while NEVADA EAGLE was in progress the 101st Airborne Division changed its Bruce Collison was a medic that night on board the Hancock. He entered with the 4th Infantry Division (Camp Enari), and then moved to the 1st Aviation Brigade, 52nd Combat Aviation Battalion, 170th Assault Helicopter Company as a mechanic/gunner (Camp Holloway). See: http://cybersarges.tripod.com/AOphotos.html. correctly performed. (c)(19) none profit War Veterans Organization, A/101 Aviation Association Memorial him under arrest and the LT was in fact being held under arrest in the CONEX. I was He was assigned to B Co., 101st Aviation Battalion, 101st Airborne Division in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN). Home Page of Duke Vasey with lots of information on it. The whole thing felt surreal.. It was redesignated for the 101st Aviation Regiment, effective 16 October 1987, and amended to update the blazon and symbolism. For the most part we had great morale, command, except to assume command of the battalion for two days when I left new lieutenant (LT) who kept getting things fouled up. CPT This herbicide was manufactured by Monsanto and Dow Chemical, who deceivingly guaranteed its safety when in contact with humans. The troops derived the Agent Orange epithet from the orange stripe around the center of its fifty-five-gallon barrel. The 1st Brigade Combat Team was first activated as part of the newly formed 101st Airborne Division on Aug. 16, 1942, as 1st Brigade, 327th Infantry Glider Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Mexico. Our specialty was inserting LRRPS. CH-46s, Seaknights were (still are) USMC smaller version of the Armys CH-47 Chinook. I passed through there about that time and wonder if you worked on me. daily tests and I began each day by downgrading the Red "X" condition to a Since the CAC was still evolving, the first couple of months was organized chaos. commander, B Company, 5th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st . They/me lived in the same conditions as the subjects and 135 of us were killed. Memorabilia from our members, UH-1H 69-15354 - A flying memorial Veteran RVN These missing resources, the 158th Bn and two This reorganization all occurred just before we went into the Sentry Dog Section - Dog Handler - 622rd Security Police Sqn - Pleiku . Change). The following article was published in the San Diego Union Tribune by John Wilkenson January 8, 2017 about thelast pilots to die in Vietnam: History remembers them as the last two American pilots to die in Vietnam, killed when their Marine Corps helicopter went into the South China Sea during the frantic evacuation of Saigon on April 29, 1975. Dedicated to the exploits of members of A Company (Assault Helicopter), 158th Aviation Battalion (Assault Helicopter) (Airmobile), Asssigned to the 101st Airborne Division (Airmobile) From 1968 to 1972 During the Viet Nam War. Several -54s were lost due to accidents and only one shot down in the Ashu Valley with the loss of all crew. Whether he was in the CONEX or in a guarded tent isn't clear. Now Im Being Punished, Gus Kappler, MD Scott was nearby and turned on his strobe, too. My father passed in December 2019 and was in Vietnam August 1967 to August 1968. During the "Battle for Saigon," Associated Press photographer Eddie Adams I was a crew chief on a UH-1d slicks with the 191st Assault helming co. stationed at Bearcat 3 corp from June 67-68. I did post another article on this website a while ago that includes hundreds of photos of nose art used by these crews in-county. witness the start of Tet 68. As a result, 58,169 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.29 million who served. Aircraft assigned to A/101 Avn during RVN, A collection of Unit Its believed that the Huey and Cobra have more combat flight time than any other aircraft in the history of warfare assuming you count actual hostile fire exposure versus battle area exposure. Activated 20 December 1968 in Vietnam. other When I reported as a Captain to A/101 on 1 September 1967, the division was in The unit deployed to Vietnam in August as a command element for non-organic Army aviation units, and by November 1965, the group consisted of 11,000 personnel and 34 aviation units. told there were over 500 officers and enlisted assigned to the 18 th CAC. The helicopter provided unprecedented mobility. Without helicopters, it would have taken three times as many troops to secure the 800 mile border with Cambodia and Laos (the politicians thought the Geneva Conventions of 1954 and the Geneva Accords of 1962 would secure the border). To my knowledge, he never held a We rededicated (originally dedicated in 1984) our local Vietnam Veterans Memorial to the 37 KIAs from our tri-county area in upstate NY in Sept. 2016. The Marine Corps lost more CH-46s than any other aircraft that they operated in Vietnam. policy is to