January-February 1968-page 12,13,14+18,19

“Southeast Asia”

Heavy enemy ground fire slammed into the hovering HH-43F as the crew prepared to bring seriously wounded marines aboard but, despite excessive vibration and loss of rotor RPM, 1stLt William T. Sehorn managed to bring the crippled helicopter "home. " Home in this case is Da Nang AB where Det 7 of the 38th ARRSq is stationed.

The mission began when the HUSKIE crew scrambled for an emergency medical evacuation of marine casualties from a mountainous jungle area 11 miles from Da Nang. With Captain Sehorn were Capt Donald D. Sams, the copilot; SSgt John H. Stemple, pararescue specialist; and Alc Edward L. Thorpe, flight engineer. Two UH-1B gunships at the site advised that Pedro, the HH-43, was cleared for pickup so Lieutenant Sehorn established a 150-foot hover which he held for 10 minutes while the ground party attempted to load their wounded on the forest penetrator. During this time, Airman Thorpe's "clear and precise voice procedures" enabled holding the helicopter in such a position that the penetrator could be kept clear of trees, while Captain Sams and Sergeant Stemple advised as to blade clearance from the surrounding obstructions. Difficulty in placing the wounded on the penetrator was being experienced by those on the ground, and Sergeant Stemple was just preparing to go down the hoist to assist when heavy ground fire from just outside the clearing forced the marines to dive for cover, dragging their wounded with them. Airman Thorpe immediately attempted to recover the forest penetrator from the trees, but the extended seats caught on the dense jungle canopy. Leaning far out of the cabin door and exposing himself to enemy fire, Thorpe then tried to shake the penetrator loose by pulling on the cable. When this was unsuccessful he advised the Lieutenant to cut the cable. With the helicopter vibrating and losing RPM due to damage from the ground fire, the pilot quickly cut the cable; with sufficient RPM regained, he then skilfully avoided the surrounding trees while translating into forward flight down the steep hillside toward a safe emergency landing zone. After checking the control responses on the vibrating helicopter and finding them satisfactory, Lieutenant Sehorn continued on and made a successful landing at Da Nang. The HUSKIE was then grounded due to battle damage. 

In another Det 7 mission, a pilot who ejected from his battle-damaged plane was rescued 15 minutes later from hostile territory by an HH-43F. Capt Robert L. Merna, RCC, decided to make the pickup without protective cover after the downed pilot reported numerous Vietnamese, probably hostile, in his immediate area. The HUSKIE copilot, Capt Alfred R. Jacox, Jr., spotted the downed pilot's chute and, after the chopper landed in a clear space nearby, Airman Thorpe, helicopter mechanic, and A2c David A. Carl, pararescue specialist, leaped out to assist the survivor aboard. Captain Merna im­mediately executed a maximum performance tactical takeoff. 

Soon after ejecting from their crippled F-4C, the two­man crew was rescued from the South China Sea by an HH-43F from Det 7. The HUSKIE, piloted by Captain Merna, was orbiting the base to assist in case of a crash landing when word came that it had been decided to eject over the water. The helicopter rescue crew headed for the open sea, pausing on the way to set down their fire suppression kit on Monkey Mountain. A few minutes later both survivors were picked up. Captain Sams was copilot of the HH-43. Crewmen were SSgt Vernon D. Taylor and Alc Herman R. Singleton.

Two missions less than two hours apart - it was a busy but rewarding time for HH-43F pilot Capt Keith H. Ricks and his copilot, Capt Robert L. Osborne, from Det 9, 38th ARRSq, Pleiku AB.

In the first mission, described as a perfect example of the ARRS local base rescue system, the HUSKIE crew scrambled with a fire suppression kit when a Vietnamese C-46 with 25 per­sons aboard crashed on takeoff, veered off the runway and plunged over a 30-foot embankment. With one engine afire, the plane came to rest astraddle a large section of concertina barbed wire which made it impossible for the base fire trucks to get close to the aircraft. As the Vietnamese passengers hurriedly left the C-46, Captain Ricks positioned the FSK and the airborne firefighters, Alc Robert L. Morzenti and Felipe A. Quiroz, leaped out and began extinguishing the blaze. The HH-43 pilot then hovered over the crash and used the rotor down­wash to blow smoke and heat away from the passengers. With the fire out and evacuation completed, the HUSKIE took the C-46 pilot to the hospital. He was the only one seriously injured in the crash. 

