19 Minutes to Live - Helicopter Combat in Vietnam

by Lew Jennings

  Helicopter on fire at a Forward Area Refueling Point

  We moved late in the month to our “permanent” home base over at Camp Eagle at the “Scabbard Pad”. We set to making it our home as we needed to get ready for combat operations in a big way.

  We would soon have the first of many “Rendezvous with Destiny” ourselves in the infamous A Shau Valley with battles at memorable places like Hamburger Hill, Firebase Airborne, and many more.

  Alpha Troop, 2/17th Air Cavalry Scout and Weapons Platoon Hooches.

  Shower and Shitter, Camp Eagle, 1969

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  A SHAU VALLEY

  I had just gotten a glimpse of the A Shau Valley the month before in early April on one of my orientation flights with Chief Warrant Officer Roger Cauble of Delta Troop, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment. Roger had been flying combat operations in support of the 101st Division for many months before our arrival and was now temporarily assigned to our unit to teach us the ropes.

  “That’s the infamous A Shau Valley,” Roger explained, as he climbed the helicopter high above the surrounding mountaintops and pointed to a valley about five miles to the west. “I can only give you a glimpse of it for now” he continued, “as we don’t have any troops or support out there and it has historically been a very dangerous place.”

  We had been flying along a new road being built by our Division’s 326th Combat Engineer Battalion in the foothills west of Camp Eagle, that would continue into the higher terrain to the A Shau Valley.

  Firebases were already constructed on hilltops along the road every few miles; Birmingham, Bastogne, Veghel, Cannon, Zon and Blaze. Artillery batteries were located at several of the firebases with 105mm Howitzers, 155mm and long range 175mm cannons and self-propelled 8-inch guns, to provide support to ground combat operations anywhere within 20 miles.

  Some of the firebases also provided fuel and ammunition supplies for our helicopters so we could do quick turnarounds, without having to go all the way back to home base. We would end up visiting them frequently and some would become our second homes.

  As we approached each firebase, Roger took me through the procedures necessary to safely land at the proper locations, where to refuel or rearm, and best procedures for take-off, all while avoiding outgoing artillery fire.

  Wow, things sure were different here from flying down south in IV Corps. There we had thousands of acres of flat land with rice paddies. There had been lots of places to land in case of emergency, although no cover or concealment, so we flew the Cobras high, usually above 1,000 feet to avoid small arms fire.

  Up here in the north, we flew over steep valleys and jungle covered mountainous terrain. We also flew low, around 300 feet, so the enemy could only get a glimpse of us through the trees and jungle when we flew overhead and maybe not have enough time to get a bead on us. Not many places to land in case of an emergency or engine failure.

  The Scouts with their light observation helicopters always flew extremely low to find and fix the enemy, usually at 50 feet or less. They did lots of yanking and banking and maneuvering to keep from getting shot down.

  Our job in the Cobras was to always keep our little birds in sight and be in position to provide them instant covering fire in case they got into trouble, which was frequently.

  The A Shau Valley ran north to south for some 30 miles, with the Laotian border just to the west. The valley was surrounded on both sides by mountains to the east and west and a river meandering down the middle.

  The lush and beautiful valley floor was covered with elephant grass up to 10 feet tall and the surrounding hills and mountains were covered in dense jungle and forest.

  The A Shau also straddled the Ho Chi Minh Trail and was a main route used by the North Vietnamese to infiltrate troops and supplies into South Vietnam and they used it as a staging area for their own combat operations.

  Which was why we were gathered here, in the mess hall this morning, for a mission briefing from our Commanding Officer, Major Tom Curtin. We were going into the A Shau Valley.

  Major Curtin had brought the unit over from Fort Campbell. He was stocky like a bull with a ruddy flushed complexion and a cigar perpetually clamped in his mouth. He reminded me of a young Winston Churchill. He was a combat veteran and seasoned Scout Pilot with a previous tour under his belt. Tom Curtin was very professional, mission oriented, and dedicated to his troops.

  “Gentlemen, I will not sugar coat it, we will be going into enemy territory to find, fix and fight elements of the North Vietnamese Army. The NVA has been using the A Shau Valley as a primary route of the Ho Chi Minh Trail to move troops, supplies and equipment into South Vietnam and conduct combat operations in our area,” he emphasized pointing to a large tactical map.

