I just finished a book written by a Huey pilot in Vietnam about the year he spent in country. Pretty interesting read. I saw my cousin had posted a pic of the book on FB recently, and going off the title I figured it might cover his dad's time over there. When I called and talked to my uncle I asked him if there was any significance to it.
Actually, yeah, the guy that wrote it was in his unit. My uncle flew with him, and shared a hooch with him for awhile I guess. One particular incident that was about the only thing I knew about his service over till about 7-8 years ago there is mentioned. Super interesting to me, as I'm pretty close to my uncle and to get a brief window into his time there was really cool. I found used copy on Amazon, and am looking forward to talking to him in a couple days now that I read it.
Chicken Hawks is another great read in the same vein.
I'll check it out thanks.
Originally Posted by DigitalDan
Lot of tales from those days. Interesting times.
Undoubtedly. Interesting thing in this book is he did not seem to overstate anything. Just an accounting of what he did and what it was like.
I've pm'd you offline, and posted on here about it a bit before. But after listening to some podcasts about the MACV SOG guys giving their stories, and then finding out my uncle was one of the guys piloting the slicks that inserted and picket them up, it really gave me a new appreciation for what he did. I've always loved him dearly and respected him, but I couldn't help but look at him in a bit of a new light after he started talking to me about it.
I read one once titled Warrant Officer, also about a chopper pilot in the Vietnam Conflict. I can not find a source anywhere on Google today. It was not a bad read. But it does not compare to the memoirs of our own Rocky Raab.
I read one once titled Warrant Officer, also about a chopper pilot in the Vietnam Conflict. I can not find a source anywhere on Google today. It was not a bad read. But it does not compare to the memoirs of our own Rocky Raab.
I still need to (and plan on) read Rocky's books. Actually I might see if I can order them tonight.
Different role, different perspective. Same as listening to the MACV SOG guys, or any of the various units and unique perspectives they bring to the table.
I have a dear friend who quit high school in his senior year, enlisted in the Navy, completed Seal training, served in MACV SOG, was awarded at least three purple hearts, completed his time with MACV SOG and came back home. After coming home he went back to high school and got his high school diploma. Did a career as a pipe fitter. Went to college and completed a PhD, ran over a dozen marathons. Incredibly humble guy. Only way you’d be able to pick him out is by the ball cap he wears with a small MACV SOG patch on it. Wouldn’t notice it if you didn’t know what it was. His town has the “Hometown Heroes” flags. He never had one put up.
I just finished a book written by a Huey pilot in Vietnam about the year he spent in country. Pretty interesting read. I saw my cousin had posted a pic of the book on FB recently, and going off the title I figured it might cover his dad's time over there. When I called and talked to my uncle I asked him if there was any significance to it.
Actually, yeah, the guy that wrote it was in his unit. My uncle flew with him, and shared a hooch with him for awhile I guess. One particular incident that was about the only thing I knew about his service over till about 7-8 years ago there is mentioned. Super interesting to me, as I'm pretty close to my uncle and to get a brief window into his time there was really cool. I found used copy on Amazon, and am looking forward to talking to him in a couple days now that I read it.
Thanks for the compliments. When they finally declassified MACV/SOG about 1985, a lot of us wrote about it. In truth, the Air Force still has no official records of how we were involved in SOG. The only "official" records are what we gave as our cover story. Which was but the palest half-truth.
The MACV/SOG in-brief was the inspiration for the TV Mission Impossible intro. The part where "If you are discovered you will be disavowed" was sobering enough, but when they said "If you are shot down, you will not be rescued" it took the cake. We learned much later that if we had gone down, we would have been officially listed as deserters and probable drug runners. That was the reason for us flying unmarked airplanes. Nice, huh?
Chicken Hawks is another great read in the same vein.
