18th Aviation Company Otter Nest

18th Aviation Company (FWLT)

"Low - Slow - Reliable"

Otter Nest History

18^th Aviation Company (Fixed Wing Light Transport)

1. Major Robert D. McClanhan - 5 May 1959 - 1961
2. Captain Robert L. Felix - 1961 - July 1962
3. Captain Roy L. Miller - July 1962 - 14 January 1964
4. Major Harlan W. "Spike" Lohmann - 14 January 1964 - 9 May 1964
5. Major Ralph D. Irvin - 9 May 1964 - 9 June 1964
6. Captain Harold M. Bailey - 9 June 1964 - 23 June 1964
7. Captain Richard Quigley - 23 June 1964 - 21 July 1964
8. Major Raymond E. Dickens - 21 July 1964 - 20 June 1965
9. Major Paul S. Walker - 20 June 1965 - 28 February 1966
10. Major Russell W. Edwards - 28 February 1966 - 10 September 1966
11. Major Billy J. Bartle - 10 September 1966 - 15 April 1967
12. Major John L. Yunker - 15 April 1967 - 21 August 1967
13. Major James T. Bridges 21 August 1967 - February 1968
14. Major Robert Luckenbill - February 1968 - 1 January 1969
15. Major Kenneth Womack - 1 January 1969 - 11 February 1969
16. Major James H. Thacker - 11 February 1969 - 7 July 1969
17. Major William Bloemsma - 7 July 1969 - 8 December 1969
18. Major Thomas L. McCord - 8 December 1969 - 31 July 1970
19. Captain Rhoderic K. Patrick - 31 July 1970 - 1 December 1970
20. Major Billy J. Hardeman - 1 December 1970 - 16 April 1971
    

This is a history of the 18^th Aviation Company (FWLT) from its constitution on 5 March 1959 into the Regular Army, and its subsequent activation on 1 May 1959 at Fort Riley, Kansas until it's in activation on 16 April 1971 at Qui Nhon, Vietnam. The narrative is from "De Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter - A History" written and made available on CD in 2005 by Karl E. Hayes (karl.hayes@goregrimes.ie).

Incorporated into this history are official unit history and historical supplements, including personal stories, pictures and tales from guys who were with the 18^th Aviation Company during its tenure at Fort Riley, Kansas and/or the 9+ years in Vietnam (continually updated as new information becomes available). 

In 1971 the United States transferred a number of the DHC-3 U-1A Otters to Cambodia under a Military Aid Program. An in depth article on the Khmer Air Force U-1A Otters was compiled by Dr. Joe F. Leeker on the transfer, disposition and ultimate status of those aircraft. We gratefully acknowledge Dr. Leeker, Ward S. Reimer, The Khmer Air Force, and the University of Texas at Dallas for the research, the information released and the publication of this article.

"As the founder and webmaster of the Otter Nest website, I am well acquainted with the "Otters" having spent  5 years in  the 18th Aviation  Co, 1964 to 1969  in the Headquarters  Platoon (Supply Room, Arms Room, Service Platoon (Tech Supply),  and the 256^th Transportation Detachment (Tech Supply), and finally my last unit was the 338^th Transportation Company (ADS) in 1972." -  James H. Wittel, SFC, USA, (Ret).

  1st Infantry Division

During 1955 Fort Riley Kansas was under the United States 5th Army command. When the 1^st Infantry Division left Germany and relocated to Fort Riley, Kansas, the post became known as the home of the 1^st Infantry Division and became the home of the 14^th Army Aviation Company in June 1955. Activated as a Fixed-Wing Tactical Transport unit, it was the first of its type and flew the 8 passenger (+ crew of 3) De Havilland U-1 Otter.

Big news arrived on 21 July 1955, with receipt of a directive to activate the first Army Aviation Unit Training Command (AAUTC) at Fort Riley. The creation of the AAUTC was the result of the rapid expansion in Army aviation units in the mid-1950s. Seeking to utilize existing resources, the Department of the Army established two AAUTCs in 1955: one at Fort Riley and one at Fort Sill.

During May 1956, the 14^th Army Aviation Company received orders for a permanent change of station to Fort Benning, Georgia. The following month, effective 15 August 1956, the unit was re-designated as the 1^st Army Aviation Company (Fixed Wing Tactical Transport), at Lawson AAF, Fort Benning, Georgia, the new home of the 1^st Aviation Company and its Otters.

Army Aviation Unit Training Command and the 71^st Transportation Battalion

Unit Patch                    Unit Crest

 71^st Transportation Battalion (Helicopter) - Ft Riley, KS

 The 71^st Transportation Battalion (Helicopter) was the first of its kind in the Army with the training mission to prepare helicopter companies as combat ready units for assignment overseas beginning 24 January 1956, and the AAUTC became operational on 18 February 1956.

 5 March 1959 - Unit Constituted

March - October 1959 - Aircraft delivered to unit

On 31 March 1959 the 18^th began sending pilots on temporary duty orders to pickup Otters from the factory in Canada.  From April until early October the 18^th received these 16 aircraft (58-1703 (305); 58-1705 (319); 58-1706 (321); 58-1707 (322); 58-1708 (323); 58-1710 (326); 58-1712 (329); 58-1713 (330); 58-1714 (331); 58-1715 (333); 58-1716 (334); 58-1717 (335); 58-1718 (337); 59-2203 (340); 59-2204 (341) & 59-2205 (342)) from De Havilland Aircraft Company.

STATEMENT OF SERVICE

18TH AVIATION COMPANY (Fixed Wing Light Transport)

5 March 1959 – 16 April 1971

Constituted 5 March, 1959 in the Regular Army as 18^th Aviation Company

Activated 1 May, 1959 at Fort Riley, Kansas (HQ, Fifth US Army GO 46 - 27 April 1959) & (HQ Fort Riley, Kansas GO 116 - 1 May 1959)

1 May 1959 - Unit Activated:  Chain of Command for the 18th Aviation Company

United States Fifth Army

 1May 1959 till July 1 1962
 

1st Infantry Division

 1 May 1959 till July 1st 1962

 71^st Transportation Battalion, US Fifth Army

Unit Patch                    Unit Crest

 71^st Transportation Battalion (Helicopter) - Ft Riley, KS

 1 May 1959 - 1 July 1962)

The 18^th Aviation Company Commanded by Major Robert D. McClanhan (59 - 61) was established on 1 May 1959 at Fort Riley, Kansas as a Fixed Wing Light Transport (FWLT) with the 8 passenger (+ crew of 3) De Havilland U-1A Otter as its primary mission aircraft.  It had received its first Otter (tail number 58-1703) from DHC on 18 March 1959 as the unit worked up towards activation. The unit was assigned to the 71^st Transportation Battalion, Fifth US Army at Fort Riley, 1st Infantry Division Ft Riley Kansas (1 May 1959 - 1 July 1962).

[From then Captain Gerald Lynn Royals - Army, Colonel (Retired)]

   "I was the S-1 for the 71^st Transportation Battalion and when the 80^th Light Helicopter Company departed for Alaska.  Department of the Army decided to activate the 18^th Aviation Company at Marshall Army Air Field, Ft. Riley, Kansas."

   "I believe the first pilot assigned to the 18^th was Lt/Capt. Carl Yoder (still flying). Capt Ray Smith was the only Otter qualified pilot at Ft. Riley.  He was transferred from the 1^st Inf. Division's, 1^st Aviation Company.  Capt Raymond G. Smith was the CO of the aircraft field maintenance detachment, a TD outfit assigned to provide 3^rd echelon maintenance to all of the aircraft at Ft. Riley. As Capt Ray Smith was the only Otter qualified pilot at Ft. Riley and when the call came to pick up the units first Otter a/c in Toronto, Canada, I went with Ray and he subsequently checked me out in the Otter." 

   "We picked up a/c #58-1707 the fourth Otter delivered to the 18^th on April 2, 1959.  I think the a/c received were somewhat sequential, I can remember 58-1708, 09, 10, and 15.  I can also recall 59-2203 and 05."

   "I flew approximately 150 hours in the 18^th a/c and in September 1959, I was reassigned from S-1 to XO of the 81^st Transportation Helicopter Company.  For all practical purposes my Otter days at Ft. Riley were over." 

"Enclosed for this era is the order to pick up 58-1707 attached to the unit history."

[End Gerald L. Royals Story]

October 1959 - Last of aircraft delivered to unit

On 10 October 1959 the 18^th received its sixteenth and final aircraft when 59-2205 was ferried from the factory to Fort Riley, to bring the unit up to its authorized strength. The Company's first operational mission was a long-range one, a MEDEVAC from Fort Riley to Fitzsimons Army Hospital.

Training, mass troop lifts and re-supply missions were the standard tasking for the "Otters" flying out of Marshall Army Airfield at Fort Riley.

October / November 1959 Deployments

There were also deployments away from base. During October/November 1959, seven of the Otters went to Fort Bragg, North Carolina in support of exercise "Dragon Head".

[Jack Serig's "The General and the Conductor" story]

   "During a permanent tour at Ft. Riley, Kansas, early 60's, with the 18^th Otters as a first lieutenant, I was ordered to the Pentagon for temporary duty, to serve as escort for the Deputy Chief of Staff, Intelligence, Army of Bolivia.  During my Pentagon briefings the importance of this VIP's visit was repeatedly emphasized.  Our government was trying to improve seriously strained relations with the Bolivian government." 

    "My charge, (DCSINTEL-BOLIVIA) would be the first senior official from Bolivia to accept our government's invitation in several years. My duties to the DCSINTEL-BOLIVIA were similar to that of aide-de-camp, translating for him, insuring we met our local briefing schedules and getting him to and from the many far-flung military installations on our itinerary, on time. The DCSINTEL Bolivia was considered important enough to be hosted, personally, by the DCSINTEL, U.S. ARMY, and his lovely wife."

    "A semi-formal cocktail party and dinner were held at the Army-Navy Club the night before we departed Washington for our next installation visit, which was to be accomplished by train. Much to our surprise, especially after the many goblets of fine wine served with the seven-course dinner the night before, the DCSINTEL, U.S. Army, a two-star general, personally showed up at the train station to bid adieu to DCSINTEL, Bolivia."

    "The general accompanied us on to our car and engaged us in conversation. The "All aboard!" sounded.  The DCSINTEL, U.S. Army didn't debark.  The train began lurching slowly forward. The general made no attempt to leave.  The train gained momentum.  A conductor appeared.  The DCSINTEL, U.S. Army, said to the conductor, "Stop the train!" 

    "The conductor said, "No!"  A heated argument ensued.  Neither side would give in. The train was picking up speed.  The DCSINTEL Bolivia, and I, were having the rare privilege of seeing a American two-star general, no less than the DCSINTEL U.S. Army, being dressed down and stood-up-to by a stubborn civilian train conductor."

   "The general reached up and pulled the "emergency stop" cord. The conductor soundly berated the general "who was in Class A uniform with two shining stars attached to each epaulet" in a furious verbal barrage. The train screeched to a slowing halt.  The general shook hands with the Army of Bolivia's DCSINTEL a final time, said Goodbye! - with a warm smile, as if nothing had happened, and left our passenger car, which was the final car of the train."

    "The last we saw, through our car's rear observation window, of the United States Army's 2-star DCSINTEL, he was walking along the tracks toward the train station about four blocks away, head proudly held high."

Serious Engine Power Loss - Examined, Evaluated and Solved

In an eighteen month period, twelve Otters were involved in forced landings due to partial or total loss of engine power. As the countryside over which they operated was relatively flat, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, the aircraft could be set down in corn and wheat fields, and none were damaged.

[From Jack Serig's "Low Slow Reliable" story]

    "As a result of extensive, and intensive, priority research our team developed evidence of three separate, potentially dangerous problems.  First, in some power losses, records revealed cracks between the spark plug holes in the engines' cylinders.  Second push-pull rods were bending beyond tolerances or ball ends were failing.  And third, cylinders were not factory stamped with the number of hours they had accumulated at their previous overhauls.  Consequently, total cylinder hours could not be determined and cylinders, aged beyond their design limits, were failing."

    "It was decided between our unit's staff and the staff of our third echelon maintenance support company, the 339^th, with the concurrence of the battalion commander and staff, that we would tear down three Otter engines, those with the most hours since rebuild.  The 339^th crews, supported by the Otter crew chiefs, began day and night crew shifts to expedite the process of determining the existing condition of our fleet of engines, nineteen in all.  Within several weeks we had indisputable evidence that our research findings were supported by the engine teardown findings learned in the 339^th shop.  An average of 33% of cylinders and/or push-pull rods failed to meet the criteria spelled out in the technical manual.  This average remained constant for all engines upon teardown inspections."

    "During the above events a new commanding officer reported to the 18^th, Bob Felix.  In his Otter solo checkout, in the pattern, shooting touch-and-go landings; he experienced engine failure resulting in another successful dead stick landing, NUMBER 13.  When he walked through my office door, the first time we met, the expression on his face reminded me of the proverbial "bull in the china shop."  He let loose with a predictable gnashing and lashing wanting to know what was wrong with our maintenance.  Fortunately, the information was opened up, spreadsheet fashion, on my desk.  He calmed down when we advised him of our findings to date and our efforts to correct the problems.  He became immediately supportive and remained so throughout our association."

    "As a result of our findings I recommended that all our Otters be grounded.  This was approved by the company and battalion commanders with the knowledge of the 1st Infantry Division Commanding General.  A recommendation for worldwide grounding of all Otters in the Army's inventory was also approved and sent to appropriate commands." 

    "Remember, you 'ol Otter crew members---the year was 1961! However, this worldwide grounding recommendation fueled a feud between our command and the "powers to be" in the Aviation Material Command, the De Havilland people and the Pratt and Whitney experts.  They didn't believe us, initially.  But we were proved right in our assessment after many heated meetings when our substantiating evidence was presented."

   "In short order, between the initiatives of the 339^th crews and the backup support from the Army Depot at Eagle Mountain Lake, Texas, all of our engines were rebuilt within a few months.  In effect, we had the equivalent of new Otter engines."

    "Our unit commander approved another recommendation to perform night maintenance, once our aircraft were returned from engine overhaul.  By performing the majority of maintenance at night our aircraft availability and daytime flying hours, we believed, should be significantly increased.  That's exactly what happened."

Some of these engines were rebuilt with new cylinders of an upgraded specification, which provided a more reliable operation, which was just as well as in December 1961, the 18^th Aviation Company was selected for duty in Vietnam, becoming the first Army fixed wing unit to serve in that country.

"We were a Strategic Army Command (STRAC) unit, ready to be deployed anywhere in the world on short notice.  When the Pentagon staff saw our aircraft availability rate had increased well above that of all other existing Otter units, we had a visitor, Major Ken Mertel.  He was apparently convinced with what he saw.  We were not fudging!  Shortly after he returned to the Pentagon we were ordered to Southeast Asia, country unspecified."

Not all of the unit's Otters were fit to travel, and the 18^th had to leave four of its Otters behind at Fort Riley (tail numbers 58-1714, 58-1715, 59-2203 and 59-2204), receiving additional aircraft from the 17^th Aviation Company at Fort Ord.

[Sid Perrine's story about the alert and deployment]

   "During a routine early morning alert on Dec 26, 1961 the company was informed by the Commanding Officer, Bob Felix, that this was not a routine alert and we had been activated for movement to a classified overseas location and would be preparing all company TO&E items for shipment including 9 of our U-1A Otters to the Alameda, California shipyard within the next two weeks."

 In a long cross-country flight, the Company's Otters that were travelling were flown from Fort Riley to Oakland, California. Here they were joined by the seven Otters (tail numbers 58-1688 (296);58-1690 (299); 58-1691 (301); 58-1692 (302); 58-1695 (308); 58-1698 (312) and 58-1702 (318)) transferred from the 17^th Aviation Company, which had made the short flight from Fort Ord to Oakland, bringing the unit up to its authorized strength of 16 Otters for this important deployment.

    "Within the allotted time our Otters were in Alameda and the rest of us found ourselves winging our way to Oakland, California airport on a nonscheduled Lockheed Constellation.  We landed at Oakland, California and were whisked away to an awaiting "pocket" flattop named the USNS CORE and within two hours we were on deck waving goodbye to the dusky skyline of San Francisco, California."  

Statement of Service (continued)

Boarded USNS Core at Alameda Naval Station, California - 15 January 1962, (destination South Pacific)

First Year in Vietnam

   "All 18^th Otter crew members were thankful for the discoveries which led to our rebuilt engines, especially when they saw the extensive mountainous and jungled terrain we would be flying over and the monsoon rains we would be flying in throughout South Vietnam.  Our unit, having experienced 13 forced and precautionary landings in the previous 18 months, had only 2 during our twelve-month tour, with no injuries and no damage to aircraft. "

[End of Jack's story]

Arrived 6 February 1962 in Saigon, Vietnam

Docking in Saigon, Vietnam

After a stop at Guam, the carrier arrived at Saigon.

  "Less than one week later we docked in downtown Saigon just across from the Majestic Hotel at the end of Tu Do St." 

Jack Serig on the USNS Core

After unloading, the Otters were towed to Tan Son Nhut airfield, where they were re-assembled by mechanics of Air Vietnam (the Vietnamese national airline). They were then flown to their operational areas.

The 18^th Aviation Company was the first fixed wing Army Aviation Company to arrive in Vietnam, on 6 February 1962, having been preceded by three Companies operating CH-21B Shawnee helicopters.

      "Within three days we were transported by USAF.  C-123's to Nha Trang airport located 180 miles North, North East of Saigon and off loaded.  As a "bare base" operations was nothing in sight but beach sand.  So, it was 16 man tents, C-Rations, and non-potable water for us until we got all of our stuff together." 

   "We were accompanied by the 339^th Transportation Co. maintenance support (commanded by Captain Robert E. Allwine, Jr.).  As an Air traffic controller, I worked in the old French control tower with the VNAF controllers.  They worked their T-28's on VHF and we worked all other military traffic on UHF radios."

United States Army Pacific Command

[2 January 1962 - 11 July 1962]

The 18^th Aviation Company was assigned to the Commander In Control United States Army Pacific Command (CINCUSARPAC), headquartered at Fort Shaffer, Hawaii, and subsequently to the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam under Temporary Duty Movement Order # 1, Headquarters Fort Riley, Kansas, dated 2 January 1962. The 18^th was operationally attached to MACV's Support Command until 11 July 1962 when it became a Permanent Change of Station move.

[Insert from the book: "VIETNAM STUDIES AIRMOBILITY 1961-1971"]

By Lieutenant General John J. Tolson

Air Mobility in Vietnam

http://www.history.army.mil/books/Vietnam/Airmobility/airmobility-ch01.html

Da Nang Air Base - This unique delivery was accomplished without serious incident even though ceilings were down to 100 feet over the ocean. These three aviation companies experienced seemingly insurmountable difficulties because of a critical shortage of engines and deterioration of rotor blades and aviation equipment due to high humidity. Nevertheless, they continually overflew their programmed flying hours and exceeded aircraft availability normal rates.

To some extent the support gap was bridged upon arrival from Fort Riley, Kansas, in January 1962 of the 18^th Aviation Company (U-1A Otter). These aircraft were spread throughout the four corps areas to provide a utility supply net throughout the length of the country. Most of their missions involved delivery of aircraft parts and supplies to rotary wing aviation units that were widely separated from their support elements.

The first Marine helicopter squadron arrived in country in April 1962 and was established at the old French base at Soc Trang in the Mekong Delta. In June and July of that year the Marines swapped bases with the 93d Transportation Company at Da Nang because of the greater capability of the Marine H-34 helicopters to operate in the higher elevations of the northern region.

To provide better command and control of the Army's growing fleet, the 45th Transportation Battalion was deployed to Vietnam in early 1962 from Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and assumed command of the three Army helicopter companies and the fixed-wing Otter Company. Shortly thereafter two more light helicopter companies, the 33^rd and the 81^st, were deployed and also came under the command of the 45^th Transportation Battalion. 

[End of article]

18^th Aviation Company's First Ground Mission

[From Jack Serig's - "Those Magnificent GI's" Story]

 (February 1962)

"Not long after our arrival at Nha Trang, South Vietnam, our 18^th Otter Company Executive Officer, Captain Doug Brandon, advised me to report for a meeting with him and the Commanding Officer, Captain Bob Felix, at company headquarters.  I was Platoon Commander of the Service Platoon, which performed aircraft and vehicle maintenance, aircraft refueling and servicing, crash rescue, and aircraft flight testing."

    "Captain Felix advised me that I was to lead a small "secret" task force for our unit's first ground mission into potential Viet Cong territory. "

"The mission:  To transport 1,500 gallons of aviation fuel, in our unit fuel truck, from our Nha Trang base camp to a military unit at Duc My (Zook Me) about 50 kilometers northwest of Nha Trang.  I was to select sufficient personnel and weaponry to insure the mission's success."

(Service Platoon Sergeant - SFC A. B. Holly)

    "The following day I directed my Service Platoon Sergeant, Sergeant First Class A. B. Holly to form the platoon.  All platoon members were present.  I explained to them that I needed a few volunteers to form a small taskforce to tackle a highly secret mission.  I was not able to provide any details.  The mission was simple and doable if we weren't attacked.  There was no guarantee that there wouldn't be casualties if we encountered enemy forces as we would be traveling through unprotected territory.  That's all I can tell you at this time!"

    "Upon bringing the platoon to attention, I asked:  "Volunteers, take one step forward!" The entire platoon, in unison, took one step forward."

   "I hadn't expected one hundred percent to volunteer.  I should have known better!  "All aviation types but magnificent GI's", I thought." 

   "I thanked the platoon members for their outstanding spirit and willingness to volunteer, then began the tough process of selecting the few men who would make up the taskforce."

    "On the appointed day of the mission I briefed the commanding officer and executive officer on how our small force would attempt to accomplish the task.  I got a surprise.  We were to take a guest with us.  Jack Foisie, a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, A last minute change! I was advised, Foisie was a VIP, because his sister was married to Dean Rusk, Secretary of State."

