Just Another Day At The Office

[SASless]

Not the fanciest of films....but it does remind us of what being a Combat Aviator is all about.



MPEG4 105 of 148, Mopic (http://imageevent.com/okbueno/mopic?p=104&n=1&m=-1&c=10&l=0&w=4&s=0&z=2)

[500N]

Excellent, thanks for posting.


The book MACV-SOG has some very good descriptions
of some of these SAR missions and how brave the crews
are / were including one "young pup Lt" (as he was described)
who earn't the MOH and got the respect of all the Majors and Col's.

[Kitbag]

Good film.

Does anybody have any idea of the success rate of the US integrated combat SAR Force during VietNam and subsequent conflicts? A quick scan of the top results at GIYF doesn't appear to have the answer.

[Madbob]

The rescued pilot in the film died earlier this year and here is his obituary. He was shot down in August 1972 so the action was not staged but based on real events....

Kudos and respect to all.

RIP Major.


Atkinson, NH: Major Gerald J. “Jerry” Lawrence, U.S. Air Force Ret., age 69, died Saturday evening, July 28, 2012 at his home, surrounded by his family following an extended illness.

Born and raised in Norwalk, Connecticut, he graduated Fairfield Preparatory School in 1961. He later received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of New Hampshire.

Major Lawrence entered the Aviation Cadets program in 1964 and upon completion of his training was awarded his Navigator’s Wings. He was then sent to Electronic Warfare School and was assigned for five years as an Electronic Warfare Officer on B52”s. He later received his pilot’s training at Vance Air Force Base, Enid, Oklahoma and was selected to fly C141 Transports and KC135 Tankers.

After flying numerous “Arc light” missions over Vietnam in 1968 and 1969 he returned to the United States assigned to flying transports from Pease Air Force Base in Portsmouth. He was later assigned to his second tour in Vietnam to pilot QU22 reconnaissance aircraft and was shot down over the Ho Chi Minh Trail in August of 1972. He managed to evade capture until being rescued and returned to his unit to continue flying KC135’s. After another assignment at Pease Air Force Base, NH, Major Lawrence was then given command and control of the RAF field in Fairford, England, a post he held for the next five years.

A highly decorated veteran, and recipient of numerous medals including the Distinguished Flying Cross, The Air Medal with Four Oak Leaf Clusters, The Meritorious Service Medal, Air Force Commendation Medal and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross, Major Lawrence finally returned to the United States and was assigned to Pease Air Force Base until his retirement in 1986.

Following his discharge from the service, he was employed as operations manager at Clark & Reid Moving Co. of Burlington, MA, and later for The Coach Company of Plaistow, NH.

An avid NASCAR fan, he enjoyed hunting and beekeeping, gardening and attending his annual Aviation Cadet Reunions.

A resident of Atkinson since 1972 Major Lawrence was honored to participate in the yearly Town of Atkinson Memorial Day and Veterans Day Parades.

He is survived by his wife of forty-seven years, Joan (Trez) Lawrence, a son Michael S. Lawrence of Cambridge, MA, two daughters, Danielle K. Battistelli of Atkinson and Kristen A Lawrence of Keene, two grandchildren Joshua C. Battistelli and Johnathan F. Battistelli, of Atkinson.

Relatives and friends may call on Thursday, August 2, 2012 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Brookside Chapel &Funeral Home, 116 Main St. Route 121A, Plaistow Village, NH. His funeral will take place on Friday at 10:30 a.m. in the funeral home followed by burial with full military honors at 1:30 p.m. in the State Veterans Cemetery, Boscawen, NH. In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorial donations may be made to The Cancer Research Program, The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Office of Development, 7 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA

[SASless]

A very dear Friend flew Jolly Greens and was one of the "quiet heroes" who rarely talked of his experiences. He did tell one account of taking a hit from a 37mm AA gun and surviving because it hit smack dab on the Cargo Hook of the CH-53. Otherwise....it would have been all over.

Going up North in a Fast Mover at altitude was one thing....but doing it in a Jolly Green Helicopter was something altogether different. Low and slow....takes a lot of courage!

[lasernigel]

Great clip many thanks. Must have had nerves of steel to stay in the hover for so long, knowing that the Vietcong were always about.

Was the tail boom plane an OH-1? Read a book once about the pilots out there who flew them.

[spyder105]

If you are referring to the twin boom aircraft, that was the OV-10 forward air controller.

[SASless]

Laser.....it wasn't the "Vietcong" that were the trouble....it was the main force North Vietnamese Army and Air Force that were the real threat.

The biggest cause of our defeat there was LBJ....then the sitting US President....he did far more damage to our effort than did all of the NVA and VC put together.

[Halton Brat]

I wonder, SAS, what the outcome for SE Asia would have been had JFK not been slaughtered in Dallas? LBJ's prosecution of the Vietnam war seemed such a radical shift away from JFK's likely stance........hard to believe that they were on the same team...........

HB

[beardy]

I thought that it was JFK who believed the tale of woe from the French that it was all the fault of the Chinese and most dangerously the communists, and it would all end in the domino effect.

The French should never have been allowed back in after WW2. They had no intention of the de-colonisation they agreed to.

[pzu]

Apologies for thread drift, but the QU-22!!!! - this was Major Lawrence's platform

A modified Bonanza (version) see

Factsheets : Beech QU-22B (http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=317)

that must have taken some 'cojones' to operate over the Ho Chi Min trail, what where the operating parameters?

PZU - Out of Africa (Retired)

[SASless]

Halton.....JFK and LBJ were very much NOT on the same team! LBJ saw himself as the only Team. His treatment of the Joint Chiefs and their failure to stand up to him only insured Vietnam wound up the disaster it did.

[Halton Brat]

So it would seem SAS. Just been reading LBJ's bio on Wiki to fill in some gaps; remarkable how history can turn on the squeeze of an assassin(s?) trigger finger.

Shocking to read that US combat deaths in Vietnam in May '68 alone were 1,800, with 18,000 wounded. I visited the Vietnam memorial in DC some years ago, very moving indeed to see those thousands of names.

HB

[ShyTorque]

Not forgetting the ones they left behind.......

Tim Hart & Maddy Prior: Dancing at Witsun - YouTube

[SASless]

The Medal of Honor recipient, Lawrence Joel, was from my hometown and returned here after he left the Army. We named the City Convention Center for him. Why our National Leadership ever decided to enter into a War of Attrition with an Asian Enemy is one of the aspects of that War that has never been fully discussed by the Media and Scholars then....or today except with rare exceptions.

This video remembers one of the bad days of that war. Joel, a Medic, was wounded six times, continued treating the Wounded, re-distributed ammunition and water, rallied his fellow Troopers, and very much helped them survive against overwhelming odds.

The photos of the Dead are the original ID Card Photos taken at time of their arrival at Basic Training upon entering the Army.

We cannot allow ourselves to forget the courage and sacrifice that occurred during that War....or any War for that matter. Our current generation certainly deserves much respect for what they have done.


Big & Rich - 8th Of November [OFFICIAL VIDEO] - YouTube