Great book. On one occasion, he flew in to rescue wounded. He knew that his Huey had been overloaded with wounded and could not take off. But, he was on top of a hill. He gave max power, and got the chopper 2 feet in the air. He glided downhill five feet and had the chopper land hard, so that the landing gear were compressed, once again he applied full power, and the aircraft bounced 5 feet high the second time.
He did this three or four times, and finally bounced high enough, that heading downhill, he was able to take off. A miracle this guy survived his tour.
I think the practice of bouncing off the skids was called "pranging" in honor of the sound that it made.
I'm a fan of LH (Bucky) Burruss's books too. All That Matters, Mike Force, and A Mission For Delta are all good reads. He signed my copy of All That Matters in his backyard while we picked apart blue crabs and drank Legend Brown Ale several summers ago.
The proceeds of the sale from All That Matters are donated to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation which was developed after the tragic events of Operation Eagle Claw which Bucky participated in.
Chicken Hawks is another great read in the same vein.
Great book. On one occasion, he flew in to rescue wounded. He knew that his Huey had been overloaded with wounded and could not take off. But, he was on top of a hill. He gave max power, and got the chopper 2 feet in the air. He glided downhill five feet and had the chopper land hard, so that the landing gear were compressed, once again he applied full power, and the aircraft bounced 5 feet high the second time.
He did this three or four times, and finally bounced high enough, that heading downhill, he was able to take off. A miracle this guy survived his tour.
I flew with some Viet Nam guys in the National Guard. They would kid about how overloaded the Huey's were and how they had to skid down the runway to get enough transitional speed to go from pure lift to something replicating traditional rotary wing flight. It was usually followed by the words "we did some stupid stuff".
I just finished a book written by a Huey pilot in Vietnam about the year he spent in country. Pretty interesting read. I saw my cousin had posted a pic of the book on FB recently, and going off the title I figured it might cover his dad's time over there. When I called and talked to my uncle I asked him if there was any significance to it.
Actually, yeah, the guy that wrote it was in his unit. My uncle flew with him, and shared a hooch with him for awhile I guess. One particular incident that was about the only thing I knew about his service over till about 7-8 years ago there is mentioned. Super interesting to me, as I'm pretty close to my uncle and to get a brief window into his time there was really cool. I found used copy on Amazon, and am looking forward to talking to him in a couple days now that I read it.
When I started working offshore most of the helicopter pilots flew in Veit Nam. They were good guys that were fearless. They would come and pick us up in any weather. I have boarded a helicopter in 80 mph winds. Front wheel was a foot and a half off the deck.
According to VHPA (Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association) 11,846 helicopters were shot down or crashed during the war, resulting in nearly 5,000 American pilots and crew killed. This includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Air America aircraft and crews from the US; not sure of their crew losses but helicopter losses of Australia, South Vietnam, and Thailand are included in the above total.
Seems like I read that book in paperback 20+ years ago. If I find it while cleaning out boxes of books and magazines, I'll put that one on the keep list.
Thanks for the compliments. When they finally declassified MACV/SOG about 1985, a lot of us wrote about it. In truth, the Air Force still has no official records of how we were involved in SOG. The only "official" records are what we gave as our cover story. Which was but the palest half-truth.
The MACV/SOG in-brief was the inspiration for the TV Mission Impossible intro. The part where "If you are discovered you will be disavowed" was sobering enough, but when they said "If you are shot down, you will not be rescued" it took the cake. We learned much later that if we had gone down, we would have been officially listed as deserters and probable drug runners. That was the reason for us flying unmarked airplanes. Nice, huh?
I know this is an old thread, but today I had a conversation with a VN War veteran, and he told me the best sound in the world was a chopper arriving to load troops up and take them back to base camp after a fire fight. He also said he felt the worse anxiety he ever had when the chopper was lifting off with everyone aboard and fearing that a VC rocket would come out of somewhere.
Very cool that you will have read the book and be able to discuss some of the experiences he had over there. I wish I had spent more time doing that with my Pop and my uncles. But, they're all gone now. Do it while you can before their time runs out.
