19 Minutes to Live - Helicopter Combat in Vietnam

by Lew Jennings

  Mark and Goody landed at a newly constructed firebase in the middle of the Valley called Currahee. They were briefed by a Lieutenant Colonel on the mission and location of the drop zone and loaded the necessary equipment and engineers on board.

  None of us Scouts or Guns were apparently available to escort them in or provide covering fire if they got into trouble.

  Disaster loomed ahead. Here is what happened in Mark Stevens’ own words:

  “Jackie Wilson was my Copilot and I believe it was Crew Chief Joe Morgan and Door Gunner Larry Lyles in the back.”

  “We emptied everything not nailed down in the aircraft and rigged long rappelling lines to lower the engineers and equipment into the drop zone as there was no place to land yet. Both aircraft were loaded with the engineer equipment and personnel and I was named Flight Lead.”

  “I was briefed by a Lieutenant Colonel on the mission. He was out of 3rd Brigade Headquarters. We were to support Honeycutt's Battalion. His call sign was Blackjack. We were to report to him as we approached the area.”

  “I was given coordinates to the drop zone location and we departed for the 10-minute trip north. I located the DZ and had Goodie orbit off to the south while I went in for the initial drop.”

  “Once situated over the trees, about 200 to 250 feet above the ground, the lines were thrown out and the engineers lowered chain saws and other equipment and then began their descent, one out each side of the aircraft at a time.”

  “About then I caught a black object flying by in my peripheral vision. The next thing I knew our aircraft rocked upward into the air, ass end first. A rocket-propelled grenade just missed us!”

  “We still had guys on the ropes and keeping the aircraft steady so as not to drag them through the trees was paramount in my mind. I asked the crew if they knew what that was and someone said they thought it was an RPG.”

  “I no sooner got that info and another one came at us again! If anyone says you can't see the bullet that will kill you, I beg to differ. This RPG hit closer to the ship but still missed. I knew the next one would nail us if we didn’t move and the guy lobbing the RPG's was getting better with each one.”

  “I told the engineer Captain on board I needed to get the hell out of there pronto! He agreed.”

  “The guys in the back checked for the engineers still on the lines and the highest one was almost down.”

  “I told the crew to cut the lines with machetes we kept in the back of the seats and they did, punching holes in the ship's deck as they hacked thru the lines. I didn't much care, we knew we needed to boogie before the next RPG connected.”

  “I nosed the ship over just as the third round hit the trees where we were, or it seemed like that to all of us on board.”

  “I told Goodie I was going back to Currahee as I had no more lines and he was to follow.”

  “We got back there and I was met by the Lieutenant Colonel. I explained the situation and said the place needed some serious prepping fires before that should be tried again.”

  “Apparently you guys were off doing something else and I was told that there were no Gunship assets and the mission still had to be completed.”

  “I said I had no more lines, but that excuse fell on deaf ears as new lines were immediately presented to me.”

  “I also need to add here I was low on fuel, but thought I could make it work if we could get in and out quickly. There wasn't a FARP anywhere nearby so I needed to have enough fuel to get to Blaze, as I recall.”

  “With new gear on board, we saddled up again and headed back to the DZ up by Hill 937, or Dong Ap Bia, as it was called on the map. I had Goodie do the same as last time and orbit to the south. I knew the way in and out and felt I could get in, get over the spot and then get out quick, leaving little time for my NVA friend to bag his Huey.”

  “I settled in over the trees and the guys in back threw out the lines. They started zipping down when we all heard the aircraft being stitched with AK 47 rounds. We had the last of the folks on the lines and couldn't move, so we were once again a great target.”

  “We heard the ground fire again and within seconds the cyclic began to get heavy and hard to move. It didn't take much thought to know the hydraulics were going fast.”

  “All the engineers were off the lines and on the ground. I had the aircraft stabilized. I figured I was home free when all of a sudden, we were slammed with an RPG. It hit just aft of the transmission near the tail boom mounts. We immediately flipped upside down and went inverted into the trees.”