  The A Shau had been the scene of many fierce battles over the years. US Special Forces suffered 100 percent casualties back in 1966 when their camp in the A Shau was over-run by NVA forces. The NVA had used the A Shau as a major staging area to attack Hue City the year before, during the Tet Offensive of 1968.

  The 1st Cavalry Division had conducted Operation Delaware in the A Shau Valley the previous year and hundreds of bomb craters still pock marked the valley floor. Some of the old landing zones used by the 1st Cav still held carcasses of Hueys that had been shot down in combat.

  The 9th Marines had just completed a sweep of the northern A Shau and Khe Sanh plain the month before as part of Operation Dewey Canyon.

  As Roger Cauble had warned me earlier, it was a dangerous place.

  “The 101st is launching Operation Apache Snow to conduct combat operations in the A Shau to stop the enemy from using it as a major supply route and staging area,” Curtin continued.

  “As you know, Captain Reed led the Blues in an assault near LZ Airborne on the east side of the valley two weeks ago where they met intense enemy opposition.”

  Boy, was that an understatement, in typical Tom Curtin fashion.

  Some Air Force fighter jets returning from a mission two weeks earlier still had ordnance on board and were directed to the eastern ridge of the A Shau by a Forward Air Controller (FAC) to drop their bombs on the way home. When the bombs hit the top of the ridge, huge secondary explosions took place and were reported by the FAC to the Army. The 101st Division decided to send in ground troops to investigate and 2/17th Air Cav responded, flying in two platoons of infantry from C and D Troops below the ridge. They met fierce resistance as they tried to assault up the ridge and the call went out for reinforcements.

  Captain Keith Reed, Platoon Leader of our Alpha Troop Blues, and 25 of his men were air lifted into a tiny landing zone below the eastern ridge just before dark on 25 April to reinforce elements of C and D Troops.

  “The weather was iffy with low clouds and fog, and visibility was a problem with the impending darkness,” Keith recalls. “It was a one-ship landing zone and I was on the first Huey being flown in by Lieutenant Lou Herrick. He told me the visibility was bad, so after we got out of the helicopter, I stood on a stump and used my emergency strobe light to guide in the other three birds, one at a time”.

  “The first two made it in okay,” he continued. “Mike Ryan and Mark Stevens were flying the last bird in, however were not lining up on my strobe and were way too low. They thought they were being guided in by my light, but it must have been a deception by the bad guys luring them in with their own light. I called them on the radio and warned them to climb immediately, which they did. They saw the correct light, came in and off loaded the last of the troops.”

  “It was dark by then so we joined up with the rest of C and D Troops to reinforce our perimeter for the night and would try another assault up the hill in the morning.”

  “The next morning, we moved out and headed uphill through the dense jungle. My lead squad soon found a trail. When they told me that they had spotted a bunker further up the hill, I told them to get off the trail to avoid being ambushed.”

  “I then told the lead squad to attack
the bunker with a LAW (Light Anti-Tank Weapon) they carried that would provide the punch to get through the thick walls.”

  “I waited for the explosion. Nothing happened.”

  “Crouching low, I headed up to the front. The guys were still trying to set up to fire the LAW. I took the LAW myself and went up beside the point man to engage the bunker. Machine gunner Specialist Four, Jerry Knighten, was beside me laying down covering fire when they opened up on us with automatic weapons and grenades.”

  “Jerry was wounded immediately and Sergeant Rich Smith threw his pack on a grenade and saved all of us, as we dove for cover.”

  “More grenades landed around us. One exploded next to me and I lost consciousness.”

  “When I came to a few minutes later, all was quiet. I stayed still trying to assess the situation. I found myself just eight to ten meters from the bunker and my platoon had formed a defense line about 25 meters down the hill from me.”

  “I located my rifle beside me and watched as an enemy soldier emerged from the bunker, heading slowly towards me. I quickly got off three rounds killing him and headed towards my guys, but was immediately engaged by enemy automatic weapons. A bullet tore through my shirt, grazing my chest.”

