I flew an OH-6 for a short time as a scout pilot in the Air Cav Trp, 11th ACR. Those men, all of them, the Cobra crews, the Aero Rifle platoon, and the guys who kept us flying, did an outstanding job. The guys on the ground, the ACAV crews, the tankers, the arty and the engineers did an amazing job, in that GD wasted war. Blackhorse! Allons brothers.
I salute the brave souls who willingly enlist and defend our country. It was shameful how these soldiers were treated when they came home . Some of these young men never did....I think the soldiers should get the best quality healthcare available , not be forgotten . Take care of the folks who took care of us.
My deepest respect for these men ! They were teenage boys that had the most courageous heart n soul !! Yet disrespected when they came home . My hats off to them always !
My father was a UH-1 Huey pilot . Graduated at Fort Rocker Alabama. I'm so proud of him and all of you guys! Welcome home Viet Nam Veterans . God bless you all.
Thank y'all for your service and Welcome Home!!!! I wasnt old enough to go to 'Nam....but watched it every night on the news.... I did join the Army in '82. Was a helicopter mech/crew chief/door gunner. Worked on alot birds. Was a 67victor20. The OH-6 was the better bird...but we had the OH-58 when I went in. There will never be a better bird than a Huey!!!! I worked on Cobras on n off when needed. Never had to work on or fly in a "double-headed dump truck" Chinook!!! Got out in '90. Moved to Palmdale, Ca. Started with Northrop in Jan. '91 and retired from there after 22+ years.
I was a Scout with 1st of the 9th, C-Troop, 1st Cav. Div....My 2nd tour Lost my R-leg to 50cal ground fire....Still.... The BEST JOB I EVER HAD. 353 Combat Asc of the PURPLE HEART, Washington D.C. Welcome Home to my Brothers...
As a Brit, visiting Saigon, had the pleasure if meeting two vets who were returning fir first time since 69. One was a door gunner on a huey. Held me spellbound & humbled as he regaled stories of his time..his buddy was air cav...respect & welcome home.
I was a crew chief / door gunner with D Troop 1/10 Air Cav 6/69 - 6/70 in Pleiku & An Khe.My ship was the "Iron Butterfly", the name and a giant butterfly were painted on the jump door on each side.
My brother-in-law, Jeff Peterson from Maine, gave me a picture of him outside the Huey he flew. It had the name Iron Butterfly in the shape of a butterfly painted on the door. I believe he was a Lt Cmndr.
my dad was a door gunner with 1st air cav in pleiku and ahn khe. he was home before you got there. thank you paesan for your service. I am so proud of all you guys for what you did for our country and the shit they put you though when you got back. and I'm so glad you made it home like my dad did. god bless you.
I was in Charlie co.704 th mtn battalion started in echoe co. Aircraft supply ! I then disobeyed an order and was sent to kontum where they fixed tracks and trucks not my Mos,needless to say my mos was perimeter or convoy shotgun ! 3/69-3/70 Enari to Radcliffe The rest needs not to be said other than 4th repl screwed everything up!
Awesome video, brings back a lot of memories, both good and bad. I was a Scout gunner on one of these OH 6 "Little Birds" as they have been called. I was with F Troop 9th Cav (3rd Brigade Sep.) Ist Cavalry Division in Vietnam in 71-72. We flew missions in Cambodia and all over mid south Vietnam. Firebase Bearcat, Mace Mountain, Xuan Loc, Tay Ninh, Loc Ninh. I was in the Easter Offensive of 72 at An Loc and was shot down over Bu Dop and my Pilot was KIA on April 8th 1972. I was awarded a Silver Star and Purple Heart for my service in Vietnam and did not get a single welcome home handshake from anyone except my own Family who was happy to see me home. I hope to be attending my first 1st Cavalry Reunion this year in Oct. In Louisville, Ky. Maybe some of my fellow First Cav members from this site will join me there.
My father did 2 tours with Special Forces and every now and then he will talk about some wild rides in those tough birds. I visit him every day at the VA after I get of work and we talk . I can't wait to get him back home , I miss him . I know he's ready to get home to. Love my Pop's !
Great video, fantastic music ....Was a 19 yr old slick pilot with Co A 227th Assault Helicopter Bn !st Cav Jan '67 to Jan '68. Flew the Loach for 15 + years in the NYARNG, did 26 + years in Hueys all told.