  “As the aircraft was doing its best to spin and come apart, I could see the blades smashing into the trees. I can honestly say that I never saw my life flashing before me. In fact, I found myself trying to still control the ship even though logically, I knew it was impossible to do.”

  “We hit the ground upside down. I looked over at Jackie and asked if he was all right. I already knew he was alive because he had hit the floor microphone switch as we descended through the trees and I could hear him praying to God. I credit Jackie for getting the attention of the Almighty and that saved us.”

  “We were both hanging from the straps upside down and when I let the seatbelt lock loose, I promptly fell into the greenhouse overhead (green plastic windows built in for shade).”

  “Later I realized I had lost my .38 pistol when I did this, no great loss in the scheme of things, but it still would have been nice to have with me. Never again did I put the holster between my legs and have the weapon loose.”

  “More important, I later found I also lost my ‘lucky hat’!”

  “I managed to get my butt out of the aircraft and that’s when I noticed it was on fire! I started up the hill pretty much on autopilot when I realized I needed to check on others.”

  “I found Jackie under a rotor blade that had caught him in his slide down the hill after his egress.”

  “I then helped Lyles who had been thrown from the aircraft, in spite of the fact he had on a seat belt and was tethered by a body harness. Imagine the G force that took! As the impact tossed him out, his right arm bicep caught on the door lock and the muscle was pretty much ripped off, along with breaking his arm.”

  “I took stock of all the folks and their injuries and felt very lucky we were in as good a shape as we were.”

  “I loved that Huey. It crashed through the trees inverted, breaking up all the way down and we all survived. And we were well enough that if we could manage to get out of there, we would have a great war story.”

  “The engineer Captain who had flown out with us was unharmed but shook up. Jackie had sprained his leg or ankle. Joe Morgan seemed okay even though he had not been strapped in. To this day, I am still amazed that he was only held in place by his own sheer willpower and physical strength as his only place to hold on to was the back of my seat. And Lyles, though in pain, would certainly live to tell his story.”

  “Once I had everyone moved away from the burning aircraft, I noticed an E-5 Sergeant worming his way down the slope towards us.”

  “I will never forget that welcome sight. He was a redhead, covered in filth, wearing a scruffy growth of beard and was chewing tobacco. His pants were torn along the front to the point where I could see his balls.”

  “He looked at me and said; ‘Gawd damned Sir, I wouldn't do what you do for all the money in the world!’

  “I looked at him and busted up laughing. This guy was telling ME that!”

  “Sarge, I will do this little crash scene three more times for you today, if you can get me out of here each time I crash.”

  “That's when I figured out it's different strokes for different folks.”

  “He led and helped us up the hill to their defensive positions. When I had everyone settled in foxholes, I went to find the officer in charge. I was told he was dead so I spoke to the Senior NCO, who was the unit’s First Sergeant. I asked if I could use his radio to call for some assistance. Silly me, whatever made me think that would happen.”


  “About this time the machine gun ammo in the aircraft started cooking off and the hill erupted in a demonstration of firepower I cannot begin to describe. All those grunts thought the NVA were charging up the hill as the aircraft rounds cooked off and they responded in kind. About this time the First Shirt got up and began stomping around, shouting ‘cease fire, cease fire’! He gave them all a taste of what I would call a ‘highly charged verbal assault’. Even I had never heard some of those words. They sure worked though.”

  “I couldn't dig a hole deep enough, fast enough. I had no weapon, no steel pot and I was out in the open. Yup, I was definitely scared.”

  “I tried to make radio contact with our Troop via Blackjack’s C&C and was told under no uncertain terms it wasn't going to happen. There was too much going on and assets were needed elsewhere and besides there was no LZ for an extraction or time to bring in more help. I would have to do what I could for the crew for the time being and just work with the First Sergeant and settle in.”

  “I don't take no for an answer very well, at least not the first few times. It was time for action.”

