Welcome

As I wr= ite this, I have reports on two of our number who are recovering from health problems.

I was f= ortunate enough to have a brief visit with Alan Hull on October 1^st. By coincidence, this was the second anniversary of his stroke. He= is mobile with the aid of an electric scooter. We went to the zoo, where he still= loved interacting with the children and seeing the animals, then Marsha joined us= and we spent the afternoon reminiscing at his home. He is doing well, all things consi= dered, and Marsha is working heroically to make his life as pleasant as possible.<= /p>

Tom Col= lins has had further trouble with his diabetes, and has another bout of hospitalization. Our secretar= y has devoted his column this month to a report on Tom, and relates his condition= in detail.

Please = keep both of these men in your prayers.

We have= some fine stories from our comrades in this issue. The stories are always appreciated= . Each of us had our unique view of the actions we were in. Hearing other’s views adds t= o the understanding of just what was going on. Please send more stories in, and we will keep expanding this part of the Gazette.

We intend to do a write up of The Tiger’s part i= n the search for and rescue of James Rowe in the next issue of the Gazette, so if= any of you have any memories of that, please send them in. I personally recall being sent to = look for him one afternoon in March 1967, and will include a brief account of th= at mission when we publish the story of that action.

Also, w= e would appreciate any reminiscences of Christmas at Soc Trang that you can send in= for a December edition.

We are = still soliciting recipes for the Tiger’s Cook Book. Please send them to me at:

Tiger129ts@roadrunner.com

Don Jackson

=

Chairman’s Corner

= Greetings to All,

= In only approximately seven more months we’ll gather again for our 2010 reuni= on at Fort Rucker. I am not deep= ly involved in the overall planning for the 13^th (Delta) Battalion portion, but we have worked out a favorable contract with the Dothan Holiday Inn South for our accommodations. &nb= sp;

= The motel has blocked 50 rooms for our people, a mix of Kings and Twin Doubles. Three of each type will be smoking rooms. Rate is $79.16 plus 10% tax. There will be no increase in the room rate if= there is more than one occupant. Th= is rate will be good for early arrivals and those that must remain an additional day. Reservations should be made directly to the hote= l, 334-794-8711, ask for 121 AVN rate. Do not go to the worldwide Holiday Inn 800 number. Those operators will= not have any knowledge about our arrangements with the motel in Dothan. T= he block will drop off rooms not reserved two weeks in advance (30 April 2010). Any one that reg= isters after the drop off date will still be eligible for the group rate if rooms = are available.

= The hospitality suite will be the same as for 2008, Room 116.

= Our Friday evening social and dinner (14 May) will be in the Bronze/Grand rooms, same place as 2008. A pay-as-you-go cash bar will be set up and the meal will be a light dinner buffet at a cost of $20.00 per, includes tax and gratuity. The menu will consist of slic= ed roast sirloin beef, lemon baked chicken, seasoned green beans, broccoli w/cheese, parsley buttered potatoes, rolls, butter, water, tea, coffee and assorted desserts.

= All registered guests get free hot breakfast.

= Theresa Cunningham has volunteered (thank you, Theresa) and is working with hotel s= ales and marketing people in an effort to organize a tour of Dothan and vicinity= for the ladies attending.

= The revised scholarship application and instructions have been posted on our web site, (121avn.= org), so encourage your descendants to start gathering their required documents a= nd enclosures.

= John Kennedy

Secretary’s Report<= /h1>

= Viking Gunner Hospitalized

Tom Collins, Viking Gunner 67-68 has been hospitalized. In August Tom was diagnosed with diabetes. Unfortunately, he has had part of his leg amputated due to infect= ion as a result of the diabetes. At the time of this writing, Tom is recovering= and hopefully will be out of the hospital by the time you are reading this. He = will have a substantial rehab and therapy but is expected to be walking with the help of prosthesis, in a short time.

