January 1st, 1969 began a new year of Tomahawk history
in the Vietnam conflict. January came in like a lamb and went out like a lion.
The first part of the month ground on with only the
lightest of contacts. In three days, excitement was highest when the Tomahawks
Warriors gathered round the fire for steak barbeques.
January 27th was the stepping off point for
the lamb when the lion suddenly stepped forward. Working CMAC missions across
the river from Ben Luc, Gunslinger 35, WO1 RAY E. BROOME, spotted recently
constructed bunkers.
Receiving clearance, his light fire team rolled in,
placing fire on the targets. Multiple direct hits were scored in the first
pass.
The clearing dust and smoke revealed two enemy
casualties, one dead and another wounded. The Gunslingers continued the attack
as the mission commander promptly had the Tomahawk lift-ships reposition troops
from their original area to the new objective.
With unerring skill, two lifts of troops assaulted the
area within precious minutes. The peace of the third lifts short final was
shattered as Tomahawk 26, Lt Fred Robbins, sounded over the radio “receiving
fire”. Nevertheless, the lift was completed.
The fourth lift was met by the enemy’s heavy automatic
weapons fire from the left flank. With calm determination, the flight continued,
dropping the ground element within the designated area.
Lifting off, the ships took repeated hits, as the enemy
fire came to bear. Within moments, the Tomahawks had two casualties, 1LT Gary
Goldsmith, the pilot and specialist four Andrew Glover, the door gunner.
Meanwhile, the ground troops were closing with the NVA
soldiers they had encountered. Soon, five of their number lay wounded critically
by the enemy.
“DUST OFF”, that call that means so much to both the
aviator and the ground trooper, was soon in the air. Answering the emergency
call came Tomahawk 17, WO1 James R, Watson, in his lift helicopter.
An unhesitating volunteer, he swooped into the holocaust
of weapons fire, searching for the wounded. He was waved off. Going around he
became the enemy’s principal target. The aircraft was engulfed with weapons
fire. Through the bottom of the ship came the round that wounded specialist four
Carl M. Petrie, the door gunner.
On his second attempt WO1 Watson landed directly to the
wounded personnel. Still taking hits, the troops were loaded and Watson’s ship
was on its way to a field hospital.
Tomahawk 22, WO1 Jim Watson’s aircraft was badly
damaged. Smoking profusely from hits in the fuel cells, only his skill and
professionalism of his crew enabled the aircraft to leave the LZ and reach a
more secure area. Returning to Phu Loi, Watson’s aircraft was one of seven
requiring extensive repairs.
After short periods of convalescence, Lt Goldsmith and
Specialists Glover and Petrie were soon active members of the Tomahawks again.
Goldsmith was the recipient of fragmentation wounds to
one arm. Glover had shrapnel wounds to his legs and Petrie had the honor of a
direct projectile hit to the buttocks with lots of good fortune. That lethal
piece of metal met a pair of pliers in Petrie’s rear pocket, ruining its effect
almost entirely to the point where he received only minor cuts and bruises of
truly original design.
The 27th was surely a fitting prelude as Major Donald
Kelsey bid farewell to his ““Best Damn Outfit In Vietnam”” on January 28th.
Major Kelsey, speaking emotionally, then passed the Gideon, war bonnet and
Tomahawk to our new Commander, Major Monte R, Veal. Ceremonies also included
unveiling and dedication of the tomahawk memorial and totem pole. The memorial
was dedicated to those tomahawks who so selfishly gave their lives to the
struggle in the Republic of Vietnam. That latter was a gift from our flight
surgeon, Capt. “Doc” Davis. Both were very impressive.
Present for the event were Col. Prather, Commander, 12th
CAG, and LTC Wilkes, Commander, 11th CAB.
The ninth of January refused to end in pomp and ceremony
for the Tomahawk Tribe. Supporting the “Big Red One” out of Lai Khe, Tomahawk
22, WO1 Walton, displayed his airborne prowess once again.
Enroute to the LZ area, automatic weapons fire was
reported. WO1 Walton was able to confirm the report through six punctures in his
fuel cells. With well practiced procedures, “22”, safely guided his aircraft
back to security, disbursing JP/4 to the atmosphere.