  “I dove to the ground, returned fire, and emptied my magazine of bullets. As I was getting more magazines from my bandolier, one dropped to my side and was hit by an enemy bullet that ricocheted into my hip. Thankfully it had turned sideways and didn’t penetrate, although it left a bruise the size of a softball.”

  “Rocked on my side from the impact of the bullet to the hip, I rolled back over, slapped in a magazine and returned fire, while scrambling back down to the platoon.”

  “We tried to advance and recover the weapons and equipment we had lost in the ambush, however, several more automatic weapons engaged us, resulting in more of us being wounded. I directed the platoon to withdraw and resume our previous defensive positions with D Troop. I carried SP4 Pedro De Armas with me, who was seriously wounded.”

  “Back in our makeshift perimeter and the wounded cared for, I asked our medic, SP4 Wayne Widman, for some aspirin as I had a terrible headache. It didn’t seem to help and I kept taking more and more until he refused my requests, saying I had had enough. Then my Platoon Sergeant, Staff Sergeant Ernie Leach, had me take off my helmet and found a large grenade fragment, the size of a marble, imbedded in my skull. No wonder it had been hurting so bad.”

  “The doc back at home base would later joke that it’s a good thing I’m hard-headed!”

  At about the same time Keith was air assaulted in to reinforce C and D Troop, Companies of the 3rd Battalion, 187th Airborne Infantry had also been tasked to air assault into the area to reinforce the 2/17th Air Cavalry. They were carried in by Hueys from A Company, 158th Aviation Battalion “Ghost Riders” out of Camp Evans into a single-ship LZ at the top of the ridge. They met with disaster in the upper LZ, with five Hueys getting shot down over the next three days with many of the aircrews wounded, including their Commanding Officer. Two pilots and one of the crew chiefs were killed.

  Amazingly, crew chiefs of the 158th trapped in the LZ were able to repair one of the Hueys by scavenging parts from the other downed aircraft.

  That Huey had been shot down when a round went through the hydraulic reservoir and the crew lost hydraulic power freezing the controls. It had settled to the ground intact and, while still running, soldiers and crew members had stood on the forward part of the landing gear to keep the aircraft from tumbling backward off the landing zone while others propped up the tail boom with logs.

  Sergeant O.B. Carlson, one of the Huey crew chiefs, retrieved a hydraulic reservoir off one of the other wrecked Hueys, installed it within minutes and filled it with hydraulic fluid that he still had in containers on board his own wrecked aircraft, all while being protected by fellow crew members as they were repeatedly attacked. Warrant Officer Bill Parsons cranked the aircraft up again, loaded it with some of the surviving crewmembers and wounded and flew it out of the LZ, making room for others to be able to land.

  Lieutenant Dan Bresnahan, an Infantry Platoon Leader with A Company, 3/187th Airborne Infantry recalls landing in LZ Airborne after Parsons had managed to take off.

  “We were briefed we would be inserted onto a secondary LZ well down the East Wall of the A Shau, below LZ Airborne.”

  “We started the next CA (combat assault), with me in the first helicopter but Murphy reared his ugly head, and I was mistakenly inserted into LZ Airborne, the hot LZ. I made it onto the ground uneventfully. It was a one-ship LZ, with several upside-down Hueys, and bodies everywhere. I crouched down on the spot.”

  “The second ship landed okay but the third ship, while still at a 3-foot hover, was hit by an RPG which passed right over my head. The crew chief was killed, several of my men were wounded, and the CA was again halted.”

  “Now we had an LZ with many wounded and killed, and parts of three platoons of two Infantry Companies, and several aircraft crewmembers. We were there several days and each time we patrolled outward, in every direction, we were attacked.”

  The courageous Ghost Riders and Lancers of the 158th Aviation Battalion continued to land 3/187th Airborne Infantry soldiers into two landing zones on the ridge as they fought their way towards our Blues of the 2/17th Air Cav.

  Elements of the two forces linked up and pushed the enemy from the ridge, capturing large caches of enemy weapons and ammunition. The upper landing zone was secured and over the next few days was built out with artillery pieces and personnel and became Firebase Airborne.

  Keith Reed of Alpha Troop, 2/17th Air Cav received the Silver Star for his courageous efforts in that operation and his second award of the Purple Heart. His Blues had suffered nine wounded, five seriously.

