Huey creating its own forest LZ in Vietnam. link to story?
 

There was a Beautiful story about an unarmed Huey rescuing some 20 servicemen by creating an LZ via trimming adjacent trees, while under attack in 'nam.

anyone got a link?

That was not an uncommon event.

I am thinking the particular video you are seeking can be found at the History Channel.

thx for the pointer! 👍
found it! Tom Baca Larry Liss were the Key Search terms

It comes up on the Smithsonian Channel now and then.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-s...ght-179939835/

fine link, excellent read, too!

I'm UK based, those links seem to be broken for me.
But, vaguely related, I remember seeing a programme a number of years ago where a Vietnam Special Forces team was reunited with the Huey crew that extracted them from a very hairy situation, which involved trimming a large number of trees on the way out. Of particular note (to me) was the pilot commenting that he didn't feel that anyone was shooting at him. One of the SF guys said "yes, that's because they were aiming at you"

One of the Boeing instructors at Odi said Chinooks in Vietnam would carry an underslung bomb if the needed to form a clearing in trees to get into. One of the visiting US Chinooks demonstrated crunching the fuselage down into the trees so the rotors were just skimming the top.

The Annual Meeting of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association (VHPA) is an interesting time where a lot of us gather to renew old friendships, tell a few truths (no lies ever get told) but each telling of a story our flying skills get better....the danger gets worse...the hostile fire more accurate and our derring-do magnifies....along with our youthful handsomeness we never lost.

In past years we used to remind ourselves we could still drink too much....laugh too loud...and very much enjoy being Combat Helicopter Pilots with all that it means.

During the Convention in Nashville, Tennessee....I and some friends happened to be standing on the Mezzanine looking down on the Lobby Bar.....that was filled with lots of portly, balding, bespectacled ofd geezers....all hugging and laughing....arms around shoulders...and talking like deaf persons do after they have a skinful of beer.

I suggested to my friends....that a stranger not knowing what a group we were would probably think they had wandered into a Pride gathering for old guys by mistake.

What I thought looking at those wonderful Men....with their hands making aircraft like maneuvers ....was the amazing things they had done in their younger years that few fully outside the military understood.

We did those things as a matter of fact and show it merely as just doing our job.

Our training and doctrine taught us that the Soldiers on the ground were our reason for being.....if they called...we went and they knew we would come if called.

We paid a terrible price living up to that.

My greatest honor in life has been being allowed to serve. alongside the Soldiers I did....and it is rewarding to see our story being told.

Joe Galloway called us "Gods Own Lunatics"......and I suppose we were at some time to someone that was in a very bad way....and we showed up.

Amen SAS. My introduction was the death of WO1 Terry Mezera who was a slick driver. A US adviser to the ARVN had been wounded in a fire fight on one of the Seven Sister mountains on the Cambodian border and required a medevac, the professional medevac team turned down the mission for what ever reason so Terry and crew went. Came to the hover on the mountain side only to come under fire, lost the hydraulics and rolled down the mountain side, coming to rest inverted. Crew managed to exit but Terry was left hanging in his straps with a bullet wound to the chest, crew unable to extricate him due to being under heavy fire and Terry succumbed to his wound after 45 minutes. The US adviser then spent until mid night calling in arty and passed away at midnight. Painful to listen to on the ops radio, by dawn Charlie had slunk away. Vale Terry.


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....d2797d01f3.png

https://www.vhpa.org/KIA/K11359.HTM

Stu Rawlinson was his Copilot that day.....who I later knew at Bristow Helicopters.

For those not familiar with the 135th Assault Helicopter Unit.....it was a US Army Huey unit made up of Australians and Americans.....and was amongst the best Units in Vietnam.

A close friend, and American pilot was shot in the shoulder and had to retire medically due to his wound's permanently limiting the use of that arm.

Mezera started his tour on 2 April 70.....I started my second Tour on 1 April 70....and I was medically evacuated after my own claim to flame in mid-June.

We never forget those guys.


Small World eh, Megan?

Hi SAS, Stu was not his copilot, the VHPA has got that part of the story wrong, Stu was flying in the area on a hash & trash and provided support in some capacity.

I know it's ubiquitous but in case anyone doesn't know, this (or a story very like it) story is told in Chickenhawk, which is what I suspect Reely340 is referring to.

I googled for the link in the U.K. So it should work.

Megan,

If you will send me the details by PM.....I will pass that along to the VHPA for correction.

The VHPA has tried hard to build as accurate a database as they can....but there are errors to be found.

Some of the After Action Reports filed following events like this left a lot to be desired....and of course there was the usual problems involved in sorting out Military Records as some were lost, destroyed, or misplaced.

I read and enjoyed "Chickenhawk" decades ago. I was always a bit suspicious that some of the escapades recounted may have been exaggerated to an extent. I'd be interested to have the opinion of those who are in a position to know.

A friend who did his first tour in Vietnam flying for the 48th Assault Helicopter Company and shared a cockpit with the author of "Chickenhawk" on occasions told me his reading of the book convinced him that a lot of the stories were borrowed from those who actually experienced them.

My friend did not care much for the Author as evidenced by his refusal to even acknowledge the Author's presence when they encountered one another.

I was not present during their time together in the Blue Stars so I cannot vouch for the accuracy or reasons for the bad blood between them.

My friend did retire as a CW4 Master Aviator and was always promoted ahead of his Peers so I know him to be an excellent Officer and Aviator.

The other guy....the only opinion I have of him is how his post Army life went for him as he encountered some problems with Law Enforcement on a couple of occasions.

Problems he reports in his book.

There was an old saying...."What is the difference between a War Story and a Fairy Tale? A War Story starts off with "Now this ain't no ****"....and a Fairy Tale starts off with "Once upon a time".

But to give him credit....he tells a good story and it is fairly accurate in the kinds of things he talks about and no matter if it was his own experiences or borrowed experiences.....they ring true.

Mike Durant's book

In The Company Of Heroes

details his experience in Somalia (Black Hawk Down) is a good read.

I worked with several pilots that flew with or were in the same unit as the author that said the same about the his stories. Embellishment was not the word used when discussing the author's recollections.

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