The second mission, made under unusual circumstances, involved two HH-43F's from the detachment and resulted in the saving of four lives after an Army helicopter crashed in a swift-flowing river running through the jungle. One of the rescuees was a young woman employed as a Red Cross field office assistant. 

Captains Ricks and Osborne took off in the HUSKIE as soon as word was received of the crash. With them were SSgt Arthur L. Wood, flight engineer, and Alc John A. Smith, pararescueman. The rescue helicopter was accompanied by fighter escort since the river was located in hostile territory. Three survivors were sighted, two were on a small island and the third on the shore about 30 feet away. To make the first rescue, Captain Ricks hovered the helicopter a few inches above the rapidly running water - ascertained later to be flowing at 35 mph - and the survivor was hauled aboard by Sergeant Wood and Airman Smith. The other survivor was able to mount the forest penetrator without difficulty. Meanwhile, the third survivor was hoisted to another Det 9 HUSKIE which had arrived on the scene. Maj Richard A. Smith was pilot of the second HH-43 and Capt Francis B. Gilligan was copilot. Crewmen were Alc Jose G. Abara, flight engineer, and A2c David B. Ortiz, para­rescueman. A2c Robert E. White, a photographer, was also aboard. Major Smith and his crew had been on a local training mission when word of the helicopter crash was received. 

The search continued when it was learned there had been nine persons on the downed helicopter instead of the three originally reported. The Red Cross worker was found lying on a small rock, apparently injured and in shock. Major Smith came to a hover over the island and Airman Ortiz was lowered to the slippery rock by Airman Abara. She was placed in a litter and hoisted to the HH-43. A minute or two later the low fuel light came on so Major Smith headed for the base at Kontum to refuel and get medical aid. Several heavy rainstorms were encountered on the way. Meanwhile, as Airman Smith administered first aid to the two rescuees, Captain Ricks continued the search for other survivors. Alter 50 minutes, the bad weather and approaching nightfall finally forced him to head for Kontum. On the way, the rain became so heavy the HH-43 pilot dropped down to within 50 feet of a road and followed it to Kontum. Each time the helicopter was raised to clear the trees, the pilot went to instrument conditions until the ground could again be spotted. Other helicopters at the base turned on their navigation lights to give the HH-43 pilot reference for landing. When the weather improved, both HUSKIES transported the survivors to the hospital at Pleiku. 

An HH-43 crew from Det 10, 38th ARRSq, Binh Thuy AB, rescued three crewmen from an Army aircraft that crashed in a rice paddy 26 miles north of the base. Constant cover was flown by USAF fighters as the pick­up was made and a small patrol of ARVN troops also entered the area to provide close ground support against possible hostile action. Capt Armand J. Fiola was pilot of the HUSKIE and Captain Shea was copilot. Crewmen were TSgt Walter H. May, flight engineer, and A2c James L. Parks, paramedic. 

Four Vietnamese Regional Force soldiers seriously injured in an ambush, were evacuated by an HH-43F piloted by Capt James H. Brahney, RCC, and Captain Shea. The evacuation was made from a highly hostile area with constant air coverage being furnished by an Army helicopter fire team. The injured were treated on the way to the hospital by TSgt Clyde R. Ross, pararescueman. The speedy evacuation was credited with saving the lives of the soldiers. 

Det 10 HUSKIEs have also been involved in a variety of other missions. Four search sorties totaling two hours and 30 minutes were flown in poor visibility and at night by an HH-43 crew in attempt to locate a downed pilot. The pilot had been on an airstrike in support of an outpost under seige when his plane crashed in an area covered by a layer of smoke from fires set by the attacking forces. Disregarding the danger, the helicopter crew landed and checked the wreckage but found no sign of the pilot. The hazardous search then began and was only suspended later because of ground fire. The next day the pilot was found in the wreckage which was almost submerged by water in a rice paddy. Capt Harold Pickering was pilot on the mission and Lieutenant Goza, III, copilot. Alc Larry E. Hawkins was flight engineer and Airman Parks, pararescueman. 

Maj James F. Jansa, HH-43 rescue crew commander from Det 6, 38th ARRSq, Bien Hoa AB, has accumulated 3000 hours as a helicopter pilot during the last 10 years. The "most difficult flying" he ever experienced yin that time took place recently during the mountainside rescue of two Vietnamese and a Swiss National from their crashed helicopter. Sharing in the hazardous mission were Capt Charles I. Rice, the copilot, Alc Thomas M. Alves, mechanic, and A2c Gunther Bahrenburg, para­rescueman. 

