| Welcome to the
war! These seven pictures of rocket runs along the river
in Happy Valley definitely depict what it was all about. These are places
on the ground in Happy/Chump Valley where you would not want to be. Here
are comments from Steve Kerchenfaut concerning these pictures:
"MATTICE WAS THE PILOT. I THINK DEKREON WAS WITH US AND
I DON'T REMEMBER WHO ELSE. I KNEW MATTICE WASN'T GOING TO LET ME FLY SO I
TOOK PICTURES. IT WAS A HOT MISSION AND I REMEMBER WE TOOK
HITS." Pictures contributed by Owen "Butch" Brant and
Steve Kerchenfaut.
This 1969 picture from Jim
Horton shows a WP rocket going off as he approached the LZ in Smokey
500. According to Mike Parris who was gunner on Smokey with Jim Horton, it
was SOP for Smokey to hit the LZ during a combat assault just after the gunships
and just before the flight of lift ships.
Musket gun teams out to kick
some serious ass, departing Chu Lai West to the north. 1971 picture
contributed by Jolly Wilson.
Formation flight (probably returning
from Kham Duc). Picture taken around Aug 1970 contributed by Steve
Kerchenfaut.
Excellent photo of flight
on short final to an LZ south of Chu Lai and just west of Highway One.
1970 Picture contributed by Joe Gross.
Troops on board slick in
formation enroute to Kham Duc. Thank goodness for a good AM navigational
radio and AFVN radio in DaNang. It was a long flight from Chu Lai to the
old French airstrip near the Laotion border. 1970 Picture contributed by
Joe Gross.
Bombs drop on enemy position
in 1969. Photos taken from observation helicopter on site. Pictures provided
by Charles Chatham.
Two excellent pictures of
a flight with at least seven birds in trail formation during monsoon
weather. Pictures contributed by Wallace Young.
Excellent series of
six pictures as flight transitions to trail formation for a low level troop
insertion. 1970-71 pictures contributed by Wayne "Lightnin" Resemius.
Troops on board in a formation
during a combat assault. Picture contributed by Wayne "Lightnin"
Resemius.
UH-1H 68-16536 hovering in
formation with another aircraft during a combat assault in an LZ in Happy
Valley (also known as Chump Valley). Picture contributed by Junior
Richmond.
Formation at half a rotor
disc. Picture contributed by John Longstreet.
Inserting or picking up troops
in a two ship LZ, possibly at a new firebase. Picture contributed by
John Longstreet.
Combat assault series
of four pictures. These are photos taken by official US Army photographers
of troops disembarking in an LZ The 1968 pictures are part of a collection
belonging to Jerry N. Tuttle. Pictures and info contributed by Scott Tuttle.
The gunner in two of these pictures is wearing a distinctive white flight
helmet. E-mail received on 08/23/99 from Mike Parris identifies the gunner.
"One of the Gunners on Smokey wore a white helmet, because when I took over
from him I painted the body of the helmet grey and left the visor cover white
with two black ace of spades on the white visor. His name was Thomas
Barr."
Combat assault
series of six pictures contributed by Dave Grieger.
Part of a group
of 60 UH-1 Hueys and 12 CH-47 Chinooks taking part in a combat assault
in 1967. Picture contributed by Hank Anthony.
Combat assault series of five
pictures from LZ prep to short final. Pictures contributed by Tom
Herrington.
Smoky 500
lays out smoke around a hilltop LZ (frame 1) and the slicks insert/extract
troops (frame 2). This looks like NVA territory. Pictures contributed by
Tom Herrington.
Smoking up the the
LZ. Major Metcalf and Captain Horton show their styles. Pictures contributed
by Dave Grieger.
A LRRP on a
string. Look closely at this picture and you can see a Ranger (G Company
most likely) suspended on a rope from the UH-1 Huey slick. The G Company
Rangers were the long range reconnaisance patrol (LRRP) unit for the Americal
Division. They were an excellent unit which often performed risky patrols
in the heart of enemy territory in order to gain information about the enemy.
When they needed a quick extraction, ropes dropped down through the trees
were often the only way to get them out. The equipment used to extract them
was often referred to as "strings" but was known as the "McGuire Rig". Pictures
contributed by Tom Herrington.
Formation flight over pickup
zone, all aircraft trailing white and red smoke.Obviously a successful combat
assault. Anyone recognize this location? Picture contributed by Steve
Kerchenfaut
Echelon Right
Formation - Days end, time to head for the barn. 1970 picture
contributed by Roger Ladd.
Sweet Love - The name on this
M-60 machine gun. It definitely was as sweet as love to hear those 60's returning
fire on a "hot " CA. Check out the size of the bomb crater in this picture
-Nov. 1969. Picture contributed by Henry Lipscomb.
Gunner's view of a combat
assault during the dry season. You can feel the heat and taste the grit while
looking at this picture. Picture contributed by Henry Lipscomb.
Gunner's eye view on a
combat assault-Nov. 1969. Picture contributed by Henry Lipscomb.
Gunner's view of a combat
assault into dry rice fields. Picture contributed by Henry Lipscomb.
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