Tom started the Forgotten Warriors Vietnam Museum several years ago. = His sheer determination and drive has taken the museum from a donated mobile ho= me to a 2,000+ square foot building. The displays at the museum are remarkable. The 2009 reunion was sponsored by the Forgotten Warriors Museum and was one= of the better reunions held by the 121 AVN Association.

We are all confident that Tom will use that same determination and dr= ive (he used to make the museum a success) to get himself back to normal and ke= ep the museum alive, for us to visit again in the future. But he will need a little help from his "Tiger Family" - keep Tom and his family in = your thoughts and prayers.

= John Schmied

Membership/Treasurer’s Report

There are two items to cover in th= is issue: scholarship donations and the new Association polo shirts.

Since the Cape May reunion, $340.0= 0 has been donated with specific allocation for scholarship purposes. A good start but I believe we can = do much better with this, the most worthy of causes. The more available funds we have t= he more scholarship monies become available to the family members of the Association. Please make your checks out to the 121 AVN Association and indicate “scholarship”= ; in the “for” area of your check.&= nbsp; Remember — these dona= tions are fully tax deductible.

The new Association polo shirts we= re well received by those who attended the 2009 reunion. So much so, that a second order was placed with the manufacturer and the stocking expanded to include medium, large, XL and XXL. The shirts= are Hanes 50/50 polos in black. T= he association logo is embroidered in the left breast area and there is no pocket. The workmanship is su= perior and the pricing reasonable (the Association realizes a profit of a few doll= ars per shirt). The price of the medium, large and XL is $30.00 each plus shipping and handling which is $5.= 00 for the first shirt and $1.00 more for each additional shirt. The price of the XXL is $32.00 plus shipping and handling. Pictur= es of the shirt can be forwarded by email. . I know you all will = be proud to show your colors. The shirts will also be available at the next reunion at Fort Rucker in 14-16 M= ay 2010. Please send your reques= t to: Tigerlead67@aol.com. Payments should be sent to: 121 AVN Association, c/o Dave Cunningham, 7650 S.W. 133 Street, Miami, FL 33156.

Please make your check payable to: = 121 AVN Association and indicate in the “for” section “Scholarships” or “shirts” as appropriate.

There are still a few of the old s= tyle Tiger shirts available in large and XL sizes at $20.00 each plus shipping a= nd handling. There will be no mo= re of these available when they are gone. As these shirts are now fully paid for all monies received is net in= come for the Association. Supplies are very limited.

Dave Cunningham=

Historian’s Report<= /h1>

As I= write this report, the leaves here in Virginia are about to change and it wonR= 17;t be long before winter will be upon us.&nbs= p; However, my wife and I are leaving for Hawaii next week to attend our oldest granddaughter’s sixteenth birthday, so we will hold off the co= ld for a few more days.

Some of you purchased a copy of the Annual Reports of the 121^st from 1963 to 1970 that I found at the National Archives, digitized, then put on CD. I have received positive feedback = from some members who said the reports helped put into perspective the sequence = of events during their time at Soc Trang so long ago. I intend to continue to bring more copies of this CD to future reunions or will furnish them to you upon reque= st for mailing costs and a contribution to the Association. In addition, I unsuccessfully atte= mpted to donate what I had done to the National Archives and when that failed (th= ey can’t agree on the file format), I offered the information to the Vie= tnam Archives at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. Many of you will remember t= he outstanding briefing and tour we got of that facility during our 2007 reunion. They have responded positively and so I will be sending them what I have done. This will ensure that these record= s will continue to exist for the foreseeable future.

Most of= you know that the 121^st Aviation Company was created from the 93rd Transportation Company on 25 June 1963.&nb= sp; The 93d was activated on 1 April 1954 at Ft Riley, Kansas. It served at Ft. Riley and Ft. Dev= ens, Mass. until 1 December 1961 when it was alerted for travel to Vietnam (for a detailed and most interesting history of this time see the annual report for 1963). Little did I realize w= hen my Dad came up for a visit to the campus at the University of New Hampshire in= an H-21 Helicopter from the 93d Trans., that I would later serve as a helicopt= er pilot in the evolution of that same unit.&= nbsp; At the time I was an ROTC cadet at UNH. I went through some old pictures a= nd found one of that event. I am forwarding this picture to Don in hopes that he will be able to put it in t= he Gazette.