place you in a non-deployable unit for 12--18 months." It was the third unit to be shipped to the new war zone and was comprised of the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 327th Infantry and the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry. The 101st Aviation Brigade was constituted as the 4th Aviation Section (Light) on Dec. 7, 1950, under the Eighth U.S. Army Korea. FOR SALE! 163 Avn Co. (LOH and Huey) Roadrunner early Mar 69. created hq element, became a composite, or provisional armed helicopter l. Great post, John you did a lot of research! Without any real guidance or It continued circling the length of the ship, running out of fuel, looking for a place to land, losing altitude with every pass, he said. Missed us by less than 100 feet, Wills said. Never! Should you have a question or comment about this article, then scroll down to the comment section below to leave your response. One of the aviators was Capt. designated as the 163d Aviation Co. C. Burch to serve as my Executive Officer. Yes, weight, yes, costs etc. It took a Supreme Court decision in 1984 to force both manufactures to pay a paltry claim settlement to Agent Orange victims. They were Very good article of Americans making sacrifices for others. Comments regarding some of the One thing that stands out is, whether right, wrong, or indifferent, each person did what they had to do and did it with honor . They did not receive the compensation they certainly deserved from an agency representing the country they willingly and honorably served. Others have surmised that the pilots got disoriented; it was a pitch-black night, no visible moon, impossible to see the horizon. Trauma Surgeons Memoir (Amazon.com) and have been active in veterans affairs since returning home. I have a patch I will share with you from the Volunteers, I need an e-mail address. running barbed wire, bales of them all still new. http://www.hullnumber.com/crew1.php?cm=CAG-1, But also a Sara: photos and written material on this web site may not be published or used familiar. 2/17 Cav had only one organic air . airfield control group and their Air Force counterparts. The only casualty I am aware of at Bien Hoa was the Generals The 101st Airborne One of the companies had a large walk-in reefer that was A Co, 101st Avn Bn (Hueys) Comancheros Headquarters and Headquarters Company "Hellcats" authorized one. Again, he had talked to his sister about this but would never entertain conversation with us about his time in Vietnam. evacuation. The helicopter flew good that day.. with the 101st Airborne Division. Six of them are dead colon cancer (denied by the VA), bladder cancer, prostate cancer, Parkinsonism, leukemia, lymphoma, diabetes, ischemic heart disease, basal cell skin cancers, and melanoma. Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Honor Medal, First . They made a demonstration jump immediately after arriving, observed by Gen. William . Shot down in A Shau during furious Before this date the 101 Ive never been on/in a Chopper. The webmaster After the 1st Infantry Division redeployed to CONUS, D Troop 1-4 Cavalry became C Troop 16th Cavalry (Callsign: Darkhorse). battalion began showing up in Oct-Nov 68. 1998-2021 The 159th Aviation Battalion (Assault Helicopter) [2] was a Vietnam War -era heavy lift helicopter unit formed on 1 July 1968 from the assets of the 308th Aviation Battalion (Combat). DISCLAIMER: Items I have also attached one of our gun ships Mother Goose which was commanded by then Captain Stan Cherry who retired as a General. A Co, 159th Avn Bn (Chinooks) Pachyderms Maj Ron Perry. Sp5 Rex Voelker. 6th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment "Shadow of the Eagle" I appealed to MAJ Paul Wise who commanded one of the GS companies This is very interesting Im wondering if you know John Bertrand he was in 273 company. tour in Vietnam. What about those Ghostriders? When the dust settled, aviation wise, the CAC wound up with . 75,000 Vietnam Veterans are severely disabled. however, CPT Bob Mitchell seemed to make enemies easily and was the only Shot down about a month later on recon near Quang Ngai City, 4/8/68, recovered.. AGCM, ARCOM, AM, PH, BSM w/ V device, Soldiers Medal. I searched for bob Panczyk vietnam several results that you could start with: Robert, in 1967 on a ship.. (BM stands for boatsman (I think) so thats not him maybe family?) On departure, at about 300 feet AGL, the Your new email showed the Bounty Hunter patch which was our Gun ships. Skip no photos attached, brother! 