When I lived in L.A., I became friends with another screenwriter named Dennis Foley. He later became a novelist, writing about his several tours in Vietnam as an Airborne Ranger and LRP. Wounded twice. His book, Special Men, is on my book shelf. Very interesting. We used to shoot together at the Beverly Hills Gun Club. He now lives in Montana. Foley volunteered for the Army and went in as a private. Stayed for twenty years and came out as a Lt. Col.
I drink coffee most mornings with a group of Vietnam vets, one was a helicopter pilot and one a Navy pilot who flew missions over the North every day. Lotsa interesting stories. Another member of the group is the former Commanding General of the 101st Airborne who rode a helicopter down after taking hostile fire. There are former members of the Army, Navy, Marines and the Air Force, enlisted men and officers, several with Purple Hearts and other service commendations.
RB, it actually was the writing of the books that got me out of the screaming meemies - or PTSD - or whatever you want to call it.
I was pretty messed up, self destructive, and short-tempered for more than 10 years after 'Nam. It kept getting worse until I got fired from three jobs in a row. My wife saw something about a fiction writing contest and signed me up for it, then said to write about 'Nam. The contest was to write at least a 50,000-word novella in 30 days. Once I started, the words came out of me like bad basement beer. I wrote 65,000 words in 15 days. That was how Baggy Zero Four came about.
That helped me so much that I then started on Mike Five Eight (which is much less fictional than Baggy) and that seems to have cured me. I haven't felt those PTSD symptoms since.
I relate to what Rocky said. Regurgitating the experience here on the Campfire settled my brain quite a bit.
Perspective: In country less that 2 weeks and I had my Purple Heart. A week or so later my platoon had one OH6 left. I was quite certain I would not survive my tour so I put on my Barbarian Hat and said "What the Hell..." We had an authorized strength of 10 choppers in the platoon. We had that many in inventory once during my tour, for about a week. Lost 42 that year, but only had 2 crewmen killed. One by gunshot, the other from a crash that burned. Only 2 burned that year. Two went swimming, nobody drowned. They don't float even if the fuel tank is empty.
I drink coffee most mornings with a group of Vietnam vets, one was a helicopter pilot and one a Navy pilot who flew missions over the North every day. Lotsa interesting stories. Another member of the group is the former Commanding General of the 101st Airborne who rode a helicopter down after taking hostile fire. There are former members of the Army, Navy, Marines and the Air Force, enlisted men and officers, several with Purple Hearts and other service commendations.
Worth a post....
What former CG of the 101st was shot down in a helicopter during the Vietnam War?
That Question would be on every Soldier of the month board Every soldier of the Quarter board Every soldier of the year board. In every unit from the 101 asked by every CSM and 1sg at battalion level, up to Bde and Div CSM,s at division level boards. And asked at every E5 and E6 promotion board in every battalion from Combat Support to Combat Arms in the 101st. And would most def be mentioned in the Veitnam section at Pratt museum on post.
Military history kinda stuff.....
Kinda funny.... I did 3 tours in the 101st from 1990 to 2004 Never heard of this " obscure factoid" Ever..... Nor have I ever heard it from anyone ever in any unit I was assigned to in the 101st
You word this like this former 101 CG that got shot down in a bird over vietnam that you sip coffee with is still a 02 consumer.
List of CG,s of the 101st from 65 to 72 while the unit was in veitnam and the year they stopped being O2 users.. Powell 11 Stenberg 04 Barsanti 73 Zias 81 Wright 14 Hennesey 01 Tarpley 86 Cushman 17
So which Weekend at Bernies former CG of the 101st that rode a bird down in Vietnam after taking hostile fire are you drinking coffee with????
You know it, it seems. Let the rest of us know it please. Just to clear this up... I will own this if I am mistaken, feel free to enlighten me and others that served in the 101 on here.
Oh.... My bad... Add NCO boards to match all those soldier boards that go on also... 👍🏻
Oh...
Another little known factoid.