My Dad, LTC Robert Cushing Greene is the one in the
topcoat. I believe this picture was taken in 1957, which

would mean that he was 47 years of age. He is now 99

and is going to Hawaii with me!

Many th= anks to Bluemax35_2000 (Jim) who wrote up

an excellent article called, “New in CountryR= 21; and sent it

in on th= e Yahoo Group. It was very well done = and

interesting to read.&= nbsp; I believe Don may be planning to

reprint it in the Gazette. Many of you could do this sort

of thing.

Even if you don’t think your writing is up to sn= uff,

I would be more than willing to provide editing.

It’s your story that’s important!

Next we= ek I’ll sip a Mai Tai while sitting on the grass

outside the Hale Koa (House of Warriors) Hotel at

Waikiki Beach and think of you all. Aloha, = &nb= sp; LTC Robert Cushing Greene, 1957=

Bob Greene

Association Historian

Tiger Tales<= o:p>

New In Country

<=
tt>

  When I first ar=
rived in Vietnam during February 1969, I landed in Cam Rahn Bay in II Corps=
.  I thought I was to be assigned to an aviation unit in the northern =
part of the country, but I was immediately re-assigned to IV Corps in the D=
elta.  That night I boarded an Air Force C-130 with 85 other GIs. =
; We all sat on the cargo floor, with cargo straps strung across the cabin =
every five feet.  We flew south all night dropping off passengers=
 at different locations, then finally landing after dawn with just three of=
 us left.  We landed at Bien Tuy Air Base on the south side of the Mek=
ong River just west of Can Tho.  The C-130 taxied to a stop and the re=
ar ramp opened but they did not shut down the engines.  The loadmaster=
 told us to get off with our bags, and then they immediately raised the ram=
p and started taxiing out for take-off.  The three of us stood there o=
n this large open area with no shelter, just a large pole with a windsock o=
n one side and the runway on the other.  Several military trucks drive=
n by Vietnamese soldiers came down the dirt road paralleling the runway, bu=
t none stopped to pick us up.  It seemed that most of these trucks had=
 a single bullet hole in the driver's window, something noticed to heighten=
 our anxiety.  About half an hour went by (it seemed an eternity) when=
 a US military 3/4 ton truck turned onto this deserted expanse.  The d=
river pulled up and said: "Jump in".  In no time we were out=
 on the highway next to the river, amongst a multitude of Honda motorcycles=
, produce carts, Mercedes trucks, military vehicles, and walking Vietnamese=
 all heading towards the town of Can Tho.  As we approached the town, =
I could see Cobra gunships in the airfield traffic pattern along with Hueys=
, a Chinook, an Air America Porter, and an USAF C-123.  I thought Can =
Tho would be my assignment.  The 3/4 ton drove into the airfield entra=
nce, and dropped us off in front of the 13th Aviation Battalion personnel o=
ffice.  When I reported in, they told me not to set my bags down becau=
se I was being sent farther south to the 121st Assault Helicopter Company a=
t Soc Trang.  The company was currently operating UH-1B model gunships=
, but was scheduled to receive AH-1G Cobras, so they were pre-assigning qua=
lified Cobra pilots.  Turns out that Soc Trang was the southern most A=
rmy Airfield in Vietnam.  The tenant aviation units were the 121st AHC=
, the 336th AHC, a Dust off medevac platoon, and a detachment of 221st O-1E=
 Birddogs.

