Experiences of a 68th AHC Pilot
    

In story #8 about my motorcycle, I told everyone about the 334^th “Fire Fly” missions.  This is another of those “Fire Fly” missions.  It also happened in October or November 1967.  I flew all three ships that made up the mission so that I could evaluate the performance of the entire platoon.  I elected on the night in question to fly the low ship that was the one that flew without lights and flew outside the cone of the mid-ship’s lights at 200 feet above the ground.

However, before getting into this story, I need to go back to my first tour in Vietnam to give you some background.  I was in the 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Benning, Georgia flying since I graduated from flight school on 17 December 1963.  Note that my graduation date was on the same day as Orville and Wilbur flew the first airplane.  For you wise guys, note also it was several years later.  While in the 2nd Division, I flew many night missions supporting the Range and Pathfinder's schools training.  I got lots of valuable experience in this type of flying.  We had CH-34 and OH-13 helicopters that I flew.  I also scrounged UH-1D time by flying with the 11th Air Assault.  This scrounged time was also valuable training time because the 1qth Air Assault was the test bed of the airmobile concept.  Additionally, as a young 2nd Lieutenant, I got all the "dirty" flights--weekends, nights, TDY trips, and long time missions.  However, these experiences paid off in Vietnam.  

I came home from work at Fort Benning one night in March 1965 and got a call at 6 pm telling me to pack my bags for deployment to an undetermined location in the world the next day.  I packed my bags and called my parents and told them to come pick Linda up as I was gone effective tomorrow morning.  At 6 am, I reported to the Division Headquarters and was told that I was in fact going to an undisclosed location and would leave in 4 days, not that day.  That was great as I got to see my Mom and Dad before I left and got to spend time with Linda and our new son Ron.  I had many shots, paperwork, and issued equipment that I collected during those 4 days.  I was able to let the landlord know that I had orders and we were leaving in less than a week.  That turned out OK as it could have been bad if we were not renting from a military guy.

Four days later, I boarded a CH-34 with 4 other aviators and we were told we were going to Fort Bragg to join our deployment unit.  The flight was smooth on the way up and gave me time to try to figure out where I was headed.  Everything was great until I noticed that we were not descending over the airfield as we normally did.  The crew chief was also busy taking off access panels to gain access to the engine.  That did not look good.  The crew chief finally told us that the throttle cable had broken! That enabled the engine to keep us at the same RPM when flying straight and level, but to over speed the engine when the collective was lowered to land.  The only way down was to shut off the fuel for the engine and autorotate onto the runway.  The CH-34 was very noisy in flight but it got very, very quiet when the engine shut off.  The pilots did a beautiful straight-in autorotation and landed right on the centerline of the runway.  As I got off the aircraft, I said to the other four aviators that this was a hell of a way to start our trip to Vietnam.

Two days later the unit flew to San Diego, CA and boarded LPH-4, USS Iwo Jima, a Navy helicopter carrier.  Three units had been flying UH1Ds from their previous post and had put them on the Iwo Jima for shipment to Vietnam.  The three units were companies A of the 1^st Division, 82 Airborne Division, and 101^st Airborne Division.  We took the first UH-1D’s to Vietnam.  It took us several days to get to Pearl Harbor.  The first night out to sea was unbelievable for lots of land lovers.  The Navy purposely fed us greasy pork chops with greasy fried potatoes and gravy.  Their intent was to have everyone get seasick right away, then get over it.  The officer and warrant officer aviators would line up to go eat in the officer’s mess.  Suddenly one would break and run for the head/latrine to make a deposit.  It just so happened that there was a head/latrine across from the officer’s mess.  It rapidly became a mess, so the Navy closed it off.  It is funny now but was not funny then when I saw this big burly captain come running out of the mess thinking he had the head made.  He crashed into the door, but it was locked tight.  He literally took the paint off the door as he tried to claw his way in.  When he couldn’t hold it any longer, he let loose.  There were these two claw marks running down the sides of the door and his supper right between the marks also running down the door.  The mess line decreased by fifty officers in a matter of seconds.  I admit I was one of them but I did not get seasick then or at any time during our 21 days at sea.  The fact that the Iwo Jima was a round bottom boat did not help with the seasickness.  I know it rocked and rolled all the way to Vietnam.  After the first night, it was not a problem for most of us.

In a way, I had it made on the ship.  One of my fraternity brothers from Oklahoma University was the Supply Officer on the Iwo Jima.  Jon made sure that I had several pairs of flight gloves, new boots, two survival knives, and all kinds of other things.  I could not get a leather Navy flight jacket but I sure tried hard.  I got just about every thing I asked for during those 21 days.

