Vietnam door gunner stories

As a teenager he joined the army, was trained as a helicopter avionics specialist but soon would volunteer to take on the legendary dangerous task of helicopter door gunner with the air cav in south vietnam. Jim chancellor helmet from his combat role as a door gunner in vietnam is displayed thursday at iun. All of the hueys had a crew chief with a maintenance mechanic mos. A vietnam door gunnercrew chief a proud story topic. Being a door gunner was one of the worst jobs over there, so needless to say there wasnt too many people that wanted to be a door gunner, he said. Shooting up or down at a hard angle is a tough thing unless you are trained for it. Instead of becoming a door gunner, henrey was made a crew chief, bearing responsibility for the state of the airship, including two electric mini guns capable of firing 6,000 rounds per minute. Lowell vietnam veteran shares his war stories to shed light on ptsd. Richard henrey went to vietnam searching for adventure. Submitted photo it was really a change of pace, hulbert said. Door gunner john hulbert sits behind his m60 machine gun inside a huey helicopter in during the vietnam war.

For the veterans who served during this era, this conflict has particular meaning. He didnt make it through his first tour but is still around to tell about it. How effective were helicopter door gunners in vietnam. As ammo bearer, i was to stay close to the machine gunner while out on patrol, usually right behind him. To my crew the idea sucked because of the lack of gun mobility. Our unit logo was a condor with the motto, patience my ass, i want to kill something. I cant count the time we came in and strafed the lz so they could take off full of wounded. The concept of the door gunner originated during the vietnam war, when helicopters were first used in combat in large numbers. Twelve critical episodes in the vietnam war ep 6 duration. Vlach served with the 54th general command as a door gunner on an uh1 huey helicopter. Vlach recalls days as helicopter door gunner in vietnam. One gunner told me on his first run out he was all ready to shoot up some charliethen the tail rotor was hit and the pilot. Since i was both a scout tunnel rat and a door gunner on a uh1c huey gunship id say the most dangerous jobs were dustoff crewmen. Despite being a dangerous job, vets who served as door gunners have been overlooked in many interviews, and we felt it was necessary for all of those who served in vietnam to have their story told.

When the door of the plane was opened, we disembarked and began walking down the stairs to the tarmac. They were short of gunners on helicopters, because the life expectancy was somewhere between and. Musings from a recon grunt cherrieswriter vietnam war. 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 wasnt going to auger in. I flew as a door gunner for 8 months and a few days. What was it like to be a door gunner on a huey gunship in. Pence colonel, usaf ret kung fu skip alcohol and sauerkraut on the fly by dorcey wingo.

At wars peak only 43,500 troops out of 543,482 saw combat. Garcia who grew up a poor but proud hispanic kid in the border town of mcallen texas. We are just on loan by johnny hutcherson door gunner d troop 35 cav. Loaches, usually with a pilot and observer and sometimes a door gunner aboard, flew as little as 10 feet above the treetops at between about 45 and 60 mph, scouting for signs of the enemy. See more ideas about vietnam war, vietnam and vietnam war photos. Mcginley shares some thoughts and opinions about his humping days in the jungle almost fifty years ago. Scout pilot one of my assignments was as a scout pilot, one of our units mission was to provide 2 scout teams on a daily basis to our brigades infantry companies.

The rice had been harvested and the fields were all dry and dusty. In vietnam the uh1 huey helicopter was flown primarily in the basic transport slick configuration and the gunship version. Several centaurs volunteered for this experimental training, which included training on actual combat missions. It was late summer on the inland coastal plains to the north of tam ky. An oral history of the vietnam war by black veterans 1984 in an article in the new york times magazine on march 24, 1968, reporter sol stern observed, in vietnam between 1961 and 1964, negroes accounted for more than 20 percent of army fatalities, even. The crew chief and the door gunner were always manning the. There are lost souls out there spreading their telltale vietnam stories. The original personnel who served as early door gunners aboard ch21, uh34, and uh1 helicopters in vietnam, were enlisted men, with a designated and specially trained crew chief serving as both the aircrafts maintenance manager and a door gunner. Army helicopter door gunner wings badge and 1st aviation brigade door gunner patch set the 1st aviation brigade served in vietnam from may 1966 to march 1973. Im questioning the effectiveness of the door gunner vs. My guest blogger, tj mcginley, has contributed a couple earlier articles about his time in tiger force recon, 27101st abn. I also received a vietnam service medal with a bronze star attachment quadruple.