  I humped my bags over to the airfield termi=
nal building and asked for a ride to Soc Trang.  As luck would have it=
, one of the 121st slicks was getting ready to leave for Soc Trang.  T=
he Aircraft Commander was Lt Jimmie Ellis, I asked him if he knew my flight=
 school roommate, WO1 Bill Ellis.  Jimmie not only knew Bill, but said=
 that he was also assigned to the 121st and flying in the Viking gun platoo=
n.  After graduating from flight school in December, Bill had gone str=
aight to Vietnam, while I stayed at Hunter Army Airfield to attend the AH-1=
G Cobra Transition Course.  Finding an old friend at Soc Trang was a c=
omfort I had not expected.  Turned out that another friend, WO1 Paul M=
cClymonds was also a Viking.  Paul had finished AH-1G training two wee=
ks ahead of me, so he had also preceded me to the Vikings as a Cobra pilot.=

  Soc Trang airfield had been a Japanese figh=
ter base during World War II and then the French had improved the facilitie=
s during the 50's, so the living conditions were some of the best in Vietna=
m.  The paved runway ran east to west with the hangars and building on=
 the north side of the strip.  The buildings were brick construction w=
ith tile roofs and electricity.   There were concrete sidewalks t=
hroughout the company area.  There was even green grass and flowers pl=
anted next to the buildings.  The main latrine had individual stalls w=
ith flushing toilets and a tiled shower area with all the hot water we coul=
d use.  The officer’s mess had a dinning room seating 40 patrons=
.  It was equipped with tables covered in checkered cloth and Vietname=
se waitresses.  There was also an Army Post Office, a medical facility=
, a PX, a MARS station, an Officer's club, an NCO club, and a service club =
on the installation.  For quick reaction, the gunships, and the medeva=
c were parked on the north side of the runway about  25meters from our=
 hooches (living quarters).  The slicks had to be parked on the south =
side of the runway, in an area that was about a 300 meter walk from the hoo=
ches.  The Viking pilot hooches were the two building on the west side=
 of the O club.  Each hooch had a central hallway with six individual =
rooms on each side.  The wall separating each two rooms had a built-in=
 closet facing each room.  There were also mamma sans working in =
the company area for laundry and house keeping.  These women did all o=
f the cleaning, made our beds, washed and ironed our clothes, and shined ou=
r boots, all for $10.00 a month.  They all answered to Mamma san, and =
would squat together chewing beetle nut and chattering while doing their wo=
rk.  I'd leave my dirty uniform in a pile with scuffed boots next to m=
y bed at night.  The next afternoon, it would be washed, pressed and h=
anging in my closet with the sleeves rolled up.  My boots would be lin=
ed up under my bed with a new spit shine.  I had been at Soc Trang for=
 about five weeks, when the room next to Bill Ellis' became available. =
; I moved my things into it, and we knocked out one of the closets separati=
ng the rooms to make a passageway  between the rooms.  The one re=
maining closet was large enough for all of our things.  We placed both=
 beds on the closet side and made the other room into a sitting area with a=
 writing table and chairs, it also had the only phone in the building. =
; Bill was able to find a used window air conditioner, so we had one of the=
 best pads on the facility.  When the company Executive Officer g=
ot wind that a wall had been knocked down in the pilot hooches, he came loo=
king for the damage.  We had done such a great job of removing the old=
 closet and repairing the molding, that he didn't recognize our room as the=
 one with the modified wall.

MY FIRST COMBAT ASSAULT (Raid of the water melon patch)