The Iwo Jima had a CH-34 that two Marine pilots flew off the ship to get mail at the various stops we had.  Since I was the only Army Aviator qualified in CH-34’s and landing on Navy ships, I usually flew with one of them to get the mail, drop off passengers, and accomplish other ash and trash missions.  It was great because I saw numerous places the others didn’t get to see and it kept me busy.  After the Marines saw that I could fly the CH-34 and land on the ship, they let me do most of the flying.  The most unique mission was during a gunnery drill that the Navy had for their defensive guns, all two of them.  They threw two watertight barrels off the ship and then started to shoot at them.  After about 10 minutes, the barrels were still afloat and too far away from the ship to be engaged.  Therefore, a Marine and I took off in the CH-34, went to the floating barrels, and had the crew chief shoot them with a 45-caliber pistol.  After this experience, I was hoping we did not run into a situation where we had to shoot our way in or out.  I kidded the Navy guys that they couldn’t even hit the ocean when they shot.  Funny, that did not go over very well.  It was strange but we never had another gunnery exercise during the whole 21 days enroute to Vietnam.

Our first port of call after leaving San Diego was Pearl Harbor.  For those who have not been on a round bottomed ship at sea, it takes a couple of days to get your sea legs (balance) so that you can rock with the ship.  When you first get back on land, you are still rocking with the ship but the ground doesn’t rock.  We all wobbled off the ship.  We had 10 hours at Pearl Harbor while the Navy refueled and resupplied the Iwo Jima.  Most of the guys headed for the Officer’s Club where they proceeded to get rather smashed.  In my usual roll as drunk cleaner upper, I kept bringing people back to the ship when they couldn’t stand up or were passed out.  Somehow we got a sedan and I literally took 4-6 people back to the ship at a time.  Needless to say, the Navy was not too happy with Army aviators being drunk, being loud and obnoxious, jumping in the pool, barfing on the lawn, and being real horses’ rears.  With two hours to go on our shore leave, the Shore Patrol came and escorted those still at the club back to the ship including me.  One of my warrants had spied a Navy reception and he thought it would be a good idea to collect hats.  He got back to the ship with three admiral’s, two Army general’s and a Marine general’s hats.  I think he also collected a bunch of Colonels' and Navy Captains’ hats.  I counted 15 once we had left port.  To keep him out of trouble, I had him throw them overboard once out of Pearl Harbor .

While in Pearl Harbor , the Navy loaded our ship with fuel, pineapple, and other food supplies.  For days on end, we had pineapple served every which way—baked, poached, fried, fresh, broiled, dried, and of course refried.  I loved pineapple a lot before this but it took me two months in Vietnam before I could look a pineapple in the eye.

The captain of the ship determined it would be a morale builder if we sailed by Corregidor in the Philippines Islands on our way to Vietnam.  I wonder if the captain realized that Corregidor was a defeat for the Army.  Since one of the Marine pilots was busy, I got to fly the CH-34 to get the mail in Subic Bay .  I got my own special tour of Corregidor from that aircraft.  It was an inspiring sight to see this small island that played such a big part in World War II.

From the Philippines, it was relatively quiet until we were 4 days out of Vung Tau, Viet Nam.  We started getting the 75+ helicopters ready to fly off the  Iwo Jima .  They were encased in sprayed-on plastic or in laced-up cocoons to protect them from the sea spray.  The pilots took of the plastic while the crew chiefs and maintenance personnel put the main rotor blades and tail rotors on the aircraft.  Whenever one was finished, it was moved forward on the deck, given a test run-up and given an OK for flight.  This went on until we had all of the aircraft assembled and checked out for flight.

There was one UH-1 that had a hot start (It exceeded the red line temperature during startup back in the states.)  Since I was qualified in the UH-1D, I was elected to fly it off the ship.  I was the second ship off the deck.  The first ship flew on my wing just in case something happened and I had to put it in the water.  Nothing happened during the 75 miles of the flight.  I landed at Vung Tau thinking that the VC were everywhere and about to overrun us at any minute. 

That night we spent in Vung Tau in billets that the maintenance people had.  My first impressions were it stank, it was hot and humid, and it was beautiful.  Needless to say, most of us new guys didn’t sleep much because there were occasional flares and outgoing artillery.  Of course, we were not issued weapons yet.  One of my flight school friends who had been in Viet Nam 6 months was in Vung Tau for the integration of experienced personnel into the new units.  He convinced me to go to town with him to look around.  After much persuasion, I went with him.  We went to the main town market that stank to high heaven.  Everyone threw trash onto the street.  A little old lady with two baskets balanced on the ends of her carrying stick suddenly decided she had to go.  So she puts her baskets down, drops her drawers and does her business right off the curb.  This country boy from Oklahoma freaked out.  The pigs, chickens, and fish hanging in the market also helped me to know we were not in Oklahoma any more.

One of the most unique things I saw as we walked back to the billets was an elderly lady driving into town with a Bengal tiger tied across her front fender.  The tiger was absolutely beautiful.  She had shot it on the way into town from her rubber plantation about 30 miles away.  She only spoke French so I couldn’t talk to her to ask all the details.  Someone said she had shot it right beside the road early that morning.  It was then and there I decided that Ron, the great white hunter, must also have a tiger skin to take home with him.  That is part of this story later on.

