Trump Only a Few Indictments Away from Clinching G.O.P. Nomination

Continued from my post # 12902

A week or so ago I left you all with a part of a story that promised I would finish. So I will conclude it before it gets too old. It is a bit of the lead up to, and the follow up after my being shot down in my Loach helicopter. Skip ahead if you are bored with my stories.

But I promise you, the next (and final) post will be memorable!

My shoot-down or “knockdown” as we called them sometimes, occurred very late in my first full tour of duty in Vietnam. We had an unwritten policy that guys would get permission to be taken off of flight status about a week before their “DEROS” (“Depart En Route OverSeas”) (going home) date. Meaning they would not be flying any more missions before they went home. It was kind of a gesture to avoid any further harm. Sort of - “You made it this far. Now let’s take you out of the game and keep you safe for these last few days.”

That “safe week” seemed to evolve into ten days, and then two weeks. This was beginning to cause the rest of us to bump into our monthly maximum flight hours (if I recall correctly, 80 or 90 hours per each 30 days) and force us to have to switch guys into different ships and different functions in the overall mission. And it was causing a bit of grumbling among some of us who were missing regular days off.

So somebody apparently had gone into the Company (Troop) office and asked for two and a half weeks. I was standing in my hooch (8-man cottage) with two of my platoon mates when we heard about this. We were all quite perturbed and I erupted with “Dammit all! I signed up for 365 days and I’m gonna fly down to 364 and be ready to go home on day 365!”

But something happened on day 363 that altered my plans.

I was flying “lead” (the front ship of the two Loaches) so I was the one who sets the pace of our search. I fly fast when I want to, and slow when I want to (like when I or my "Observer" see someting suspicios). I turn whichever way and follow whatever course I think is best to pursue. My wing man (the second Loach) has to hang back about 50 yards and follow me - circling around me if I stop. Picture two bees, dancing around one another as they search across a bed of flowers.

I had been slowly (maybe 20 knots - about 24 mph) and lazily weaving back and forth as I followed a very thin line of small trees along a small canal. We came to another tree line running perpendicular to the one we are following and there, in one quadrant of the intersection is a small grove of “Nippa Palm” trees (a type of 20 foot tall palm trees with these very wide long leaves - like 4 feet long by 16 inches). The grove was about 20 yards wide by 40 yards long with evenly planted rows and columns of those Nippa Palm.

Both the VC and the occasional NVA would use these leaves to hide under. It only took two of them (hacked off with a machete) for them to lie down and be completely concealed - something we were used to seeing fairly often, and had a familiar eye for it. We could tell if it was fresh cut, or day-old from the color of the leaves.

By now I had had lots of practice judging what I saw beneath me, and what I saw grabbed my attention. I came to a still hover directly above this grove, noticing many rows and columns of these two-leaf combinations, laid exactly in the same pattern up and down the rows and columns of Nippa palm. As I began to hover backwards at about one mile per hour, I tapped my intercom button to say to my observer “Doesn’t this camouflage look too perfect?”

And as I began to sqeeze my microphone to call out over the air, “Hey I think we’ve got some people down here”, Someone beneath us opened up with a quick burst from and AK, and drilled us from directly below. Almost instant engine failure and the rest was my prior post #12902.

I should point out that it is not the most clever tactic in the world to come to a full stop hover just about 30 feet directly above a suspected target such as this. It might well have been the typical handful of three or four VC, but we learned in a few moments that it was a full Company (maybe 160) of NVA Regulars! Either way - not too smart. Had we gone down directly into that grove, instead of managing to "autorotate" about 100 yards out in the rice paddy, we woudl have been dead in two seconds!

Note:

All this is not even the main point of my story. It’s just the lead up to a crazier part that I will put in my next post. I promise you - its a doozie!

08/01/23 05:13 PM

#12943

DUDE!

you've got my attention.

Holy crap dave this is amazing. I've never said this and meant it so much: thank you for sharing.

Your pal.

mmmm

(mainstream media mike mcleod)

08/01/23 06:21 PM

#12944

The "what came next" part of my story.