Cameroon beat Argentina 1 - 0 in some fuuking world cup soccer game in 1990.
Homie got a 198 out of 200 on his e6 board in June of 90 2nd time in Korea. Then arrived at the 101 for his 1st time in July of 90.
Current events question I bombed on my E6 board..... Just some example of schit you don't forget no matter how obscure..... 🤦♂️ soccer......
We lost one in 10 Forward Air Controllers, either killed or captured. That wasn't nearly as high as chopper guys, but that's because we flew a bit higher and faster. Not by much.
The chief element of the FAC mission is the word "control". FACs OWNED the air. Not one Air Force bomb was dropped in South 'Nam without the express direction and permission of a FAC. We found the enemy, we gathered and directed air assets, coordinated with ground troops, directed every bombing pass, did damage assessment, recorded exact map coordinates of targets, graded the performance of every fighter's role, keep track/count of enemy weapons fired, and spoke on at least three different radios. All while flying the plane, navigating, avoiding ground fire, and keeping constant visual contact with fighters. Simultaneously. It is literally true that every decision or action we took risked lives: the enemy, our troops, the fighters - and us. No matter what we did, somebody lived and somebody died.
Decades later, the Air War College did a study and concluded that the Vietnam FAC mission was the most difficult and highest stress mission ever flown. I can't venture an opinion on that because when I did it, it seemed like I was in control (that word again) of whatever I got into. But I can vouch for the adrenaline level and sense of time warp when so many things happen so fast.
I drink coffee most mornings with a group of Vietnam vets, one was a helicopter pilot and one a Navy pilot who flew missions over the North every day. Lotsa interesting stories. Another member of the group is the former Commanding General of the 101st Airborne who rode a helicopter down after taking hostile fire. There are former members of the Army, Navy, Marines and the Air Force, enlisted men and officers, several with Purple Hearts and other service commendations.
Worth a post....
What former CG of the 101st was shot down in a helicopter during the Vietnam War?
That Question would be on every Soldier of the month board Every soldier of the Quarter board Every soldier of the year board. In every unit from the 101 asked by every CSM and 1sg at battalion level, up to Bde and Div CSM,s at division level boards. And asked at every E5 and E6 promotion board in every battalion from Combat Support to Combat Arms in the 101st. And would most def be mentioned in the Veitnam section at Pratt museum on post.
Military history kinda stuff.....
Kinda funny.... I did 3 tours in the 101st from 1990 to 2004 Never heard of this " obscure factoid" Ever..... Nor have I ever heard it from anyone ever in any unit I was assigned to in the 101st
You word this like this former CG that got shot down in a bird over vietnam that you sip coffee with is still a 02 consumer.
List of CG,s of the 101st from 65 to 72 while the unit was in veitnam and the year they stopped being O2 users.. Powell 11 Stenberg 04 Barsanti 73 Zias 81 Wright 14 Hennesey 01 Tarpley 86 Cushman 17
So which Weekend at Bernies former CG of the 101st that rode a bird down in Vietnam after taking hostile fire are you drinking coffee with????
You know it, it seems. Let the rest of us know it please. Just to clear this up... I will own this if I am mistaken, feel free to enlighten me and others that served in the 101 on here. 👍🏻
I drink coffee most mornings with a group of Vietnam vets, one was a helicopter pilot and one a Navy pilot who flew missions over the North every day. Lotsa interesting stories. Another member of the group is the former Commanding General of the 101st Airborne who rode a helicopter down after taking hostile fire. There are former members of the Army, Navy, Marines and the Air Force, enlisted men and officers, several with Purple Hearts and other service commendations.
Worth a post....
What former CG of the 101st was shot down in a helicopter during the Vietnam War?
That Question would be on every Soldier of the month board Every soldier of the Quarter board Every soldier of the year board. In every unit from the 101 asked by every CSM and 1sg at battalion level, up to Bde and Div CSM,s at division level boards. And asked at every E5 and E6 promotion board in every battalion from Combat Support to Combat Arms in the 101st. And would most def be mentioned in the Veitnam section at Pratt museum on post.
