laminated at Staples & it was on Display at Our Rucker Reunion Supper. It's with All My Reunion stuff. From Bien Hoa, to California, to Pennsylvania, to Georgia, to Alabama & back to Georgia. AWESOME✌️Dude....jus sayin.

John: Hope to see it again this fall in Atlanta, flippin cool..👍🚁🚁✌️

Danney: Somethin tells me that you will.

I flew all day on Christmas of 67, we saw many sampans on the rivers that normally didn't have any, I guess this was in preparation for the Tet of 68.  At least we didn"t get shot at.  Mel Yanda Spartan 53

I guess I remember Thanksgiving of 1969 sitting on the rice Patty Roades , at TAN AN ...NEAR THE TESTICLES...perpendicular line ships side by side . eating the turkey patties from our c-rations that the crew chiefs had been saving up. We had been doing combat assaults. It was very hot. The Infantry were just able to get around the nose of the aircraft to board the ships.

As we sat there in the heat someone came on the intercom and said listen to the Armed Forces Radio. We are whooted and Hollard...did it because it was the doors Jim Morrison extended version of Light My Fire.  Pat Mullen Spartan 12

1.