We flew this mission with two teams of two ships each. Two teams of two (4) Cobra gunships, and two teams of two (4) Loaches. We flew each search for about two hours, then returned to the refueling field and sat for two hours while the other teams (of two) went out to continue the search. A little over two hours was about our fuel mxiumum. Althought the AMC (Air Mission Commander) who directed and "commanded" the mission was always the same ship who would break off for fuel and return immediately to the AO (Area of Operations).

But when anybody got shot down, Every body would crank up and come out to the A.O. to cover for, and assist in, the extraction of the downed crew.

So my Observer and I are out in a rice paddy, being picked up by our own AMC (normal proceedure). they come down from their 500 feet - under fire - and you run over and dive into their back floor in front of their door gunners. The "guns" would drop down low to add cover fire while this takes place. Then they climb out and take you back home to home base (Vinh Long) - where, depending on the time of day, you might get another ship and return for another search.

So the other team of "guns" and Loaches arrive on the scene to help us. This team of Loaches is my platoon leader and good buddy "Jack", a tinny, fearless, and smart as a whip young Captain. Jack is warned not to fly over that treeline but calls out that they will just make on speedy pass over the traget to assess what we were dealing with.

BAD IDEA !

As they make this one pass over the Nippa grove, they come under intense automatic weapons fire - we sometimes called "upside down rain" - nasty stuff!

Jack's Wing Man is another good buddy - a warrant officer named Roger. Here is the radio conversation that followed as they fly over this Nippa grove, taking heavy fire from several dozens of AK-47s.

"This is one-seven (Roger) - receiving fire, receiving fire. We're taking hits - We're taking hits!

The AMC (Captain named Don from NYC) who's back seat I am now in being picked up with my Observer) answers; "One Seven, this is Comanche Two, Are you Ok?"

Roger answers; Two, this is One-Seven, I feel like I just had a punch in the stomach!

Again the AMC, Don calls out, "One Seven, are you sure you're okay?"

Roger answers; "This is one-seven. I think I'm okay but I feel like I have to pee so bad I can hardly stand it."

Then a long pause and Roger calls out "Two, this is One Seven, I'm not sure I am okay. My crotch is soaked with blood."

As they had flown over the Nippa grove, Roger later epxlained that he saw four NVA regulars - in full khaki unifroms with pith helmets, standing up in the grove, raising their AKs and firing in unison. He saw the tracers come at him and took four ricochets right off of his "Chicken Plate". They bounce off but the bottom one glances of the bottom edge of Roger's Chicken Plate and lodges in his,,, uhm,,, his,, uhm, his number one male organ!

YUP, that thing!

I think I will break this off now and add another chapter for the last part - the hospital and our reunion.

08/01/23 07:30 PM

#12945

NORMAL PROCEDURE?????

that is just bonkers.

that is no day at the office and a couple of beers afterwards in my book.

08/01/23 07:30 PM

#12946

Meanwhwile, back on planet earth;

This news about a secret Chinese lab (Prestige Biotech) in small town California, without a business license and unknown to the local authorities - with animals carrying covid - what the?????

08/01/23 08:49 PM

#12947

John Maxwell

Hey, if that Chinese lab in CA is secret, how do you know about it. Oh well, another day, another lobotomy.

08/01/23 09:27 PM

#12948

I need to finish what I started. If you are thinking it can't get any crazier, guess again.

- - - - Skip - too wordy

So we began to use C-4 - Plastic Explosives, or "Plastique" - the common French word for it. We would make "bombs" from components hauled out seperately (for safety) in seperate ships before each mission and then then assemble them on the air strip before each mission. We used four of the C-4 strips (each about 9 inches by 2 inhes by about 5/8 ths of an inch) - 4 of them taped together with an added blasting cap and firing pin. The combination of 4 strips together was a ridiculously powereful explosive that could clollapse a large bunker.

(Note: after 2 devastating accidents, causuing several fatlities to our own crews, we were forbidden to continue their use.)

* * Roger had always complained of lower back pain, and would actually use two of the "strips" of C-4 to slip under his butt to help fill the gap between the armor plates behind his seat.

Back to the story......

Roger, the reciever of this nasty wound was able to fly his ship back to the nearby refueling strip, where some of the guys carried him from his cockpit to one of our Hueys, and then they flew him back to the large Binh Thuey Field EVAC Hospitall in Can Tho (on our way home).