  “I asked the First Sergeant for a steel pot and a weapon. I was given a dead man’s helmet and his M-16 rifle and flak jacket.”

  “I then asked the engineer Captain if he still wanted to make an LZ. He didn't seem too keen on it but I told him I would get him out of there before the day was up if he would show me how to use the C-4 plastic explosive he had brought to blow trees down to make an LZ.”

  “After a quick lesson, he handed me the bag of explosives and detonator cord. I took the bag and headed back down the hill to where I thought it would be the easiest access to the unit and began wiring up the C-4 to trees.”

  “I honestly don't remember what happened to the Captain after I left him, I seem to recall he was helping with the chain saw elsewhere, as I didn't see him again till several hours later.”

  “As I was working my way down the hill my NVA friend with the RPG must have seen me and began shooting at me again. I couldn't believe it, what's up with this guy? He already bagged the Huey, give me a break!”

  “I was able to contact a Cobra from some unit and asked for some help if they could find the guy. He wanted to know where I was and where I thought Charlie was. I gave him my coordinates as best as I could figure them and the RPG position as best as I could tell. A pair of Cobras made one pass each prior to bringing in the heat.”

  “On the second pass, they started shooting 40mm grenades. Again, I learned something that day.”

  “If you have never been on the ground and seen a Cobra beating down in line with your position and shooting straight at you, you haven’t lived! I now knew how the NVA had to feel. I thought for sure I was a dead man.”

  “Imagine my surprise as the Cobra passed over and I was still alive to see the second one inbound looking exactly like the first. After the two passes I never heard from Charlie again, so either they got him or he figured I wasn't worth his skin.”

  “After a number of hours, I managed to get an LZ blown that was big enough for my taste. If I was flying, I knew I could easily navigate my way into it and back out in a Huey.”

  “I managed to get a Medevac on the radio and I walked them in. The Pilot said he couldn't land and refused to do so. You think I wasn't pissed? I know what you need to land a Huey and he had it. I guess that we Cav guys had different standards!”

  “The good news was that a Loach that was in the area, possibly part of the Cobras that had helped me earlier, (I never knew), offered to help. I asked him to stand by as I needed to get the wounded and the dead bodies into the area to move them out. He told me he would take only the wounded.”

  “I managed to get all the Grunts and those who had been on my aircraft who were wounded out first and then my guys who were not wounded. That Pilot and his Observer were great. He made multiple trips. He had to be Cav!”

  “Once all the folks that needed to get taken out had been evaced, he told me he had to get back for fuel but would try and return for the dead. I asked if he could take out two more right then and he agreed to do so.”

  “I bid goodbye to the First Sergeant and threw a dead body in the back, or should I say, half a body because the guy wrapped in the poncho had been hit dead in his backpack by an RPG and it had blown him diagonally in half. It was the Commanding Officer. I tossed him in the back and clambered over him.”

  “As the Loach backed out of the LZ, the rotor wash caused the poncho to fly back and that vision I have carried ever since. It took me years to eat meat again after that!”

  “The Loach dropped me at Firebase Eagles Nest. When I got out, to my total surprise, my legs completely gave out on me. I fell to the deck like a bag of wet rags. Everything worked but my legs. The Observer got out and helped me get to the side of the landing pad where I sat on some rocket boxes.”

  “I later figured out that I had been running on adrenalin for so long, that when I was finally clear, the ‘coming off it effect’ manifested itself by a complete loss of strength in my legs. It took about 5 to 10 minutes for me to get back to normal.”

  “In the meantime, a Huey from the Troop showed up, I think Keith was flying it and brought me back to our main base at Camp Eagle. I was sent to the Infirmary to fix some scratches and bruises and sent back to the unit.”