    "Mr. Foisie accompanied me to the two-vehicle convoy, the refueling truck and the jeep with trailer-mounted machine gun.  Weapons and ammunition were checked again.  All personal effects were left behind.  This was double-checked.  Identification tags were checked.  Our uniform was fatigues and jungle-type combat boots, each man carrying their assigned weapons and other weapons they felt comfortable with, such as jungle knives and side arms.  Protective armored vests completed our combat-ready wardrobe."

   "The mission briefing began.  I explained, using the unmarked map, where likely ambushes could be.  Where a bridge had been sabotaged over what was thought to be a fordable stream.  The jeep would take the lead through the city by the pre-determined route I had selected.  Several kilometers after passing the city's north gate on Highway 1, where we would begin an uphill climb, the refueling truck would take the lead.  If necessary, the fuel truck would attempt to breach roadblocks by crashing through them.  The jeep would drop behind by several hundred yards to provide covering fire if the fuel truck was attacked.  Everyone's additional mission, if it appeared the fuel would fall into enemy hands, was to concentrate on blowing up the fuel.  Tracers and matches had been distributed for that purpose."

    "We departed Nha Trang city without incident, passing the last South Vietnam Army's occupied guard post, onto a narrow bridge, heading north on Highway 1."

"Finally, we could tell we were getting close to Duc My when we observed Vietnamese walking and on bicycles.  Eventually, we entered the MAAG (Military Assistance Advisory Group) compound without incident.  50 klicks in less than an hour!  It seemed much longer!"

    "We refueled the two CH-21's never learning a word about their top-secret mission and said our good-byes to Mr. Foisie.  Reversing our route for our return to Nha Trang was more suspenseful.  We were at an even higher level of alert now, as we all recognized we may have tipped-our-hand."

"We could have given the enemy time to set up ambush sites if they had spotted us on our initial jaunt to Duc My.  But we returned to Nha Trang without incident."

   "The 18^th Aviation Company's first ground mission into potential enemy territory was a success. "

[End of Jack's story]

[from Jack's - "A MEMORABLE"BLOODY" FLIGHT" Story]

March 1962

"The 18th (Otter) Aviation Company's mission in South Vietnam, after our arrival in early 1962, was simple.  We were to provide Otter support to each of the then three ARVN (Army of Vietnam) Corps' U.S. Military Assistance Advisory Groups. Company headquarters was established at the Nha Trang airfield and provided logistics support to the three detachments located at Da Nang (I Corps), Pleiku (II Corps) and Saigon (III Corps).  Each detachment commander was responsible for establishing daily scheduled flights within their respective Corps area of responsibility."

"One such scheduled flight departed the Saigon-Tan Son Nhut airfield on a VFR (Visual flight rules) morning heading, eventually, deep into the Mekong Delta.  An Army chaplain from one of the isolated delta camps had signed on as a passenger.  Several stops at delta airstrips were scheduled before the chaplain would reach his destination. It was common in those first months of our U.S. military buildup for members of isolated units to make grocery purchases wherever groceries could be found.  The chaplain had made such a purchase, for his unit's compliment, at the Saigon commissary.  Our Otter crew had assisted the chaplain with the loading of his groceries.  The seat across from where the Padre sat was empty and several bags of his precious commodities were placed in that seat."

 "After several uneventful landings and takeoffs, the Otter lifted off from a small strip and established a new heading on climbout.  Suddenly, an unfamiliar "crack" was heard by all on board, instantly followed by a small explosion within the aircraft's passenger compartment. Minds were working furiously to determine the cause of the unexplained interruption.  It was immediately obvious to all on board that the "good father" was the victim of whatever it was that had occurred. The pilot looked back over his shoulder and was astounded to see the chaplain's face and upper body covered with blood.  The crew chief was at the chaplain's side in an instant, ready to provide first aid and assist with the bleeding "father's" wounds.  No one else appeared injured so all eyes and thoughts of crew and passengers were riveted on our wounded "Man of God."  The crew chief took a few moments to check the bloody face and torso."

 "All on board were rooting for the chaplain's well being.  You could sense the silent, well-meant prayers of these suddenly religious souls. The pilot looked back again and activated his intercom.  "How is he?" "How bad is it?"  The aviator's mind-set was running through the SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) he would follow for a wounded passenger.  After a few more moments the pilot could see a smile emerging from his crew chief's face.  He also observed the chaplain smiling through the bloody morass that distorted his facial features.  The crew chief was ebullient in his response. "Sir, he's covered with ketchup!"  There was a short moment of silence as the new, positive piece of information registered in the minds of these concerned soldiers.  Then smiles, then clapping, acknowledging the relief each person felt. Then, hard, belly-deep laughter when the realization hit each one that they had a great, funny story, which had just occurred in their presence.  A story to be remembered a lifetime."

 "A Vietcong round had penetrated through the belly of the aircraft, upward into the seat holding the chaplain's groceries.  Of all the grocery items, the round picked an isolated bottle of ketchup.  No one had been injured by fragmented, flying glass.  The other groceries surrounding the ketchup bottle had successfully contained the glass. But the liquid ketchup sought out an unsuspecting adversary, our "Padre.""

 "In the thirty-plus years since this incident occurred, I have often pondered:  "What if......the crew had placed the groceries on the opposite seat and the chaplain had been in the seat that took the round?" Somewhere it is said: "The Good Lord works in mysterious ways!" "

[End of Jack's story]

[From Jack Serig's "Picnic in Laos" Story]

(April 1962)

    "General Duong Van "BIG" MINH was an imposing figure.  A four-star general, he had retired from the South Vietnamese Army and was active in his country's politics.  He was taller than six feet, large boned, crew cut and a wide, easy grin that exposed a missing tooth in the upper row.  Several gold crowns also drew your attention to his mouth when you first met him.  He reportedly refused to have his missing tooth replaced.  He wanted to remind himself, and especially others who met him, that his tooth was lost to the Viet Minh when he was in their capture.  It was, apparently, his personal "Badge of Courage".  He had survived the Viet Minh's torture."

   "It was mid-1962 when we met on the Da Nang tarmac.  The general, and his entourage, needed an aircraft to accompany a helicopter to take the general's party to Lao Bao, so they could visit Laos, of all places.  I didn't think I had signed up for Laos!  Lao Boa was the closest South Viet field to the Laos destination.  My 18^th Aviation Company's U-1A (Low-Slow-Reliable) Otter flight detachment was given the mission."

   "Just days before, I had flown a young U.S. Army sergeant to Lao Bao to rejoin his MAAG (Military Assistance Advisory Group) unit.  He had been one of the very first prisoners of war ever captured by the Vietcong.   But the Cong had returned him to a friendly unit, unexplainably.  His capture and release had made international news.  I had read about him in the Pacific Stars and Stripes before meeting him and taking him back to Lao Bao."

    "And now, here we were, a few days later on the Da Nang tarmac expected to accompany this picnic-like gathering to visit Laos, via Lao Bao, near where the sergeant had been captured."
  

   "The general was in civvies accompanied by two American's in golf-club togs who said they were lieutenant colonels from the embassy in Saigon.  They had all brought their wives who were dressed similarly with blouses, slacks and high heels, and lots of jewelry.  The only thing lacking was a holiday picnic lunch basket, with French wine, of course.  Our crew was concerned, especially for the safety of the ladies because of our knowledge of active Vietcong operations in the area.  Surely, our embassy staff knew of the return of the captured sergeant in the same locale.  Some picnic!"

   "The general mounted the helicopter with his small party and the embassy-types with wives boarded our Otter.  It was a beautiful VFR (Visual Flight Rules) morning.  The flight was pleasant landing at the 1,300 foot Lao Bao strip about mid-morning.  We had alerted the MAAG unit of our impending time of arrival while in flight and they were waiting for us with several jeeps."

   "We loaded into the jeeps leaving behind security for the aircraft.  After a few kilometers along the South Viet side of the border we reached a concrete marker which advised we were crossing into Laos.  We stopped for pictures."

    "After a few minutes into Laos the general halted the convoy, had the vehicles park and proceeded toward the "unknown" via a footpath.  He seemed to know exactly where he was going, as though he'd been there before.  Over a small rise in the path was a broken down palm-thatched shelter serving, we would learn, as a guardhouse.  A young, bronzed man, streaked with dirt, in a dilapidated, battered, dirty uniform of khaki shorts and black shirt raised his relic of a rifle as in salute.  The general engaged the young man in conversation and obtained permission to enter Laos, or the village, perhaps both."

   "The few U.S. military personnel in uniform with weapons automatically flowed toward the flanks of the general's party to allow for clearer fields of fire and whatever protection they could provide the party, if that became necessary."

    "We stayed in the village less than thirty minutes.  It wasn't a detailed inspection tour.  The general was doing the questioning and consulting with a few of the village women.  The officer's ladies in the party remained jovial and paid special attention to the tatter-clothed kids.  Others in our party were making polite but strained conversation around the periphery of the VIP's, on alert!"

    "An unseen danger!   Kept expecting something to happen? It didn't!  We went back to our jeeps, much more somber than when we arrived, and returned to Lao Bao and flew the Saigon-Laos picnic-party back to Da Nang."

[End of Jack's story]

[from Jack's "BLOOD BROTHERS" Story]

April 1962

"One dark, cloudy night, the unit commander summoned my Otter aircraft crew to his native-style quarters in our 18th Aviation Company's hooch village, located at the northeast section of the Nha Trang Air Base.  It was mid-1962. An emergency request had been received to take a packet of human blood to Dalat.  An ARVN soldier, stationed in Dalat had been severely wounded.  The blood delivery could make the difference in saving the injured soldier's life.  The South Vietnamese Air Force unit stationed at the base was unable to take the mission.  Our unit commander agreed to fill in.  Keith Mowry was the crew chief, Louis Oliverio the pilot and I was aircraft commander."

 "There were two airfields at Dalat.  A respectable, long concrete field with an operations building/terminal and tower located at the base of a mountain which held the town of Dalat in its upper region.  A much shorter grass strip was on a sloping, small plateau within the town of Dalat on top of the mountain.  Neither field had night lighting and we were unable to determine from the emergency request at which field we were to deliver the blood. My crew's selection for this mission came about for several reasons.  We were available; and I had personally experienced one daytime landing at each field.  With the CO we jointly determined that we could deliver the blood, barring adverse weather conditions."

 "In planning the mission several important items were discussed:  How to keep the blood cool; the overcast weather; flight planning; instrument qualifications; airfield familiarization;  NOTAM (notice to airmen) check; and to whom the blood should be delivered. We estimated an engine-start time to coordinate the blood's delivery and purloined a container of ice from the mess hall to keep it cool during the flight.  Preliminary weather reports indicated overcast conditions enroute.  We should be able to fly on-top after penetrating the cloud bank by climbing to altitude over the South China Sea, back to the Nha Trang ADF (automatic direction finder) beacon, then flying a prescribed direct route to Dalat with sufficient altitude to clear the mountainous terrain.  There were no NOTAM's for Dalat. We would land at the main, concrete runway at the base of the Dalat mountain.  If no one was there to meet us we would do our best to fly to the mountaintop strip near Dalat city which had low overcast cloud cover on our takeoff."

 "The lifesaving blood was delivered to us and we took off from Nha Trang, proceeding as planned.  We initiated our approach from the Dalat ADF, announcing our intentions on the prescribed radio frequencies and broke out of the soup just east of the airport, above minimums."

 "There was one visible light, a small electric bulb, which gave a ghostly appearance to the tower's interior as we passed on a high recon, and one small outside security light to the rear of the operations/passenger terminal.  The runway was not lighted.  The field was in a narrow valley and there were no landmarks other than the close mountain ranges to either side of our direction of travel.  We prepared for landing after circling the field on the high recon and lined up on final about a half-mile out, landing to the west. Upon touching down my peripheral vision was picking up blurry objects both left and right.  As the aircraft slowed down we realized how fortunate we were to have stayed over the centerline.  A few short yards to our right and left were large piles of construction rock and sand at close intervals along our path of travel.  The runway was being readied for repairs.  We had specifically checked NOTAMS for Dalat prior to our departure from Nha Trang.  There were none.  We had been lucky---so far! "

 "We slowed on the main runway pulling off onto the available parking apron before reaching the dimly lighted operations area.  I advised Louis to keep the engine running and to be ready for a quick get-away as we had seen a person in black pajamas, conical hat and slung weapon, come out of the shadows from the area behind the operations building.  "Was it a good guy or bad guy?" I wondered.  I dismounted and approached him, simultaneously unloosening the strap to my .45 caliber pistol and checking my jungle knife, building my courage. The pajama-clad figure watched me approach, his rifle still slung.  I took him for a good guy.  As I got closer I could see his smile.  He turned out to be the airport's sole night security.  I pantomimed "telephone", smiling back. He pointed to a phone booth. "

 "The Vietnamese female operator put me through to the home of the Senior MAAG (Military Assistance Advisor Group) advisor in Dalat city, atop the mountain, an army lieutenant colonel whom I had flown to Dalat with his family earlier in the year on my only other flight into Dalat.  He had remained at his home anticipating a call.  His reception party was at the dirt strip, on the plateaued mountaintop waiting for us.  I advised that we may not be able to get into that strip as the cloud cover was below the mountain tops.  "Could he send a party down to the main airfield?"  "No!" he replied, "The Vietcong controlled the roads at night and ambushes had been experienced before."  It was too dangerous to send a land party.     I responded that we would take off, climb on top of the cloud cover and try to find a hole through the cloud bank and search for the strip.  He provided me with several radio frequencies from his jeep radio so we could communicate.  I advised him how to position the several jeeps he had along the airstrip so we would have a source of lighting if we were successful in breaking through the cloud cover. The colonel concurred.  Thanking the night security man with a few bows, I re-entered the Otter hoping our luck would hold and reviewed in my mind just how fortunate we had been so far: flying instruments at night with no radar tracking nor any knowledge of other aircraft in our vicinity; landing exactly where we needed to land to miss unbeknownst piles of construction materials; and encountering a pajama-clad person who could have been on the wrong side.  So far, so good!" 

 "We were soon in the clouds again, climbing in orientation with the direction of the valley to avoid collision with the known, close-by mountains.  We broke out on top, finally, heading in the direction of Dalat city.  We concentrated on searching for a break in the clouds and spotted a lighted reflection coming from the city below.  Checking the horizon left to right we were again over the extensive cloud bank.  Suddenly and unexpectedly a small hole appeared exposing the cities lights.  We cut power and lowered the nose steeply, making it through the small tunnel of hope, leveling off several hundred feet above the city.  We radioed the MAAG chief that we were over the town headed east toward the airstrip and would flash our landing lights.  He "Rogered!" had his jeeps flash their lights, and we responded, "Field in sight!"" 

"The lighting provided by the jeeps was perfect.  There were also smudge pots along both sides of the runway, an   unexpected assist which helped us in setting up our low approach.  We completed our checklist and landed.  Upon deplaning we turned the blood over to a South Viet army surgeon.  He bowed and we bowed in return to his gesture of appreciation.  There were nearly a hundred Vietnamese smiling and waving plus the colonel and his small MAAG contingent.  Their reception was heartwarming and happy.  There was clapping and excitement.  We were made to feel like brothers-in-arms---"BLOOD BROTHERS!"

[End of Jack's story]

[from Jack's "Fire In Flight" Story]

May 1962

"Our company commander, Captain Bob Felix, sent me to Da Nang to head our detachment of Otter aircraft deployed to support the I Corps effort.  It was May 1962."

"One day, on one of our normal resupply and passenger milk runs, we had taken off from a small MAAG (Military Assistance Advisory Group) airfield dirt strip in the boonies northwest of  Da Nang.  We boarded one U.S. officer and five enlisted men to fly them to Da Nang."

"After takeoff we obtained air traffic control clearance to climb to a designated altitude to make a simulated instrument approach to the Da Nang airfield, for practice.  The other pilot, Lou Oliverio, flew with a hood on to restrict his vision to the instruments for the practice run.  It was a beautiful VFR (Visual Flight Rules) day with umpteen miles of visibility.  All unit pilots practiced simulated instrument flight whenever we could to give us an edge in the unpredictable weather patterns associated with the monsoon rains we frequently encountered."

 "Just as our ADF (Automatic Direction Finder) needle indicated we were almost over the Da Nang airfield, still at the assigned altitude of 4,000 feet, our single engine began running rough---sputtering.  Engine instruments were within normal ranges for the moment.  Glancing behind me, our six passengers appeared calm.  I instructed the pilot to begin an emergency descent after he came out from under the hood.  I contacted the tower on the prescribed VHF frequency and advised the Vietnamese tower operator that we were experiencing engine problems and asked for clearance to land, requesting crash rescue trucks as a precaution."

 "A "Roger, cleared to land," was acknowledged.  Still on high downwind we noted the cylinder head temperature gauge beginning to climb, the oil pressure gauge showed a drop, while the RPM needle fluctuated with the coughing engine."

"We set up our approach pattern to land north keeping close to the field to land power-off, if necessary.  The engine kept coughing and sputtering but still provided power.  We elected to keep it running as long as it agreed.  A second call to the tower operator, on high base.  Another request for crash trucks which we could see at their fire station, stationary.  Another "Roger" from the tower operator but the fire trucks remained in position at the fire station."

"Unknown to us, a U.S. Air Force radar station individual, standing in his radar equipment compound, looked up upon hearing our complaining engine.  He bolted to a telephone and called the local U.S. Air Force Senior Advisor, co-located on the airfield, advising him than an Army plane (US!) was in trouble, "On Fire!""

"By this time we were nearing our turn to high final, the engine still providing restrained power.  Our feet began to get warm, then hotter, and streaks of fire began to appear in the slots of the paneling between our feet and our knees.  We were on fire and apparently the forward and rear firewalls had not been able to retain what had to be a pretty good blaze.  We were on high, short final---still no crash rescue vehicles.  A third request and a third "Roger!""

"I instructed Louie to pull off the runway at the first taxiway and to shut down the engine.  I had the fire bottle in my hand and was ready to use it after touchdown.  Using it now would blind us inside the cockpit, even though the streaks of fire coming through the openings were brighter, longer, and hotter.  I instructed the passengers to be ready to jump out of the plane as soon as we stopped."

"We landed, turned off the active runway and I reminded Louie again to shut down the engine.  I failed to pull the emergency gas/oil shutoff valve.  My mind was on the passengers and their safety---to get them out of the burning aircraft and as far away as possible.  I opened the right cockpit compartment door, unlocked the restraint system, stepped onto the top step and jumped to the taxiway.  My head jerked hard.  Forgot to unplug my helmet from the headset cord.  The jolt knocked off my glasses.  I landed on them and felt the crunching under my boots." 

"The fire bottle was still in my hand and I ran around the rear of the aircraft to reach the passenger door on the opposite side.  Surprisingly, I beat them to the door, opened it, and as they bailed out they were instructed to run and keep away from the front of the plane.  Still no crash rescue.  Louie climbed down and he ran.  I proceeded to the left side of the engine compartment and was astonished at the size of the blaze.  I looked up at the big fire---and down at the little fire bottle---then I ran."

"Looking across the airfield I could see the crash rescue trucks finally responding.  I later learned that one of their crew was washing his truck and just happened to see us, on fire, after we had brought the aircraft to a stop. He had alerted the emergency standby crash rescue crew and when they finally arrived they had the fire out in short order."

"Everything forward of the forward firewall was burned or damaged beyond repair.  This would require that the engine and all accessories, lines, and wiring, be replaced.  It was an expensive incident, even by 1962 standards, but the passengers and crew were all safe, without injuries."

HOW DID IT HAPPEN?

WHY HADN'T THE CRASH RESCUE UNITS RESPONDED?

PCS to Military Assistance Command, Vietnam

Military Assistance Command, Vietnam

A major shift of command occured this month when the 18^th Aviation Company leaves the 5^th Army, 1^st Inf Division and 71^st Trans Bn.  The new Command is MAC-V, 12^th Aviation Group and 45^th Aviation Battalion. 

45^th Aviation Battalion, 12^th Aviation Group

   Unit Patch             Unit Crest
12^th Aviation Group

(1 July 1962 - 1 April 1963)

 Unit Patch           Unit Crest

 45^th Aviation Battalion

(1 July 1962 - 1 April 1963)

The 18^th Aviation Company commanded by Captain Roy L. Miller (7/62 - 1/64) was assigned as Permanent Change of Station (PCS) to the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam effective 1 July 1962, under Amendment #5 to Movement Order #1, Headquarters Fort Riley, Kansas dated 11 June 1962 and ultimately to the newly activated 45^th Aviation Battalion, 12^th Aviation Group.

1962 - Vietnam organized into Corps areas

(Vietnam, Corps Areas Map)

At that time, South Vietnam was organized into three Corps areas. Da Nang was the headquarters of First Corps, Pleiku of the Second Corps and Saigon of the Third Corps. The 18^th Aviation Company's headquarters was established at the coastal town of Nha Trang, as was the Service Platoon, Operations and Supply. The 339^th Transportation Company traveled with the 18^th from Fort Riley, and was also located at Nha Trang. Its fixed wing element was placed under the operational control of the 18^th Aviation Company. The 339^th provided maintenance support to the 18^th which allowed the Company to detach sections of the service Platoon with each of the three flight platoons.

Heavy maintenance was carried out at Nha Trang where the maintenance float Otters remained and where the 339^th shared a hangar with the 18^th.

(Bob Woodward photo credit)

Members of the 18th Aviation Company and the 339th Transportation Company unloading UH1A from C124.

The First Flight Platoon of the Company supported Third Corps and was based at Saigon, with initially five Otters. The Second Flight Platoon supported Second Corps and operated out of Pleiku, with two Otters. The Third Flight Platoon supported First Corps at Da Nang with three Otters. There was also, in 1962, one Otter based at Ban-Me-Thuot. The rest of the Company's Otters were at the headquarters at Nha Trang. The pilots were rotated every three months or so from one location to another, as there were different conditions at each.

As one aviator described the situation:

"At Da Nang it was mostly flying over jungle mountains, which meant there was not much danger of ground fire, but if a problem arose there was no place to make an emergency landing except in the trees."

   "Flying out of Saigon meant you had to get up every morning at 0400 hours to get to the area of operations. This area was flat, which meant that every VC who had a rifle had a chance to shoot at you."