We broke off the mission early after this and headed home. But those of us who were Scout (Loach) Pilots, stopped and landed on the heli-pad outside Binh Thuey to go in and check on Roger's condition. We found him still in the ER, laying on a cot, and naked, except for a sheet over him - with some very noticeable bloody stains showing through at his lower mid-section.

As the three of us stood around him, we all knew by now what his injury was, and like 13 year-olds, we began to giggle at his condition. At that, Roger began to chuckle with us, bouncing just a litlle on the cot where he lay, propping himself up on one elbow. As he bounced, he winced in horrible pain as he bounced on his butt. We laughed a second time and he laughed and bounced - and winced with pain - a second time.

It seems, as he flew over the group on the ground, one guy kept firing and sent a round from behind throught the gap in the armour plates and throught the C-4, speading chards of C-4 and a bullet throughout his buttocks. (ntoe: a bullet would not ignite the C-4 without a "blasting cap" and a fuse)

Before we could think of anymore to say, the female Army Major in charge of the ER came in and chased us out, cursing a blue streak as she herded us out of her ER.

"I don't need any of you damn..... cluttering up my ER!"

Weeks later, a letter arrived to one of us from an Army hospital in Japan - from Roger - with waaay too much information about the different "ducts" that are contained in that "organ". It seems they fixed everything. He described a bit of the surgical proceedure. He was awake and on his side while surgeons operated from both sides at the same time. One in front removing the bullet from his "manhood", while another doctor working from behind (wearing safety goggles - afraid of C-4 mini-explosions ) - with tweezers, plucking chards of C-4 from his buttocks!

------------------

45 years later, I found Roger in Texas and had a wonderful long phone call with him. After a long chat, I finaly asked him, "Roger, I gotta ask you, Haven't you gone through life with the best "I Got a Better Story than Your Story?"

He laughed and said, "I want you to know Mitch, I am married and have three of my own daughters."

08/01/23 09:28 PM

#12949

Jack,

just saw it last night on my USA Today page. Weird story!

08/02/23 08:06 AM

#12950

thanks again dave. needed the levity, given that as it turns out it was worse than we thought.

In the relatively useless but interesting things I just found out category: 95% of us have a natural immunity to leprosy.

PS I have had a good career but just imagine where I'd be right now if I had gotten my start as a slave.

08/02/23 06:22 PM

#12951

My apologies to all of you for allowing me to flog you to death with a longer story than I had intended, but I want to throw in these two photos to add some further understanding to those posts. And I promise this will be the end of that story.

I mentioned a "Chicken Plate". They were a protective armor "bibb" that was about an inch and a half thick, and weighed about 14 pounds, and would repel a direct hit from anything up to and including a .30 Cailber bullet. Unfortuneately for one of the pilots in our sister Troop - not a .50 Caliber from straight on.

They were about 1 1/2 inches thick and were rigid - not flexible like much of todays body armor. They could be uncomfortable, especially if you got one too large, as I did the first few days I flew - not realizing the difference in sizes. Those first two days the "Large" that I grabbed off the shelf, rode down on the top of my thighs and eventually cut off my circulation. I can assure you, managing your foot pedals with your legs asleep is a challenge. I never made that mistake again.

I hired this professional model to show you all what a "Chicken Plate" is - below.

(And see the final photo below this one)

I would also like you to meet my buddy Roger Catlin - the victim of the craziest "war wound" I have ever heard of - and it was all my fault. In the Binh Thuey Field EVAC hospital at Can Tho, a few days after the surgery (I think?), showing his Purple Heart. Me with my head cut off on the left.

I wish I could find a video of us about 10 years ago at a reunion in San Antonio. He only looks about 6 months older.

08/02/23 07:30 PM

#12952

He looks about 16 in the photo.

08/02/23 09:11 PM

#12953

Close Mike.

He was 16 1/2.

08/02/23 10:45 PM

#12954

So, after I have hogged the Forum for almost half of a life time, what do we do now?

I say,,,,, we keep on dancin'

08/02/23 11:04 PM

#12955

Cheered me up dave thanks

08/03/23 09:40 AM

#12956

In other news (from the Borowitz Report):

Trump Only a Few Indictments Away from Clinching G.O.P. Nomination

WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—After the special counsel Jack Smith brought new charges against Donald J. Trump, political experts agreed that the former President is but a few indictments away from clinching the Republican nomination.

