A Poem by Bud Parrish
The Huey Pilot
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.
Copyright © August 1996 I. S. Parrish
"Bub" Parrish, e-mail at: isparrish@ptsdmanual.com
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