You know a Crew Chief named Danny Tate from the Bronx? That's a buddy of mine who was there with 227th back in 67-69 as I recall. Not sure what company(though I know I have it written down somewhere) Said he got shot down 5 times before they made it stick... Haven't heard from him in years, keep trying to find him...
WO 4 pilot got me sick, first time out in one.He could do amazing things with the scrambled egg.These little boogers were very maneuverable and hard to hit with groundfire.We only lost two on scout missions out of Ky Ha heliport near Tam Ky,68/69.
I remember arriving at the bus stop in Riverside, California when I got back from Vietnam in my military uniform and was mocked by my fellow Americans in 1972. But I was proud I served. I was also drafted (#1 in the draft lottery). I decided to serve 20 years. No regrets. 🇺🇸
Was 67N20 in '69-'70 in Phu Loi with the 128th Tomahawks, Tay Nihn with the 187th Crusaders and Cu Chi with the 242nd ASH Muleskinners. Loved every minute of it except when they were shooting at us or mortaring us at night.
I flew some front left gunner/observer on my off days with my regular job as a crew chief on my Night Hawk hunter killer aircraft. F Troop 8th Cavalry, 16th Group, 123rd AVN BN, 23rd Infantry Sep 1970-Sep 1971 Good times,flew some fun close contacts.
Glad you made it back,James.I preceeded you with B-Co Aero Scouts in '68.Major Tanner CO then.Later attached to 1/8th Blue Ghosts down on the flight line.First time I,ve ran accross unit members on U-tube.Scouts and Warlords have their own website if you don't already check it out.
I know the situation was bad and that they probably would have all rather have been at home with the family, but man, those OH6's have always looked like SO much fun to fly.
Great choice of song to go with the awesome vids of all the Vietnam era ships. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you continually suffered the fun and excitement of staring death in the eye and then you went back Jack and did it again and again and again . . .
I wasn’t there and didn’t fly a helicopter egg and not a door gunner nor am I an ex marine or a Navy seal otter but I really enjoyed that music clip !! Bought back a lot of memories of B4 WW Nam.
The Boy's that did made it back to The World made the best med-vac pilot's I ever seen in my life. Impressed watch guy move in & out of unmarked power lines & trees just to get on ground & did it again on lift off. Impressed!!! Within few feet of the lines & trees. True story on local fire dept. channel I listen they flew in picked up atv accident I think broken leg? not too serious case, But they took off went over 1 mt. top, then drop down suddenly out of eye site. That fire dept. went wild!. Thought they crashed started a full blown search & rescue mission. They lifted off about 10 mins later on radio they told them, We had a small emergency. Truth was a Poor Nurse had to go real bad. I don't blame her I wouldn't want do it in front everybody too. True Story I still laugh on that one.
D Trp, 3/4 Cav, 25th Inf, Cu Chi 1969-1970, Hunter Killer Teams, met General Abrams in the Field crossing the Vietnam Cambodia border during the incursion.
I was a crew chief / door gunner with A Co. 229 Aug 67 to Aug 68. 4-19-68 the assault on the a shau valley 6 days before my 21st birthday, lost 19 Hueys, 2 Chinooks, and 1 Skycrane. I was in one of the Hueys. 7 infantry 4 crew and all made it out.
That’s my grandpa, Fowler Goodowens, flying the cobra at 3:22, “Patricia Ann” his first born daughter; didn’t meet her until 10 months later when she was already walking. It’s in Mark, Illinois on display.
Awesome pilots! Awesome machines! Fueled by Adrenaline charged Brains! I'm sorry for what you vets had to go through, I appreciate you & most of all to those of you that made it home, I'm glad you made it back. just a squirt when this WHITE HOUSE inspired demonic mess was going on. I sure appreciate the videos to help me study what happened.