   "In Pleiku and Ban-Me-Thuot you had a combination of mountains and high plains."

Once the Otters had been ferried to their bases, daily scheduled and on-demand services within each Corps area commenced, to provide a utility supply net throughout the length and breadth of the country. Initially most of the missions involved delivery of parts and supplies to the CH-21 Shawnee helicopter companies, which were widely separated from their support elements. Soon however every other type of transportation mission was also being flown. The Otter was capable of operating in and out of short, unimproved strips, carrying up to 8 passengers or a ton of cargo and proved itself ideal for operations in Vietnam. It flew over all the country's diverse terrain, ranging from the mountainous areas of the North to the Delta in the South. Weather often required climbing on top of the cloud and letting down through a hole at the destination, or flying at treetop level.

The 18^th Aviation Company patch showed an Otter with the legend "Low, Slow, Reliable", which aptly summed up their role.

The 18^th used the radio call sign "Reliable".

Unit Patch Trivia: The "Otter" unit patch was designed at Fort Riley Kansas by Capt. Carl Yoder, Capt. George Baker, and Capt. Rubeum Black on a summer afternoon in 1959. It was submitted to the US Army's Department of Heraldry as the official unit patch of the 18^th Aviation Company and proudly worn by unit personnel in Vietnam (1962 - 1971).

Otters a welcome sight at remote camps

The Otter became a welcome sight to the troops manning isolated outposts and camps. Supplies of all sorts, from C-rations to livestock and poultry, pigs, generators, gasoline and ammunition were delivered to more than 150 airstrips on the supply net. The delivery of items which greatly affected a fighting man's morale - mail, PX items, even Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys, were included in the myriad articles transported by Otter. Where a camp did not have an airstrip, the supplies were dropped in by parachute. Thousands of passengers were also transported. Americans, Vietnamese, members of many Allied nations, from privates to generals, VIPs, civilians, entertainers, newspaper correspondents and photographers, all depended upon this slow but ubiquitous transport. Casualty evacuation was another role undertaken by the Otter, often under hazardous conditions. Otters were also used to drop flares for battlefield illumination and area surveillance.

[From Jack Serig's - "Otter MEDEVAC" story]

(September 1962)

"One mid-afternoon, fall of 1962, on a routine scheduled Otter flight out of Saigon's Tan Son Nhut International Airport, we landed at the dirt strip of Moc Hoa located on the southeastern edge of the Plain of Reeds in the delta region.  A company of CH-21 Shawnee twin-rotor helicopters were lined up along both sides of the airstrip.  This particular CH-21 unit was the first army aviation unit to arrive in South Vietnam."

 "Beneath the overhanging rotors of each chopper were two separate groups seated on the dry grass.  Group 1 consisted of the 4-man helicopter crew.  The second group a combat-ready squad of South Vietnamese Army soldiers."

"As we taxied down the strip to discharge our MAAG advisor/passenger, we observed a large group of mixed military personnel surrounded by map boards to the north side of the runway.  We pulled in to park---engine running---intending to return to Saigon after our passenger drop."

"The 'copter unit's commanding officer, a Major Cherney, approached to ask us if we could remain at the strip and serve as a MEDAVAC ship in the event of casualties resulting from his unit's impending mission.  We agreed, shutting down the engine and accompanying the CO back to the group of mixed military.  We were advised that his unit was supporting an operation composed of units of the ARVN 9th Infantry Division.  The operation included liaison from local Vietnamese artillery and air force units.  The maps and other informational data pertinent to the operation contained the normal military symbols and gibberish."

"Our Otter crew accepted an invitation to lunch and joined the long line awaiting the field kitchen chow.  An old friend, Bob Corneil, the chopper unit's operations officer, was in the line.  Before our pleasantries could be fully exchanged Bob was called away on an urgent recon mission with Bennie Potts, another CH-21 pilot.  They and their two enlisted crewmen, were briefed to check out a just-called-in sighting of enemy ground forces.  The crew loaded into their ship accompanied by the Senior III Corps Advisor, a Colonel Sinclair, followed by Colonel Frank Clay, Senior Army Advisor to the 9th ARVN Infantry Division.  (Colonel Clay was a son of the famed Berlin Airlift Commander, General Lucias Clay)." 

"A white-haired bespectacled reporter from a leading New York newspaper joined the other passengers.  The recon helicopter took off, Potts and Corneil at the controls.  Their profiles could be seen through the clear cockpit canopy as they disappeared to the west.  The two enlisted crewmen were standing in the open cargo doors hanging on to the safety harnesses they had snapped into place, personal weapons at the ready, for whatever limited defensive protection they could provide.  (Machine guns had not yet been added for door gun protection)."

"Our Otter crew finished a quick lunch and headed back to our ship to convert it into an air ambulance, just in case.  When we had completed this task we returned to the military group at the open-air operations area.  The operations radio suddenly came alive with excited voices as we approached.  The recon CH-21 had been hit by enemy ground fire.  There were wounded but the ship was flyable and enroute back to Moc Hoa."

"Eyes and ears strained toward the west for a sighting and the thwump-thwump-thwump of the twin rotors.  About ten minutes passed before the chopper came into view.  As it came closer we could see that the canopy, housing the cockpit, was broken and jagged from the missing pieces shot out by enemy rounds.  The landing was made without mishap onto the center of the dirt strip.  Crewmen from other waiting choppers left their ships to render help."

"Colonel Clay jumped out the left cargo door, limping straight for the operations center.  He was very excited and bloodied from his head all the way down the left side of his body and legs.  He exclaimed that they had sighted the first-ever North Vietnamese troops---regulars, in the delta."

"Bob Corneil, the left-seat pilot of the damaged "banana" was carried by stretcher over to the small medical aid station and attended by an ARVN medical officer.  Bob had been shot through the left foot.  His wound was cleansed and wrapped.  His left boot showed evidence of the small-arms round, entry hole in the sole, exit hole at mid-center of the boot top.  Bennie Potts, the right seat pilot who was flying the ship, had taken one small piece of shrapnel in the left side of his back.  We watched while the doctor extracted the metal, cleansed and dressed the wound.  Bennie was released back to flight duty."

"In the meantime Colonel Clay advised his South Vietnamese counterpart to take advantage of the enemy troop sighting, to load up and go engage the enemy.  Major Cherney, ever calm, raised his right hand and made a circular motion.  Simultaneously and instantly, all CH-21 crews, waiting beside their craft, jumped into action.  The pilots from each ship slipped into their cockpits and began engine start-up.  The enlisted crewmen began loading the anxious 9^th Division's infantrymen.  It was efficient!"

"Colonel Clay was adamant that he would not be treated for his wounds until the operation got underway and the 'copters lifted off.  His combat fatigues were bloodied down his entire left side.  Only his left facial and head wounds could be immediately observed.  His injuries were the result of taking shrapnel when the ship's radios were hit by enemy small arms fire.  He had been standing between the two pilots' stations, next to the radio storage area, and was peppered when the radios burst open from the rounds' impact.  Bennie Potts injury was also caused by the exploding radios."

"We loaded Bob Corneil on a stretcher and fastened him into the left side of our Otter.  Colonel Sinclair, Colonel Clay and the New York reporter sat in the seats on the right.  The blood from Colonel Clay's wounds had dried.  Although his wounds appeared superficial we were taking him back for a more thorough medical exam.  Bill Kaler and I took off and headed for Saigon-Tan Son Nhut, about forty minutes away.  We reported to Saigon approach control that we had two wounded on board and requested crash-rescue trucks alongside the runway when landing, a standard unit SOP when flying wounded."

"Turning the aircraft over to Bill, I visited the passenger compartment to check on our charges.  I had always carried, in Vietnam only, a small curved, metal brandy flask filled with good brandy, just in case something like this would ever require medicinal treatment.  The flask fit snugly in the lower zippered leg pocket of the standard flight suit.  The concave side of the flask fit the convex curvature of my leg, so it was never noticeable.  I offered each passenger a pull on the medicinal mixture.  All but Colonel Clay politely refused.  He took a long draw."

"We landed at Saigon, crash-rescue trucks following us down both sides of the runway, and pulled into the passenger terminal where waiting medical crews and ambulances stood by.  Our passengers were among the very first wounded Americans during the "61 - "62 military buildup."

EPILOGUE:

"Colonel Clay returned to his duties with the ARVN 9^th Infantry Division."

"Bob Corneil was transferred to the 8^th Field Hospital in Nha Trang where he recovered from his foot wound.  He was reassigned as Commanding Officer of a recently arrived CH-34 chopper unit in Pleiku.  He was shot down several weeks after assuming command.  He and a South Vietnamese Army major were the only survivors.  After crash landing in mountainous and jungled terrain, Bob made his way to a stream accompanied by an enlisted crewman.  The crewman complained that he could go no further and sat down by the edge of the stream.  Bob kept walking downstream and was spotted at nearly dusk when the last remnants of the sun's rays shined on his bald head, making sufficient glare for rescuers in a searching helicopter to locate him.  They lifted him out."

"The next day a ground party hacked their way to the downed 'copter's position.  A. U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, a passenger on the downed ship, who had been alive after the crash, had been given a "coup de grace" by the Viet Cong who had shot down the aircraft.  For some reason, the VC who had shot the aircraft down, allowed the South Viet major, also injured in the crash, to live." 

"The enlisted crewmember that started down the streambed the day before with his commander was found by the ground rescue team where he was last reported seen by Major Corneil.  He had succumbed from internal wounds."

"It was fall season, 1962.  The war was young---and so were its casualties!"

[End of Jack's story]
 
 

Most of the Otter pilots arriving in Vietnam had just completed flight school and 25 hours of transition onto the U-1A. Upon arrival at Nha Trang, they were given a local area checkout to familiarize them with the airstrips, weather and terrain and were then sent to one of the flight platoons. There they flew with more experienced pilots until completely familiar with the area and the enemy situation. Flying from 75 to 100 hours per month, they soon became seasoned aviators.

One 18^th Aviation Company aviator described his posting to Da Nang in 1962 as follows:

"We were supporting the Military Advisory Headquarters at Da Nang. Six days a week we flew to Hue, Phu Bai, Hue Citadel, Highway 19 (an Australian base), Quang Tri and Khe San. Twice a week we made a side trip to the Ashau Valley to land at Ashau, Aloui and Tabat. This was the morning flight. In the afternoon we went south, to Cung Son, Quang Nai, Khamm Duc and Tam Ky. We took passengers, supplies, mail, or whatever we could fit in the door of the Otter including rice wine, pigs and chickens. On Sunday we did the whole thing over again, except that we took the Chaplain to each of those airfields to hold services."

Second Year in Vietnam

January - March 1963

By 1963, the 18^th Aviation Company was well established in Vietnam and on 2 March 1963 flew its 10,000 Combat Support Hour since arrival in country.

52^nd Combat Aviation Battalion, 12^th Aviation Group

   Unit Patch             Unit Crest
 12^th Aviation Group

(1 April 1963 - 1 November 1964)

       Unit Patch                   Unit Crest

52^nd Combat Aviation Battalion

Nha Trang

(1 April 1963 - 1 November 1964)

Assigned to the 52^nd Combat Aviation Battalion

April 1963

On 1 April 1963 the 18^th Aviation Company was assigned to the newly formed 52^nd Combat Aviation Battalion at Nha Trang until 1 November 1964.

As at April 1963 the disposition of the Company's Otters was: 3 at Da Nang; 3 at Pleiku; 1 at Ban-Me-Thuot; 6 at Saigon and 3 at Nha Trang, where the maintenance was performed.

May 1963

During May/June however the Company's strength increased considerably with the arrival of a platoon from the 17^th Aviation Company at Fort Ord, California, which arrived in Vietnam to augment the 18^th.

Eight Otters arrived on 27 May 1963 on board the 'USNS CORE' (tail numbers 55-3254 (94); 55-3263 (107); 55-3269 (115); 58-1689 (298);58-1694 (307); 58-1697 (311); 58-1699 (313) and 58-1714 (331)) and were taken to Tan Son Nhut airfield, Saigon for assembly by Air Vietnam.

1963 was a year of turmoil and crisis for Buddhist Monks and the government of South Vietnam. This period was known as the Buddhist crisis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_crisis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 Buddhist crisis was a period of political and religious tension in South Vietnam from May 1963 to November 1963. The crisis was precipitated by the shootings of nine unarmed civilians on May 8 in the central city of Hue who were protesting a ban of the Buddhist flag. The crisis ended with a coup in November 1963 by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, and the arrest and assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem on November 2.

On May 7, 1963, a 1958 law known as Decree Number 10 was invoked to prohibit the display of religious flags. This disallowed the flying of Buddhist flags on Vesak, the birthday of Gautama Buddha. On May 8, an assembly of protesters against the ban were shot upon by the troops of the government of Ngo Dinh Diem, resulting in the death of nine.

Diem denied governmental responsibility for the incident. Instead, the president blamed the Vietcong for the event. Diem's Secretary of State Nguyen Dinh Thuan accused the Vietcong of exploiting Buddhist unrest and declared that Diem could not make concessions without fueling further demands. The Vietnam Press, a pro-Diem newspaper, published a government declaration confirming the existence of religious freedom and emphasizing the supremacy of the country's flag. Diem's National Assembly affirmed this statement, but this did not placate the Buddhists.

On May 30, more than 500 monks demonstrated in front of the National Assembly in Saigon. The Buddhists had evaded a ban on public assembly by hiring four buses and filling up and pulling the blinds down. They drove around the city before the convoy stopped at the designated time and the monks disembarked.^[1] They unfurled banners and sat down for four hours before disbanding and returning to the pagodas to begin a nationwide 48 hour hunger strike organised by the Buddhist patriarch Thich Tinh Khiet.

June 1963

On June 1, Diem's authorities announced the dismissal of the three major officials involved in the Hue incident: the province chief and his deputy, and the government delegate for the Central Region of Vietnam. The stated reason was that they had failed to maintain order. By this time, the situation appeared to be beyond reconciliation.^[4]

On June 3, 1963, Vietnamese police and troops of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam poured chemicals on the heads of praying Buddhist protestors in the South Vietnamese city of Huế. 67 people were hospitalised and the United States threatened privately to withdraw aid from the Catholic regime of Ngo Dinh Diem.

On June 11, 1963, Buddhist monk Th ch Quảng ức burned himself to death at a busy Saigon road intersection in protest of the regime of Ngo Dinh Diem.

The personnel of the 17^th left California on 12 June 1963 by US Navy C-121 Super Constellation from Moffett NAS, first stop Hawaii for an overnight. Then it was on to Okinawa for another overnight and then via Wake island to Nha Trang where they arrived at 0600 hours, the Super Connie coming to a stop outside the 18^th Aviation Company hangar on 16 June 1963. The new personnel increased the Company's strength to 16 officers, 38 warrant officers and 133 enlisted men.

  (Don Schroyer photo credit)

In the meanwhile Xa Loi Pagoda in Saigon had become a centre of Buddhist unrest. There the monks produced and mimeographed pamphlets attacking Diem's policies for dissemination, organized mass meetings, demonstrations and hunger strikes. They compiled daily news items to motivate followers and campaigned among relatives in the civilian public sector and the armed forces.^[5] The Hue shootings were kept on the agenda by a memorial service at the An Quang Pagoda in the Chinese district of Cholon which was addressed by prominent members of the sangha, i.e. monks. Hundreds of ordained Buddhist monks or nuns then formed a procession to take the memorial tablets back into Xa Loi in the city centre.

By the end of June the eight new Otters had all been assembled. Seven of them were allocated to the 18^th Aviation Company and one (58-1689) was assigned to the 339^th Transportation Company to replace its Otter (57-6119) which had been damaged the previous month. (This Otter was however still available for use by the 18^th when not needed by the 339^th) . Even with 24 Otters available, the 18^th was tasked to its limit, as a new directive from higher authority in July 1963 required the Company to allocate four aircraft to I Corps; five for II Corps; six for III Corps (including one at Ban-Me-Thuot); five for IV Corps and two for Special Forces from Nha Trang, leaving only two available for any other tasks.

July 1963

Reliable 706

On 1 July 1963 the 18^th had its first loss in Vietnam when Capt Curtis J. Steckbauer crashed 58-1706 on takeoff. All passengers and other crew members survived.

Saigon 1963

[Robert McElhanon photo credit)

Saigon 1963

[Robert McElhanon photo credit)

The story behind these pictures as relayed by Bob McElhanon:

"This incident has happened a couple of times before, but this was while I was stationed in Saigon. An ARVN soldier shot himself in the head with a .45 cal pistol and I was instructed to take him down town in the back of a 3/4 ton truck. As I rounded one corner, the road was blocked and this Buddhist monk poured gasoline all over himself from a container he had, then lighted himself on fire."

Saigon 1963

[Robert McElhanon photo credit)

On July 7, 1963, the secret police of Ngo Dinh Nhu"the brother of President Ngo Dinh Diem" attacked a group of journalists from the United States who were covering Buddhist protests on the ninth anniversary of Diem's rise to power. Peter Arnett of the Associated Press (AP) was punched in the nose, but the quarrel quickly ended after David Halberstam of The New York Times, being much taller than Nhu's men, counterattacked and caused the secret police to retreat. Arnett and Browne were later accosted by police at their office and taken away for questioning on suspicion of attacking police officers.

Saigon 1963

[Robert McElhanon photo credit)

Two incidents relayed by Bob McElhanon:

"We were driving in the down town Saigon area and had to move over to the side of the road because ARVN M-4 tanks were coming in toward the Palace of Dem-Nu. The ARVN soldiers waved at us, laughing like they were having a ball, as they drove past. We continued out to Ton-Su-Nut, loaded ammo and weapons and continued on our mission. The ARVN soldiers with tanks continued moving around the palace all night."

Saigon 1963

[Robert McElhanon photo credit)

Saigon 1963

[Robert McElhanon photo credit)

USMAAG Thailand Support

August 1963

In August 1963 the US Military Advisory Group in Thailand had all sorts of aircraft maintenance problems, and asked for support from Vietnam. It was decided to send a Caribou and an Otter to help out.

 As one aviator who was involved describes:

"We met the Caribou crew in Saigon and were ready to fly to Thailand over the water around Cambodia, as we could not get diplomatic clearance to fly over Cambodia. But the wind was so strong that the Otter did not have enough fuel to make the flight. It was normally about a five and a half hour flight and we had fuel for seven hours but the headwind would not let us make the trip. The Caribou left and we said we would see them in Bangkok. We flew to Pleiku, tried to get clearance to Bangkok but the Air Force laughed at us. So then we went to Da Nang and got a clearance from a civilian air traffic controller. We took off and headed west. We had the only Otter in Vietnam with a High Frequency radio and we could talk to everybody in the world. Since we had wasted most of the day trying to get clearance, we did not get to Bangkok that evening but spent the night in Ubon, Thailand. We spent thirty days flying all over Thailand, doing much the same as we had done in Vietnam, except that there was no-one shooting at us."

 Map  of  Southeast Asia 

Dangerous Month for Otters

Vietnam remained a dangerous place, as an extract from the August 1963 history shows:

 "The unit received more aircraft hits this month than in any previous month, due primarily to low cloud conditions in the Delta area. One received seven hits in a few seconds near Chi Lang and another was ambushed on short finals at Phuoc Vinh, wounding the pilot. However, most hits were sustained at altitude and only noticed by the crew upon post flight inspection. One aircraft was hit several times at A Shau while running up for takeoff, wounding the pilot and co-pilot."

The Otters continually moved around.

During August 1963, an II Corps aircraft was based at Qui Nhon to support the 9^th ARVN Division, leaving Pleiku with only four aircraft.

On the evening of August 18, ten senior generals of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam met to discuss the situation and decided that martial law would need to be imposed. On August 20, Nhu summoned seven of the generals to Gia Long Palace for consultation. They presented their request to impose martial law and discussed dispersion of the monks. Nhu sent the generals to see Diệm. The president listened to the group of seven, led by General Tran Van Don. Don claimed that Communists had infiltrated the monks at Xa Loi Pagoda and warned that ARVN morale was deteriorating because of the civil unrest. He claimed that it was possible that the Buddhists could assemble a crowd to march on Gia Long Palace. Hearing this, Diem agreed to declare martial law effective on the next day, without consulting his cabinet. Troops were ordered into Saigon to occupy strategic points. Don was appointed at the acting Chief of the Armed Forces in the place of General Le Van Ty, who was abroad having medical treatment. Don noted that Diem was apparently concerned with the welfare of the monks, telling the generals that he did not want any of them hurt. The martial law orders were authorized with the signature of Don, who had no idea that military action was to occur in the early hours of August 21 without his knowledge.

Saigon 1963

[Robert McElhanon photo credit)

Shortly after midnight on August 21 troops of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam Special Forces under Colonel L Quang Tng executed a series of synchronised attacks on the Buddhist pagodas in South Vietnam. Over 1400 Buddhists were arrested. The number killed or "disappeared" is estimated to be in the hundreds. The most prominent of the pagodas raided was that of Xa Loi, which had become the rallying point for Buddhists from the countryside. The troops vandalized the main altar and managed to confiscate the intact charred heart of Thich Quang Duc, the monk who had self-immolated in protest against the policies of the regime. The Buddhists managed to escape with a receptacle with the remainder of his ashes. Two monks jumped the back wall of the pagoda into the grounds of the adjoining US Aid Mission, where they were given asylum. Thich Tinh Khiet, the 80 year old Buddhist patriarch, was seized and taken to a military hospital on the outskirts of Saigon.^[8] The commander of the III Corps of the ARVN, Ton That Dinh soon announced military control over Saigon, canceling all commercial flights into the city and instituting press censorship.

September 1963

In September 1963, the Qui Nhon aircraft moved to Quang Ngai. A re-designation of II and III Corps boundaries placed Ban-Me-Thuot in the II Corps zone and gave III Corps five ships again in Saigon and positioned another of the Pleiku aircraft in Ban-Me-Thuot, leaving only three ships at Pleiku. The Nha Trang platoon was manning both the Ban-Me-Thuot and Quang Ngai Otters.