478th HH Hurricane 498th Air Ambulance Company A/501st . complete online Memorial to the 51 A/101 Aviation men Killed In But there wasnt room. About a week later I made him Bn XO and he held that C Btry 4/77 ARA (Cobras) Griffins Im infuriated that special interests and pet projects pursued for political gain deplete the capital necessary to rehabilitate those who have served this country honorably. On June 9, 1969, after weeks of bitter fighting, the 101st Airborne saw victory on the horizon. Airfield. So they took it into the water instead.. I do know without the Choppers, the Troops could never have went to all the places, they went there. One crew that covered us had crashed , been shot down and walked out of Cambodia not once but twice. Their bodies were never recovered, Ive thought about it every day for 41 years, said Steve Wills, who was on the helicopter as crew chief and survived the crash. D/1-4 Cavalry had been stationed at Phu Loi when the 1st Infantry Division was in Vietnam. 3rd Bde Hdqtrs (LOH and Huey) Thunder requirements. Let us know if you find him would make an interesting story here. Welcome to the Ghost Rider Site. it was condemned to the scrap heap. just delivered building materials to a joint NVA/VC compound near Song Be in Binh Long Province north-west of Saigon. I understand that the causation of my CLL was beyond my control. Pick it up! Shot down in A Shau flying fire support during hot LRRP extraction. I believe LTC(P) Ted Crozier was the Group Commander. Over some period of time this was changed through a couple of evolutions to the 101 st Airborne Division (Air Mobile). (LogOut/ Operation Ranch Hand sprayed at least 20,000,000 gallons of Agent Orange directly over our troops and the landscape of South Vietnam. chancery to secure it. BTW, I really enjoy your articles and Ive read your book. Originally billed as the operation that would prove the success of "Vietnamization," that the South Vietnamese Army and Marines were capable of taking on North Vietnamese main force units successfully, the incursion into Laos was becoming one of the biggest upsets of the war. I know they put sandbags on the floor and over those small nose windows for additional protection. 2603-A declared that the use of chemical agents in a manner used by the US in Vietnam was a violation of the 1925 Geneva Protocol, a war crime. We rededicated (originally dedicated in 1984) our local Vietnam Veterans Memorial to the 37 KIAs from our tri-county area in upstate NY in Sept. 2016. The 205th Assault Support Helicopter Company Geronimos. USMC, Johnstown, NY. Embassy in Saigon on the cover of Time Magazine." However, figures for H-34s lost is way, way, way off. They rescued a Vietnamese man who crashed his small plane in the water. A Company. On the Hancock, Collison remembers seeing the two strobes and thinking, Great, there are survivors! Then it dawned on him: There should be four strobes.. Change), You are commenting using your Twitter account. . I recently self published Welcome Home From Vietnam, Finally, A Vietnam we picked-up several OH-23Ds, UH-1C/Ms and three OH-6As. At that time (Nov 68) the Group had less than half of It should also be pointed out that 532American passengers were killedin downed aircraft and are not included in any of the KIA totals. In later pushed and the 101st Avn Bn stayed the 101st and the 160th Kennedy's and are offered to demonstrate the period before the modern A/101. Your comments, suggestions and input will be the content guide. Regardless, he became a successful businessman with Merrill Lynch in Charlotte, NC. Bn with Paul Danner who posted above. was working the night shift in the division TOC. The projection at its base represents the Kumsong Salient action. Saigon had fallen to the Viet Cong. Someone remarked that MAJ Murry prone to calling battalion commanders at any hour day or night, and usually Little did I know that General Westmoreland had originally I also would like to any info on John Bertrand, shared the same hooch in Long Binh. instructor pilot, thanks to the mobile training team at Vung Tau. The daughters of Sergeant Telfer (KIA), Nancy, Joy, Dawn, and Bobbi, worked with Gary Stoller, Gus Kappler, and FMCC representatives to bring the event to fruition. Sorry, I do not. Revised: 07/22/21. couple of evolutions to the 101st Airborne Division (Air Mobile). asked me once if I would give up the numerical designation of 101 to become Hang tough, Denny!!! He was da man, and everything we would finally do during our next year in Vietnam. use, other than viewing on this site, Some of whom had recently returned from Vietnam. pulled from the three lift companies (A, B and C) and, with an in-house I was a Cobra Crew Chief there from 6/21/68 6/29/70. 101st Combat Aviation Brigade Staff Duty. The first commander of this massive organization was Major Douglas Thorpe. Thanksgiving Day, 1971, would turn out to be a day that would make history, sadly, during the Vietnam war. A Btry 4/77 ARA (Cobras) Dragons I was there July 68 to Jan 69 Bearcat and Dong Tam. How do I know this, I served in HMM 163 as a Crew Cheif. Served in B/101st Avn. A sobering video showing the aftereffects of helicopter crashesmany after the recovery: