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David Mitchell
Thanks Mike M.
I am part way through your article and will have to finish it later.
Mike B.
I have a funny comment in response to your compliment about me in the photo. (BTW, I think it is a horrible shot of me). But in that photo of seven guys, two were not "Loach" pilots. But of the five of us who were, we counted that we were shot down a combined total of 13 or 14 times. And I am the only one of those five who was only shot down once. I joked at the reunion that I was not only the youngest and the best looking, but I was also the smartest, because it only took me one time to learn that "drill" and decide that I did'nt need to repeat it. I accused them all of being slow learners.
And there is one guy not pictured who arrived late. He would have added five more himself. I'll add a photo of him with a story later.
At this reunion, we decided (reluctantly at first) to hire a wedding videographer, and hold a recorded story telling session on video. It was about three hours on the second day in one of the hotel conference rooms. It turned out to be magic! It opened us all up in a cathartic way and for the first time in many years. We only did so after debating weahter or not to do it, when one of the wives asked her husband, "How much longer are you all going to be here?" That remark answered the questuon for us.
From the large group shot before, Here's a zoom of three guys for these three stories.
Here are a few abbreviated versions of their stories - some from that video session, others from my own memory. I'll break this into a few sessions.
1) Far left (heavy set, with cain) is a guy named Don from New York City. He was not a "Loach" pilot. He was a 1st. Lt. (later Captain) who flew front seat in a Cobra for a while and then became an Air Mission Commander, flying a Huey and directing the mission (from 500 feet). Although I was not fond of him (a rather rude New Yorker) he was the piiot who was the "AMC" the day I was shot down and landed the Huey to pick me up. My sense of gratitude overrides those personal feelings. * (Don later trained Cobra pilots for the Shaw of Iran until they had to make a sponaneous exit in 1979 - in a matter of hours! He later ran a helicopter passenger business in NYC)
2) Back row, tall - w/blue shirt is a guy named Al from Atlanta. He was a also young 1st Lt. who did fly "Loaches" with our "Scout" platoon. He also became a Captain. The guy came across as a sort of bovine clown, but he is dumb like a fox. And funny - just plain funny!
His first (of FOUR ! ) shoot downs was a chilling story - but he made it funny. It's just his nature. He made us laugh often at his child-like antics.
We all had to spend our fist week in the observer (left) seat for a week while the platoon leader (another "old guy" Captain of 24) gave us a quick training. On the seventh day they were shot down and bonked and rolled the ship on it's side in a rice paddy, down east of the U-Minh Forest - a very bad place. Captain Rip Ash (a much smaller guy) climbed out his right side (now pointed up) first. Al, a big guy, climbed out and had a bit of a harder time getting all the way out and got grazed above his collar bone with and AK round. As the two got down and started running, they realized immediately that they were running straight at the source of fire, a large group of NVA "Regulars" in the nearby tree line. They quickly reversed course and started running the opposite direction, only to realize that two more NVA were at the far other end of the paddy, standing full open on a dike line, and firing at them from about 50 yards away with their AKs (AK-47s). So they quickly made a 90 degree turn and began running a third direction when Rip slipped and went face first into the 15 inches of rice paddy water, getting a helmet full of water in his face. So Al, (a big strong guy) grabbed Rip by the back of his (jungle fatigue) shirt collar and picked him up, choking as he came up gasping for breath. By this time the C&C ("Command and Control" ship - that Huey that is piloted by the AMC) is comming in to get them - under heavy fire, and also close cover from the two Cobra gunships, laying down as much cover fire as they can.
Al and Rip jumped into the back of the Huey and as they are climbing out, Al (telling us the story at the conference table) recalls, "We dove into the back floor of the ship so fast I almost slid out the other side. And, as we were lifting out I was thinking to myself, just 51 more weeks of this shit and I'll be ready to go home."
After having us recall most of his story with open mouths, we were howling at his ending!
That may give you and idea how frantic these scenes could be.
3) lower front - wheel chair and plaid blanket. My good friend Bob from Atlanta. You will recall Bob from my story about the bullet next to his spine from his "drug bust" of the drug-dealing senior police officers in Atlanta. He's had the bullet next to his spine fo rover 25 years! He actually wnet back to work on the police force full-time fo 10 years - with the bullet inside him! He has finally had to succomb to heavy pain pills and can no longer drive himself. (p.s. His second wife - blonde in white sweater - is and Angel ! )
Bob was shot down three times, but his worst story is not one of those. He was atempting to land and pick up a wounded guy (hard to fit into a Loach, but the guys on the ground were desperate).
Warning - this one is prettty bad! Skip it if you're uneasy with the hard stuff.
As he hoverd down low and close, the guys lifting the wounded kid up into his backseat were all shot. Bob was taking so much fire he had to pull up and abort the attempt. I think that is enough detail on this one. Sorry, but this story gets really messy. I just wanted you to know a bit of what Bob went through.
And although he is still a good looking guy (in white hair and beard) I just wantd to remind you what a haandsome dude he was back in the day. A sort of "golden boy" who did everything right and was liked by all.
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