Reveille came early this morning, 0300. By 0330, we were in the mess hall for breakfast. At 0400, we were on the flight line getting our HUS-helicopter ready for a 0530 mission. At 0500, we all met in the operations tent. Then, we were briefed on what, when, where, and why we were doing. Our duty today was to pick up a platoon of Recon Marines and insert them into an LZ (landing zone). If everything went okay, we would go back that afternoon and retract them.
Insert went fine, no enemy fire. All quiet. All 12 HUSs making two flights each had completed their mission and were back at home base Ky Ha, Vietnam. I had made a couple more missions during the day, med-evac, resupply, mall run to outpost, etc. Plus, we were on standby all day in case we were needed to make an emergency extraction of the Marines we had inserted earlier.
At 1500, the call came to extract. By 1630, we had completed our first half of the extraction and we were on our way home with the last of the Marine Recon. About half-way to Ky Ha, our flight of four HUS choppers came under ground fire. One of our choppers had taken a hit, one round, just behind the engine and busted a hydraulic line. It looked like it was on fire, but it was just hot oil vaporizing and smoking.
The hit bird headed for the ground as the other choppers formed a circle around it. Machine gunners were in the doors and windows of every chopper ready to lay down a ring of protective fire. The hit bird made a very successful landing. All the other choppers landed, and the Marine Recon that were being retracted hit the rice paddy that we had landed in. Everyone was behind the dikes that hold the water on the rice. Thankfully the rice paddy was dry.
Information about the down bird had already been called in, and an emergency maintenance crew was on its way. Upon landing, more damage was found and would take too long to fix on site. To get the down bird back to base, it would have to be lifted out by an Army Chinook helo. To do this lift, the four main rotor blades would have to be removed. They would be placed inside the Chinook’s chopper, a four-point sling would be attached to the rotor head and be lifted and flown back to Ky Ha. My job was to get those rotor blades off as soon as possible, which needed to be done before this BIG bird got here.
I got my tools and climbed on top. After about five minutes of work, “ping!”, a single shot hit the rotor head about a foot from where I was working. I’m about 10 feet off the ground, short jump now. I hit the ground, a couple of minutes passed, nothing else. Everything is so quiet, it’s almost frightening. But that bird has to go today. We can’t get caught in the dark. So, back up I go. I stoop, I wait, nothing. Maybe it’s safe. I raise my arms trying to work over my head…not easy, but it’s coming. “Ping!” Damn, another one. Now, it’s getting interesting. By now, we think we may know where this “single-shot-Charlie” may be. We’ve got to know. So, back up I go, more slowly now, more cautious. I’m back at work. Two blades were ready to come off, two to go. I’ve been there long enough to have all blades ready to remove now.
The Marines on the ground lift our rotor blade as I try to knock the ping out, but “Ping!”…he’s done it again. Only this time, it’s a little heavier than before. Maybe five or six shooting now. I’m back on the ground, this time hugging a rice paddy for cover. I’m lying beside this young Marine. I’m 30 years old. He’s maybe 19. I ask him, “What’s your name Marine?” He said, “Cpl. Perry, Sir.” I then asked him, “What part of the USA are you from?” He said, “I’m from Kentucky, Sir.” I said, “Oh yeah? Me too! Where did you go to school?” He said, “Ballard Memorial High School, Sir.” I said, “Hey, me too…did you know the janitor at that school?” He said, “Yes, Mr. Vance.” I said, “Well, Marine, that’s my dad.” He then asked me, “Did you know a teacher there named Perry?” I said, “I sure do, he taught me agriculture in my freshman year at Ballard.” He said, “Well, that’s my dad.”
How small this big, old world can be when you are so far from home. Conversation ended shortly after, when the Recon was ordered to stand up and start firing everything they had, walking shoulder to shoulder toward where our sniper fire had been coming from, which was a small patch of trees. Maybe two minutes and it was all over. No more sniper fire, no more “pings”, and no more of those long jumps to the ground.
The rotor blades are off now, and a Chinook is in the air. By 1800, the down bird is hanging from the bottom of its rescuer, and all the Recon are aboard and are going home to Ky Ha, Vietnam