Damaged checks revealed another Tomahawk casualty, Lt
Frank T. Stankus, with minor wounds to his legs. Lt Stankus was medivaced to
93rd Evac Hospital and then to the 36th Evac in Vung Tau.
January finally came to an end, with WOl Jerry Kross’s
second set of wings bearing mute testimony of the probability of his main rotor
fully synchronizing with the tail rotor of WO1 Zappini’s ship.
February came with tense silence in the wake of January. The first part of the
month saw Tomahawk aircraft doing a great deal of general support for the 1st
Infantry “Big Red One” Division. Many hours were logged for direct combat
support and administrative flights.
Things being relatively quiet, the officers took it upon
themselves to bear down on improvement of the Company area. Such projects as
area beautification, billets improvements, central water and electricity were
envisioned.
On the morning of February 6th, the officers turned out
to building bunkers.
By February 8th the supervision of Capt. Mauk, our XO,
had brought the work force to full strength. The Second Flight Platoon was busy
on their bunker, the First Flight Platoon began the fence around our Company
area and the Gunslingers improved and repaired the sanitary facilities.
February 11th, at 2245 hrs, the sirens blew and the
Tomahawks had the first in a series of practice alerts as February 17th , the
Tet New Year, came near.
The intelligence reports came out, Phu Loi received them
and buttoned down in preparation.
Phu Loi was on the ready, as officers walked guard with
the strengthened enlisted mount, Battalion walked guard on the Company guard.
The daily password was the key, as one senior Officer could testify as he
entered the flight line and forgot the key, and was of course denied further
entry.
At 0430, the morning of the 23rd of February, Phu Loi
was rocked out of bed by two enemy rounds impacting in the 11th CAB area. A lot
of people waited, but that was all we heard from the enemy. The next nights were
spent with one ear open.
During the days, another area improvement project began
as material began to arrive for expanding and improving BOQ facilities.
The first major flying incident of the month came on
February 24th. WO1 Joe Hatley, while orbiting the Phu Loi area during the early
morning hours in his UH—1B Gunship, suffered an engine failure.
It was dark outside, as WO1 Hatley entered autorotation.
Auto rotations are never a picnic in Vietnam, but falling through the darkness,
he found an area. Flaring back and then pulling pitch, Hatley brought his
aircraft and crew to the ground without damage or injury.
It looked like a bad day for the Gunslingers, but such
was not to be the case. Working from the Saigon water Plant to areas north of
Lai Khe, the 128th had continuous encounters with the Viet Cong. The gunnies
rolled in again and again, placing their fire on the insurgents.
It was a long day, ending with assaults vectored by the
control ship’s landing light. When it was all over, the Gunslingers had 25 enemy
KIAs plus supplying the ground troops with one very shaken prisoner and one
newly patriotic “Chieu Hoi”.
The remaining days of February were spent with flack vests and helmets, at the
ready, as Bien Hoa, Cu Chi and Lai Khe came under night attacks in what was now
being known as the Post Tet Offensive. Out door movies suddenly came into vogue.
March began more spiritedly than the two previous months
with many enemy
contacts and company activities.
The beginning days saw the Second Flight Platoon Leader,
1Lt Jerry Morgan, become a Battalion “straphanger” as he took over their
Maintenance Officer duties. 1LT Fred Robbins replaced him, carrying the ball
(and chain?) for the Second Platoon.
The enemy wasted no time showing its hand northwest of
Phu Loi on March 4th. While cruising at 1200 ft., outside of Lai Khe, WOl Steve
Pinkston was literally left “holding the stick”. The calm of the cockpit was
shattered when a .50 caliber projectile cracked through WOl Pinkston’s door,
chopped his cyclic stick and finally stopped in the electrical nightmares of the
radio console.
The night of March 8th brought a fine band, ‘The
Psychedelics”, and a host of female guests to the Tee Pee’s Officer’s Lounge.
Both provided a most welcome change to the daily tedium. Dancing, drinking, and
a lot of partying continued until the next morning’s early hours.
The lounge was well decorated by Lt Darald Stebner and
superb steak and lobster was prepared by our fine flying chef, WOl “Frenchy’
Lavallee. Completing the bill, cracker and shrimp appetizers, plus unfathomed
amounts of soda and alcohol kept the tempo through the night.
Needless to say the next morning saw many hangovers pass
over Vietnamese soil, led by wary young teetotalers.