October 1963

In October 1963 the aircraft stationed at Quang Ngai was returned to Pleiku, giving them four again. A requirement to place an Otter at Di Linh in the newly established Special Zone was given to III Corps, so again III Corps was back to four aircraft in Saigon. A fluid situation prevailed!

November 1963

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1963_South_Vietnamese_coup

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

On November 1, 1963, President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam was deposed by a group of Army of the Republic of Vietnam officers who disagreed with his handling of the Buddhist crisis and, in general, his increasing oppression of national groups in the name of fighting the Communist-dominated National Liberation Front.

The United States had been aware of the coup d' tat planning,^[1] but Cable 243 from the Department of State to U.S. Ambassador to South Vietnam Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. stated that it was U.S. policy^[2] not to try to stop it. Lucien Conein, the Central Intelligence Agency's liaison between the U.S. embassy and the coup planners, told them that the U.S. would not intervene to stop it. Conein did, however, provide funds to the coup leaders. ^[3]

The coup was led by General Ding VÄ Minh of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. Diem was executed the next day.

On November 1, 1963, after six months of tension and growing opposition to the regime, generals from the Army of the Republic of Vietnam conducted a coup, which led to the fall of the Diem government and the arrest and assassination of the president.

November 2, 1963

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=2472

Ngo Dinh Diem assassinated in South Vietnam

Following the overthrow of his government by South Vietnamese military forces the day before, President Ngo Dinh Diem and his brother are captured and killed by a group of soldiers. The death of Diem caused celebration among many people in South Vietnam, but also lead to political chaos in the nation. The United States subsequently became more heavily involved in Vietnam as it tried to stabilize the South Vietnamese government and beat back the communist rebels that were becoming an increasingly powerful threat.

While the United States publicly disclaimed any knowledge of or participation in the planning of the coup that overthrew Diem, it was later revealed that American officials met with the generals who organized the plot and gave them encouragement to go through with their plans. Quite simply, Diem was perceived as an impediment to the accomplishment of U.S. goals in Southeast Asia. His increasingly dictatorial rule only succeeded in alienating most of the South Vietnamese people, and his brutal repression of protests led by Buddhist monks during the summer of 1963 convinced many American officials that the time had come for Diem to go.

Three weeks later, an assassin shot President Kennedy. By then, the United States was more heavily involved in the South Vietnamese quagmire than ever. Its participation in the overthrow of the Diem regime signaled a growing impatience with South Vietnamese management of the war. From this point on, the United States moved step by step to become more directly and heavily involved in the fight against the communist rebels.

December 1963

Second personnel  loss in Vietnam

On 1 December 1963 the 18^th lost Duane E. Limberg (exact circumstances are unclear at this time).

Loss of Reliable 690

On 12 December 1963 the 18^th suffered its first combat loss when Otter (#58-1690) piloted by CPT Clarence L. Moorer, 2LT Louis A. Carricarte & crew chief SP4 Michael Peter Martin, Jr. & 4 passengers, headed for Ban Me Thout slammed into a mountain side at 7,400 feet elevation after being hit by ground fire. At first it looked to be an operational accident, but a closer examination of the six the seven bodies showed that they contained foreign metal fragments.

Third Year in Vietnam                                                           

 The mission of the 18th Aviation Co was the support of the following military units :

1.  Headquarters, 5th Special Forces Group

2.  Company  B 5th Special Forces Group

3.  3rd Marine Amphibious Force

4.  Joint U.S. Public Affairs Office

5.  II Corps Headquarters

6.  1st Field Force Vietnam

7.  17th Aviation Group (Combat)

The company rounded out its third year in Vietnam with a sharp increase in cargo and passenger totals.  Passenger miles were up 17 % and cargo tons hauled were up a gigantic 84%.  This indicates better utilization both on the part of the unit and the people we support.  Combat damage decreased in 64with only 4 injuries and no loss of life as occurred in 63.  This is the result of constant development of combat flying techniques by the old hands and their utilization by the newer ones.                                                                               

January 1964

On 14 January 1964, Major Harlan W. Lohmann (who brought the augmented platoon from Ft Ord on 16 June 1963), was promoted to Major before assuming command of the 18^th from Captain Roy L. Miller who rotated stateside.  For the past 5 months, 85% of the aviators in this unit were receiving their PCS orders to this newly formed test division.  General feelings among them was that this was another hardship tour and the housing situation was poor.  Letters from former members of the 18th verified this thinking and adversely affected the morale of the unit.

February 1964

During February 1964, the unit received six new pilots who had not been through the Otter transition course. This represented 150 training hours which had to be obtained from any available aircraft. Also that month, for the first time since arriving in Vietnam, the Otters were weighed. The results were not surprising, since all figured they had put on a little weight with additional age. They averaged about 6,200 pounds with full fuel tanks. On 24 February 1964, two aircraft were moved from the Saigon platoon to Can Tho, to be used in support of IV Corps.  The Corps were quite helpful in this respect and the unit made the most of the Vietnamese holiday TET when the VNAF  training aircraft were grounded.   During the work week the VNAF aircraft monopolized the traffic pattern and the 18th had to squeeze in during their breaks and lunch time.  Two aircraft was moved from the Saigon Platoon and tranfered to Canto in support of 1V Corps.

A total of 5 awards were presented to unit personnel this month.

March 1964 - Can Tho Rat Finks

 In March 1964, the 18^th received an additional ten Warrant Officers, fresh from the Otter transition course at Fort Ord. The aircraft based at Ban-Me-Thuot was moved to Qui Nhon in support of II Corps and another aircraft was moved from Saigon to Can Tho in support of IV Corps. The platoon at this location took the name "Can Tho Rat Finks".  The unit took on a new look. The new arms room was completed and the outside of the club, orderly room, and operations all undergone both minor and major changes. 

On the 23rd of March the unit received a 15ft fiberglass boat from the Saigon Special Services to be used at the Nha Trang recreational facilities.

April 1964

On 1 April 1964, Lt Gen Harold K. Johnson presented awards to 10 unit personnel. The 18^th received four Commissioned Officers from the transition course at Fort Ord, and three Warrant Officers who had not been transitioned into the Otter.

On 27 April 1964, Captain Bailey (XO) briefed Lt Gen James K. Woolnough and Brig Gen Joseph Stilwell on the operation of the 18^th Aviation Company in Vietnam. Later that day Gen Woolnough presented 8 awards to unit personnel.

On 29 April 1964, the 18^th successfully passed an IG Inspection, from an inspection team out of Okinawa.

May 1964 - Change of Command / Plaque Dedicated

On 9 May 1964 Major Ralph D. Irvin assumed command of the 18^th from Major "Spike" Lohmann (14 January 1964 - 9 May 1964), who later in the day unveiled a plaque dedicated to the five officers and enlisted men of the 18^th who died while serving their country in Vietnam. Those remembered were: Captain Curtis J. Steckbauer (7-1-63), Captain Clarence L. Moorer, Second Lieutenant Louis A. Carricarte, Specialist Four Michael P. Martin, Jr. (12/12/63) and Private First Class Duane E. Limberg (12/1/63).

The Otter Company gave Major Lohmann a farewell party.

Aviation Support Battalion Formed

A new aviation Battalion  Headquarters was organized at Vung Tau.  With the organization of this new unit , called Aviation Support Battalion.

The 18^th Aviation Company commanded by Major Ralph D. Irvin (9 May 1964 - 9 June 1964) transferred to the Aviation Support Battalion, 12^th Aviation Group, on May 1964 until 1 November 1964.

June 1964 - Change of Command

On 9 June 1964 Captain Harold M. Bailey (XO) assumed command of the 18^th from Major Ralph D. Irvin, who rotated out to command an armed helicopter company.

On 23 June 1964 Captain Richard Quigley assumed command of the 18^th from Captain Harold M. Bailey who rotated stateside. Losses due to increased helicopter pilot requirements brought the 18^th to officer strength of 80%.

During this month one of the aircraft flying in the Delta was hit by ground fire, causing minor damage but wounding both pilots.

Officer' strength was down to 80 percent, Flight time for the officers and crews reach nearly 90 hours per month, In the Delta one of the ships was it by ground fire and both the the pilot and co pilot are now firm believers of the flight vest.

July 1964

On 21 July 1964 Major Raymond E. Dickens assumed command of the 18^th from Captain Richard Quigley. The 18^th received a number of new pilots from the transition course at Fort Ord this month. At this point, many of the 18^th officers were fresh out of flight school armed with only the advice of their predecessor's as a foundation to set about gaining their experience in Vietnam.  The company is now stocked with Officers.

August 1964

During August 1964, the weather was poor throughout the country as the typhoon season approached. Most of the tropical storms passed just north of Da Nang but the backlash of these storms was felt clear down in Saigon. The coastline remained clear, but the inland region from Hue to Ban-Me-Thuot experienced ceilings of the 500 to 1,000 foot variety. Saigon and the Delta had their share of low visibility flying due to heavy thunderstorm activity, all making for difficult flying conditions for the Otters. Replacements continued to arrive, bringing the 18^th, for the first time in 3 months, up to its assigned strength. At the same time, political unrest in the form of anti-government student demonstrations kept the American personnel restricted to their job area and quarters for the greater part of the month.  The overall effect of these two outside influences  on the 18^th Aviation was fewer flying hours and a reduction in morale due to the heavy restriction on movement.

September 1964 - Typhoon Tilda

Weather continued to be poor, and on 15 September 1964, typhoon 'Tilda' moved directly across Da Nang. One Otter was nearly blown loose from its tie-downs and another suffered damage to the horizontal stabilizer. As a result, the Da Nang section was reduced to two flyable aircraft and a temporary replacement aircraft was ferried from Nha Trang to Da Nang to help carry the work load. A major redistribution of Otter aircraft took place  in Sept with more aircraft going to the  south in response to a MAC-V directive.  toward the end of the month things begin to quiet down with the Vietnamese and the political unrest.  Towns were reopened, Both Vietnamese and Americans were equally happy.

 A change in maintenance procedures saw a maintenance crew sent to Saigon to carry out inspections on the aircraft at Saigon and Can Tho, thus saving them the long haul to Nha Trang and back.

10 October 1964 - I made it to Vietnam

On 10 October 1964 I arrived at MAC-V, where I was billeted (no troop replacement billets at this time). I was there approximately 48 hours before I and 3 other soldiers were picked up by Major Dickens, the commander of the 18^th. We were taken from Saigon to the unit at Nha Trang. I was a Private First Class assigned to the Headquarters platoon as a Unit Supply clerk under SSG "Ski".

The first boating accident occured when Capt Davis was preparing to leave Vietnam for good.  He was medivac out four days early due to the accident.

On 20 Oct th 14th Aviation Battalion arrives to make there new headquarters in Nha Trang.

14^th Aviation Battalion, 12^th Aviation Group

   Unit Patch             Unit Crest

12^th Aviation Group

 [1 November 1964 - 1 September 1966]

Unit Patch               Unit Crest

14^th Aviation Battalion

[1 November 1964 - 1 September 1966]

November 1964

 The 18^th Aviation Company commanded by Major Raymond E. Dickens (7/64 - 6/65) transferred to the 14^th Aviation Battalion, 12^th Aviation Group, on 1 November 1964 until 1 September 1966.

On 30 November 1964, the 14^th Aviation Battalion commander went on emergency leave and Major Dickens assumed the duties of the battalion commander, bringing Captain Tyler in as the temporary company commander of the 18^th. During this month, six new pilots arrived and a maintenance team was dispatched to the first and third flight platoons in Can Tho and Saigon, to conduct periodic inspections and help speed up maintenance procedures without the prolonged flight time to Nha Trang and back.  Maintenance crews were flown to Saigon and Can Tho to pull PMI on aircraft.This was a positive change in hopes to speed up maintenance procedures and save the aircraft from flying to Nha Trang for  maintenance.

December 1964

December 1964 was a "Christmas Month" to remember as the storms and floods in the region brought the 18^th into a major role in rescuing and providing temporary billeting for members of the 14^th Aviation Battalion when the headquarters was flooded out by water up to 2 feet deep in places, causing the airfield to be closed for a few days.

On 24 December 1964, one of the aircraft flying in the III Corps area received small arms fire wounding the pilot, without damage to the aircraft.

The year 1964 proved to be, by far, the best year of its existence for the 18^th Aviation Company. The company rounded out its third year of assignment in Vietnam with a sharp increase in cargo and passenger totals.  Air hours and sorties flown increased over 1963 by 5% and 3% respectively, passenger miles were up 17% and cargo tons hauled were up a gigantic 84%. These are indicators of better utilization by the units supported.

The safety record shows major accidents decreased by 33% from 1963. There were, however, a substantial increase in minor accidents and incidents, a result of a sharp rise in the number of new aviators being assigned to the unit (over 75%) coming directly from flight training. Combat damage decreased in 1964 with only four injuries and no loss of life, a result of constant development of combat flying techniques by experience pilots and implementation by the newer ones.

WO Gall was wounded on 24 Dec  when a round came in the left cockpit window and wounded himl in the right arm,  then passed out the right window.

The  "Year of the Dragon" has ended in a rip-roaring fashion.  We all hope the New year will see things a little more quiet.

 Fourth Year in Vietnam

Organizational Chart as of 1 January 1965

January 1965

During the month of January 1965 the average combat hours flown per man were 63.2. One aircraft received small arms fire in the fuel tank. The Saigon platoon received a new strip at Ban Me Thout, smaller but closer to Xuan Be, where one aircraft 58-1717, with pilot and crew were to begin operations.

WO Hall returns to flying status after being wounded on Christmas Eve.

February 1965 - Pleiku Attacked

On 7 February 1965 the enemy attacked Pleiku. The Company's Pleiku platoon, with the only fixed wing aircraft in the area, flew all night bringing medevacs to the Field Hospital at Nha Trang, bringing much credit to the platoon for this dangerous work. On 9 February 1965, the BEQ in Qui Nhon was attacked and the 18^th provided much needed MEDEVAC support. The Company headquarters in Nha Trang showed its true colors by donating blood to the wounded and aiding the 8^th Field Hospital personnel in transporting some of the more severely wounded to waiting USAF C-130 cargo planes for evacuation to major hospitals in the Philippines and the United States. CWO Hardwick was honored at a Khe Sanh dinner with a framed picture of his aircraft making its final pass over the CZ on a combat re-supply mission with the Da Nang Platoon where three hits were taken on this mission.

The Saigon platoon had more than its share of problems for the month, plus the fact that the change in the Vietnamese government closed Tan Son Nhut airport.

March 1965

During March 1965, Aircraft 58-1699 out of the Saigon Platoon, while flying a "Psy-War" mission in the Minh Thant area received a hit in the left wing only 6' from the cockpit. No crew members were injured. The average combat hours per aviator this month was 74.

SP4 Wittel sitting behind CPT Childree's desk

This is the month this writer makes SP4 and is now working in the company arms room. 

The month was ended with a 60 percent participation by the Pleiku in a Red Cross drive.

April 1965

During April 1965, Captain James Garner (not the actor) and Warrant Officer Herrick were submitted for commendations by MAAG personnel at Ban Me Thout for their night MEDEVAC mission from the Red Clay airstrip.

May 1965 - The Dust Bowl

During May 1965 the Pleiku platoon moved to their new home at Holloway Army Airfield, a strip they lovingly referred to as 'the Dust Bowl'.

June 1965 - Change of Command

On 20 June 1965, Major Paul S. Walker assumed command of the 18^th from Major Raymond E. Dickens (21 July 1964 - 21 June 1965), who rotates stateside next month. One aircraft out of the Saigon Platoon received a round through the floor while flying in the area of Dong Xoai, just two weeks before it was overrun. The platoon has been continually returning on re-supply and courier missions in attempts to rebuild the camp.

 (AOCA - Logbook July 2009)

Do you remember our glorious leader at the time? Well, here he is in all his glory, Major Paul S. Walker, CO 18th Avn. Co. (6/65 - 2/66)

Martha Raye Visit

During the month of June 1965 the 18^th was honored to have a Special VIP on board one of the aircraft, piloted by Major Edwards with crew chief SP5 Sonny Lewis (he was their official assistant for the day).  The aircraft was personally autographed by Ms. Martha Raye. 

Martha Raye preparing to leave

(Photo from AOCA - Logbook July 2009)

Viet Cong Attack

The Viet Cong did pay us a visit at Nha Trang towards the end of the month, this time lobbing about 40 mortar rounds, but luckily most were duds, it still made for a harrowing night.

July 1965

 Nothing was noted in the unit historical documents for this month.

August 1965 - Crash of B-57 in Nha Trang

August 1965 started out as a quiet month, but that would change. On 6 August a USAF B-57 bomber, shot up during a strafing run, careened into the western end of Doc Lap (Nha Trang's main street) instantly killing 17 Vietnamese and injuring many more. At great risk, Sergeant Henry M. Kwiatkowski evacuated 52 school children from the area of the crash site. Along with other member of the 18^th who were called in to help clear the crash site of debris and unexploded ordinance.

 Sergeant Kwiathowski, SP5 Lloyd A. Olin and SP4 Jessie L. Jones were all awarded the Air Medal for their heroic actions. SP4 Bruce A. Yarian received the Army Commendation Medal this month.

September 1965 - 256^th Transportation Detachment Assigned

(John Lynch photo credit)

256^th Transportation Detachment

In September 1965 the monsoon season began, along with it came the bad weather, wet, slick strips and more mud. On 8 September 1965 the 256^th Transportation Detachment (Aircraft Repair) (commanded by Captain Robert O. Hayes) was assigned to the 18^th Aviation Company, to help with the maintenance program by providing direct field maintenance support and limited general support maintenance. The detachment also had the responsibility of recovering downed aircraft. The 256^th took over in this role from the 339^th Transportation Company, which had supported the 18^th Aviation Company up to this point. There were many promotions throughout the company, but the highlight was the promotion of Sergeant First Class William E. Hallman to Master Sergeant prior to his rotating to Da Nang as 1SG of another unit. Later in the month MSG Lawrence E. Wagner became the First Sergeant of the 18^th from MSG Hallman.

October 1965 - 54^th Aviation Company Arrives in Vietnam

 A major development in 20 September 1965 was the long-awaited arrival of a second Otter company in Vietnam, when the 54^th Aviation Company arrived and established its headquarters at Vung Tau.

The 18^th transferred some of its personnel: Maj. Stephen Farrish, 3 commissioned officers, 10 Warrant Officers, E-6 Hardwick, and 8 EM  to the 54^th as well as 8 Otters. The 54^th took over the platoons in Saigon and Can Tho.

 November 1965 - New First Sergeant

November 1965 brought more bad weather, IFR flights and a new First Sergeant. On 19 November, Master Sergeant Ivey H. Boudreaux became the First Sergeant of the 18^th replacing MSG Wagner.

There were 13 awards presented to unit personnel this month.

December 1965 - "The Best of the Best"

The month of December 1965 was a quiet month and everyone was thankful for the Xmas cards they received from the states making moral extremely high during the holidays.

1965 was an important year for the Company, which rounded out its fourth year of assignment in Vietnam with a sharp increase in cargo and passengers carried. Major and minor accidents decreased as a result of an active safety program, with only one injury and no loss of life during 1965.

Fifth Year in Vietnam

Unit history reports:

During 1966 the 18^th Aviation Company (AIR MEL FW) operated under TO&E 1-59D as amended by USARPAC GO #127 and unconfirmed order VOCO 12^th Aviation Group. From 1 January to 7 August 1966 the unit operated with a headquarters section, operations section, two airlift platoons and a service platoon. The 18^th continued to be augmented with an assigned Direct Support Maintenance Detachment - the 256^th Transportation Detachment (ACFT REP).

As a result of a move of the Headquarters Section, Operations Section, Service Platoon, and 256^th Transportation Detachment from Nha Trang to Qui Nhon, Vietnam in August, the unit was required to organize a provisional Flight Platoon at Nha Trang. Also resulting from the move, the company was assigned a medical detachment, the 163^rd. Following the move, the unit was operating with almost the same degree of dispersion as was required in 1962 to 1965 with aircraft located at Qui Nhon, Nha Trang, Da Nang, Pleiku and Bangkok, Thailand.

The authorized strength of the 18^th Aviation Company and assigned support units is as follows:

•  18^th Aviation Company - 16 Officers, 38 Warrant Officers, 120 Enlisted Men 
•  163^rd Medical Detachment - 1 Officer & 8 Enlisted Men
•  Total of 18 Officers, 39 Warrant Officers and 178 Enlisted Men
•  The total authorized aviator strength for the unit is 17 Officers & 39 Warrant Officers for a total of 56.

Despite the fact that the unit was always at less than authorized strength; the aviators assigned cheerfully doubled their efforts and made 1966 a highly successful year.

January 1966

At the beginning of the month the unit was down to 29 assigned aviators. This posed a critical problem, but the aviators assigned tightened their belts and accepted the situation. By the end of the month gains had brought the unit aviators strength up to 38, a shortage of only 3 and a fairly comfortable position.

Statistically speaking, with 15 Otter aircraft assigned that month, the 18^th flew a total of 1,056 hours, transporting 4,522 passengers and 177 tons of cargo in 1,318 sorties.

The service platoon and the 256^th Trans Detachment continued to perform in their usual outstanding manner with an average availability rate of 74%. Translated into an average flyable rate, this gave the unit 11.4 aircraft on a daily basis - an adequate number to fulfill all mission requirements.

Morale was high and 6 soldiers extended their time in Vietnam.

The last week in January 1966 saw large scale military operations supported by the 2^nd platoon at Pleiku.

Bong Son Support

The operations at Bong Son required daily support by the platoon. One night mission into the tactical strip on 29 January 1966 resulted in "recommendations" for DFCs (may have been later downgraded) for three members of the 1^st platoon (LT Keithly, WO Stein and CE SP4 Bielski):

The Otter departed Pleiku on this dangerous night mission with a cargo of vitally needed radio equipment and two advisory personnel. Flying IFR almost the entire distance, a mobile GCA was used to guide the crew on their approach. Breaking out at 450 feet, two go-arounds were required because of the sub-standard field lighting. During each of these go-arounds the aircraft received intensive ground fire. Due to the perseverance, skill, and great devotion to duty displayed by the crew, the mission was terminated successfully.

