To the Limit: An Air Cav Huey Pilot in Vietnam

8 Changing Seats

1 3 1 Changing Seats 8 August 17, 1967 Pat writes me every day; I write her an average of one letter every other day. I miss her and home more each day as familiarity with the daily Air Cavalry routines gives me more time to think. I do not yet realize that these will be the most exciting times of my life. This morning we are issued a new SOI; our call sign changes from Python to Bandit, and Tom Cat changes to Smiling Tiger. Recently, Lieutenant Gary Runyan finished his tour of duty in Vietnam and DEROS’d, or saw his last day in country; I became the safety officer for A/229th. After being in country for one month and eleven days, I no longer had to use the “MIKE”1 in my transmissions. Now I am A Company’s newest safety officer, and my call sign is Bandit 88. Safety officer is a powerful position in an aviation company. At the top of the chain of command is the division safety officer; then comes the battalion safety officer, and then, the company safety officer . The job entails keeping our pilots abreast of things that can affect their flying safety, but it also gives me absolute authority when it comes to the safety conditions at every LZ where an A Company helicopter will land. Recently, I landed in a secure LZ named Bird. Poncho liners and other loose objects went airborne from the helicopter’s rotor wash. A wooden box lid nearly went through my rotor blades during the 1. In radio call sign terminology, mike means assistant. 88mike means safety officer assistant. 132 TO THE LIMIT landing. In addition, the barbed wire that formed the perimeter was dangerously close to the landing pad. If an unsuspecting pilot accidentally put his tail rotor into this wire, he would lose control and likely kill not only himself and his crew, but also many soldiers on the ground. I discussed this with the captain in charge of the LZ, but he blew me off by saying, “War is hell,” and simply walked away. On my return to LZ English, I spoke with my battalion safety officer, who in turn called division. Four hours later, the division safety officer, a brigadier general, landed on LZ Bird to “blow off” a captain. Changes were implemented as the general watched. For a lowly warrant officer like me, this is a chain of command I could really learn to like. A few hours ago, a rifle company of the 2/8th Cavalry was pinned down with heavy automatic and mortar fire just east of LZ English near the coast. A call has come in that a platoon was separated from the rest of the company in the skirmish. They need artillery support badly, but the company commander cannot call in support of any type until he knows the exact whereabouts of his lost platoon. Radio contact is being maintained; but the platoon leader cannot get his bearings accurately enough in the dark to tell anyone where he is. A/229th is on RRF duty tonight, and two birds launch. In one ship, the aircraft commander is Charles Boyd and the pilot is Larry Gore. In the other are Captain Stephen MacWillie and myself. Our job is to locate the lost platoon by any means possible and do as the situation dictates. MacWillie, formerly Lieutenant MacWillie, has been promoted to the rank of captain and moved up to A/229th executive officer. Beyer has also christened him our newest flight leader. After leading several combat assaults, he has proved he knows how to get the job done and is a good leader of men. As senior aircraft commander , he leads the mission. Both ships launch into the darkness from what used to be called the former “snake pit,” now called the Bandits’ Hideaway. As my eyes adjust to the dark, I see a three-quarter moon reflecting from the rice paddies below. The visibility is better than fair, but the high humidity could change this into night fog almost before I would know it. Immediately after climbing away from LZ English on an east heading , we see the telltale signs of the battle near the coast. There are 1 3 3 CHANGING SEATS small fires blazing, overhead flares drifting back to earth, and the ricocheting of spent tracer rounds flying all over...