The middle of the month was quiet but busy, as the
Tomahawks flew a major part of their time for “The Big Red One” and the 199th
Light Infantry Brigade.
High aircraft time brought the Tomahawks to the ground
on the 16th for a maintenance stand-down. The Officers continued work on their
passive defenses, while the NCO’s and enlisted men pulled much needed
maintenance on the aircraft.
Two days later saw the Tomahawks and their sister
company, the Robinhoods, performing in a combined combat assault northwest of
Phu Loi. The Tomahawks and the Gunslingers drew ardent praise from 11th CAB,
Commander, and LTC Wilkes for their professionalism and timing in leading off a
very successful mission with the “Big Red One”.
March 21st saw WOl Frank Ochipinty and WOl Russ
Bourgoyne, after a hard day of combat missions, trapped with their crew in Vung
Tau from incoming enemy mortar fire. However, the next morning saw then fly back
to the Tee Pee safe and smiling from the night’s experiences.
As the end of the month came near, on the 29th, the 11th
CAB had a maintenance stand-down and Change Of Command Ceremonies. With all
units represented, LTC Wilkes passed the colors to Major Reid, our new Battalion
Commander. Officiating were MG Williams, Commander, First Aviation Brigade and
Col. Prather, Commander, 12th Combat Aviation Group.
After the ceremonies, all of the companies in the 11th
CAB performed a fly over with the Tomahawks showing a definite edge on precision
formation flying.
March 30th ended this quarter with a lot of happy
troops getting their share of the payroll.
Ending this account, the Tomahawks look forward to
eagerly and professionally supporting our new Battalion and Company Commanders
in the Allied mission in the Republic of Viet Nam.
HISTORICAL SUMMARY
April 1969 –
June 1969
Normal operations during this past quarter consisted of
company and battalion size combat assaults during both daylight hours and the
hours of darkness with gunship support and direct combat support roles of
medical evacuation, re-supply and “sniffer missions”. The 128th
Assault helicopter Company did not participate in any specialized missions such
as flare drops, psychological operations, jungle penetration, etc. Except as
noted in the following, all operations were conducted with little or no contact
with enemy ground forces by this company. A summary of the units supported by
the 128th Assault Helicopter Company can be found on page 10.
The period 1 April through 12 April was spent in support
of the 1st Infantry Divisions the 9th Infantry Division, and the
Royal Thai Army Volunteer Force. During the early morning hours of 12 April, the
enlisted men’s mess hall was destroyed by an accidental fire. Other mess halls
in the 11th Combat Aviation Battalion provided messing facilities during the
two-month period required to build a new facility.
From 13 April through 20 April, the company supported
the 1st Infantry Division and the Capitol Military Assistance Command (C.M.A.C.)
in routine operations. On 21 April, while supporting C.M.A.C. near coordinates
XS6878 contact with enemy forces was established resulting in seven confirmed
Viet—Cong killed and four probable killed, one enemy sampan destroyed, and two
damaged. One of the kills was by the Command and Control (C&C) Aircraft; the
other credits were by the l28th’s Armed Platoon, the Gunslingers. On 22 April,
the company participated in a battalion size combat assault near coordinates
XT5833. One Tomahawk made a precautionary 1anding in the pick-up zone do to
enemy ground fire damage. No further damage or contact was encountered by the
128th Assault Helicopter Company during that operation. However, the operation
was marred by a mid-air collision between a lift ship from the 173rd Assault
Helicopter Company and a gunship from another unit. The remainder of April was
utilized providing support for the 1st Infantry Division, C.M.A.C., and the
Royal Thai Army Volunteer Force.
On 1 May, while operating east of Cu Chi in support of
C.M.A.C., “Smokey”, the Tomahawk smoke ship, experienced an engine explosion in
flight. The aircraft was fully loaded with 5OO lbs. of smoke solution and seven
passengers. The Aircraft commander, WOl Roland C. Lavallee, successfully
auto—rotated without further damage to the aircraft. WOl Levallee was commended
with a “job well done” from several higher commands. The period 2, May through
15, May was spent in support of the 5th Special Forces Group, 1st Infantry
Division and C.M.A.C. resulting in no significant action. On 15 May, while
performing an armed reconnaissance for the 11th Combat Aviation Battalion, the
Gunslingers were credited with killing three enemy soldiers near coordinates
XT8208. The following day another enemy so1dier was confirmed killed near Can
Giouc where the Company supported elements of the 9th Infantry Division. The
period 17, May through 22, May was spent in support of the 1st Infantry
Division, 9th Infantry Division, C.M.A.C.,and the Bien Hoa Tactical Command. On
23 May the Company supported the 1stInfantry Division. During a combat assault
south of Dan Tieng, the Gunslingerswere credited with eight confirmed kills and
four probables, all being theresult of suppression runs made 100 meters from the
landing zone.