Military history kinda stuff.....
Kinda funny.... I did 3 tours in the 101st from 1990 to 2004 Never heard of this " obscure factoid" Ever..... Nor have I ever heard it from anyone ever in any unit I was assigned to in the 101st
You word this like this former CG that got shot down in a bird over vietnam that you sip coffee with is still a 02 consumer.
List of CG,s of the 101st from 65 to 72 while the unit was in veitnam and the year they stopped being O2 users.. Powell 11 Stenberg 04 Barsanti 73 Zias 81 Wright 14 Hennesey 01 Tarpley 86 Cushman 17
So which Weekend at Bernies former CG of the 101st that rode a bird down in Vietnam after taking hostile fire are you drinking coffee with????
You know it, it seems. Let the rest of us know it please. Just to clear this up... I will own this if I am mistaken, feel free to enlighten me and others that served in the 101 on here. 👍🏻
Allow me to bump
Lol!!! Thinking of promotion boards and getting grilled on all subjects that CSM,s and 1SG,s ask ya in the hot seat.
Added the soccer fuuking bullschit question I was asked to my original post. Current events is the only board subject not covered in board study guides...
[quote=gunswizard]I drink coffee most mornings with a group of Vietnam vets, one was a helicopter pilot and one a Navy pilot who flew missions over the North every day. Lotsa interesting stories. Another member of the group is the former Commanding General of the 101st Airborne who rode a helicopter down after taking hostile fire. There are former members of the Army, Navy, Marines and the Air Force, enlisted men and officers, several with Purple Hearts and other service commendations.
Worth a post....
What former CG of the 101st was shot down in a helicopter during the Vietnam War?
That Question would be on every Soldier of the month board Every soldier of the Quarter board Every soldier of the year board. In every unit from the 101 asked by every CSM and 1sg at battalion level, up to Bde and Div CSM,s at division level boards. And asked at every E5 and E6 promotion board in every battalion from Combat Support to Combat Arms in the 101st. And would most def be mentioned in the Veitnam section at Pratt museum on post.
Military history kinda stuff.....
Kinda funny.... I did 3 tours in the 101st from 1990 to 2004 Never heard of this " obscure factoid" Ever..... Nor have I ever heard it from anyone ever in any unit I was assigned to in the 101st
You word this like this former 101 CG that got shot down in a bird over vietnam that you sip coffee with is still a 02 consumer.
List of CG,s of the 101st from 65 to 72 while the unit was in veitnam and the year they stopped being O2 users.. Powell 11 Stenberg 04 Barsanti 73 Zias 81 Wright 14 Hennesey 01 Tarpley 86 Cushman 17
So which Weekend at Bernies former CG of the 101st that rode a bird down in Vietnam after taking hostile fire are you drinking coffee with????
You know it, it seems. Let the rest of us know it please. Just to clear this up... I will own this if I am mistaken, feel free to enlighten me and others that served in the 101 on here.
Oh.... My bad... Add NCO boards to match all those soldier boards that go on also... 👍🏻
Oh...
Another little known factoid.
Cameroon beat Argentina 1 - 0 in some fuuking world cup soccer game in 1990.
Homie got a 198 out of 200 on his e6 board in June of 90 2nd time in Korea. Then arrived at the 101 for his 1st time in July of 90.
Current events question I bombed on my E6 board..... Just some example of schit you don't forget no matter how obscure..... 🤦♂️ soccer......
minor point, which may or may not be relevant....
Quote
Another member of the group is the former Commanding General of the 101st Airborne who rode a helicopter down after taking hostile fire.
Another way of understanding the sentence:
Say a 2nd Lt is in Vietnam in some un-named unit, in a chopper that goes down, in 1972, say. 30 years later, (2002) he makes CG of the 101st.
if he was 22 in 1972, he would be 74 now? Still able to go out for coffee, potentially.
