Welcome to flying stories of my time in Viet Nam



These stories are dedicated to James G. Zeimet who I refer to in a number of them. Jimmy was a good friend and class mate in flight school, a "hootchmate" in Vietnam and he frequently talked about his desire to fly Medivac. After about seven months in Vietnam, he finally got his wish and was transferred to the 283rd "Dustoff" Medivac unit at Camp Holloway, Pleiku. On September 4th, 1968, he lost his life flying the mission he dreamed about while trying to save the life of a fellow soldier. His name appears on panel 45W - Line 37 at the Wall in Washington, DC.

When I got out of the Army in 1972, I had this idea of writing a book about my experiences in Vietnam where I flew helicopters. While a noble goal, I didn't get started on it for about 35 years. As time passes, you tend to push bad experiences into some seldom visited spot in your brain where they don't bother you much. But I still remember Vietnam like it was just yesterday and wish I could plug my mind into a PC and play it! It would be an interesting video. I won't post everything I've written all at once because I intend to scan old slides, (I have hundreds!) to add to the stories which should provide a little interest. So here they are and I hope you enjoy them.

In the stories, I describe any enemy combatant as a “gook”. This term has no racial connotation nor is it a slur. We used it as freely as one would say, “bad guy”. I can relate it to WW2 radio terminology for German enemy as “Krauts" or "Gerry’s”. Nothing personal or racially motivated, just a convenient way of alerting your fellow war-fighters about your foe. I also refer to anyone fighting the war on the ground as “Grunts”. This is a term I use with great respect for those that weren’t privileged to fight “their war” from the comfort of a helicopter or enjoy going back to “base camp” each evening to a cold Budweiser and a relatively clean bed. The Infantrymen I spoke with unanimously opined that we were the ones that were at much greater risk than them and they would much rather spend their “tour” safely on the ground and exchanging bullets with the NVA. I guess it’s all in your perspective.



2/13/08

Instructor Pilot duty

After about six months in Nam I became an IP or instructor pilot. I gave "In country" familiarization flights to new pilots, checked out experienced pilots as AC’s (or aircraft commanders) and gave post accident check rides to pilots that had been involved in accidents. Occasionally, I would ride with a pilot that made too many mistakes or exhibited poor judgment. I really enjoyed being an IP as it honed my skills and kept me on top of emergency procedures. It also enhanced my communication skills. On a couple occasions, I flew with guys that had such traumatic experiences that they were like new students at Fort Wolters. One relatively new pilot was so scrambled when his Huey crashed exiting a revetment that he never went back on flight status again and just hung out in the Company area. He was eventually shipped back home.

I also did post maintenance aircraft check outs of Hueys that had engine replacements performed, main or tail rotor blades replaced or just about anything else that created a “Red X” or non-flyable aircraft status. I never left the traffic pattern during maintenance check outs because of the possibility of an engine failure or other mechanical malfunction. Sometimes the bird would take hits in the main or tail rotor blades or other parts of the aircraft and there would be concealed damage somewhere else that in the haste of getting the aircraft back up would be missed. I had several engine and other mechanical failures hovering out to the active runway or in the pattern that were a genuine embarrassment to the maintenance guys. I told them honestly that it was a lot better for me to discover it flying solo than with a full crew and a load of grunts in a combat assault. Newly released Hueys were always assigned to very experienced AC’s or the unit IP. Only after 10 or 20 hours were the aircraft placed on the completely flyable list for missions.

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