The 1st Infantry Division was also supported
on 24, 25, 26 and 27 May. On the 27th of May enemy contact was
established near Sung Be. The Company was supporting “The Big Red 1” north of
Fire Support Base Buttons. As the lift ships departed the landing zone they came
under automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenade fire. During the resulting
fire fight three gunships and two lift ships were shot down and “Pipesmoked”
back to Phu Loi. The Gunslingers reported killing five enemy soldiers. The
operation eventually involved several additional lifts of ground troops, the use
of a Cobra team, TAC Air strikes, artillery, and reinforcements by
mechanized unit. Severe ground fire was received throughout the afternoon and
into the evening.
The following description
was rewritten in the 1969 annual report because the preceding paragraph was
poorly mimeographed and therefore illegible:
The 1st Infantry Division was also supported on 24,
25, 26, and 27 May. On the
27th of May the Tomahawks supported the 1st Infantry
Division on somewhat of a costly mission near Song Be, It all began when the
yellow flight was departing an LZ from their initial insertion. Heavy automatic
weapons fire from the northern tree line forced the lead aircraft out of action.
The Gunslingers, in an effort to remove fire from the flight, also lost two
gunships due to the intense enemy fire. Needless to say, the initial ground
element was immediately pinned down and became immobile, The ground commander,
trying to get reinforcements into the ground element first attempted the
somewhat difficult task with the use of APC’s, The APC’s did gain fire
superiority long enough to relieve the ground element but could still not match
the well fortified enemy position. One APC was immediately immobilized by an RPG
round and the others were forced back to allow artillery and TAC air strikes on
the area. After numerous artillery and air strikes, along with gunship support
from the “Gunslingers” and the “Rebels”, the ground commander again turned to
the Tomahawks to bring in reinforcements and additional ammo. Upon completion of
the insertion, the Tomahawks were released. The Gunslingers, however, remained
on station to provide an escort for the APC’s and a ground element on their way
back to Fire Support Base Buttons. One company size ground element was left to
sweep the area and set up ambush sites. The Gunslingers reported killing five
enemy soldiers that day.
On 28, May, while supporting C.M.A.C., two battalions of
the Army of the Republic of Vietnam were transported in 93 sorties. No contact
was made during the airmobile operation. C.M.A.C. was supported for the
remainder of May.
1 through 2 June was spent in support of the 1st
Infantry Division. On 3 June, one aircraft was downed as a result of contact at
Loc Ninh while in support of the 5th Special Forces. On 4 June the
Gunslingers lost a gunship and all four crewmembers in an accident in the Rach
Ong Keo River at coordinates YS015795 while supporting C.M.A.C. The accident was
not caused by hostile action but recovery operations were conducted in an
insecure area. The recovery operation was assisted by the 6th ARVN
Rangers and their US advisors, as well as US Navy and RVN divers and patrol
boats. The 1st Infantry Division was supported on 5 and 6 June. On 6
June, at coordinates XT570359, heavy ground fire was encountered in the landing
zone damaging four aircraft and wounding an aviator. From 7 June through 16
June, the Tomahawks supported C.M.A.C., 5th Special Forces Group, and
the 1st Infantry Division. On 17 June, at coordinates XS907715, a
UH-1B gunship crashed as a result of a “high side” governor failure. Sp5 E5 John
K. Sullivan, the crew chief, and SP4 Benny Hilliard, the door gunner, were
instrumental in rescuing the pilot who was trapped in the aircraft, which was
lying on its left side and spilling fuel from a ruptured fuel cell. The area was
secured during the rescue and recovery operations by five sorties of ARVN
Rangers. The remainder of June was spent in the uneventful support of C.M.A.C.,
Royal Thai Army Volunteer Force, the 1st Infantry Division and the 5th
Special Forces Group.
