European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 18, 1967, Darmstadt, Hesse                              Page 8 the stars and stripes monday september 18, 1967 one dressed As woman Swift air cavalry swoops Corral Viet Cong by Al Chang Bong son Plain Vietnam a because the idea is to move in quickly and capture people the 1st. Brigade of . 1st air cavalry division officially Calls them snatch mis Sions. Working with Field forces of the South vietnamese National police the troopers conduct a average of two such missions a Day in this coastal area 300miles Northeast of Saigon. They move in with Swift air operations that Are designed to catch Viet Cong or North Viet namese regulars who try to mingle with the peasants in the Fields or people in hamlets and  communists figure they won t be subject to an All out shooting assault if they blend themselves with the people an the snatch missions Are de signed to counter this  is what it is like on a typical Mission with the 1st Bat Talion 12th cavalry it. Col. Lloyd r.  or of hot Springs ark., the Bat Talion commander and  e. Ordway of Chevy Chase md., Crank up their com Mand helicopter and Fly Over hostile territory looking for Likely objectives. Back at the base six helicopters with a platoon of cavalrymen stand by for orders. When we see a lot of people in the open Fields working we swoop Down on them Riddle Hoover said. I first select a tar get area by throwing smoke grenades then helicopters loaded with . Troopers and Viet namese National police swoop Down and Corral them right where they Are men women and children. The National police then interrogate them and Weed out the suspects. We get a lot of intelligence from the ones we round up. When the police ketone it snowballs. They make them  of the Viet Cong we picked up gave us information that he knew where there were about 30 other Viet Cong. The next Day we went in to police up the area. We picked up eight hard Core Viet Cong and weapons. The hideout was a message enter for the District in the Bong son Plain. That was the Contact Point for the North Viet namese and the Viet  with the snatch teams Are two scout ships Little Bubble topped helicopters that Fly just above the ground Chas ing Viet Cong suspects who try to run. Two of the Veteran pilots Fortis duty Are to Steven j. Ros Siter 20, Healdsburg calif., Anwo Gerald t. Daniels 22, new Orleans la. They get so Lothat Daniels once knocked Down a Viet Cong with the skid on his chopper when the pc tried to fire at him. We try different times of the Day Ordway said. Morning is the Best Lime to hit. At time when they see us Fly Low they wave at us. These Viet Cong they re getting smarter All the time. One time one was dres Sedas a woman to try to keep from getting  re sort of stunned for the first three minutes. This i when the scout ships come in they swoop Down Low on thrones that Are running to round them up just like cattle. The move them toward the Center of the rest of the people and the the troops go in and grab  s. Sgt. Felix g. Salas of Agana Guam another Veteran of Many of the missions said we catch them by Surprise All the  we pick up a lot of suspect Sand a lot of Viet Cong and North vietnamese that mix with the people he added. They be got to live and eat with the  fish and Harvest Rice. This is when we come in on top  there is no Advance planning for any of the missions. The Bat Talion commander or his executive officer make the decision to move while flying and looking around. Since this Type operation started in late july the cavalry troopers say they have captured or killed almost 200 Viet Cong or North vietnamese troops with out loss of a Man. Medic copters Fly armed9 with Aid Only � t�wrf4ww a we tvs of of. By Richard v. Oliver Duc Pho Vietnam up it began like most other Days. It was hot hot enough to boil a Man s mind into unconscious Ness. It was Windy Windy enough to bring Down a Rescue helicopter. It began with a message Radi oed to dust off this is Panther Romeo. Have two. One . One Arvn. Both of to. Urgent prior  two soldiers an american Anda South vietnamese had fevers of unknown origin. The i was unconscious. Panther Romeo a reconnaissance patrol was located on the Side of a Mountain in an area swarming with Vietcong. The problem get the two men to a Hospital. The message from Panther Romeo was scrawled on a slip of paper and hurried from the radio Shack to another tent inthe Camp Headquarters of the . Army s 498th medical co.,air ambulance. They Call it dust off. Dust off s helicopters carry no machine guns unlike other medi Cal evacuation choppers operating in Vietnam. Dust off is armed Only with Large re crosses. According to the rules of War such a vehicle or aircraft May not carry offensive Arma ment. The same rules make it illegal for anyone to fire upon this Type of aircraft. But in Many cases this has not stopped the Viet Cong. At least 25 dust off chop pers have been shot up while evacuating wounded soldiers an civilians. The message from Panther Romeo was handed to 1st it. Paul Debree 26, of Rivervale,n.j., Pilot of dust off six two the dh1d Huey chopper on24-hour standby duty. Let s go John said Debree still scanning the slip of paper. To John Slonager 23, of co Lumbus Ohio aircraft commander of dust off six two zipped Aphis flight suit and followed de Bree. Let s go we got one Slonager shouted into a smaller tent on the Way to the helicopter . Inside spec. 4 William a. Brandon 25, of Pittsburgh pa., six two s medical corps Man jumped from his  on George he said. Spec. 6 George t. Green 25, of Lagrange ga., the patient pro Tector of dust off six two grabbed his m16 Rifle in Case the Huiey got fired upon and trailed Brandon Down the Hill. Spec. 5 Allen Marotz 23, of Bruno minn., dust off six two s Crew chief was already aboard new Flag Honor president Johnson pins a Plesku province ribbon to the 1st air Cav Flag in a White House ceremony. The unit was cited for heroism during heavy fighting in Vietnam. At the citation Are left to right sgt. Maj. . Wester vet it. Gen. Harry w. O. Kinnard former cd of the division and capt. Paul dres Sor. The action took place in 1965. A the helicopter when the rest of the Crew arrived. Less than five minutes after the message from Panther Romeo was received dust off six two was airborne heading Northwest toward the mountains and the two soldiers needing immediate medical attention. Seven minutes later the chop per cleared a Beautiful but treacherous Mountain an dropped into a Green Valley. Panther Romeo was located Ona higher Mountain just ahead. Brandon was Busy Reading let ters and Marotz and Green were poised with their m16s on each Side while Debree and Slonager eased dust off six two in a Cir Cular pattern Over the Valley in search of their Landing zone i Don t like the looks of that la Landing zone said Slonager. That s affirmative re plied Debree. A Strong wind was blowing out of the North and every few moments the helicopter dropped afew feet with a Jerk or sputtered Over on an Angle. Still no sign of Panther Romeo. This is dust off  Romeo do you have us in sight  Roger Here this is Panther . Your nose is facing to the left of  this is dust off . Send up a pop of smoke. Panther Romeo.  Wisp of Violet smoke went up from a ledge near the top of the Mountain. A dozen or so sol Diers could barely be seen in Patch of heavy underbrush. Green took the safety off his,m16 and held the butt to his shoulder As dust off six two be  descending in a spiral  Tern digging and tagging in casette helicopter became a target for someone on the  chopper dropped and pulled up just Short of a clump of grass. In an instant the two patient were aboard and a red haired sergeant with a two Day growth of Beard threw their gear to  their Heads Down the men on the ground waved a dust off reared up and swiftly sputtered  South vietnamese Soldier was Well enough to sit on the floor of the aircraft. Brandon tended the Young . Who  apparently from heat prostration