  The aircrews that had repaired and flown the Huey out of the hot LZ were also awarded Silver Stars for valor.

  Whew! And we were just getting started.

  Aircrews and Soldiers stand on the front of the skids of the stricken Huey in LZ Airborne to keep it from toppling back down the mountainside when the hydraulic system was damaged by ememy fire. Others prop up the tailboom with logs while Crewchief Pat Lynch provides covering fire. Sergeant O.B. Carlson would scrounge a replacement hydraulic reservoir from another downed Huey in the LZ to repair the damage and "Ghost Rider" pilot Warrant Officer Bill Parsons would fly this one back out, loaded with wounded, to clear the LZ for more inbound Hueys. Photo by Pat Lynch.

  CWO Elton Searcy, one of the crewmembers of another downed Huey guides a rescue bird into the LZ. Tragically, Searcy would lose his life to enemy fire shortly after this picture was taken. Photo by Pat Lynch.

  Back at the Mess Hall, Major Curtin was wrapping up the operations briefing when he reminded us “Let’s not forget Al Austin who we lost out there.”

  Sp4 Al Austin was flying as a door gunner in one of our Scout birds with Captain Ben Thornal. We were initially employing three people in our Scout birds; a Pilot in the right seat, an Observer in the left seat with an M-16 and a door gunner manning an M-60 machine gun in the rear compartment behind the Pilot. Al had been killed during one of our first missions in the A Shau when hit by enemy fire. We stopped using a third man door gunner after that experience and installed pilot-operated minigun systems instead.

  “We suspect elements of the 29th NVA Regiment are out there in force,” Major Curtin continued. “And it’s our job to find them. “Let’s get with it,” he said as he picked up his gear and we all stood at attention and followed him out to our aircraft.

  Today is 5 May 1969 and Day One of my first missions into the A Shau. I was flying a Cobra with Warrant Officer Mike Talton up front as my Copilot.

  Mike and I were roommates, sharing a hooch back at home base. He had come over with the unit from Fort Campbell. We were both in our early 20’s and about the same size and build. I was 5 feet 9 inches and maybe 150 pounds. I think Mike had an inch on me at 5 feet 10 inches and maybe another pound or t
wo.

  He was from Charleston, South Carolina and talked with a slow drawl and a quick smile. He was smart as a whip. We hit it off as soon as we met. I was glad he was flying with me today.

  “Assault 23, this is 18, over.” That was Captain Al Goodspeed checking in with me on the Company VHF radio. Al was flying the little Scout bird with Staff Sergeant John Hayden as his Observer. We were a single Cobra and LOH (pronounced Loach) known as a hunter-killer or Pink Team (the combination of “Red” Cobras and “White” Scouts). Our mission today was to conduct a reconnaissance of the northern part of the A Shau Valley.

  “18, 23, you ready?” I responded.

  Al Goodspeed was a combat experienced Scout Pilot having come up with us from the 7/1st. He was also a good old southern boy from Sanford, Florida and well-liked by all of us. And although he was “Captain” Goodspeed, rank among the Pilots was like virtue among whores and we called each other by our first names or nicknames. In his case, we mostly just called him “Speedbird” or simply “Speed” for short.

  It never ceased to amaze me that the biggest guys in the unit usually flew the smallest aircraft. “Speed” was no exception. As a matter of fact, I think he was the poster boy for that observation.

  At over six feet tall and nearly 200 pounds with all his gear, it seemed he could barely squeeze into the Pilot’s seat of that tiny helicopter. His body would fold to the contours of the egg-shaped cockpit as he hunched over the controls with his helmet crammed against the overhead Plexiglas.

  Speed loved being a Scout Pilot, flying the OH-6. He flew close by us with a huge smile and thumbs up signaling he was more than ready. We were off into the wild blue yonder on our first mission together into the dreaded A Shau.

  Many of our helicopter units in Vietnam had varied tactics and procedures individually developed for their particular area of operations and their own experiences. Ours was no different.

  Down south we flew as full Heavy Teams; two Cobras, two Scouts and a Command and Control (C&C) Huey overhead to coordinate the operation and provide immediate rescue capability if one of us got shot down.