After a couple of hours of looking at other parts of Vung Tau, we headed back to the billets.  However, my first day’s experience in Viet Nam was not over.  Joe decided that we had to go to Frenchie’s or French Beach for dinner.  Frenchie’s restaurant was good so I was told, so I decided why not.  A Frenchman who had married a Vietnamese woman ran it.  Their daughters were very pretty as were most of the French and Vietnamese mixtures.  They served American and French food. 

We took a cab from town to the beach.  The cab was a small three-person plus driver Renault car.  It smoked, rattled, and made unusual sounds.  Six of us got in and on it to include standing on the running boards.  Once at Frenchie’s, I ordered a steak, French fries, and a coke.  The coke was $1.50 US dollars and the steak and fries were $1.00.  One of the new guys ordered what he thought was rabbit.  This rabbit had a long tail on it when it got to our table.  Makes you wonder why he did not eat it.  Frenchie’s was an open-air restaurant and the sea breezes made it comfortable.  It was like something I had heard about in Hawaii. The beaches were white and the water was warm.  It would have been a great place without the war.

The next day we were all assigned units.  This was done to preclude one unit from losing all of its people on the same day.  People came in and people left all day long.

From Vung Tau, I, along with about six other aviators, went to the 120^th Assault Helicopter Company in Saigon.  I flew 11+ months with the 120^th AHC when it was a regular assault company and then when it became a VIP company.  I flew Maratha Raye several times, Richard Nixon when he was between Vice President and President, Bellman the governor of Oklahoma, the Ambassador from Thailand, General Westmoreland, and numerous USO show girls and high-level people.  Another interesting mission I flew was I was the offset site for the first several B-52 strikes in Vietnam .  The first was in June 1965 and impressed me so much I thought the war was going to end the next day.  Interesting that it did not end the war for the US because of the B-52 strikes down south but because of the strikes in North Vietnam.  I completed my tour in March 1965 and went to Germany with helicopter instrument rating at Fort Rucker in between.

In October 1967, I came back to the 145^th Aviation Battalion and the 334^th Attack Helicopter Company for my second tour.  I had never forgotten about that beautiful tiger on my first day in Vietnam.  One night in 1967, I was flying the low ship in the Fire Fly mission.  It had been quiet and we were flying along the Van Co Dong River looking for sampans and crossing sites.  It is a beautiful river that has rapids at its upper level that we always checked to see if people were crossing there.  I was flying around outside the main lights beam with my landing light on seeing what I could find.  Suddenly, I saw two huge green lights at the edge of a clearing.  I immediately call out for the light ship to come over.  There in the light was a huge tiger.  I told my door gunner to shoot it.  The door gunner missed on his first shots and the tiger made a leap of about 10-12 feet.  The door gunner shot the tiger in his second leap but not before it got into the jungle.  We flew around for several minutes trying to see if it would come out somewhere, but we had no luck.  The team continued its mission but before we call it quits for the night, I stated I wanted to go get that tiger.  Dumb move one was to do an aerial reconnaissance to see if VC, tiger or anything else was in this clearing.  Finally, I figured it was OK to land in the clearing and go get that tiger.  I took an emergency radio and told the crew to stay in the clearing with the engine running until they were shot at or I told them to take off or I came back. Dumb move number two.  I grabbed my AR-15 and my 45 pistol and headed for the jungle where this tiger had gone.  I get into the jungle and it suddenly got very quiet, dark, and damp.  Dumb move number three.  I walked thirty to fifty feet down a trail and then said to myself, “Ron, you have no idea what is inside this jungle and you are here by yourself with a .223 caliber rifle to stop several hundred pounds of mad cat.”  “Furthermore why are you taking this unnecessary risk for yourself and your crew?”  My answer was to get the heck out of there.  Smart move number one.  With all my senses on extreme alert, I backed out of the jungle very quickly and quietly.  At the clearing, I broke into a full run toward the aircraft.  The crew must have thought I had a full battalion of VC behind me and started shooting up the jungle behind me.  This put me into overdrive because I thought they saw VC behind me.  I hopped in the seat and before I could get my helmet and seat belt on, we were already 200 feet into the air.  The other helicopters of the team saw my crew shooting and opened up on the jungle with minigun and rockets.  After I got my helmet on, I got every one to quit shooting and we headed home.

Once we landed, I had to explain what happened.  I told them that my senses told me that I had made several dumb moves but I finally wised up.  They kidded me over breakfast but after that, I never heard another word.  I never got my tiger skin, but somehow my own skin was more important than a tiger skin in the end.  I never did see another alive or dead tiger in my three tours in Vietnam.

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Revised: June 29, 2012 .
 

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