The sentence would still apply?
Sorry about Cameroon, they might have had it in for you.
Rocky, I'm glad it worked for you! I called them the screaming meemies before I ever heard of PTSD. And I had 'em for years; I wonder how others tolerated me. Through luck and effort, I have largely left the meemies behind. I'm afraid to think/say/write much of then because I don't want those boxes opened. For those like you, a big hand salute. Be well, RB
It is truly uncorking the bottle to voice it, RB. Either aloud or on paper - whichever works best for you. I write so that was my best outlet.
How many times do you read about guys who never voiced anything about their war, and were never quite right? I think it's causal; keeping it in...keeps it in.
While I won't post his name on the internet, he is soon to be 90 years old. Still gets around and has coffee with us once a week or so. He participates in the honor flights and speaks to veterans groups all over the US and Europe. He spoke at the 75th commemoration of the Normandy invasion I have a jar of sand from Omaha Beach that he gave me here on my desk.i
While I won't post his name on the internet, he is soon to be 90 years old. Still gets around and has coffee with us once a week or so. He participates in the honor flights and speaks to veterans groups all over the US and Europe. He spoke at the 75th commemoration of the Normandy invasion I have a jar of sand from Omaha Beach that he gave me here on my desk.i
Worth another post...
So this guy is 90 yrs old soon. So that would put him what??? Born in 1934. Age 10 in 44 20 in 54 30 in 64 So let's say he commissioned as a 2lt at age 21 or 22 in 55 or 56.
So from 1965 to 1972 he was what??? 31 to 38 yrs old and a 2 Star Major General CG in the 101 in Vietnam.. He made Major General in 65 with 10 or 11 yrs Time in service Or made it in 71 72 with 18 or 19 years time in service. Or some where in between those 2 rough dates and age. Uh huh.......
Cause you sure as fuuuggg seem to be sticking to that story it seems, playing this vague plausible deniability thing. LMFAO!!!!
Was a former CG in the 101 Went down in chopper in Vietnam.... This would be ohhhhhh soooooo common knowledge in the 101...
And you won't post his name on the web, like you are protecting his identity, even though this type of info is on literally 100,s of hits for units of all branches going back for 100,s of years. Oh... Let's not forget the presidential nomination and senate confirmation of flag grade officers either.
Your math don't jive per any average age of rank progression Your story don't jive with who was who during the time frame.
Oh BTW.. It still would be common knowledge what former Division commander of the 101 was shot down in a helicopter while stationed in Vietnam. Even if they was a division CG from the 80,s up through the mid to late 90,s MG Jack Keene was our CG around the 92 94 time frame. MG Peay was our CG during Desert Storm. Other examples of Vietnam era officers thruout all branches are like this that made flag rank in the 80,s and 90,s and up into the 2000,s. King " David " Petraeus was CG during OIF 1 not a Nam vet...
While I won't post his name on the internet, he is soon to be 90 years old. Still gets around and has coffee with us once a week or so. He participates in the honor flights and speaks to veterans groups all over the US and Europe. He spoke at the 75th commemoration of the Normandy invasion I have a jar of sand from Omaha Beach that he gave me here on my desk.i
Worth another post...
So this guy is 90 yrs old soon. So that would put him what??? Born in 1934. Age 10 in 44 20 in 54 30 in 64 So let's say he commissioned as a 2lt at age 21 or 22 in 55 or 56.
So from 1965 to 1972 he was what??? 31 to 38 yrs old and a 2 Star Major General CG in the 101 in Vietnam.. He made Major General in 65 with 10 or 11 yrs Time in service Or made it in 71 72 with 18 or 19 years time in service. Or some where in between those 2 rough dates and age. Uh huh.......
Cause you sure as fuuuggg seem to be sticking to that story it seems, playing this vague plausible deniability thing. LMFAO!!!!
Was a former CG in the 101 Went down in chopper in Vietnam.... This would be ohhhhhh soooooo common knowledge in the 101...