  My indoctrination into combat tactics in th=
e Delta started by flying copilot in the slicks.  The two lift platoon=
s in the 121st were the White Tigers and Blue Tigers flying UH-1D model Hue=
ys.  To appreciate their prospective, I was assigned to fly with them =
during my first two weeks in country.  Each slick had

a crew of four.  An aircraft commander, a copilot, a crew=
 chief and a gunner.  The pilots were mostly WO1s or Lieutenants and t=
he crew chiefs and gunners were PFCs or Spec 4s.  Every week the slick=
s would alternate between hash and trash missions (admin support flights ar=
ound the Delta) and combat assaults.  My first mission with them was during a combat assault week.  This particular day we wer=
e to insert a company of South Vietnamese soldiers (ARVNs) into one side of=
 a grid box for a search and destroy mission and then pick them up that aft=
ernoon on the other side of the box.  The search area was near the sev=
en sisters mountains located in the northwest portion of the Delta.  T=
hat morning we departed Soc Trang for the pick-up zone (PZ) with ten slicks=
 and four UH-1B gunships .  We landed at the PZ, conducted a briefing =
with the local American advisor and then loaded the troops.  I remembe=
r it as a warm spring day, with blue sky and a few scattered clouds.  =
As a F---ing New Guy (FNG), the aircraft commander said, =

"Just watch and stay out of the way", not much else =
to do in a Huey copilot seat.  I remember the smells along with the vi=
sual impressions.  Personal hygiene was not a priority among the Vietn=
amese soldiers.  When ten of them crowded into the space between the p=
ilot seats and the gunner's wells, their poor wash habits and local diets m=
ade for a lasting impression on any FNG nose.  I remember the beat of =
the rotor as we flew a tight formation from the Initial Point (IP) to the L=
anding Zone (LZ).  The gunships prepped the LZ with their rockets and =
the door guns were allowed to fire during this first insertion.  As we=
 maintained our number three position in a staggered left formation and app=
roached our touch down area, I noted we were going to set down in a square =
green field.  I could see the rows of plants a farmer had worked so ha=
rd to cultivate.  Getting closer, I recognized the fruit on the vines =
and blurted out over the intercom, "Those are WATER MELONS, we're goin=
g to land in a water melon patch"!  The crew chief and gunner swu=
ng their weapons towards the front of the aircraft and recognized the produ=
ce in our intended landing site.

  A short admin note:  The Vietnamese tr=
oops were known for their lack of urgency during a combat assault.  Wh=
ile American grunts were famous for stepping off the slicks while they were=
 still five feet in the air, the Vietnamese soldiers would sit passive=
ly as the aircraft came to a complete stop with both skids firmly planted o=
n the ground before they would start moving to step off the helicopter.&nbs=
p;

  Well, as the skids touched down in the wate=
rmelon patch, both the crew chief and gunner jumped off the helicopter befo=
re the Vietnamese soldiers even started to move.  We must have been on=
 the ground for 15 seconds as those troops disembarked, all the while the cr=
ew chief and gunner were scooping watermelons onto the Huey.  When the=
 trail ship called to inform the flight that all troops had gotten off, the=
 lead ship started to lift.  Doing as we were trained, the aircraft co=
mmander started to pull pitch just as the gunner climbed back on board, I l=
ooked to my left and saw the crew chief with a melon under each arm, leapin=
g for the cargo door.  He landed on his chest, so he wouldn't have to =
release his prizes.  We laughed all the way back to the PZ.  They=
 had managed to scoop up seven watermelons during that short stop.  I =
don't think Farmer Nguyen Phong ever realized his patch had been raided by =
the Soc Trang Tigers.

James Castillo<=
o:p>

Vi Thanh – Part II

<= /b>

15 February 1967

Vi Thanh, the scene of many bloody engagements. 15 February 1967 would be more of = the same. Many men on both sides = would not survive that day. A Stars and Stripes article placed the Viet Cong casualties at 331 KIA. Conversations I had with MACV advi= sors who were there indicated there was probably many more. The blood trails were too numerous= to count and the VC attempted to retrieve their dead to avoid accurate body count. A B52 strike that afte= rnoon had probably vaporized many more.

The ARVN units suffered as well though I have no figures for them. Warrior Lead, Captain Robert Cole Stewart, was KIA, in the initial insertion. The battalion’s aircraft wou= ld take a pounding as well but Mr. Bell’s tough war horses would survive= to fly again, thanks to the enormous efforts of the maintenance troops who wou= ld labor through the night and beyond.