  “Regarding my lucky hat. The loss of it was catastrophic for me. Don't ask me why, I am not superstitious, but for some reason I had made it my good luck charm. It had ’New Hampshire Forever’, embroidered in the back and had been with me for the past six months thru several hairy situations. I foolishly felt it got me through a whole bunch of those ‘moments of sheer terror’ from the old Dutchmasters, B Troop, 7/1st Air Cav in the Delta to some more while at Camp Evans and Eagle. I knew that without that hat I was gonna die!”

  “A day or two later, once cleared back on flight status, I was assigned another aircraft and we had a mission. I am not ashamed to tell you, I was flat-assed scared to go. Petrified might be a better description!”

  “But as you know you can't show fear or be scared, John Wayne, Mom, Apple Pie, The Flag and all that. But I can tell you that I had to ‘force’ myself to go on that mission. I literally had to will every step to the flight line. I can still see my boots taking one step at a time as I willed them to take one after another. I can still see the little puffs of dust as each step hit the dirt and the shine disappear as the dust covered my boots.”

  “I had a new hat made up too but it just wasn't the same. All the way to the staging area I prayed that no mission would be called up. And I prayed the whole time we were waiting to be called up at the staging area. I almost made it too because it was the end of the day and we were headed home, when we were called up for Blues in contact.”

  “I was beside myself. I knew it would be the same though, every day from now on and I didn't want to go thru this for the rest of the tour. I kept talking to myself; what the hell is the matter with you Stevens? You are not a chicken, why do you feel like this? It was only a stupid hat!”

  “Was I learning another thing about myself? Was I Chicken? No, I can't be. But maybe I am!”

  “I remember firing up the aircraft and we headed out, me dreading the thought of it. NO HAT, I'm gonna die!”

  “Well as you know, I didn't die! In fact, what happened was another life lesson, as a matter of fact, two lessons.”

  “The first lesson was, you can't let your fear overwhelm you. Life is what it is and what will happen will happen. Integrity and honor are what it is all about.”

  “And the second lesson was, there is no such thing as a good luck charm.”

  “Incidentally, once we got into the mission I forgot all about my fear and it never raised its ugly specter again.”

  “When I was formally awarded the Silver Star for that combat action, I was totally blown away. I never knew about it until I received it. Jackie told me he had put me in for it. In fact, he said he had put me in for t
he Medal of Honor! I don't know if he really did or not, I was certainly honored regardless.”

  “I never thought what I did was anything special. I was only doing what came naturally. Hell, I wanted out and I couldn't leave my crew, so I did what I had to do to get us out.”

  “None of it would have worked without the engineer Captain to show me what to do with the C-4, or the Cobras who zapped the NVA, or the Loach that did more than his share.”

  “And old Goodie-Two Shoes never had to go in and he was most appreciative. He thanked me later!”

  That was Mark’s harrowing story on this 12th day of May, Day 3 of the battle for Hamburger Hill. The LZ that he created became critical for supplying Honeycutt’s Battalion and providing adequate access for medical evacuations. Mark would go on to save many more lives during his tour.

  Day 3 continued with us battling bad guys on the higher ground at every opportunity.

  We helped Bilk 37, a Forward Air Controller, locate and mark enemy targets for eight airstrikes that day. The airstrikes included Napalm, 500-pound and 1,000-pound delayed fuse high explosive bombs that were great at destroying bunkers. The USAF “Gunfighters” out of Da Nang with their F-4 Phantom Jets were especially accurate on their bombing runs, flying low and slow to make sure they put bombs on target.

  Thunder 44, an LOH assigned to support the Battalion and being flown by Eric “Crazy” Rairdon, had been transferring wounded from the upper LZ that Mark created to the lower LZ for further evacuation. Time and again he would be cited throughout the battle for his heroism in rescuing wounded. He may have been the one that had rescued Mark earlier in the day.

  Honeycutt was also Medevaced for a short period to treat the festering shrapnel wounds he had received in the friendly fire incident. He returned immediately to resume command.

  All remained quiet for the battalion that night, however, the NVA had other plans for the Artillery base across the valley at Airborne.