Missions into Bong Son continued during February 1966. On many occasions the Otters landed under low overcasts to find they were the only aircraft in the Bong Son area.

[Article on the Battle of Bong Son]

Battle of Bong Son

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bong_Son

The Battle of Bong Son was the second major battle for the 1st Cavalry Division, an airmobile unit of divisional strength, during the Vietnam War. It also was called Operation Irving, and involved the start of frequent combat in an area called the Iron Triangle. A month earlier in 1965, in the Battle of the Ia Drang, the 1st Cavalry used all the division infantry, but one brigade at a time. One of the realizations that affected Bong Son was that with adequate helicopter lift, the traditional need to keep a strong reserve was less required-the least involved unit usually could break away and go where it was needed.

At the operational level, it was began as a pursuit of the Vietnam People's Army (PAVN) 2nd, 18th, and 22nd Regiments (forming the NVA 3rd Division) by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) 22nd Division, commanded by Brigadier General Nguyen Thanh Sang and assisted by the Republic of Korea Capital Division. The NVA fought back strongly, and Sang asked for reinforcements by two ARVN airborne battalions, which still were not enough.

During the Battle of the Ia Drang, 1st Cavalry commander Major General Harry Kinnard had considered operations on the Binh Dinh plain, part of the area involved in Bong Son. He now had time to implement those ideas. Even through the ARVN needed help, the Cavalry prepared systematically. [End of Article]

February 1966

Statistically things slowed down for the 18^th during February 1966, a result of several factors including less missions assigned, predominately bad weather, lack of 2 authorized aircraft and the fact that February was a short month.

During the majority of February 1966  the 18th continued to support the Bong So area.  Daily flights into Bong So were made by the 2nd Platoon at Pleiku.  Many times the units Otters landed under low overcasts sky to find that they were the only aircraft in the area.

Total hours flown decreased to 785 with corresponding decreases in passengers and cargo hauled. Sorties totaled 900 during which a total of 3672 passengers and 80.6 tons of cargo were transported. Availability rose from 74% to 80%.

Change of Command

Two changes of command ceremonies were held during the month and as a result the unit had a new Commanding Officer and a new Battalion Commander.

On 15 February 1966 before assembled elements of all units of the 14^th Aviation Battalion, Lt Col Joseph P. Smith relinquished the Battalion colors to Major Ronald J. Rogers.

(Photo from AOCA - Logbook July 2009)

L to R: Maj. Paul Walker, Maj. Ron Rogers & Maj. Russ Edwards

On the 28^th of February an official change of command ceremony was held for the 18^th Aviation Company. With the company assembled, Major Russell W. Edwards (2/66 - 9/66) accepted the colors from Major Paul S. Walker who will soon depart for CONUS. Major Ronald P. Rogers, 14^th Aviation Battalion Commander addressed the troops, praising the outstanding achievements of Major Walker and the unit. He expressed confidence that with Major Edwards at the helm, the 18^th would continue to perform in the same outstanding manner.

 Following the change of command ceremony, awards and decorations were presented to deserving individuals. As a result of the change of command, Captain Richard Quigley two-time member of the 18^th became Executive Officer of the unit, filling the slot vacated by Major Edwards.

Other excitement for the 1^st Platoon Commander

Captain Joel Hardy had his share of excitement for the month when a precautionary landing was required at Quang Ngai. The aircraft developed full power during run-up but shortly after takeoff a severe loss of power occurred. Fortunately Captain Hardy was able to keep the engine running by continuous advancement and retardation of the throttle; and the landing was made without incident or damage. The cause of the engine power failure was thought to be a faulty carburetor.

March 1966 - Special Operations Support

A month of change and hard work for the 18^th, with the annual IG Inspection on the 10^th which found the unit, true to its traditions, to be outstanding in each of the areas inspected. Concurrent with the preparation for the annual inspection, the unit was required to vacate the building it occupied to make room for the new 17^th Aviation Group. This is also when Major James K. Knerr arrived in the unit to become the Executive Officer. Working day and night, the 18^th completed its move by the 13^th.

Colonel Gerald H. Shea (Group Commander) commended the unit for the efficient handling of the move and the fine spirit and cooperative attitude of all members of the unit.

Despite the move, IG Inspection, personnel changes, the 18^th racked up a fine record in flying during the month of March. Sorties were up to 1444 in 1126 hours of flying. 163.2 cargo tons and 5469 passengers were transported, an increase of 102% and 48% respectively over the previous month.

During March 1966, two special operations were supported by the Company.

One U-1A with a crew of four pilots and two chiefs was required on a 24 hour basis to support a large scale "search and destroy" operation in the Central Highlands near Ban-Me-Thuot, from where the Otter operated for four days out of the Ban-Me-Thout City Strip before returning to Nha Trang on 11 March 1966.

An unusual incident occurred during the operation resulting in one of the two pilots of the unit, WO Wilcox, being submitted for the Distinguished Flying Cross.

As their aircraft was approaching takeoff speed at the strip, now heavily congested by combat and support units, a squad of ARVN soldiers attempted to cross the runway directly in front of the accelerating aircraft. Unable to stop, the aircraft was swerved to avoid hitting the squad. The squad escaped certain death due to this evasive action, but the wingtip unfortunately did strike one soldier causing critical injury and incidental damage to the wing. Had it not been for the alertness and fast action of the two pilots it is certain that the entire squad would have been killed or maimed and the aircraft extensively damaged.

In the other special operation, the 1^st Platoon at Da Nang provided radio relay capability to Special Forces in a "Project Delta" operation in the vicinity of Hue Phu Bai. In this vital role, they operated for 14 days, often at night, over the densest of jungled mountainous terrain. Despite the hazards inherent to the mission, outstanding support was rendered throughout the period.

JUSPAO Missions

The 18^th was levied for an additional support requirement during March 1966:

Providing one Otter for support of the Joint US Public Affairs Office (JUSPAO) Missions including transporting leaflets, medical teams and supplies and equipment to isolated strips throughout the I and II Corps areas, in an effort to gain the confidence of the local population. The support rendered during the last two weeks of March was so successful that this additional support mission will be continued on a regular basis.

A rash of wing damage resulted in the 256^th Trans Detachment changing one wing and repairing two others during the month. The aircraft involved in the incident at Ban Me Thout required a wing change. Two other aircraft required wing repair when caribous at Tuy Hoa and Pleiku overlapped wings with the parked Otters. The 256^th, despite these incidents, maintained its availability rate at 80%.

During March 1966 I was transferred from the company arms room to the company tech supply and promoted to SP5, prior to the Company moving to Qui Nhon and as a result of the Outstanding Arms Room inspection.

Another happy time for the 18th when 3 soldiers extended their time in the company.

April 1966

Throughout the month of April, Buddhist dissidence had an adverse effect on the counterinsurgency effort, particularly in I Corps.  The missions of the 1^st Platoon at Da Nang were seriously affected as demonstrations and rioting were common place in Da Nang and Hue. Personnel of the platoon faced great difficulty moving from the BEQ to the airfield. They had to be quartered in the airfield temporarily and as the situation continued to deteriorate "Condition Red" was proclaimed. To facilitate the support effort, the second platoon moved its four aircraft to Da Nang East (Marble Mountain).

Flying hours for April were down from that of the previous month. Only 1067 sorties in 788 hours of flying time were flown. 4136 passengers and 85 tons of cargo were transported during the month. A critical problem existed in that the 18^th was short two Otters during April due to aircraft turned in for IROAN and replacement aircraft not being issued at turn in. This left the 18^th with 14 U-1A's to provide 10 flyable on a daily basis.

A disaster came to Phu Tuc in the form of a fire.

Two Otters from the Pleiku platoon shuttled eleven tons of desperately needed medical supplies, food, clothing and building materials to a short, unimproved strip serving the village of Phu Tuc. In addition to supplies, a total of 105 passengers were transported during the operation. Tirelessly the crews had completed the mission with 6 hours of flight time per aircraft. This accomplishment is truly amazing when one considers that it represents 1833 pounds of cargo and 9 passengers per aircraft hours flown.

May 1966

During the first three weeks of May the political situation in the I Corps area increased in severity and for a time it appeared that open revolution might result. This seriously affected the 1^st platoon's missions in the Da Nang area. Demonstrations occurred in other cities in the I Corps and II Corps areas, but none in the scale of those at Da Nang and Hue.

Despite the political instability, the 18^th flew more hours and transported more cargo that it had the preceding month. A total of 1335 sorties were flown during May in 975 hours of flying time. Passengers totaling 4538, an increase of 9.7% over April and cargo tons transported totaled 102, an increase of 20% over the previous month. The shortage of two authorized aircraft continued to present a real problem. Aircraft availability decreased during the month by one percentage point to 75%.

June 1966

June started off with a sad note as another fatality occurred on the 1^st.  At approximately 1915 hours, PFC Kenneth B. Sykes, while on leave status, was shot and fatally wounded while entering the main gate to Long Van Compound at Nha Trang, he was rushed to the hospital where he died at 2020 hours. Motives for the shooting are not know and the matter is currently under investigation.

The 18^th flew 6 less hours than it had the previous month but utilization rose tremendously. This was particularly true as passengers carried totals were up 42%, with 941 hours flown. A total of 6451 passengers and 107 tons of cargo were carried by 15 aircraft in 1958 sorties. Aircraft availability remained an adequate 75%, the same as May this year.

 There occurred two non chargeable incidents resulting in the loss of two Otters for an indefinite period, one in Nha Trang and the other in Pleiku.

The first occurred when an U-1A assigned to the 339^th Transportation Company (DS) was involved in an accident on the ramp in front of the maintenance hangar at Long Van.  The UH-1D overlapped blades with another Huey belonging to the 498^th Med Evac Company causing extensive damage to both helicopters. During the freak accident, a generator was thrown from the 339^th aircraft into the 256^th Trans Detachment hangar, striking #55-3273, penetrating the skin and coming to rest INSIDE the fuselage.

(Lloyd Works photo credit)

55-2273 damaged in hanger by flying generator

Meanwhile 140 miles away north of Pleiku, CWO Ira Stein was involved in a test flight accident. "Supersonic Stein" or "The Flash" in a burst of speed accelerated #55-3310 to 200 knots. At this speed certain vibrations were experienced which are foreign to the Otter. Upon landing, the inspection revealed that the over-speed had left all wire antennas dragging on the ground, popping numerous rivets, severely wrinkling the wings and stabilizers and had completely torn off the elevator serve tab, resulting in extensive inspection and rebuild. This aircraft had not yet been released from the 604^th General Support Company at the time of the test flight.

Neither incident chargeable to the 18^th.

June 1966 saw more extensions in the unit as 2 men extended their time in Vietnam.

July 1966 - Change of Command for 256^th

The 256^th Trans Detachment performed outstanding services during the month of July and resulted in the unit's 14 assigned aircraft having a monthly availability rat of 81%, a new high for the year. This was accomplished despite the change in the command structure of the 256^th, which occurred on 9 July. Captain Robert O. Hayes assumed command of the detachment from Captain Jim Barnes.

This month saw a total of 1759 sorties in a total of 1031 hours flown. Passenger totals took a severe drop to 1026 as compared with 6451 carried the preceding month. Cargo tonnage was at an all time high for the year, with 187 tons, an increase of almost 80% over the 107 tons carried in June.

An exciting 4^th of July was experienced by Captain Sokowoski and CWO Thomas Messeder when they experienced engine failure in 55-3272 at 2500 feet in the vicinity of Chu Lai. Immediately, restart procedures were initiated successfully, with the engine running intermittently enabling the pilot and co-pilot to make a successful precautionary landing at Chu Lai Marine airfield. Carburetor failure was the suspected cause of the trouble.

Weather throughout the month was clear in coastal areas but overcast in the highlands due to the monsoon affecting that area. Flights by members of the 2^nd Platoon often require IFR departures and approaches. It is uncommon for flight to the Pleiku area NOT to encounter IFR conditions at some time during their flights.

Annual weapons familiarization was accomplished by all members of the unit in the Nha Trang area on 9 July 1966 at the ARVN NCO Academy range, while performing their normal mission. Firing for members of outlying platoons is accomplished on an individual basis at available Special Forces ranges throughout their respective areas.

Preparing for the move 

The waiting was over on 18 July 1966 when the 18^th received orders from the 17^th Aviation Group directing the unit to move to Qui Nhon to be initiated no later than 31 July and be completed on or before 15 August 1966.  Capt Boland and WO David Beasley were designated as the project officers of the move.

The advance party was dispatched to Qui Nhon on 22 July to perform liaison with the 92^nd Aviation Company and to prepare the area for occupation by the Company Headquarters, Operations Section, Service Platoon, and 256^th Trans Detachment. The target date for actual movement was set for 7 August 1966.

After the move to Qui Nhon 4 more soldiers extended their service in Vietnam.

August 1966 - 163^rd Medical Detachment assigned

If the most memorable and eventful month of the year were to be singled out, August would have to be that month. August saw the 18th move from Nha Trang to Qui Nhon, completely renovate the company area at Qui Nhon, gain a Medical Detachment and accomplish feats of engineering and plumbing which made the engineers of the local R & U facility look on with awe and admiration.

18^th Aviation Company Headquarters moved to Qui Nhon

The Company HQ moved from Nha Trang to Qui Nhon, where buildings used up to then by the 92^nd Aviation Company were occupied. Early August 1966 saw the unit deeply involved in the final planning for the move, crating and packing.

Move Begins

                             Actual loading began on 5 August 1966 at 0730 hours and was completed on 6 August 2130 hours.

The vehicles and equipment were transported by LST. Personnel, personal items, weapons, items of immediate administrative necessity were transported by Caribou aircraft, one each furnished by the 92^nd and 135^th Aviation Companies. The last elements of the Company closed into Qui Nhon at 1800 hours on 7 August 1966. Unloading of the LST occurred the following day and the move had been completed by evening time on 9 August 1966. The last element of the unit arrived in Qui Nhon at 1800 hours on  the 7 August 1966. Although the headquarters had moved, the Company retained a platoon (Third Platoon) at Nha Trang. Unloading the LST Began on the 8th and with unloading operations finished at 2000 hours on the 9th, the move was officially completed.  The movement was made with such smoothness and efficiency that the unit's normal assigned support mission were not hampered in the least.  This was made possible by the hard work and unselfish effort of all unit personnel involved.

Although the move was officially terminated on the 9^th, the company's work was just beginning .  Buildings were in a sad state of repair and renovation operations were required immediately.  Commo and wire teams, working day and night around the clock rewiring many of the buildings and installed telephones, so vitally required for communication with the outlying platoons and higher headquarters.  Personnel of the unit with little or no experience rolled up their sleeves, and picked up hammers , saws and nails, and began carpentry projects after normal duty hours were completed. with in a week after the arrival in Qui Nhon, the self sacrifice, long hours  and hard work by members of the unit was paying off high dividends.  The 18^th was becoming one of the first on Qui Nhon Army Airfield.

With the 92nd Aviation Company's rolls begin to swell up with Air Force personnel, the concurrent arrival of the 18th Aviation  resulted in a critical water shortage and severe taxing of the plumbing facilities. With water supplies and plumbing facilities serving about 3 times as many personnel as before, prompt action was required to alleviate the situation.  Urgent requests to Rand U and the engineers were fruitful, the 18th decided to attack the situation themselves. Tankers were dispatched by the 18th to the Phu Tai Valley to load water and to transport it to the local pumping station.  Through out the month the 18th averaged 10,000 gallons every day.  Concurrently with the water hauling operation the 18^th dug a well and a 1200 gallon storage tank was erected in the company area. The grossly overtaxed plumbing system, resulting in raw sewage overflowing from septic tanks, caused a health hazard which had to be eliminated.  Self-help action by the 18^th was immediately instigated.  Utilizing a salvaged tank and water pump, the unit began its own waste disposal operation.  By18 August 1966, unit personnel had pumped and disposed of over 4000 gallons of waste.  With the septic tanks cleaned out it was possible to repair the lines that were damaged.  Repair of the lines and septic tank greatly alleviated the critical situation, but a daily drainage schedule is required and is accomplished by the unit personnel.

CWO Fletcher Parrish utilized great ingenuity in setting up the unit motor pool during the third week of the month.  The area designated as the motor pool was on low ground , subject to mud during the rainy season .  To eliminated this problem. CWO Fletcher Parrish built up the area with 400 yards of dirt.

Another crash project of the 18^th during the month of August was the establishment of a physical security in the company area. A large scale program was initiated to build bunkers at different locations and to sand bag the company area living quarters.  The project was well under way by the end of the month.

The crew got a new name in Qui Nhon .  They the officers became known as the "Dalton Gang".  The name lasted with the unit till the end. It is still heard and used today as this is written.  Capitalizing on the name , jeeps were labeled "The Daltons" with appropriate members names, such as "Cole", "Billy the Kid', "Quantrill", and  "Jesse"  painted below the windshield. In no month had so much been done, but in no month was morale ever higher.

Despite the movement, turnover in personnel, and reshuffling of key positions, the company was able to complete all assigned missions and a mass of favorable flying records for the month. Hours totaled 870 as the unit flew 1325 sorties, transporting a total of 4232 passengers and 101 cargo tons during the month.

 September 1966

During the month of September, a combination of factors resulted in the unit's daily aircraft availability rate dropping to an average of 65%. Some of the factors affecting the maintenance effort include:

 Shortage of 2 assigned aircraft, precluding optimum scheduling.

 Loss of experienced maintenance personnel during the month of August.

 Loss of maintenance time in August due to movement and relocation of shop facilities.

 Lack of parts for EDF aircraft.

This was the lowest availability rate experienced by the 18^th during the entire year and presented a difficult problem in as much as 10 flyable aircraft are required for assigned support missions on a daily basis. Through diligent flight scheduling and great effort by maintenance personnel, each of the assigned missions was successfully completed.

Another problem affecting the 18^th support mission was the lack of aviators within the unit. The month started out with only 31 aviators present in Vietnam and Thailand. This represents a shortage of 25 aviators � almost 45% under strength. The situation persisted throughout most of the month and when the month ended the company was still short 21 aviator personnel.

Despite the problems, the unit flew 881 hours in 1349 sorties carrying 4199 passengers and 95 tons of cargo. Before the month ended, the unit would belong to a different Aviation Battalion and would see numerous changes in key positions within the internal organization, to include a change in commanding officers.

On the 1^st of the month the 18^th participated in the organization day of the 14^th Aviation Battalion event held at its headquarters at Phu Tai in the An Somh Valley. Lt Col Samuel Kalagian praised all the units of the battalion for successful completion of their missions. During the ceremony awards and decorations were presented to deserving members of the battalion, to including 4 awards to unit personnel. In 3 short days the 18^th would no longer be part of the 14^th. 

223^rd Aviation Battalion, 17^th Aviation Group, 1^st Aviation Brigade

Unit Patch    Unit Crest

1^st Aviation Brigade

               Unit Patch               Unit Crest       

17^th Aviation Group       

Unit Patch               Unit Crest

223^rd Aviation Battalion

(4 September 1966 - 16 April 1971)

On 4 September 1966, the Company was re-assigned from the 14^th Aviation Battalion to the 223^rd Aviation Battalion, commanded by Major Charles H. Drummond, Jr.

Change of Commands

On 10 September 1966, Major Billy J. Bartle assumed command of the 18^th from Major Russell W. Edwards, who was awarded an Oak Leaf Cluster to his Bronze Star for outstanding services in Vietnam.

On 22 September 1966, Lt Col William R. Gearan assumed command of the 223^rd from Lt Col Drummand.

223^rd Organizational Chart - 1966

The self-help construction program continued in operation throughout the month of September 1966, with numerous improvements in the company area.

October 1966 

Flying hours decreased considerably during October 1966 to a new low for the year of 727 hours. Utilization was good with 4135 passengers and 91 tons of supplies and equipment carried in a total of 1186 sorties. The efforts of the Service Platoon and 256^th Trans Detachment paid handsome dividends, as aircraft availability increased from 65% in September to 80% during October 1966.

During the first week of the month, in an effort to obtained a more favorable DEROS spread in both of the other companies in Vietnam, the 18^th and 54^thAviation Companies were directed to exchange 5 aviators. The exchange was to be in two increments.

Khe San Support

From 17 October 1966 the Da Nang platoon utilized one aircraft for the sole purpose of supporting an Operation Delta mission in the mountainous terrain of I Corps. The Otter was used for radio relay and re-supply. The weather was such that the Otter was required to take off IFR, with radar vectors to the area of operation. Radar was then required to hold the radio relay aircraft over the area of operation on a course paralleling the DMZ and Laotian border. Re-supply missions during the period were even more hazardous, but the beleaguered Special Forces camp at Khe San was served in its time of great need. Flying again on radar vectors, the crews were required to let down over the VC-infested terrain, often with less than fifty foot ceilings and quarter mile visibility. For over a week during the period these brave and fearless aviators were the only supply link which Khe San had with the outside world.

For the rest of the year, the 1^st Platoon at Da Nang continued to support Operation Delta while also flying normal missions.

As the unit history puts it:

The 2^nd Platoon (Pleiku) and 3^rd Platoon (Nha Trang) continued to support their supported units in their traditional professional and successful manner.  2^nd Platoon was supporting II Corps headquarters and 3^rd Platoon supported Special Forces and JUSPAO.

On 26 October 1966 Major Billy J. Bartle (CO) went to battalion to receive the Meritorious Unit Citation awarded to the 18^th Aviation Company, "for exceptionally meritorious service during the period 15 October 1964 through 31 December 1965".

The Da Nang platoon had additional excitement on 27 October as a result of an engine seizure on 58-1707.

The aircraft with CWO MacPhee and CWO Dumas at the controls was making a simulated instrument approach to Da Nang Main when the propeller surged and failed and subsequent engine seizure occurred. Fortunately an adjusted altimeter setting was used for the approach and the aircraft was at 2500 feet when the dangerous situation developed. Through superb pilot techniques and extraordinary judgment, a successful forced landing was accomplished at Da Nang East without further damage to the aircraft. Upon inspection of the aircraft on the ground, it was discovered that the Otter had come extremely close to actual loss of the engine by separation from the air frame. Morale is still high with some more extensions in country.