With felony counts in the double digits, Trump is well ahead of his closest rival, Ron DeSantis.

Harland Dorrinson, a prominent G.O.P. pollster, said that, “for today’s Republican voter, felony counts confer instant credibility, and, by that measure, no other candidate comes close to Trump.”

He added that the pressure is on DeSantis “to get indicted for something—and fast.”

“There’s a chance that he could be charged with human trafficking for transporting migrants from the Mexican border to Martha’s Vineyard,” Dorrinson said. “But that indictment might be too little, too late.”

08/03/23 10:06 AM

#12957

You have a taste for dark humor, my friend.

We are living through such bizarro times. Having a felon as president of the U.S. is indeed quite possible. There's no law against it. (If you are impeached you can't ever be prez again but you can be as felonious as you wanna be and still come out on top. Is this a great country or what???)

08/03/23 12:40 PM

#12958

Mary Margaret Clark (Schultheis)

I think maybe those unnamed co-conspirators must be the House of Representatives dining room kitchen staff. The "red" herring must be those damn green vegetables.

08/03/23 03:16 PM

#12959

TDS

08/03/23 06:42 PM

#12960

Well it IS close to football season so I'll just pretend that's what she meant. If I close my eyes I can imagine the pom poms. But in all seriousness:

WASHINGTON -- Donald Trump has been indicted on federal charges related to 2020 election subversion, a stunning third time this year that the former president has faced criminal charges.

But could the former president, who remains the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, assume the Oval Office again if convicted of the alleged crimes? In short, yes.

University of California, Los Angeles law professor Richard L. Hasen - one of the country's leading experts on election law - said Trump still has a path to serving as president should he win reelection in 2024.

"The Constitution has very few requirements to serve as President, such as being at least 35 years of age. It does not bar anyone indicted, or convicted, or even serving jail time, from running as president and winning the presidency," he said in an email to CNN.

....so it's really no biggie. Just objective reality. Are we rockin' it in koo-koo krazy times or what?

08/03/23 08:40 PM

#12961

Mary Margaret Clark (Schultheis)

MM, forgive me – how silly it is for me to be deranged by a President who, for the first time in our 200+ year history, did not accept the results of a legitimate election and refused to turn over power willingly. It's really no big thing. I honestly don’t know what I was thinking - sorry again that I over-reacted.

08/03/23 09:18 PM

#12962

08/03/23 10:14 PM

#12963

Mary Margaret Clark (Schultheis)

Each of the Democrats shown were unhappy with the outcome (no one likes to lose) but NONE of them said the election was stolen and they all abided by the constitutional process by which we choose Presidents. They did not recruit slates of fake electors and they did not encourage their supporters to storm the Capital to prevent certification of the Electoral College result. Hilary and John Kerry conceded to their Republican components the morning following the election although Gore waited to concede until after the Supreme Court ruling on the Florida recount (but he did concede). Trump has yet to concede.

The right wing lives and dies by false equivalencies like this.

08/04/23 12:17 AM

#12964

https://youtu.be/TfZ7awKaZ20

https://www.democracynow.org/2005/11/4/mark_crispin_miller_kerry_told_me

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rachelsandler/2021/01/07/trump-concedes-election-defeat-commits-to-peaceful-transition-of-power/amp/

08/04/23 08:26 AM

#12965

A couple of years after her extraordinarily gracious concession speech to Trump on the morning after the 2016 election, as the extent of Russian interference became known Hilary did suggest that Trump’s victory was tainted, but she did not encourage her supporters to take any actions to violently try to change the outcome.

The Kerry reference is really weak – hearsay from someone he knew. What really counts is if you make the charge publicly and Kerry never did that.

I had forgotten about the Trump pseudo-concession (in which he never mentioned Biden). He changed his tune after about a day.

And to reference a point made incessantly by the right, if you say an election is stolen, even if you know it was fair but lie that it was stolen, you’re executing your First Amendment rights (which protect even liars like Trump) and it’s not illegal. But what is illegal is if you encourage others to engage in illegal acts – for example, to storm the Capital to violently interfere in the election certification process or tell other government officials (like Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger in Georgia) to commit election fraud by falsifying vote totals.

08/04/23 09:51 AM

#12966