And you won't post his name on the web, like you are protecting his identity, even though this type of info is on literally 100,s of hits for units of all branches going back for 100,s of years. Your math don't jive per any average age of rank progression Your story don't jive with who was who during the time frame.
Do you seriously think that I give a flying p huk what any internet idiots think ? If any of you are in Indy sometime I'll introduce you and let you shake the General's hand.
My friend about whom I wrote above, Dennis Foley, served with Hackworth in Vietnam, and is mentioned a couple of times in Hackworth's book, About Face.
They were also neighbors in Montana until Hackworth died.
Do you seriously think that I give a flying p huk what any internet idiots think ? If any of you are in Indy sometime I'll introduce you and let you shake the General's hand.
My friend about whom I wrote above, Dennis Foley, served with Hackworth in Vietnam, and is mentioned a couple of times in Hackworth's book, About Face.
They were also neighbors in Montana until Hackworth died.
FWIW.
L.W.
Yes, I remember Foley. He wrote at least one book. Fiction based on experience. He was leading the Tiger Force at one time. Another of Hack's men became head of a rifle manufacturer in Montana. Larry Tahler.
Some of the Rangers who did LRRPs have written about their experiences.
While I won't post his name on the internet, he is soon to be 90 years old. Still gets around and has coffee with us once a week or so. He participates in the honor flights and speaks to veterans groups all over the US and Europe. He spoke at the 75th commemoration of the Normandy invasion I have a jar of sand from Omaha Beach that he gave me here on my desk.i
Worth another post...
So this guy is 90 yrs old soon. So that would put him what??? Born in 1934. Age 10 in 44 20 in 54 30 in 64 So let's say he commissioned as a 2lt at age 21 or 22 in 55 or 56.
So from 1965 to 1972 he was what??? 31 to 38 yrs old and a 2 Star Major General CG in the 101 in Vietnam.. He made Major General in 65 with 10 or 11 yrs Time in service Or made it in 71 72 with 18 or 19 years time in service. Or some where in between those 2 rough dates and age. Uh huh.......
Cause you sure as fuuuggg seem to be sticking to that story it seems, playing this vague plausible deniability thing. LMFAO!!!!
Was a former CG in the 101 Went down in chopper in Vietnam.... This would be ohhhhhh soooooo common knowledge in the 101...
And you won't post his name on the web, like you are protecting his identity, even though this type of info is on literally 100,s of hits for units of all branches going back for 100,s of years. Your math don't jive per any average age of rank progression Your story don't jive with who was who during the time frame.
Chicken Hawks is another great read in the same vein.
I'll check it out thanks.
Originally Posted by DigitalDan
Lot of tales from those days. Interesting times.
Undoubtedly. Interesting thing in this book is he did not seem to overstate anything. Just an accounting of what he did and what it was like.
I've pm'd you offline, and posted on here about it a bit before. But after listening to some podcasts about the MACV SOG guys giving their stories, and then finding out my uncle was one of the guys piloting the slicks that inserted and picket them up, it really gave me a new appreciation for what he did. I've always loved him dearly and respected him, but I couldn't help but look at him in a bit of a new light after he started talking to me about it.
I have a copy of ChickenHawk on the shelf behind me. You pay shipping and I'll send it your way. Or better yet I'd trade you.
I drink coffee most mornings with a group of Vietnam vets, one was a helicopter pilot and one a Navy pilot who flew missions over the North every day. Lotsa interesting stories. Another member of the group is the former Commanding General of the 101st Airborne who rode a helicopter down after taking hostile fire. There are former members of the Army, Navy, Marines and the Air Force, enlisted men and officers, several with Purple Hearts and other service commendations.
You all are a bunch of chicken chit blowhard keyboard commandos, none of you will accept my invitation to meet this group of Viet Nam combat veterans and aviators. They're the real deal and don't need to prove anything to a bunch of losers.
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