November 1966

Flying hours increased slightly during November to 808 hours. Weather increasingly became a factor as the monsoon season continued to deluge the area with high winds and wide-spread rainstorms. Utilization of the aircraft continued to be good as 4201 passengers and 95 cargo tons were carried in 869 sorties. The service platoon and 256^th Maintenance Detachment continued to give outstanding maintenance support as the availability rate averaged 75%.

The 1^st Platoon at Da Nang continued to support "Operation Delta" while flying normal missions. The highly successful rate of completed missions speaks for the competent and highly professional ability of the Da Nang Platoon.

November saw a extension of a 7 month tour for one lucky soul.

December 1966  

Rainstorms and high winds continued during the month of December resulting in several missions being cancelled due to weather. Aircraft utilization was average as 1957 passengers and 54 cargo tons were carried on 621 sorties. Our assigned aircraft rose from 15, to our authorized strength of 16. The availability rate was still respectable at 71%.

On 7 December 1966 Captain Lawrence Grave of the Da Nang Platoon was shot in the foot while on a combat support mission. The round entered the sole of his boot, traveled along the metal plate to stop about  1inch from the toe of the boot. Four hours later another aircraft from Da Nang received fire but no one was hit.

 Ho Ho Ho

In keeping with past traditions of Christmas the 18th Aviation Company (as in preceeding years) promoted a Christmas drive to furnish clothes and toys to the needy children of Qui Nhon. there were two projects under taken by members of the company.  One headed by Major Bartle and Major Yunker was to provide gifts for the Qui  Hoa Leporasarium.  The second project was headed by Capt Hayes and Capt Higdon and its purpose was to provide gifts for the families and children that lived around the  Officers Quarters.  Needless to say both projects went very well and all were happy for the gifts.

I PCS to States

On the 12 December 1966, I go back to the United States as a PCS move with the rank of Specialist 5^th Class. (I didn't know that in a few months I will resurface again to the 18^th Aviation Company.) 

The 1^st Platoon at Da Nang continued supporting "Project Delta" along the DMZ in I Corps. Fifty missions were flown which resulted in a total of 289 sorties.

The 3^rd Platoon at Nha Trang supported Special Forces and JUSPAO throughout the month and our Bangkok detachment continued their support of JUSMAAG in a praise worthy manner.

In 1966 a total of 766 individual awards were received by unit personnel (except those pending).

Sixth Year in Vietnam

[From the annual historical supplement of the 18^th Aviation Company, 1 January - 31 December 1967.]

In unit history and in Army aviation history to this point, gives the 18^th Aviation Company the honor of having the longest continuous service of any aviation unit in Vietnam to date. This history reflects the effort required to supply the daily direct combat support necessary in operation of an "Otter" Company.

The Mission of the 18^this to provide logistical airlift for movement of supplies and personnel in the combat zone and to provide tactical airlift of combat units and air resupply of units engaged in combat operations. Its specific mission in the Republic of Vietnam is to provide air resupply, medical evacuation and limited troop movement to the First Field Forces, Vietnam, Third Marine Amphibious Force, U.S. Special Forces, JUSPAO and JUSMAAG, Thailand.

The 18^this augmented with an attached direct support maintenance element, the 256^th Transportation Detachment and the 163^rd Medical Detachment.

The unit is assigned to the 223^rd Combat Support Aviation Battalion, 17^th Aviation Group.

The scope of this history will be concerned with phases of the unit's operation over the past twelve months to include the mission and resources, operations in Vietnam, maintenance support and problem areas.

Each flight platoon's contribution towards fulfillment of the company mission will be presented and the total effect of the company's contribution to the counter-insurgency effort in the Republic of Vietnam will be summarized at the conclusion of this historical supplement.

Da Nang

First Platoon Based at Marble Mountain airfield, four miles east of Da Nang, and its primary mission is to provide tactical air support to the Third Marine Amphibious Force in the I Corps area. The normal daily activities of the platoon consisted of flying north and south courier missions, to move key personnel and high priority cargo, including mail, to the various military installations in the I Corps area. The courier route is flown twice a day, morning and afternoon. The morning courier departs Marble Mountain at 0830 hours daily and flies north to Hue Phu Bai, Hue Citadel and returns to Hue Phu Bai and then back to Marble Mountain. At 1030 hours the flight departs Marble Mountain for the southern half of the courier mission, landing first at Tam Ky and then Quang Ngai. The flight then returns north to Tam Ky and Marble Mountain. The afternoon courier is repeated using the same route of flight.

 Because of the short distance between stops, maximum utilization of the U-1As cargo and passenger carrying capability is obtained. The fuel load can be reduced, resulting in the aircraft being able to carry eight passengers and several hundred pounds of cargo into and out of airfields less than two thousand feet in length. One aircraft flying both north and south courier missions throughout the day is capable of carrying 128 passengers and 3,200 pounds of cargo. Additionally, the platoon's aircraft fly special missions for the Tactical Operations Centre. These flights carry critically needed materials into the Special Forces camps located on the Laos-Vietnam border or near the DMZ.

January 1967

Bad weather for the folks in Da Nang.

February 1967

Same as January -  Bad weather.

March 1967

The platoon participated in the extraction of a Special Forces long-range reconnaissance patrol in the Shaw Valley. With Maj Hensler and Capt Bacon at the controls the aircraft departed Marble Mountain at 1900 hours on 16 March to initiate Search and Rescue of this patrol. The aircraft remained aloft for 5 1/2 hours , coordinating protective fire from C-47 Dragon Ships and directing Marine helicopters into the extract area.

April 1967

The platoon participated in its first "Project Delta" mission for the year.  The mission was to provide constant radio communications and relay with intelligence gathering reconnaissance patrols. This was a strain to the members of the mission as the next story will reflect it.  On 27 April Maj Bridges and CWO Bernhardt departed Marble Mountain at 0700 on a normal radio relay.  As the day processed it became readily apparent that the ground patrol was constantly evading the enemy forces and required continuous radio communications.  As a result we flew from 0700 to 2200 -- logging 15 hours only to see the next crew relieve us for a total of 22 hours continuously.

May 1967                                                                                                                                                                          

First Project Delta

Although the crew chief of the Otter flight team is often considered the unsung member, Specialist Five Theodore Gustin of the first platoon emphasized his importance by his heroic actions on 10 May 1967.

An Otter departing a Special Forces camp three miles west of Hue Phu Bai experienced a partial power failure on take-off. The aircraft descended and became entangled in barbed wire which was strung across the departure end of the airstrip, causing it to pancake several hundred feet from the runway. Upon impact the aircraft immediately burst into flames. Specialist Gustin, seeing the sheet of flames enveloping the aircraft, immediately attempted to open the rear exit door. Due to the impact, the door had jammed and did not release by normal measures. After he had physically forced the door open, Gustin assisted his passengers from the burning aircraft before taking into consideration his own personal safety. Both pilots, Chief Warrant Officers Warren Griggs and Charles Smith, escaped the flaming Otter through the cockpit doors with second and third degree burns. They were medically evacuated to Japan. CWO Griggs returned to duty three months later and CWO Smith was evacuated to the United States for further treatment. Specialist Gustin, for his heroic actions in evacuating the passengers without injury, was recommended for the Soldier's Medal by the Special Forces Camp Commander.

(Lloyd Works photo credit)

July 1967

The second Project Delta support was rendered and flying conditions were excellent.

August 1967

No change in activities on the job but there was a change of Command for the 18th Aviation Company

September 1967

The third Project Delta got underway on the 1st Of Sept. and continued for 45 day.  A U-6A aircraft from USARV flight Detactment in Saigon was obtained to augment the flight capability of the platoon.  It was found that this type of aircraft could do equally as well as the "Otter".

The Platoon closed the year knowing they had carried more passengers and cargo, Flown more hours and sorties and obtained the best utilization of the design characteristics of the U-1A than other"Otters" in the country.

Plekiu

Second Platoon is located at Pleiku and operates out of Holloway in the Central Highlands of South Vietnam; its primary mission is to provide air support to II Corps Headquarters and "B" Company, Fifth Special Forces Group. The distribution of documents to MACV Sector and sub-sector advisors via courier routes also is part of their mission. The platoon receives missions daily from the S-4, II Corps Headquarters and from the Air Liaison Officer, "B" Company, Fifth Special Forces.

The weather conditions in the Central Highlands at the first of the year were most favorable

January 1967

  On Jan 6 The Viet Cong unleashed a 200 round motar attack against the Americans at Camp Holloway AAF.  On this night 2 of the three "Otters" sustained major damag.  Thefollowing day sufficiant repairs were made to evaculate oneofthese aircraft.  The other aircraft was in General Support in Pkeiku for two months .  The next night another motar attack occured again but this time no aircraft was found to be damage

March 1967

The men of the 18th found some suitablequarters . They are livingonthe Special Forces compound

April 1967

CWO Shellenberger and Glasscock approached the Special Forces camp at Dak Pek, hydraulic failure  experienced, causing the flaps to lock in the landing configuration.  Sp/5 Garrett determine that the problem was a severed hydraulic Line.  A call for parts replacement.  None available.  So SP/5 Garrtt repaired the line using green tape and a pen knife

August 1967 

Tragedy struck the second platoon

On the morning of 17 August 1967, Chief Warrant Officer Wayne E. Jones, Warrant Officer Don R. Harger and crew chief Specialist Five Joseph Benson departed Pleiku, flying the north courier mission as is the standard procedure each Thursday to Tuy Hoa and Nha Trang. Due to operational requirements, the crew changed aircraft 58-1712 for aircraft 58-1702 at Nha Trang.

The flight departed Nha Trang at approximately 1430 hours to complete the north courier route, making their last stop at Cheo Reo to pick up a messenger courier. Upon departing Cheo Reo, they contacted the MACV compound at that location, stating that they were leaving the Cheo Reo frequency and switching over to Pleiku Center. It was the last contact with the flight.

When the aircraft became overdue at Pleiku, a communications search was initiated. At 2000 hours it was determined that they had not landed at any of the established airfields and a massive search operation began. The weather enroute from Checo Reo to Pleiku was reported as "numerous thunderstorms, heavy rain showers and limited visibility".  By the time that the communications search had been completed, weather conditions had deteriorated to such a point that search missions were impossible until the following morning.

The bond that binds the men who fly was fully evidenced the next morning. By 0615 hours, a flight of 15 Birddogs from the 219^th RAC "Headhunters" departed Holloway enroute to the search area although at the time of their take-off, the reported ceiling at Holloway was 100 feet. Fate was kind to the "hunters" in that the low cloud conditions had dissipated by 0900 hours and excellent flying weather then existed in the area.

By the end of the day, more than 53 aircraft had participated in the search. Involved in the search were the sister units of the 223^rd Battalion. These units were the 229^th RAC, 185^th RAC and the 183^rd RAC. The Special Forces "C" Camp which the second platoon supported also provided a MIKE Force Company which was standing by for a para-drop in the event that security was required at the crash site.

At 0700 hours on 19 August, all the aircraft of the 18^th Aviation Company had assembled at Cheo Reo to continue the search. Because of the wide dispersion of the company's aircraft, this was the only time this year that all of the company's flyable "Otters" had been assembled at one location. Each Otter flew in excess of nine hours during the second day of the search. Due to the presence of known enemy forces in the area, rear doors were stripped from the U-1A aircraft and door gunners posted. Despite a dawn to dusk search, the crash site in the dense jungles and mountainous terrain eluded the searchers.

The search continued fruitlessly for another 19 days, and the disappearance remained a mystery until 7 September 1967. A helicopter instructor pilot from the Fourth Infantry Division was giving a newly arrived aviator an in-country check-out around Dragon Mountain, four miles southwest of Pleiku. He was pointing out to the new aviator the eight aircraft that previously had crashed into the mountain during low visibility conditions.

He counted nine. The fate of "Reliable 702" sadly became apparent. The bodies of the four personnel later were recovered from the burned fuselage.

A special memorial service honoring the 17 August 1967 loss of Chief Warrant Officer Waynes E. Jones, Warrant Officer Don R. Harger and Specialist Five Joseph Benson was conducted at the unit.

Inclosing the year end the troops of the 18th Platoon continue to give excellent support to the Special Forces and to II Corps.

September 1967

USAF O-1 Bird Dog Crash

As the team started recovery operations, the jinx of Dragon Mountain struck another fatal blow. Some 200 meters below their position, a USAF O-1A Birddog crashed into the Mountain.

Major McNutt immediately requested an emergency evacuation helicopter then organized and led a rescue party down the side of the mountain. After traveling about 100 meters, Captain Crown accidentally unearthed an anti-personnel mine while traversing the mountainside. It immediately became apparent that the entire recovery party was in the middle of an abandoned mine field.

Without hesitation and demonstrating exceptional courage, the recovery team continued through the mine field to the flaming wreckage of the O-1 Birddog. By the time they arrived at the aircraft, rockets and small arms ammunition was exploding, making the rescue attempt extremely hazardous.

Major McNutt and Captain Crown, with complete disregard for their own safety, subjecting them to the intense head and exploding ammunition, pulled an observer from beneath a burning wing to safety.

They immediately returned through the flaming undergrowth and courageously persisted in an attempt to rescue the pilot from the flaming cockpit. It was only when the fuel tanks began to explode, spraying burning gasoline that they were forced to withdraw.

All members of the party were "recommended" for the award of the Soldiers' Medal.

Nha Trang 

Third Platoon is located in Nha Trang; its primary mission is to provide tactical air support to HQ, Fifth Special Forces Group, and to the Joint United States Public Affairs Office (JUSPAO).

They fly north and south courier missions on alternating days for Fifth Special Forces. The north courier departs Nha Trang for Pleiku and Da Nang returns to Nha Trang. The south courier departs Nha Trang for Bien Hoa and Can Tho in the Delta region, returns to Nha Trang. The combined length of these two courier missions is slightly over 1,000 miles. They are also responsible for transporting key staff personnel at Group Headquarters to any Special Forces Camp from the DMZ to Phu Quoc Island, located 40 miles off the southwest coast of Vietnam.

The third platoon has the unique role of supporting the counter-insurgency effort from all aspects. Missions flown for JUSPAO included psychological war leaflet drops and carrying TVs and radios to help in the educational programs for the local population called the "Open Arms Program". On any given day, the same aircraft of this platoon may carry emergency resupplies of ammunition to a remote Special Forces Camp that is under threat of attack.

The weather conditions at Nha Trang were typical of the monsoon weather which prevails throughout the coastal region of the Republic of Vietnam. As the third platoon's mission takes them throughout all four Corps areas, their normal daily operation presents them with all the hazards of weather to be found in Vietnam.

Spring 1967

In the Spring of this year the platoon flew its first special mission in support of Detachment 57, First Special Forces, 5th Special Forces Group.  Mission is classified.  Capt Murray and CWO Brown were completely unaware of the nature of the mission when they departed Nha Trang for Saigon on 13th April.   Returning ten days later the crew could only say a lot of night time missions and .50 Cal  rounds.

June 1967

On 22nd of June a second special mission to be flown for B-57 was initiated. It was during this mission that Capt Coutoumanos, CWO Mims and SP/4 Chavis were instrumental in the rescue of a Special Forces Long Range Reconnaissance patrol in the vicinity of Quan Loi.

On the night of June 28 at 1100 hours The crew made brief contact by flashlight .  It was noted that the patrol was being pursued by the Viet Cong and that they were on the move. For the next 8 hours there was no radio contact.  Then at 1900 hours contact was made  and the leader states that they are surrounded on all sides and required extraction.  The search now requires that the aircraft fly into area of thunderstorm activity with ceilings as low as 300 feet.  They continued to fly low over the area despite the heavy ground fire, to establish positive identification and maintain contact until extraction of the patrol was accomplished.  For his part of the mission CWO Mims was recommended for the DFC Capt Coumanous and SP/4 Chavis have been recommended but are still pending.

Fall 1967

Inthe Fall with the coming of the coastal monsoon season and with strong, northeasterly winds, the platoon continue its long, hard courier flights to Da Nang.  The Souther route was flown in primary good weather.  The platoon continued its leaflet drops foe JUSPAO in Support of "Open Arms Program".

The platoon closed out their highly successful year without accident or incident .

Qui Nhon

The 18^th Aviation Company Headquarters is located in Qui Nhon with the mission to provide administrative and logistical support to the three flight platoons. It consisted of a Headquarters Section, Operations Platoon, Service Platoon and the attached 256^th Transportation Detachment (DS) and the 163^rd Medical Detachment.

The Headquarters Section provides the necessary administrative support for all elements of the company. Also under the headquarters section is the responsibility for supply, motor maintenance and mess.

The function of the Operations Platoon is to insure the availability of aircraft to the three flight platoons so that operational requirements and priority missions of the Company are met. Additionally they are responsible for the communications network within the Company.  Other responsibilities of the Operations include flight safety, flight standardization, and maintenance of flight records and compiling of statistical data for the submission of operational reports, awards and decorations.

The Service Platoon's primary responsibility is the performance of organizational maintenance. This platoon also provides on-the-job training for newly assigned maintenance personnel in the 67C20 MOS, the training of crew chiefs and the training and selection of flight platoon sergeants.

The mission of the 256^th Transportation Detachment is to provide direct support maintenance and limited general support maintenance to the 18^th Aviation Company.

April 1967

Recovery of downed aircraft

The 256^th Transportation Detachment (Aircraft Repair) also has the responsibility of recovering downed aircraft. During the year, several daring recovery missions were accomplished.

On 7 April 1967 , a combined recovery team consisting personnel from the 256^th Transportation Detachment and members of the Service Platoon, 18^th Aviation Company, participated in the recovery of a downed U1-A.

The recovery team was headed by Chief Warrant Officer James Fyock and consisted of Staff Sergeant James R. Goodwin, SP4 Harrison P. Gilbert, SP4 David E. McCorkle, SP4 Robert K. Petzer, SP4 George N. Simon, SP4 Joseph Benson and SP5 David L. Schmitt.

At approximately 1500 hours, the 256^th Maintenance Detachment received word that an aircraft from the 18^th Aviation Company was down on an unimproved isolated airstrip in an insecure area near Ba Gia.

Upon notification of the downed aircraft's disposition and location, CWO Fyock immediately began organizing a crew of mechanics to repair the aircraft. After correctly analyzing the nature of the damage, arrangements were made to have the recovery team and the necessary repair equipment delivered to the downed aircraft site.

As soon as the team arrived on location, they began receiving hostile ground fire, requiring all but three of the mechanics to be utilized as security guards, while the remaining three worked on the aircraft. Even though the team had already put in a full day's work, they continued their operation throughout the night, with only a flashlight for illumination, while exposed to hostile fire.

Faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles while under constant threat of enemy attack, the recovery team, under the expert guidance and supervision of CWO Fyock, repaired the damaged aircraft overnight. It was flown to Qui Nhon airfield without incident the following morning.

As a result of the recovery team's courage, determination, and professional accomplishments, a critically needed and very valuable aircraft was returned to service. For their outstanding work a well deserved Army Accommodation Medal with "V" device was awarded to all eight members of the recovery team.

On 9 May 1964, a memorial was dedicated to these Officers and two Enlisted men of the 18^th Aviation Company, who gave their lives in Combat Operations, while serving their country in the Republic of Vietnam. The men so honored were: Captain Curtis J. Steckbauer, Captain Clarence L. Moorer, Second Lieutenant Louis A. Carricarte, Specialist Five Michael P. Martin, Jr., and Private First Class Duane E. Limberg.

This memorial was transferred from Nha Trang to Qui Nhon on 24 March 1967 to stand in front of Company Headquarters as an external reminder of the service they gave the 18^th Aviation Company and their country. It is with a deep sense of gratitude and respect that we rededicate this memorial today to those 5 courageous soldiers.

 On 26 October 1966, Major Billy J. Bartle, CO, traveled to Vung Tau to receive on behalf of the 18^th Aviation Company, the Meritorious Unit Citation, for exceptionally meritorious service during the period 15 October 1964 through 31 December 1965.

"Project Delta" Support

In the spring of this year, the third platoon flew its first "special" mission in support of Detachment B-57, First Special Forces, Fifth Special Forces Group.

Due to the classified nature of this mission, pilots Captain Thomas C. Murray and Chief Warrant Officer Aldon E. Brown were completely unaware of the nature of their mission when they departed Nha Trang for Saigon on 13 April. Returning 10 days later, they could only relate that their experiences included many night missions and being fired upon by 50-caliber machine guns. However, all reports from Fifth Special Forces Group Headquarters indicate that outstanding support was rendered and excellent utilization of the Otter was obtained. Plans were made for future use of the Otter on this type of mission.

April 1967

The first platoon participated in its first "Project Delta" mission for the year, to provide constant radio communications and relay with intelligence gathering reconnaissance patrols. During the sixty day period of this project, an average of fourteen hours a day flying was required.

An example of the tactical importance and the unfailing support rendered by the first platoon is the mission flown on 22 April 1967.

Major Bridges and Chief Warrant Officer Henry Bernhardt flew a mission from Marble Mountain beginning at 0700 hours on a normal radio relay flight. As the day progressed, it became readily apparent that the ground patrol was constantly evading enemy forces and required continuous radio communications with their coordinating agency. As a result, the crew members flew from 0700 to 2200 hours, logging 15 hours of flight time in a single day. In turn, Major Bridges and CWO Bernhardt were then relieved on station and the mission continued for another seven hours, giving a total of 22 hours continuous support. While "Project Delta" was in progress, the first platoon's normal courier missions were accomplished simultaneously.

May 1967

Organizational Day for the 18^th Aviation Company - 6 May 1967

The 18^th held an organizational day on 6 May 1967, with milestones and significant events which highlighted the esprit de corps and professionalism of the 18^th Aviation Company from the unit establishment on 1 May 1959 at Fort Riley, Kansas, until present day at Qui Nhon.

   The 18^th is a unit of many accomplishments, some of the first for the unit are:

As the unit history records:

On 3 September 1965, the 256^th Transportation Detachment (Aircraft Repair) was assigned to the 18^th to help with the maintenance program by providing direct field maintenance support. A month later, our sister unit, the 54^th Aviation Company, arrived in country with 8 aircraft. By 1 January 1966 the 18^th had relinquished control of 8 aircraft to the 54^th giving each unit an operational 16 aircraft.