Scout crew chief gunner B co. 123 AVN BN 23rd Inf. Div. call sign "Warlords", 71-72, called our birds Skeeters. Funny thing, there was no selection process, no special training. It was more like, you wanna fly? We started our people in the left seat up front, got some hours covering the left side, really didn't see much cos we were always doin right hand orbits. Your job when we got fired up was to throw smoke and lay down lead til the snakes said they were inbound, then go back down and do it again. Ha. After a while you turn came up," wanna fly back seat", and that began the wildest adventure of your life, hoping to make it to your 19th birthday. Pilots were in their early 20s, crew usually 18-19-20. Never worked with a greater bunch of men, EVER. "I would tell people what we did and no one beleived me." RIP Pettigrew and Whitlock.
So ya let me get out of an artillery unit, and sent me to flight school. Made it through all that Wolters and Mother Rucker could give me, and I was a gonna be a Huey driver. 3 days in country, I find out I'm gonna be a LOH driver ..... say what? Give a 23 year old Captain a $98, 000 aircraft with 300 HP. Strange thing is that I was the second oldest guy in the aviation section. Still here in 2019, do I miss those days? You damn right I do! CHI-Town Monk III Corp '69
Now that ship is worth five to 8 eight times that, a 500 D used is about 700K to 900K. What a great aircraft, it should have won the Vietnam contract over the Bell 206, Lyndon Johnson probably had a lot to do with that since he had stock in Bell. I so miss my 500!!
To all of you crazy scout pilots, I salute you! 10 pound brass balls, all of you had them! I flew 2 tours in UH-1B gunships, and on my second tour ( with the 1st Aerial TOW Detachment) we were shunted from one Cav unit to another. It was my privilege to fly scout door gunner on my days off from shooting TOW missiles. I flew door gunner for Dino, can't remember his last name I am sorry to say. We were attached to the Blueghost F/8th Cav at the time. Never vomited so much in such a short time in my life! What a story I could tell about one of those rides! Anyway, Dino was killed about a week after we left their AO. The old VC trick got him in the end. Put a VC flag in the treetops rig it with claymore mines, and wait for some most unfortunate pilot to come and grab a souvenier. As they yanked on the flag, all the claymores went off. God bless you Dino, you were only about 19 and one of the nicest guys I knew. God bless all you scout pilots.
I wonder if a majority of the pilots in this video went to flight school at Fort Wolters Texas. The old base is only an hour from were i live. Love the music!!!
I know what you mean. I used to love to build Superbombs, take 2 or 3 sticks of C4 and safety wire them to a Concussion grenade or a frag grenade and drop them through the entrance to a tunnel that we found. Then key the Mic and let the Pilot know "Superbomb" out, and he would haul ass out of the area. Found a Truck once with a Red Star in the middle of the hood over near Cambodia, covered up with trees and bushes. Shot it a couple of hundred times with the 60. Then built a Superbomb and threw it through the window and we left the area real quick while it blew up. Then the Cobra took his turn with it. Lots of fun Blowing things up.
00:30 The man in civvies (slacks and a collared shirt) screams CORDS- Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support. Everyone has heard of the Phoenix Program, well, CORDS was the parent organization. Chances are good that the Hughes OH-6 Cayuse "Loach" he's standing next to is on it's way to (or coming from) somewhere that didn't show up on the flight plan.
Last day in Vietnam I go to the top of Nui Ba Den in a loach. First time. For a year only twin engine helicopters were allowed. So, my last day there rules were changed!
In pleiku one caught a122mm by sheer bad luck ,it didn't explode because it was a vertical impact! Rocket only arms on a downward arc. The "loach" landed with rocket shell embedded in the tailboom!
When was this? Do you have a picture of it? The LOH tail boom isn't much wider than a 122 MM rocket, and the tail rotor drive shaft runs up the middle of it!
@@josephkane825 Iread in stars and stripes paper at camp enari,where it happened! This was 1969, the camp experienced rocket or mortar attacks frequently from march through july.
Operated “Sniffers” along Cambodian Border prior to Incursion 1969-70. 1st Cav. That red dirt and dust is making me sweat and want to take a shower ( Finally, warm water, and for as long as I want!)
The only band named for a Dildo!! Good video of Nam, bring back memories and thrill....I was in the Little Bears at Cu Chi, and the second time, the Tigers at Soc Trang...
Just to let you know, I was a Scout on a LOH, 1st of the 9Th, C-Troop, 1st Cav. Div….(E-Now) Lost my R-Leg to 50cal ground fire.....Still... THE BEST JOB I EVER HAD....Charlie still don't surf!!!
