European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 23, 1966, Darmstadt, Hesse Fit f Noih to Load Viet Nam whirly Birds rewrite the textbooks the chopper revolution ?nntihmr4 from prof lit molar to lift in the in the Day. Col. William Brodbeck of Omaha neb. The brigade command or. Decided to review i tactical situation in Trad of calling in i. Intelli gence and operations officers lot a aes Glen Over map. The colonel went aloft in the command helicopter equipped with radio console capable o putting my in Loudi Ullh All unit and took a firsthand look Al the Battlefield. On la in Northeast sector where evening Maliu were gathering along die air Bank he could ice Ibe mortar rounds malting smoke rings in the humid at and knew that the vietnamese unit mating along the dirt Road a rec Etc Lac harassing ire and might be Walki Gimo an ambush. On the fool the colonel decided to lift a is the cd battalion. Bui it on the flank by War of a Quick helicopter trooper and keep the attackers pinned Down Watt me a artillery Bra be. It to Waty said Oahu. Whirling into Art of the new Landing my for the troop lift that you have k witnessed the most important Funcy the can offer a Radl dal Chang in the Way of directing Belli. It Plum Rel bid had chopper a Gettysburg he might Hare thought twice about the on a Ingle Hay in a in or Hui it the inny mid of the Hli old in Hud performed an Ama my in dirty of i stems. They had flown in the to non. Re supplied them with food ammunition and water curried out the wounded hauled heavy weapon brought in urgently needed parts and Fri Lizul Supply re pro tided lethal fire Petrr. I la Dran Valley. This wan Dpi i rally True for the lit Cav s ind in of the 7ih la Rel which had to fight its Way out of a Horseshoe shaped ambush. Sniper in Irres behind Bushes and in the Lull a orphant grass opened up with automatic weapons lire and tried to Rul the battalion in half. To Miree Umes choppers Laved i that 1 Day recalled u col. John me Dade of Brooklyn who led hit men out of the Day Long holocaust. In a Dafler noon the enemy was telling set to Cut Aero our flank before we could gel reorganised. The hog came in right Over the Trees Laang away with their rackets and broke thai up before it got at Duik. The Ulicki brought in reinforcements under fire. We had to Cut out a Landing Tow pm Yards wide by Iso Yards the artillery and air Force laying Down a barrage. The Phlps got Down somehow and delivered Bravo company of the lit to reinforce our line. Then i knew or could Lake any thing they could throw at us. It would have taken that reinforcing company eight hours to reach us through the Jungle and they would t have been in any condition to Light. At Midnight the choppers called dust off Ihlen came in lol a out our wounded. It a an incredible thing a pitch Black neg he. Hardly a itar out. Yel a lieutenant stand Iii in the open waving Fishl Ghl guided them Down to the Landing in its infancy helicopter War fare a initial re a fad changing Man Ual of ladles at inlay when employed in Viet Nam at it Wai yesler Day when taught at it. Wallers tex.,and it. Rucker. Athe leading hell copier training Camps. We be limply substituted helicopter for vehicles in our thinking asserted 14. Col. Earl k. Buchan of ran Wayne,ind., the 1st Cav i operations officer. Aerial assault Means that in place with no roads like the to Drang Valley we can put the men Down we ran put the guns Down and we can put univ Erraa right next to them. The Belle Opler has proved harder to hit and can take harder hits than we ver thought Fly lower Over Lien right at ire top. To avoid letting snipers let Beadon a ship. Avoid a roads and River Beds and stay in he Ajr for longer hours each week than the maintenance team have Ever dreamed Poss la Drang action also allowed the limiting nature of the helicopter. For example Only two third of the 11 in of the 7th regt had been put in the ground when the communist attacked in the flirt Malar action of the several hour them troop of the ground had to fight for their at the enemy regrouped on the Ilori of the Chu Pong Mountain could the remainder of the battalion come in. Intense communist ground Lre had fought the helicopters off. Leaving hot on the ground vulnerable to annihilation. Although Field commanders Are reluctant to say m for a certainly Heli copter tactics have All but made the paratroopers obsolete. Even in the Roll ing Central Lalni Good Lump country by any standards no combat Lump have been employed. Helicopters can gel themen on the ground Failer safer. In com Bat ready formation. Tiik Advent of chopper warfare has re Ullard in a tremendous comeback for army aviation. The army now Hui a Many pilots almost pm As the old air corps had in the Early Day army. Of world War ii and i Dally inducing line officer to take night training through a variety of promises Ana Blandishments. The biggest lure of All particularly i the Man Reading the enlistment poster. Is the Aura of gusto and Bravura that Arrounda the chopper Pilot. They live life or really scuff at a nourish and flamboyance. They affect Long Black cigars us Cravat Atixhe neck of their la my. Mid guards men moustache with the ends waxed and twirled Maui by. In their drinking Chib. Which May be a posh As a Paris Wile or a Humble As a Bamboo but depending on How no their scrounge officer deploys him self they sing Bawdy songs impugning the virility of rival squadrons Salute each other in endless end Hilar Tou loads and Delight in telling about the ume they blew the colonel s Lent Down for chewing a Pilot out for Landing or his vip Numi chopper pilots. To Clay Wright of Motine. 111., insists that the real heroes in any platoon Are the Crew chiefs. They never Stop working to keep the ships in the air. We Loaa three Limei As Many Birds to dust and Corro lion Over Hen As we no to enemy action. The Crew chief gets up at 4 am Losee that the Bird is ready sit All Day with his Ude exposed a the door gun Ner then works All night to clean a up. We got three Crew a hotels in this outfit with three purple hearts. Every one of them would go Over the Hill if anyoneu2ke�trd he take a ground of for a s the Way it is with helicopter people you can t jut like ii. You Gotto love it. Other tic you d hate it. Know what 1 mean