The company operated out of Nha Trang until 7 August 1966 when it moved to Qui Nhon. The move resulted in the formation of a provisional platoon to remain at Nha Trang and the additional assignment of the 163^rd Medical Detachment here

In summary, the 18th Aviation Company has continued it outstanding soupport of ground combat elements engaged in stemming the tide of Communist aggressionin South East Asia.  As the year closed , many more days of unceasing effort in this struggle against communist aggression, faced the oldest ArmyAviation Unit in the Republic of Vietnam As in thepast the Officers and Enlisted men of this unit will continue to devote themselves to freedom of mankind and uphold the fine traditions of "Low Slow and Reliable"

September 1967

Third Project Delta

Under Captain Bacon's command of the 1^st Platoon, the third "Project Delta" was initiated on 1 September 1967 for forty five days. A U-6A Beaver aircraft from the Army's Flight Detachment in Saigon was used to augment the flight capability of the platoon on this mission, relieving the tremendous strain previously experienced.

Reliable 702 Recovery

Another significant event occurred early in September during the recovery of downed Otter 702 on Dragon Mountain. Receiving word on 7 September 1967, that the missing aircraft 702 had been found on the Mountain, Major McNutt organized a recovery team consisting of himself, SP4 Paul Simon, SP5 Clarence Manseill, and SP6 Esquival Salazar. They were accompanied by the flight surgeon, Captain Ronald F. Crown from the 163^rd Medical Detachment.

 On the morning of 8 September1967, they proceeded to the crash site on Dragon Mountain by helicopter. Due to low clouds and rain showers that obscured the crash site, they were forced to land several hundred meters down the mountain and cut their way through the dense jungle to the wrecked aircraft.

Seventh Year in Vietnam

[Unit history - annual historical supplement 1 January 1968 - 31 December 1968]

The Mission

The 18^th Aviation Company has the mission to provide air transport to expedite tactical operations and logistical support in the combat zone.

Supported Units:

5Th Special Forces

JUSPAO

MACV, I and II Corps

3rd Marine Ambious Forces

16th Combat Aviation Group

17th Combat Aviation Group

24th Corps, Vietnam

34th Transportation Group

January 1968

During January 1968, bad weather conditions prevailed along the coastal regions of Vietnam making the accomplishment of missions difficult. However, the skill and determination of the 18^th's aviators and crews outweighed this disadvantage. They flew an impressive total of hours and sorties for the month under the command of Major James T. Bridges, Major Osceola DeDeviess (XO) and Sergeant First Class Donald F. Hausfelder (1SG). The activity of the three Flight Platoons and the Headquarters were as described for 1967, with no changes of mission or location.

January 1968 was a normal month until the last two days. Then, without warning, the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong launched an offensive on every major city and allied base in Vietnam.

TET OFFENSIVE 1968

At Marble Mountain, Da Nang, home of the 1^st Platoon, the early morning calm of 29 January 1968 was smashed by the bursting of approximately 38 rounds of 82mm mortar rounds. The following morning brought a follow up of 40 122mm rockets. Every round hit the airfield and parking areas. But thanks to the large revetments, the Otters were not damaged beyond a small flak received by two (2) of the U-1A's.

The Marine and other Army aircraft were not so lucky. As a result of the extensive damage, the 1^st Platoon was called on for help to perform a multitude of various additional missions to include resupply of mortar and artillery rounds, small arms ammunition and gasoline in 55 gallon drums to beleaguered cities throughout I Corps.

At Pleiku where the 2^nd Platoon is assigned, similar conditions existed. The men were forced to spend almost five (5) days in their bunkers while withstanding repeated mortar and rocket attacks. The enemy thought that they could overrun Pleiku in a mass ground attack but were beaten badly at their attempt.

Peaceful conditions finally returned and the men of the 2^nd Platoon began normal operations again.

At Nha Trang, the 3^rd Platoon continued normal operations throughout the Tet offensive as this city received only a small taste of combat.

During January, the 18^th Aviation Company flew 1,014.1 hours, 1,327 sorties, and 315 missions while hauling 95.0 tons of cargo and 3,871 passengers.

February 1968

Throughout February 1968, the 1^st Platoon at Marble Mountain received numerous enemy mortar and rocket attacks.

Luckily, there were no casualties among our so called "combat platoon", but nerves were constantly being shattered. Most of the rounds impacted in and around the living area. The men had no time to run to their bunkers and had to stick it out under their bunks with shrapnel making hundreds of holes in the walls and roofs over their heads.

Again these "hard core" 1^st Platoon members answered the call for help throughout the I Corps area. They continued to provide various units with needed war material and other supplies while accomplishing their regular assigned missions.

Two incidents occurred on the same day within 1^st Platoon to mark the beginning of 1968.

The first incident occurred when small arms fire hit and punctured a tire on one of the platoon's Otters while the aircraft was making an approach at Tam Ky. Warrent Officers Owen Yarabrough and Stan Anderson sucessfully landed the aircraft at the then  deserted airstrip.  A defensive perimeter was quickly formed . Another of the platoon's U-1As was temp diverted from a mission and flew in a replacement tire

The second incident for the day included a precautionary landing at Marble Mountain by CWO Allen Ebbers and WO Monroe Mitchel when a worn thrust plate allowed the entire oil supply to the "Otter" blanket the windshield.  A hasty retreat back to the field saved the plane and crew that day.

Elsewhere throughout Vietnam, the rest of the 18^th experienced a normal month while flying a total of 1,013.6 hours, 1,224 sorties, 283 missions, 126.3 tons of cargo, and 3,295 passengers.

March 1968

March 1968 saw the breaking up of much of the bad weather which brought about an increase in flying hours. Each platoon put forth great efforts to gain maximum flying time.

Meanwhile at Marble Mountain, the 1^st Platoon was still under the gun.

On 4 March 1968, 50 - 22mm rockets slammed into the airfield destroying aircraft and troop billets. Still no casualties, but it was time to build a solid bunker system to keep the casualty rate at zero. The bunker complex was constructed partially underground and featured bunks for six to eight men plus a recreation area. While Marine and Army aircraft were constantly being damaged by enemy fire, the 1^st Platoon received little or no damage due to the resourcefulness of each man in the platoon plus the large revetments.

A Bunker complex was constructed underground and featured bunks for six to eight men plus a rec area. Decor included interior wood paneling, asix foot ceiling andduel outlets. Reason for the bunkers was so that the unit could achieve zero casualty

The 2^nd Platoon at Pleiku flew an average of 100 hours per aviator.

The 3^rd Platoon at Nha Trang was easily moving around while supporting "Delta Project" Detachment B-52 of the 5^th Special Forces. This unique unit went to any spot where a Viet Cong or North Vietnamese Army threat was imminent.

On one such occasion CWO Peter Vanden Eynde and CWO Thomas flew a 4.2 mm mortar and 1,000 pounds of ammunition to Bao Loc located southwest of Dalat when a communist attack threatened to overrun the Special Forces camp there.

New Sergeant at 256^th Tech Supply

On 20 March 1968 this writer is a Sgt E-5 being transferred to the 256^th Transportation Detachment to take over the 256^th Technical Supply operations.

The 18^th put together 1,474.2 hours, 1,626 sorties, 399 missions, with 162.0 tons of cargo and 4,234 passengers.

April 1968

April 1968 monsoon weather held a tight grip and members of the 2^nd Platoon had no problem getting their annual weather and instrument requirements.

With the addition of the Saigon maintenance courier run for the 17^th Group, the aviators of the 2^nd Platoon at Pleiku averaged a hundred hours per man during April. The Nha Trang platoon continued with "Delta Project" and JUSPAO missions.

It was at this time that four (4) RU-1A aircraft were dispatched to Marble Mountain along with crew chiefs and maintenance support personnel in preparation for a high priority special mission with the 1^st Air Cavalry Division. These Otters were outfitted with a multitude of various radios. It was apparent by the sight of these modified Otters, with antennas sticking out of the fuselage and wings that this was going to be a radio relay mission. Twenty-four hours a day these Otters flew over the northern end of A Shau Valley (the North Vietnamese main supply route in I Corps).

A Shau Valley has been the grave yard for many an aircraft downed by expert enemy gunners. Air bursts from 37mm anti-aircraft guns are a common sight over the valley. A Shau is a respected place by many Army, Air Force, Marine, Navy and Vietnamese Air Force pilots. The "Low, Slow, and Reliable" at Marble Mountain met this challenge under severe conditions such as bad weather, intense ground fire at times, one partial engine failure and fatigue.

While on one relay mission, a patter of air bursts from 37mm bracketed an Otter. Although there was no damage, the mental strain was enough to destroy one's tranquility.

On another occasion over the valley, Captain Coutoumanos and CWO Clark experienced a partial engine failure as the exhaust rocker box cover blew apart on number 4 cylinder. A MAYDAY was transmitted and the aircraft began dropping at 500 feet per minute. But due to skill and determination, the aircraft was nursed back to Hue Phu Bei some 35 miles away. This was a job well done.

April produced 1,185.7 hours, 1,396 sorties, 337 missions, 145.2 tons of cargo and 3,854 passengers.

May 1968

May 1968 was the most productive month of the year in all aspects of the missions performed by the 18^th.  The monsoon season ended along the coastal regions and moved inland. The inclement weather harassed the Pleiku Platoon only by making it necessary to obtain IFR departures until breaking out on top. Then it was clear flying to any location along the coast and lowlands of South Vietnam.

At Nha Trang and Marble Mountain, the platoon's aviators utilized every hour of daylight to accomplish their missions.

 May 68

The 1^st Platoon flew in addition to their normal missions, a special "Delta Project", Special Forces radio relay mission from dawn to dusk and beyond if an emergency arose. Also the 1^st Air Cavalry Division reduced their radio relay missions to a standby basis.

The best month of the year tallied 1,623.4 hours, 1,719 sorties, 422 missions, 143.1 tons of cargo and 4,636 passengers.

June 1968

June 1968 brought increased radio relay missions over the Ashau Valley. Most of these missions were for 24 hour periods of continuous coverage. During this period, each member of the 1^st Platoon averaged between 120 and 140 hours for the month.

On June 27^th, Marble Mountain underwent another 122mm rocket attack. A 1^st Cavalry radio operator on TDY with the 1^st Platoon was among the fatalities when a rocket hit the enlisted men�s billets. Another rocket flew right over the platoon's line of Otters on the ramp and landed 25 yards beyond, but failed to do any damage as the projectile buried itself so deep under the ramp that the ground absorbed the explosion.

Lt Hunt and CWO Whigham experienced a crash landing at Phan Thiet during June as they tried to land an Otter that had oil splashing over the windshield. The Otter entered the traffic pattern too high and overshot the runway. Their last resort was to make a downwind landing but they undershot that attempt and crash landed short of the intended touchdown point causing major damage to the aircraft and injury to the crew. The crew was "Medically Evacuated" and later the company received word that the injuries were not serious.

Good weather and maintenance by the 256^th Transportation Detachment who provided the 18^th Aviation Company with field maintenance, made it possible to obtain a respectable monthly score.

During June 1968, 1,003.7 hours were flown along with 1,296 sorties, 293 missions, 119.8 tons of cargo and 3,793 passengers.

July 1968

With July 1968, came the heaviest of the monsoon season to the central highlands. The aviators at Pleiku were held on the ground for days as below minimum ceilings and visibility kept Pleiku inaccessible to light aircraft.

Whenever possible, the aviators received special VFR clearances and IFR departures in an attempt to complete their missions but were turned back most of the time due to bad weather at the destinations and lack of approach facilities.

It was also during July that a rash of engine breakdowns occurred in the Spartan build Pratt and Whitney engines on the Otters.

One morning, CW2 Chuck Wedge and CW2 Bill Stewart were on an IFR departure from Pleiku to Qui Nhon. When they were about 25 minutes out of Pleiku, the engine blew a push rod and the aircraft began losing power fast.  Unable to maintain above 15 inches of manifold pressure, they began a controlled descent in solid IFR conditions back to Pleiku. Pleiku approach reacted to the emergency and provided radar vectors and cleared airways all the way back.

Mr. Wedge had serious doubts about making it safely home and prepared the passengers and crew for a crash landing. The best he could hope for was a break out of the clouds, spot the runway and try to land short of Pleiku to the east.

His approach was keeping below the glide path and a crash landing was imminent. In front of him as he broke out of the clouds was the perimeter fence, beyond that, the runway. The doors were jettisoned and bodies braced for impact. Mr. Wedge rounded out he had run out of altitude just short of the fence. Then, a miracle happened, a sudden gust of wind from behind lifted the almost stalled Otter just over the fence and happiness on that day was the chirp, chirp sound as the wheels made firm contact with the runway.

Elsewhere at Da Nang, a 1^st Platoon flight crew and passengers faced another drama.

Forced to fly low because of weather, Captain Kenneth Waldrop and CWO Clark along with crew chief Robert Christiansen, were approximately eight (8) miles east of Hue Phu Bai flying the morning courier run when the aircraft was raked from front to rear by automatic weapons fire. The burst caused partial power failure and a rapid MAYDAY call was transmitted.

The windows were shot out along the first burst but luckily, the three (3) crew members and eight (8) passengers escaped injury. Approximately a quarter mile later, another machinegun opened up and smashed into the engine compartment causing the faltering engine to quit. The crew chief was wounded in the ankle with a tracer round as the burst swept through the fuselage.

The aircraft then crash landed into a rice paddy about five (5) miles from Phu Bai. As the aircraft careened along the ground, a third burst from another automatic weapon ripped open the fuel tanks of the Otter but the tanks failed to ignite

Passengers and crew were able to make their way from the ship for about ten (10) yards when machinegun fire pinned everyone down in the mud. CWO Clark attempted to crawl back into the aircraft to get a rifle but was pinned down again before he got five feet.

For the next 25 minutes, the survivors received intense fire from a nearby tree line. Hugging the ground, they heard the voices of approaching enemy soldiers. Captain Waldrop, the only one of the group that was armed readied his 45 pistol and aimed at a trio of enemy troops closing in fast with AK47's. His aim was good, down went one of the enemy. The other two fired in the direction of Captain Waldrop but were unable to place effective fire on him because of the high grass. Captain Waldrop fired again. The two soldiers withdrew taking the body of their companion with them.

A few minutes later, Marine helicopter gunships answering the MAYDAY arrived on the scene. Directions were given to the gunships by hand signal and friendly machinegun and rocket fire blasted the enemy positions while a rescue ship whisked all the survivors away to safety.

Captain Waldrop was awarded the Silver Star for the safeguarding of the survivors. His quick and accurate firing saved eleven (11) lives.

Major James H. Thacker took over as Executive Officer for the 18^th, a position that had been vacant since May.

During July 1968, despite the engine failures, bad weather and encounters with enemy forces, the company flew a good total under the circumstances: 910 hours, 1,042 sorties, 256 missions, 79.7 tons of cargo and 2,856 passengers.

August 1968

August 1968 brought several more forced landings due to engine failures, forcing the 18^th Company Commander to restrict all aircraft to VFR day flying only. This necessary move reduced the output of the Low, Slow and Reliable to the lowest of the year. The restrictions remained in effect for most of the month, until the cause was finally determined as push rod failures.

 The Nha Trang Platoon began flying "Delta Project" personnel into Quan Loi to reduce the communist threat there.

The totals for the month stood at 778 hours, 1,071 sorties, 28 missions, 97.7 tons of cargo and 2,837 passengers.

September 1968

September 1968 had continued monsoon weather plague the Pleiku operations but aviators capitalized on every moment of VFR conditions.

The Da Nang Platoon had a very fine flying month with maximum number of hours and able to rest at night as the enemy left them alone during the entire month. The company flying recordclimbed upward and remained on the ascent until the end of the year.

The totals for the month posted 834.1 hours, 946 sorties, 272 missions, 80.5 tons of cargo and 2,846 passengers to the records.

October 1968 

October 1968 marked the return of the monsoon season to the coastal areas.

The men at Pleiku saw sunlight again and were moving into high gear to improve on their flying time.

While flying near An Hoa, CWO Yarbrough and WO Cantu of the 1^st Platoon picked up a bullet through the floor of the aircraft near crew chief SP5 Jack Richie's  seat.  The bullet went through the bill od=f the cap on the floor just inches away from his feet and disappear out the top of the fuselage

The 3^rd Platoon at Nha Trang also flew up the An Hoa Valley in support of "Delta Project", evacuating casualties and hauling supplies and key personnel into the area

The Companyflew 833.4 hours, 1005 sorties, 274 missions, 83.4 tons of cargo and 2,836 passengers.

                I was promoted to SSgt and transfered to the 256th Trans Det as NCOIC of Tech Supply

November 1968

By November 1968 the 2^nd Platoon has assumed the full burden of their missions and flying the II Corps area in its entirety.

Most of the flying was into dirt strips at Special Forces' camps.

Nha Trang's 3^rd Platoon received a new mission from "Delta Project". This new mission required the Otters to fly into Dong Xoai strip located about 40 miles north of Saigon, to carry out casualties and bring in supplies.

The missions often required downwind landings due to many firefights between units of the 1^st Air Cavalry and the NVA regulars just outside the perimeter. The action took place over rice and weapons caches. During one battle, 53 Viet Cong bicycles were captured. One bicycle now augments the transportation needs of the 3^rd Platoon.

Flying time and missions increased during November over the previous three (3) months bringing this month to a close with 906.7 hours, 1,274 sorties, 286 missions, 95.0 tons of cargo and 2,951 passengers.

December 1968

December 1968 brought to a close another chapter in the 18^th Aviation Company's history.

Although the aviators consider themselves to be the best in the United States Army, special award should be put in for the crew chiefs whose field expediency and resourcefulness techniques kept the U-1As flying despite many failures of equipment while operating into strips.

Each crew chief experienced failures of some kind when in the field and each one was able to cope with the situation in a professional manner that characterizes the spirit of the 18^th Aviation Company.

The month went by very smooth, even as the monsoon season began to put its grip along the coast. Pleiku was having good weather and their flying helped boost the company's total for the month.

The 256^th Transportation Detachment provided high quality field maintenance throughout the year by keeping a high rate of availability for the tired, old Otters.

The 163^rd Medical Detachment provided good medical assistance to the 18^th Aviation Company's flying personnel during 1968.

The company headquarters and the Da Nang platoon were active throughout the year in the Civic Action Program by supporting several orphanages. The highlight of the year was Christmas when they arranged Christmas parties for the children. These were great successes and new friends were won.

During the period 1 January 1968 through 31 December 1968, the Service Platoon at Qui Nhon completed 126 major periodic inspections in addition to numerous instances of unscheduled maintenance. A vigorous maintenance training program was initiated. This was necessitated by the lack of school trained U-1A Otter mechanics. The high Esprit de Corps and "Can Do" attitude of the Service Platoon enabled it to meet the most challenging demands placed on it by the company's mission.

During the year the Technical Supply section of the Service Platoon traveled to all of the outlying platoons and established a realistic PLL. This enabled the platoons to be more responsive to their unscheduled maintenance, and increased each platoon''s aircraft availability.

This year found the Service Platoon with a much improved and more secure aircraft parking area. This was accomplished by the assigned aircraft mechanics in addition to their normal duties. The Service Platoon closed out the year knowing that they had fulfilled all maintenance requirements placed on them and improved their working and living conditions substantially.

The 1968 history summarizes the unit Achievements. 

Between 1962, when it arrived in Vietnam, and 1968 the 18^th Aviation Company transported more than 350,000 passengers and in excess of 22 million pounds of cargo and mail.  Not bad for an Army Aviation unit that flew a single-engine transport capable of carrying eight passengers and a crew of three.  The activities of the Flight Platoons and of the Headquarters were described for 1967, with no changes of mission or location.

The year 1968 saw another continuing chapter in the unit history of the 18^th Aviation Company. Now nearing its sixth consecutive year of combat support missions in the Republic of Vietnam, the 18^th Aviation Company takes honors as the oldest fixed wing company in the country today. Consequently, each year of its operations is almost a chronicle of the Vietnam War.

There is little doubt that if an inquiry was taken of a roster of Vietnam veterans, that a good number of them will be familiar with the 18^th and its lumbering aircraft, the U-1A "Otter". For in the intervening years, the 18^th and the Otter practically have become synonymous. Between 1962 and 1968, the company transported more than 350,000 passengers and in excess of 22 million pounds of cargo and mail. Not bad for an Army Aviation unit that flies single-engine transports capable of carrying only 8 passengers plus a crew of three.

Pilots of the 18^th fly their aircraft with unusual pride as the De Havilland Otter is the Free World's largest contemporary single-engine transport in its fixed wing category.

Built for STOL operations, Otter pilots have nothing but admiration for the aircraft's slow approach speeds which can take an 8,000 pound gross load into unimproved strips of 700 feet. Of course, getting off the strip with the same load is another matter.

It's interesting to note that despite the tremendous increase in the number and type of other aircraft in Vietnam since 1963, the role of the 18^th Aviation Company has continued to increase rather than diminish. For example, total flying hours by the 18^th exceeded 12,000 during the past 12 months. This represents an increase of 2,000 hours over the 1962 - 1963 yearly totals.

This year 421 awards had been presented to personnel of the 18^th.

Eighth Year in Vietnam

                             Corps Area Map Vietnam 1969

[From the annual historical supplement of the 18^th Aviation Company, 1 January - 31 December 1967]

 The following organizational chart shows the company configuration for 1969:

The 18^th Aviation Company (UA) has sixteen U-1A aircraft which were manufactured by De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited. The aircraft is used primarily for troop and cargo operations but can and has been used for supply dropping, casualty evacuation, reconnaissance, photographic duties, radio relay and liaison duties. The U-1A Otter was build for STOL operations. It can land on unimproved strips 700 feet long with an 8,000 pound gross load.

The Headquarters

Qui Nhon - (13 46'N, 109 14'E) - The Company Headquarters, Operations Platoon and Service platoon were located at Qui Nhon.  The mission of the Company HQ is to provide administrative and logistical support to the two flight platoons.

