The average lapse … A lot of them were Americans; a lot of them were the enemy. And, during the Cold War era, most did earn Purple Hearts; Huey door gunners had the second shortest life expectancy of all Army and Marine MOS'es. They earned every accolade they received. Did any of these guys ever fall out during an evasive manouvre or sharp turn? The conflict claimed the … SP5 Alfred T. Calderon was the crew chief in the flight engineer's position for this flight, SP5 Robert W. JeWell was the flight engineer in the right door gunner position, and SP4 Bruce A. Knieff was the left door gunner. The Pilots of 1st of the 9th Cav were and yes still are the best. They came to take out our wounded and killed brothers. Door gunners were volunteers but to be one you had to have the stuff. He was in Vietnam from 1970-71, originally as an avionics specialist. Australian personnel who flew in the Vietnam War as door gunners with US forces were recognised with special Gunner’s wings in a ceremony at the … Riflemen, door gunners and others who served at the cutting edge, men like the vast majority of those who took my survey, were of course more likely to suffer wounds than others in less exposed specialties. – Don Burk/staff Correcting what was described as a ”gross oversight” of three decades ago, the Navy awarded 63 Vietnam-era helicopter door gunners the combat aircrew insignia yesterday. CPT. Many of the survivors stuck with flying. See more ideas about Vietnam war, Vietnam war photos, Vietnam history. Although the percent of dead is similar to other wars, amputations or crippling wounds were 300% higher than in World War II. As a result, 58,169 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.29 million who served. 2.2% of the 2.5 million died in the war – 12.2% of those served were wounded. The M-60D is a 7.62mm NATO caliber weapon with a cyclic rate of fire … MEDEVAC helicopters flew nearly 500,000 missions, airlifting 900,000 patients (nearly one-half were Americans). By the end of the Vietnam conflict, 5,086 helicopters – almost half as many as were commissioned – were shot down or destroyed, including Henrey’s. Garcia served in the U.S. Army from 1969-72. Photo: Dazlyn Photography I wasn’t drafted – my father passed away on my 16th birthday, and I joined the service a year later. Only 10% of U.S. troops were engaged in combat. Most that served were never in combat operations. PFC FRANK JOHN HOLGUIN 560th Military Police Company. "At the (Laotian) border, the door-gunners would test-fire their weapons. They were stacking them in there like cord wood. Source: YouTube/Roger Young Helicopter pilots in Vietnam were under constant fire. The original personnel who served as early door gunners aboard CH-21 , UH-34 , and UH-1 helicopters in Vietnam, were enlisted men, with a designated and specially trained crew chief serving as both the aircraft's maintenance manager and a door gunner. Approximately 5,000 helicopters were destroyed there, of which all but 500 were U.S. Army. In addition to the door gunners, there were one or two forward-firing machine guns and a rocket pod on either side. Olney was new in country. No Pilot that I know of ever went into a combat situation without both. 58,148 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.7 million who served. You often see pics of the soldiers sitting on the edge of the Huey, not just in films, but in pics from Vietnam, with their feet and legs dangling over the edge. They were not only soldiers but also officers, advisors, nurses, doctors and other units that supported the Republic of Vietnam. Submitted photo “It was really a change of pace,” Hulbert said. I couldn't tell, when they were putting them on board, whether they were alive or dead. At wars peak only 43,500 troops out of 543,482 saw combat. A medical followed by the ability to shoot, not get airsick as the AC did gun runs, banked, pulled up, rolled in and you had to be able to let go of the tendency to worry that they guy at the collective and cyclic wasn't going to auger in. A total of 11,800 helicopters of all types served in Vietnam. One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. Many, too many, didn’t survive: 2,165 helicopter pilots were killed in action, and another 2,500 crewmen. Helicopter crews accounted for 10% of all combat deaths in Vietnam. Door gunner John Hulbert sits behind his M-60 machine gun inside a Huey helicopter in during the Vietnam War. We shot what was known as a free gun ( attached to overhead with bungee) it was a M60 machine gun that had become very modified. The Huey crew chiefs were the door gunners in the Nam. The concept of the door gunner originated during the Vietnam War, when helicopters were first used in combat in large numbers. In recognition of Vietnam Veterans Day, Wisconsin … Those door gunners, always exposed in the doorways of those helicopters, squatting behind their 60 cal. We are a non-profit veteran organization filed under Section 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Service. Age 20 - From Los Angeles, California Killed in action on March 15, 1964 while supporting the 114th Avn. He later volunteered to become a door gunner after heavy losses of men, he said. One point I want to make is the the Crew Chiefs and Door Gunners were the and are still the best as well. machine guns, would lay down suppressing fire for us from above. Vietnam from a Door Gun. That would jar you back. The VHCMA was organized in 1986 in Tucson Arizona by a small group of Crew Chiefs and Gunners that got together to share their experiences in Vietnam. I was in several parades and saw hundreds of Nam vets in Class A's, and was on the flight line 6 days a week and sometimes 7. I had been in Vietnam a little over a year. Vlach served with the 54th General Command as a door gunner on an UH1 “Huey” helicopter. Although the percent that died is similar to other wars, amputations or crippling wounds were 300 percent higher than in World War II. Armed with a muscular M60 7.62mm machine gun and perched high above the kill zone, the door gunner doles out and destruction as though it were a casual neighborhood drive-by. That was the first person I killed in Vietnam. Being in the open door you could see and hear what was going on, we were very low and 90 or so mph. For many countries, this was the period of the Vietnam War. In total, there were around 2.5 million Americans who served in-country during the Vietnam War. Seawolf gunships were among the most heavily armed Hueys in Vietnam. Too bad most of them were never in Vietnam, or if they were, they never saw combat. On March 29, 1973, the last US combat troops were withdrawn from Vietnam, and the last prisoners of war held in North Vietnam returned to American soil. Armament Primary Armament: Typical armament included two M-60D machine guns on fixed door mounts manned by the Crew Chief on the left and a Door Gunner on the right. Although the 2.75-inch folding-fin rockets packed the biggest punch, many pilots considered door gunners the best weapons aboard. Michael G. Williams "Weird Willy" Died after Tour, June 15, 1997. Jul 12, 2014 - Door gunners position of a Vietnam veteran UH1 Huey helicopter. Jan 22, 2020 - Explore Hung Huynh's board "15 Door Gunners", followed by 287 people on Pinterest. On average, two 1st Cavalry Division soldiers awoke to their last sunrise every day of the 612 years the unit was in Vietnam. The Florida Times Union Friday, June 19, 1998 Earl Kennedy (left) is congratulated by retired Rear Adm. Kevin Delaney at a ceremony where combat aircrew insignia were awarded. They brought reinforcements to help us. The door gunners are fastened in with their monkey harness, but the rest aren't. Sent to Vietnam in 1966, Colver was a door gunner serving with the 170th Assault Helicopter Company of the 52nd Aviation Battalion at Camp Holloway in Vietnam. 75,000 Vietnam Veterans are severely disabled. The next morning we flew right into a combat mission and started hauling bodies out off this hillside as fast as they were falling. Co. as a door gunner - Vinh Long, South Viet Nam The American and Allied helicopters were fitted with a .30-caliber machine gun, known as an M-60, in the side door of the aircraft. Now you were going to war. We lost a lot of Pilots but we also lost a lot of Crew Chiefs and Door Gunners. 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