After a 60-mile flight through rain showers and very low ceiling, the wreckage was located at 3000 feet in a ravine which pierced the steeply sloping mountainside. As Major Jansa held a hover among 150-foot trees and below overhanging branches, Airman Bahrenburg was lowered and prepared the two injured Vietnamese for hoisting. For 40 minutes - as the ceiling gradually lowered and cloud wisps were pulled through the rotor system - the pilot held the HUSKIE in the hover. Finally, with the Vietnamese and airman aboard, the helicopter eased out of the precarious spot and headed for Bao Loc so the survivors could be questioned. There it was learned a third man was still pinned in the wreckage. Plans were immediately made to rescue him; however, the evacuation attempt failed due to a cloud bank on the mountain. A second try was thwarted by fog and extremely heavy rain. Afterward, a damaged blade was temporarily repaired with cloth tape, but nightfall and continued heavy rain prevented further attempts that day. The next morning the first and second flights also failed due to fog but, at noon the ceiling lifted just as a ground party reached the crash site. The HH-43 reached the area a few minutes later and 20 minutes of the "most difficult hovering" were expended while repeated attempts were made to lower the litter through the dense trees. Finally a chain saw was lowered and some of the trees felled. As the litter was being hoisted the fog again closed in but the pilot used a large tree, five feet from the rotor blades, as a reference and gently moved down the mountain away from the dangerous site. The area was not considered secure but, luckily, no hostile ground fire was encountered. 

In another Det 6 mission, a pilot who bailed out of a crippled F-100 at night, was rescued from a "patchy" jungle area a short while later by an HH-43 flown by Major Jansa. The pickup was made without incident. Other members of the rescue crew were Captain Rice, copilot; SSgt Barry Sherman, flight engineer; and Airman Bahrenburg, pararescueman.  

Two HH-43's from Det 6, 38th ARRSq, Bien Hoa AB, teamed up to rescue a downed forward air controller (FAC) who had hidden for two hours in Viet Cong infested jungle. After a 50-minute flight through low clouds and occasional rain, the HUSKIE crews began a low level search over the dense jungle. When the survivor was located, one of the rescue helicopters lowered the forest penetrator and hoisted the downed airman to safety as the other HH-43 flew cover. Although the survivor had heard the enemy moving all around him, no hostile fire was encountered. Manning one HUSKIE were Maj James F. Okonek, RCC; Maj Lawrence W. Heflin, copilot; SSgt Richard D. Almond, flight engineer; and Sgt Roger A. Porter, rescue specialist. Flying with Capt James A. Darden, RCC, in the other HH-43 were 1stLt Jon C. Long, copilot; SSgt Donald S. Kearton, flight engineer; and Alc Terrence Treutel, rescue specialist.

In another mission, a Det 6 HH-43, assisted by a HUSKIE from Det 14, 38th ARRSq, Tan Son Nhut AB, evacuated the injured member of a MACV team from a hostile area 61 miles from Bien Hoa. The rescuee, who had a compound fracture of the leg, was on the bottom of a deep ravine at the base of a nearly vertical cliff. To make the mountainside pickup, at 3500 feet, Major Okonek held the HUSKIE in a high hover close to the cliff so the litter could be lowered. Other members of the crew were Capt Sheridan K. Hawk, Sergeant Almond and Sergeant Porter, all from Det 6. Flying in the covering HH-43 were Capt Charles W. Burridge, RCC, Sergeant Kearton and Airman Treutel, Det 6; Capt Joseph K. Dennis, CP, and Alc Walter H. Westbrook, FE, Det 14. Earlier, the MACV team had entered the area to secure it after an army plane was downed by enemy fire. The remains of the crew were recovered at that time by Det 6 helicopters. 

An HH-43 crew from Det 8, 38th ARRSq, Cam Ranh Bay AB, landed in an insecure area to evacuate nine men from an Army helicopter which had been forced down by a ruptured oil line. Maj Armand J. Fiola was pilot of the rescue helicopter and 1stLt Willie L. Farrow was copilot. Crewmen were SSgt Thomas E. Hand and Alc William L. Russell. During the pickup, cover was flown by another HUSKIE from the detachment. 

In a second mission, an HH-43 crew from Det 8 aided in evacuating four soldiers from a helicopter which crashed in an insecure wooded area a few miles from the base. Sgt Norman Edney, HUSKIE crew chief, and Alc George S. Armstrong, medic, assisted in freeing the trapped men from the wreckage and two were placed aboard the HH-43. The other two were airlifted by an Army helicopter. HUSKIE pilot on the mission was Major Fiola and Lieutenant Farrow was copilot. 

Rescuemen of Det 10, 38th ARRSq, Binh Thuy AB, completed their 50th rescue recently with the evacuation of a U.S. sailor who had suffered serious leg wounds due to enemy fire. Capt Donald E. Van Meter, RCC of the HH-43F, received the request for air evacuation at 8:03 a. m. and within 22 minutes the patient was on his way to the hospital. During the flight, treatment was given by MSgt Ted R. Hawkins, pararescueman. Other HUSKIE crew members were Capt Laurence W. Conover, copilot, and Sgt Larry E. Hawkins, flight engineer. 

During a series of missions, 12 downed airmen were rescued by HH-43 crews from Det 3, 38th ARRSq, Ubon AB, Thailand. Disregarding burning and exploding ordnance nearby, an HH-43 crew from Det 3 picked up one of two pilots who had ejected from an F4 that crashed on take-off. After lowering a medic to assist the second pilot, who was injured, the first pilot was taken to the base and a doctor and litter were taken on board. Upon return to the rescue site, the doctor and rescue specialist were lowered to assist in loading the injured pilot into the litter. After he was taken to the hospital, the HH-43 returned and picked up the three men who had been left behind. The entire rescue operation was hampered by smoke from the burning aircraft. Maj Glenn M. Marks was RCC and 1stLt Fred M. Ayoub was co-pilot. Crewmen were A2c Charles T. McSweeney, SSgt John A. N. Yarwood, Alc Donald E. Hale, and Alc Donald W. Jowers. 

A pilot who ejected from an F-105 with hydraulic trouble was picked up by an HH-43 crew from Det 3 almost as soon as he landed in a rice paddy. Major Marks was pilot of the HUSKIE; crewmen were Alc James M. Payne, Cyrus G. Hartwell and David J. Meade. Two pilots who ejected from their crippled plane were picked up soon afterward by a HUSKIE crew consisting of 1stLt Thomas E. Kullgren, Airman Payne, Ale Hoke Johnson and Airman Hale. 

When two planes collided in mid-air, a HUSKIE crew from Det 3 scrambled with the FSK and covered the successful landing of one of the aircraft. The FSK was then returned to the ramp and Major Marks and his crew headed for the area where the pilots from the second plane had bailed out. Both were picked up and taken to the dispensary. Other members of the HUSKIE crew were 1stLt John R. Bland, the copilot, and Ale Herbert H. Gentry, Jr., Payne, Hale and Jowers, crewmen. 

In other Det 3 missions, an HH-43 piloted by Maj Dennis M. Chase deployed a fire suppression kit and fireman near a burning plane, then picked up one survivor from the ground and another from a tree. To make the second pickup, the forest penetrator was lowered onto the rescuee's chest so he could secure himself to the device. With Major Chase were Alc Theodore Chandler, MT; Alc James Tevis and Airman Hartwell, RS. Two other pilots who ejected 12 miles from the base after a flight control failure, were picked up in rice paddies by Capt David H. Baur and his crew: Airman Johnson, Airman Hartwell and Alc Eugene P. Ronning. Another pilot was picked up after Lt Merrill C. Hiscock landed in a rice paddy and sent Airman Chandler, the medic, and SSgt Jimmie E. Rogers, flight engineer, to assist him. The downed pilot had suffered an ankle injury. Copilot on the mission was Capt Ted Schroeder.

Flying through rain, haze and fog an HH-43 crew from Det 13, 38th ARRS, Phu Cat AB, delivered a seriously injured Army officer to the hospital at Qui Nhon. The officer had suffered possible brain damage after his jeep overturned on a wet bridge and plummeted 15 feet into a ravine. The HUSKIE, piloted by Maj Bert E. Cowden, made the 25 mile flight over hostile, mountainous territory without escort. With Major Cowden were 1stLt Ronald P. Wojack, copilot; Sgt Delmer R. Smith, medical technician; and Capt Jerald B. Turner (MC), flight surgeon.