Operations Platoon

The Operations Platoon is to insure that aircraft are on hand with which the flight sections may meet their daily operational requirements on a priority basis and is also responsible for the communications network within the company, flight safety, flight standardization and maintenance of flight records and compiling statistical data for the submission of operational reports, awards and decorations.

"Pig Farm"and "Speed Shop"

 The Service Platoon has the supply and motor sections, responsible for organizational maintenance. The platoon provides extensive on-the-job training and cross training of newly assigned maintenance personnel, the training of crew chiefs and the selection of flight platoon sergeants and maintenance personnel. This platoon does an outstanding job of supporting flight sections separated by as much as 250 miles. Because of the dislocation of the flight sections a great deal of flexibility is required by operations and maintenance. Close coordination is required by these two platoons combined with the outstanding job done by each, means cancellations due to lack of aircraft or grounded aircraft is virtually unheard of. The Motor Pool is known as the Qui Nhon "Pig Farm and Speed Shop".

For 1969, there were only two flight platoons, down from three the previous year, with the platoons divided into sections. The support of JUSMAAG in Thailand was no longer the responsibility of the 18^th Aviation Company, having been taken over by the 54^th Aviation Company.

First Platoon

The New Year saw the 1^st platoon flying 3 missions daily for two headquarters and by the end of the year it had grown to 5 missions for four headquarters.

The 1^st Platoon often flies the coast of Vietnam, much like the Sea Gull, on various missions for units throughout the Republic. The wear the "Sea Gull" tab above the unit patch and have adopted the Sea Gull as their mascot.

Nha Trang - (12 14'N, 109 11'E) The 1^st Platoon, 1^st and 2^nd Sections, are located at Nha Trang. Flying in support of Special Forces, JUSPAO and 17^th Group, the platoon flies from the DMZ to the tip of the Delta, from the South China Sea on the east to the islands on the west. The amazing fact is that they may do all this on any given day. 'The Seagulls', as the Nha Trang platoon came to be known, fly mostly liaison and courier type missions. As a result, their average flying time per mission is the highest in the company.

The 18^th Aviation Company's 1^st platoon representatives at Pleiku fly the Otter with fierce pride born on the knowledge that they "Can do" the job. Their acceptance by their brothers in arms is statement enough of the job they do.

Second Platoon

Pleiku - (13 59'N, 108 02'E) - The 3^rd Flight Section, 2^nd Platoon is located at Camp Holloway, Pleiku in the Central Highlands. The Eagle tab is worn by members of the 3^rd Flight Section. The Eagle is a well known bird that lives in the Highlands of South Vietnam, and since the Pleiku Section does most of its flying into and out of various "A" Camps controlled by Company "B" of the Special Forces located in the mountains and otherwise inaccessible regions of South Vietnam, the nickname 'Eagle' is therefore most appropriate for this Flight Section. These strips include the likes of Dak Pek which is a 1400 foot dirt strip surrounded by hills with a D. A. usually in excess of 5500 feet. In addition there are strips like Ben Het where the RVNS repulsed the most concentrated V. C. effort this year; Plei Me, only 900 feet usable; and Tieu Atar, 1400 feet long surrounded by 100 foot trees.

March 1969

Capt Spieldenner was flying Reliable 209 FromPleiku to Phu Hief AAF., While landing the aircraft hit hard on two different attempts causing damage to the main wheel housings and rear whell housing.  

Late March to May the "Otters" ofthe 3rd section averaged nearly 100 hours per month under good flying conditions.

May 1969

On 12 May 1969 Capt Frost,WO1 Porter were flying Reliable 703, while on climb out of Ben Het enroute to Kontum, the special forces camp came under attack.  The "Otter " was hit once but was unnoticed until it got back home.

June 1969

The Southwest monsoon season arrives.

July 1969

Starts the season of poor flying conditions and the start of flying by instruments.  On 10 July CW2 Welsh WO Porter and SP/$ Estabrooks were on a instrument flight from Pleiku to Nha Trang.  At 7000 ft, 25 miles southeast of Pleiku Reliable 327 blew a thrust plate seal. Maintaining poise the crew declared a emergency and vectored to Camp Holloway in actual instruments conditions. The aircraft landed with incident.

The 18th Aviation Company's representatives at Pleiku fly the "Otter"with fierce pride born on the knowledge that they "Can do".

The job they acceptance by their brothers in arms is a statement enough of the job they do.

The 3^rd Flight Section, 2^nd Platoon flies in support of Headquarters, II Corps on a daily basis. In support of II corps the missions are of two types. When requested on missions as required basis for the 23^rd RVN Division, the mission is troop shuttle. When flown as direct support of II Corps Headquarters, missions tend to be a liaison type function.

Third Platoon

Da Nang  (16 02'N, 108 14'E) - The 4^th Flight Section, 2^nd Platoon is located at Marble Mountain Airfield, four miles east of Da Nang. Their primary mission is to provide tactical air support to the Third Marine Amphibious Force daily from the Army Aviation Element of the Tactical Operations Center, I Corps Advisory Group.

The normal daily activities of the 3^rd platoon consist of flying North and South Courier missions. This courier mission is flown in support of III MAF. The purpose of the courier mission is to move key personnel and high priority cargo, to include mail and money, to the various military installations in the I Corps area.

The courier departs Marble Mountain daily and flies north to Hue Phu Bai, Hue Citadel, returns to Hue Ohu Bai and then flies back to Marble Mountain. The flight departs Marble Mountain for the southern half of the courier mission landing first at Tam Ky and then at Quang Ngai. The flight then returns north to Tam Ky and back to Marble Mountain. The afternoon courier repeats the same route of flight.

Because of the short distance between stops, maximum utilization of the U-1A's cargo and passenger carrying capabilities is obtained. A major advantage of these short haul flights is that the fuel load can be reduced, resulting in the aircraft being able to carry as many as eight passengers plus crew and several hundred pounds of cargo into and out of airfields less than 2,000 feet in length. One aircraft flying both north and south courier missions throughout the day is capable of carrying 128 passengers and 3,200 pounds of cargo.

Additionally, the platoon aircraft fly special missions for the Tactical Operations Center. These missions are flown for the Advisory Teams and the 5^th Special Forces "C" Team on a regular basis. In addition, Inspection Teams and Civilian specialists often use our services.

January 1969

Crash of Reliable 691

At the beginning of the year things were running normal until 27 January 69 when 1LT Theodore Barber and WO1 Andrew Sanford were flying Reliable 691. Receiving ground fire on climb out from Quang Ngai enroute to Da Nang, at 400 feet AGL, the engine coughed and then failed completely. A forced landing was made in a rice paddy. Eight passengers were aboard, yet none were injured and the aircraft was not damaged due to the forced landing. The aircraft received two rounds in the engine compartment, one hitting the carburetor causing the engine failure.

[From Andy Sanford's Old Otter Pilot website]

This Tribute will introduce you to "My OTTER".
Her Tail Number was "Six-Nine-One"
But to me, Her Name was "The RELIABLE - ONE"
and she lived up to her Name.....especially during Her Last Flight in VIET NAM, 27 January 1969.
She Loved Me ... Unto Her Dying Day!
(And I loved her too.)
She Flew Like An ANGEL!

My OTTER "RELIABLE ONE"
 
She Never Let Me Down!

 

OTTER Mates in the Da Nang Flight Platoon -1968

This was the end of "RELIABLE ONE's Final Flight!"... Shot-down while on Climb-Out from Quang Ngai - 27 Jan 1969
I had 13 Souls on board, including My Co-Pilot: Lt.TED BARBER;
My Crew Chief: Sp5 BRUCE BOATNER;  and 10 Vietnamese soldiers.
We all survived without a scratch!
"The Reliable One" remained intact long enough to shelter us thru the Forced Landing! ... Even in her final moment, she didn't let me down!

-  SHE WAS A LADY -

[End of Andy Sanford's story]
 Crew Chief Bruce Boatner has written his own recollections of this Event!

[Bruce Boatner story]

THE LAST FLIGHT OF RELIABLE 691

 On January 27^th, 1969, we were on the south leg of the afternoon courier mission.  That day Reliable 691 was being flown by W.O. "Andy" Sanford and Capt. Dale Barber.  Otter 691 had the head of an Indian girl stenciled on the tail, and was sometimes called the "Iroquois Princess".  It was mid afternoon when we approached the vicinity of Quang Ngai and there was chatter on the radio about local ground fire.  This was not unusual for those parts except that in this case it appeared that the location referenced was off the departure end of the runway.

As we landed I noticed two Huey "Slicks" parked on a grassy area near the approach. We were on the ground for some time, so I wandered over to talk to them.  They confirmed hearing the ground fire reports, but didn't seem too concerned about it.

Some poor fool was sweating through his last day in country and was hitching a ride to Da Nang for his plane trip home.  Two large cardboard boxes containing all of his belongings were loaded on board along with a full load of passengers.  At Quang Ngai we frequently had to hold the ARVN's off at gunpoint to prevent them from storming the plane, they were so desperate to get out before nightfall. 

 They didn't seem to understand that the old Otter couldn't get off the ground with 75 people on board.

As we taxied to the run-up area, I asked if the pilots had heard the reports of ground fire on the way in.  They said they had and I informed them that the slick crews had confirmed the reports.  The tower had not mentioned a hazard when they cleared us for departure, but when queried, acknowledged that they had received unsubstantiated reports of ground fire off the end of the runway.

During the run-up I had a sense of dread (I later found that both pilots were feeling it as well).  We did the world's longest run-up, checking everything twice, hoping something would blow up so we wouldn't have to take off.  W.O. Sanford and Capt. Barber discussed the procedures for executing a high-performance takeoff as an evasive maneuver.  They would keep clean flaps until we hit about 80-100 MPH on the ground then rotate and drop the flaps simultaneously.

It was a truly splendid takeoff and we were all in the process of congratulating ourselves on our cleverness when there was a loud bang and the engine dropped dead.  We were in a very nose high attitude and I could see the pilots both struggling to push the nose over and avoid going into a tail slide.  I yelled to the passengers to brace themselves that we were going to hit hard.  I remember wondering if I had given my pre-flight emergency spiel and then feeling a sense of relief as all 8 passengers executed a perfect choreographed response.  There was a momentary sensation of weightlessness then the wind again began whistling past the open window next to my seat.

I estimate we were at about 500 feet when we got hit.  Apparently they had set up a machine gun in a perfect position directly off the end of the runway, so they could pick off a plane like a fish in a barrel right after takeoff.  Usually they were more careful about the risk of giving their position away, but in our case I guess the temptation was simply too great.

One of the pilots managed to get a mayday back to the tower.  After a hard but otherwise nearly perfect 3- point landing in a rice patty we skidded into a dyke, which tore off the engine and the left landing gear. The left wing then impacted the ground and bent up about two thirds of the way out.  The Otter stood up on its noise and felt like it was going to flip over on its back, but then slammed back down on its belly.  For the slightest moment there was complete and total silence.

I opened the cargo doors and the passengers jumped out into mud up to their knees.  The crew's first concern was changing the radio frequencies, locating mailbags and other sensitive materials.  We were sitting ducks in the mud, but taking refuge in an aluminum eggshell filled with several hundred gallons of 115/145-octane fuel was not an attractive alternative, so we followed the passengers out. 

After what seemed like a very long time, the sweet sound of approaching Huey's filled the air.  Our old buddies from back at the field had heard the Mayday and had jumped in and cranked up, still in their t-shirts.  Both Huey's circled and opened fired on something we could not see, then one landed and picked up most of the passengers and the mailbags.  The other Huey continued to circle and fire then the first one returned and took the upper position while the other one landed to pick up the rest of us.

I made one last pass through the plane to check for classified materials.  I grabbed my Canon Super-8 movie camera that had slid to the cockpit, then slogged out to the waiting Huey.  The door gunner grabbed me by the collar and physically hauled me onboard.  I'll never forget the look of fear in his eyes.  With no flack vest, gloves or fire retardant clothes, he must have felt naked. I wondered what he'd seen up there, circling and shooting.

The Huey leaped up as I was barely on board.  Feeling the Canon in my hand I pulled the trigger and sweep the camera in the general direction of Reliable 691.  When I got the film back a few weeks later it showed in the back ground a ragtag band of humanity making its way across the field, bent on reaching 691.  From our position on the ground, we never even saw them.  Later we learned that the Huey's had returned to the area and fired over 2000 more rounds to try and keep the plane from being ransacked, but to no avail.

Another plane from our platoon flew in and took us back to Marble Mountain.  It was a very odd feeling to be again sitting in an Otter and about to repeat the same departure that had recently proved so traumatic (though this time under heavy escort by a couple of Cobras).  Of course this is the great (get back in the saddle) philosophy that is necessary to banish the fear of flying.  The next couple of weeks were terrible, being a crew chief without a ship, but I was eternally grateful when the 18^th assigned me Reliable 282, which would prove to be a strong and faithful beast through the rest of my tour.

We never found out what exactly hit us in Quang Ngai, or precisely where the firing had come from.  I imagine the machine gun and its crew had silently disappeared back into their shadowy world by the time the Huey's arrived.  Later the first Americans soldiers at the site would find heavy cardboard boxes had been shredded open by what appeared to be human fingernails and their contents vanished.  Several attempts by an accident reporting team to access the crash site were aborted due to sniper fire.

Reliable 691 was eventually retrieved by a Chinook and dropped off at the airfield at Quang Ngai.  As an ignominious ending, the fuselage was hoisted up on supports to be used as jump practice for Vietnamese paratroopers.  This sad spectacle was a daily memento for the Otter crews of the I Corps Courier henceforth. 

[End Bruce Boatner story]

Two transfers in short period

On 23 January 1969 I was transferred out of the 256^th Transportation Detachment back to the 18^th Aviation Company and then transferred to the 281^st Aviation Assault Helicopter Company in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

February 1969

[No significant events noted in unit historical supplement for this month.]

March 1969

This month was routine in all aspects of flying 

April 1969

Precautionary landing of Reliable 295

On the morning of 16 April 1969, CW2 Norman Baker was test flying Reliable 295 and experienced loss of RPM during the flight. He returned to Qui Nhon and made a precautionary landing without damage.

Engine Failure of Reliable 319

On 26 April 69, CW2 William Roche was flying "Reliable 319" to Hue Phu Bai when the engine began to run rough and finally failed at 1,500 feet AGL. A forced landing was made on a beach just east of Phu Bai. There was no damage or injury. The cause was a suspected push rod failure.

Reliable 319 Destroyed During Recovery

On 26 April 69, when CW2 Roche and WO1 Staurset had an engine failure and made a perfectly executed forced landing east of Phu Bai on the beach. But "Reliable 319" was not to fly again as it was dropped on the runway at Marble Mountain, completely destroying it.

May 1969

Incident with Reliable 703

On 12 May 69, CPT Daniel Frost and WO1 "Porky" Porter were flying Reliable 703. While climbing out of Ben Het enroute to Kontum, the Special Forces camp at Ben Het came under enemy attack. The aircraft was struck with one round from a 30 cal. It went through the main spar but was unnoticed until the aircraft landed at its home field.

June 1969

As June moved in, so did the Southwest Monsoon, resulting in a drastic reduction for 3^rd Flight Section in flying time.

July 1969 - Phoenix Section

July brought in continued poor flying conditions and served as a period the 3^rd Flight Section again began flying instruments. Weather time served little in helping them support the "A" Camps as they aren't known for their instrument approaches.

In the beginning of July 1969 the Da Nang Section became known as the 'Phoenix Section'. In Egyptian mythology, the Phoenix symbolized immortality. Because of its immortality, and not its beauty, the section felt the Phoenix best exemplified the "Old, Reliable Otter" which may also live for 500 years.

Unit Aircraft Grounded

On 20 July 1969, the aircraft of the 18^th Aviation Company were to be grounded until modified in accordance with TB-55-1510-205-40/1. The urgent Technical Bulletin grounded all aircraft with Spartan rebuilt R 1340-61 engines because the aluminum exhaust push rods have been proven to be subject to failure due to installation procedures during overhaul. The TB allowed 64 hours per engine modification, but due to the devotion to high standards of professional competence and performance, of the Maintenance Section lead by SGT Carl M. Cessna, SGT Jess P. Hackenburg, and supervised by CPT Dan Frost, the aircraft engines were modified with 16 man hours, thus giving the unit the required aircraft for essential missions.

August 1969

Reliable 703  Destroyed During Recovery

On 5 August 1969, Captain (then 1LT) Close and WO1 Porter badly damaged the landing gear on "Reliable 703" while landing at the Special Forces "A" camp at Thrang Phuc. CPT Close stayed at the "A" camp for three days waiting for a "Chinook" to lift 703. The "Chinook" finally arrived and proceeded to drop 703 from about 200' in the air.

September 1969

[No significant events recorded by unit historical supplement for this month.]

October 1969

October saw improvement in flying conditions, but Eagles continued to experience problems with blown thrust plate seals resulted in three precautionary landings made in this period due to blown seals.

Reliable 294  Destroyed During Recovery

 Reliable 294" met its demise on 26 October 69 at Cam Ranh Bay. CW2 Cameron was giving transition training to CPT Camp when a wheels first landing caused the aircraft to pitch out of control and come to rest between the runways with major damage to landing gear, prop and wing. True to form, when 294 was lifted to go to Dong Ba Thin, it also was dropped, making it 3 for 3 on the year.  

November 1969

November being the month of the sieges at Bu Prang and Duc Lap found the 1^st platoon Eagle operations curtailed somewhat by the closure of these strips. By the close of the year II Corps was quiet and the   "Otters" of the 18^th could be seen daily from Phan Thiet to Mang Buk.

December 1969 - Presidential Unit Citation (Navy) Awarded

On 8 December 1969, Lieutenant Colonel Robert F. McGuffin presented the 18^th Aviation Company (UA) with the Presidential Unit Citation (Navy). The award was made at the Change of Command ceremonies between Major William A. Bloemsma and Major Thomas L. McCord. Significantly, the period during which the award was earned, 29 March 1966 - 30 January 1967, was during the former tours of both these officers (then Captains), with the 18^th Aviation Company. The award was presented by authority of General Order #59, Headquarters, Department of the Army, for valorous service in support of the 3^rd Marine Amphibious Force, I Corps, the Republic of Vietnam.

Presidential Unit Citation (Navy) - 29 March 1966 - 30 June 1967 GO6959

 Since June 69, the Special Forces have relied very heavily on our unit for resupplying their eight accessible camps in the I Corps area. They consider our performance so outstanding that the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry was awarded to members of the unit involved in the mission.

Since the beginning of the year, the Da Nang Section has been interested in the children at the Sacred Heart Nursery and Orphanage located there. CW2 Andrew T. Sanford and other members of the section began writing home for food, clothing, toys, candy, diapers and sundry essentials. Both civic and church organizations, as well as individuals and families started sending staggering amounts of aid to these children - fine story of civic action performed by members of this unit. Esprit de Corps is very high and the Phoenix Section is proud of their accomplishments thus far in 1969.

Thanks to the professional skill not one crew member or passenger was injured this year in numerous forced and precautionary landings.

Captain Curtis J. Steckbauer

Captain Clarence L. Moorer

Second Lieutenant Louis A. Carricarte

Specialist Five Michael P. Martin, Jr.

Private Duane E. Limberg

Specialist Five Joseph Benson

Private First Class Kenneth B. Sykes

Private First Class Jerry W. R. Sanks

Private First Class John J. Victory

Chief Warrant Officer Wayne E. Jones

Warrant Officer Don R. Harger

Warrant Officer Lance M. Lofman

Specialist Four Gary Pridgen

Warrant Officer Michael W. McAndrews

Warrant Officer Bane Wiseman

Specialist Four Gary P. Booth

Four Final Months in Vietnam

January 1971

February 1971

 The 18^th Aviation Company terminated its services to the country of Vietnam officially in February 1971. The time since then was spent turning in aircraft to Vung Tau and turning in all unit property through military channels. The unit had ceased to operate since February 1971 as personnel cross trained into jobs in country or sent home to the land of the "Big PX".

The 18^th Aviation Company's use of the Otter came to an end during February 1971. By the following month, one of the Otters had been sent back to the United States and the other 13 flown to Vung Tau, where they were placed in the charge of the 388^th Transportation Company, where they joined the Otters recently retired by the 54^th Aviation Company. The 388^th Transportation Company was responsible for disposing of all the Otters which had served in Vietnam, and did so over the following months.

Of the 14 former 18^th Aviation Company which had been in service up to February 1971, one was returned to the US, two went to Nicaragua under a Military Aid Program, 8 went to Cambodia also under a Military Aid program and three were scrapped at Vung Tau.

 March 1971

18^th Aviation Company Inactivated.

April 1971

The 18^th Aviation Company was formally inactivated on 16 April 1971.

I transfer to 388^th Transportation Company (ADS) - Vung Tau

I PCS to the Big PX

On 26 July 1972, it was time to leave Vietnam.  My time in Vietnam  came to an official end and I headed stateside for another adventure with the United States Army. 

As the motto goes "You Call, We Haul, You ALL" - "Low, Slow and Reliable" -  18^th Aviation Company (Otters)

We thank you for your service.

To all welcome home!

18th Aviation Company (FWLT)

"Low - Slow - Reliable"

Otter Nest History

18^th Aviation Company (Fixed Wing Light Transport)

6 February 1962 - 16 April 1971

Arrived 6 February 1962 in Saigon, Vietnam

Inactivated 16 April, 1971 in Qui Nhon, Vietnam

STATEMENT OF SERVICE

5 March 1959 - 16 April 1971

Constituted 5 March, 1959 in the Regular Army as 18^th Aviation Company

Activated 1 May, 1959 at Fort Riley, Kansas (HQ, 5th US Army GO 46 - 27 April 1959) & (HQ Fort Riley, Kansas GO 116 - 1 May 1959)

Boarded USNS Core at Alameda Naval Station, California - 15 January 1962, (destination South Pacific)

Arrived 6 February 1962 in Saigon, Vietnam

Inactivated 16 April, 1971 in Qui Nhon, Vietnam

(On 15 August 1971 the unit began transitioning over to UH-1 helicopters, in Vietnam as the 18^th Combined Aircraft Command (CAC) and is the forerunner of today's 18^th Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.)

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