Late = in the day a decision was made to keep some ARVN units in contact after nightfall,= a rarity for that time and area. One problem – the units in question, particularly the rangers, were woefu= lly short of ammunition and in danger of being annihilated. A C130 was loaded in and dispatched to the airstrip at Vi Thanh. The Herc arrived after nightfall and landing that big bird on that runway after dark would be quite a challenge. Three times the pi= lot abandoned the approach and went around.&nb= sp; The pilot indicated he would try one more time when the situation wi= th ARVN ammo status was explained. While on short final an individual, who will remain nameless, inform= ed the 130 driver that a .50 caliber was in place at the approach end of the runway and he could either land or get shot down on the runway. This time the Hercules completed t= he landing, obviously using all avenues of stopping power he had. The distance from the aircraft rad= ome to the departure end of the runway was less than ten feet!

The aircraft was quickly off loaded and transferred to five Tiger sl= icks that immediately took off on the critical re-supply mission. We landed in a vee of five and as = near to the tree line as possible. Charlie was quick to welcome us with wide open firearms, both from individual and crew served weapons. The fire was so intense the rangers were having difficulty getting to our aircraft to unload their ammo. Door gunners and crew chiefs immediately began off loading the cargo= in an effort to limit their exposure in that very hot LZ. When their efforts had seemingly b= een completed an explosion rocked the right side of the number three aircraft, inflicting serious damage and wounding the door gunner. The radio transmissions of number = three were very excited to say the least and I instructed him to take off and I w= ould follow. Numbers two, four and five were directed to follow us back to Vi Thanh. By the time the strick= en aircraft reached altitude the pilot was convinced his aircraft, which was losing fuel in copious amounts, would not make it back to the airstrip. I told him to relay his fuel level= every fifty pounds and turned my landing light on his aircraft. The UH-1D was literally raining JP= 4 and reaching Vi Thanh was problematic. When he was on final approach I told him to fly right to the ground,= no hovering. He made a beautiful landing and mere seconds later the rotor blad= es slowed down as the fuel finally ran out.&n= bsp; The door gunner suffered shrapnel wounds to the forehead. A few inches lower and he would ha= ve lost his eyesight. The aircra= ft was literally riddled in the right side fuselage adjacent to the door gunners&#= 8217; station and fuel cell area. T= he sheet metal folks would have their work cut out.

All five aircraft on that mission were battle damaged and it was determined that three would be sent back to Soc Trang for repairs. The three aircraft all had one ope= rable radio but no two had the same one working.= Coordinating the flight would be done by light signals. It was good to be back at Soc Tran= g at the end of that very long and eventful day. My flight records indicate 12.5 ho= urs combat assault time, of which 1.5 were night time, and 37 landings.

Words cannot begin to describe my admiration for the Tiger and Viking crews that served so gallantly that day and without complaint. They truly reflected the finest in= Army Aviation.

Dave Cunningham

=

Contact Us:

Letters to the editor should = be sent to:

Donald Jackson

217 Wilderness Cove Lane

Georgetown, Ky. 40324

Email: Tiger129ts@roadrunn= er.com

Your Board of Trustees is:=

John Kennedy, Chairman        =             &nb= sp;   Donald Jackson, Vice Chairman

Kennedyj101@mchsi.com        =             &nb= sp; Tiger129ts@roadrunn= er.com        =             &nb= sp;            =            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;

John Schmied, Secretary        =             &nb= sp;     Dave Cunningham, Treasurer and Membership        =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =              =

Jds50@aol.com        =             &nb= sp;            =          Tigerlead67@aol.com=         =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;                 =             &nb= sp;

Bob Greene, Historian        =             &nb= sp;        Norm Laumeyer        =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;

bojogreene@comcast.net        =             &nb= sp;    babsnnorm@aol.com        =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =

Lawrence Hays

lawrencejhays@att.net