The pilot of an O-1 spotter plane, which crash-landed in hostile territory after an engine failure, was rescued by an HH-43 from Det 7, 38th ARRSq, Da Nang AB. The wreckage was sighted by 2ndLt Michael L. Walker, co­pilot of the HUSKIE, and Capt George R. Andrews, RCC, landed in a clearing to make the pickup. Numerous airstrikes were being made in the vicinity at the time. The clearing had been made temporarily secure by a marine patrol which had seen the plane crash. SSgt Daniel M. Palmer was crewman on the mission.

An injured Army pilot and a wounded Vietnamese fire­fighter were rescued by an HH-43F crew from Det 9, 38th ARRSq, Pleiku AB, after a fully-armed helicopter crashed near Holloway Army airfield and began burning.
"When we arrived," Capt Jack V. Butler, RCC, said, "we could see and hear violent explosions apparently from the rockets and other ordnance in the burning helicopter. We orbited the area to let the explosions settle down a little, then we went down, dropped off our fire suppression kit and deployed our two airborne fire­fighters. "
Alc Felipe A. Quiroz said the Vietnamese firefighters were already fighting the blaze when he and A1c Eric W. Nelson, the other airborne firefighter, ran to the FSK and started to use it on the fire. However, because of the exploding ordnance, the pilot and copilot (Capt Robert L. Osborne) called them back.
A few minutes later Quiroz and Nelson returned to the downed helicopter and suppressed the fire enough for A2c David R. Berrio, pararescueman, to aid the gun ship pilot and a Vietnamese firefighter who had been hit by exploding ordnance. Both of the injured men were taken to the hospital in the HUSKIE.
"It was a very rewarding mission because we did save lives," Captain Osborne said afterward.

Det 9 has recorded nearly 100 saves, 90 of them under combat conditions, since its formation less than two years ago.

SSgt Vincent L. Davis, an aeromedical technician assigned to Det 1, 38th ARRSq, Phan Rang AB, recently assisted in saving the life of a South Vietnamese soldier who had been shot in the back twice. The Sergeant was flying in an HH-43 when the pilot, 1stLt Gary L. Gross, received a call for help from an ARVN force operating in a Viet Cong controlled area 10 miles from Phan Rang. When it was found the helicopter could not land due to the terrain, Sergeant Davis volunteered to descend to aid the critically wounded soldier. With the help of the ground troops, the Air Force medic carried the man to a place where the HUSKIE could land and the patient was placed aboard. Ten minutes later he was receiving hospital treatment. 

photo-captions:

FLYING MEDIC-Tuy Hoa (7AF)... A1c Paul J. Volges, rides the jungle penetrator on another mission of mercy. Volges, an aeromedical technician with Det 11, 38th ARRSq at Tuy Hoa AB, has voluntarily risked his life on three occasions to search hostile territory for crash survivors. On two occasions he was ordered to leave the scene due to approaching enemy forces. During another mission he braved enemy ground fire to run 250 yards down a beach to recover the pilot's body from a crashed helicopter. Assisting Volges is SSgt William O. Johnson, flight engineer on the HH-43. Maj John J. Elliff detach­ment commander, is the pilot. (USAF photo) 

ARRS HEAD IN SEA-Binh Thuy (7AF)... BrigGen Allison C. Brooks, commander of the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service, inspects the speaker system on an HH-43F HUSKIE rescue helicopter at Binh Thuy AB during a recent visit. Maj Harold Pickering, commander of Det 10, 38th ARRSq, explains some of the uses he has made of the system while control­ling rescue operations. (USAF photo)

TO THE RESCUE-Phu Cat (7AF) ...An HH-43 HUSKIE helicopter from Det 13, 38th ARRSq at Phu Cat AB, hovers while a hoist is attached to the fire suppression kit carried on local rescue missions. The unit responds to calls for recovery of downed pilots, air evacuation missions and local in-flight emergencies. Recently, an HH-43 from the detachment made a hazardous night flight over a mountainous area near the South China Sea to evacuate an airman suffering from extensive phosphorous burns and a serious hand injury. The aircraft was under fire for several minutes during the mission. Capt Harold L. Hering was pilot on the flight and 1stLt Ronald P. Wojack was copilot. Crewmen were TSgts Delmer R. Smith and Arthur J. Cole. In an earlier mission, a critically-ill patient was evacuated to the hospital by an HH­43 crew consisting of 1stLt James E. McLain, pilot; Lieutenant Wojack, copilot; Capt Jerald B. Turner (MC), flight surgeon; and Alc Curtis E. Nickles, crewman. This was the 616th save made by ARRS this year and equaled the total number of saves for 1966. (USAF photo)

last update : 30/06/2007