Cobras, nicknamed snakes, flew circles 1,500 feet above the scouts, waiting to pounce on whatever the loach found. Lowell vietnam veteran shares his war stories to shed. Review written by bernie weisz historian, vietnam war may 10, 2009 contact. Each of these veterans experienced the war in a unique, individual way. A door gunner fires while approaching a landing zone and an army of the republic of vietnam solider winces at the deafening noise from the jet engine and gunfire. Operation bright light november ranger, 75th inf, 61st ahc. Vietnam door gunner, gi joe illustration by larry selman.

Vietnam was full of strange stories, some crazy and hard. Too bad most of them were never in vietnam, or if they were, they never saw combat. The area was sparsely populated and crisscrossed with many wooded rivers and streams. Randy meade, jim hoag, joe hoover, jack nemeyer, stan allen, johnny gray. As a result, all the mechanic slots was filled and people were transferred to being a door gunner whether they was qualified or not. In vietnam, these helicopter scouts saw combat up close. Leaning out of ghostrider 281 as far as possible, 19yearold door gunner kenneth mcgarity was helping direct the pilot when an enemy rocket struck the huey. You shoot at us or somehow expose yourself while were going by and we will turn your way and. This door position concept further implemented aboard ch21, uh34, and uh1 by enlisted men specially designated and trained, with the aircraft crew chief serving as. The door gunners and crew chiefs donned their protective vests and helmets. War stories on dvd as told at the 2006 vhpa reunion.

I see a hot lz and hear the door gunner yelling, jump, jump and me yelling back lower, lower, too high. During most of the rest of the vietnam war, the door gunners main weapon was a medium machine gun, initially, an m1919a4. Being a door gunner on a slick and a gunship were two very different jobs. Ehrhart, left, in october 1967 near quang tri, vietnam, and today. We did know all of the fighting was in the central highlands at that time, so we were just tickled that we were going to the coastal area near nha trang. Ken has told me a couple of times about the stories that i told when i first returned home from vietnam.

As veteran tom hagel has explained, when we think of wars whether its. Vietnam from a door gun door gunners were volunteers but to be one you had to have the stuff. This was the dawn of the door gunner herbert beasley. What was the life expectancy of a door gunner in vietnam. Fifty years after the fact, the vietnam war remains part of our collective national consciousness. Short stories 19 the wall 1 thriller 25 vietnam veterans memorial 1 vietnam war 35 vietnam war biography 2 vietnam war fiction 4 vietnam war history 35 vietnam war memoir 7 vietnam war novel 7 vietnam war poetry 1 vietnam war posttraumatic stress disorder 1 vietnam war themed novel 10 world war ii novel 1 events 2. This may be old information, as it was largely based on experiences from the vietnam war, but the life expectancy of door gunners is about six seconds from entering combat. War stories on dvd as told at the 2007 vhpa reunion. Joe galloways gods own lunatics from the documentary in the shadow of the blade. The helicopter becoming an instrument of war, the army had to have a means where it could maintain tactical and administrative control of all of its divisional and nondivisional helicopters and fixedwing aircraft in vietnam. As the saying went, the lifespan of a door gunner on a huey in vietnam was about 5 minutes.

My tour in vietnam was full of segmented stories, some crazy and hard to imagine, but most were mundane, uneventful, and hard to remember. My neighbor was a door gunner with the centaurs based at cu chi in 1967. A huey doorgunners participation in the 41970 cambodian invasion this refreshing fictionalized account of the experience of a doorgunner during the cambodian incursion of u. Military region i, i corps, march 30, 1972 campaign, nva in hanoi parading, celebrating, resupplying, convoys. A compilation of door gunner footage from the vietnam war. Each team consisted of 2 h helicopters and each had a pilot and observergunner onboard. We stopped in okinawa to pick up fresh supplies and we also got a change in destination. In the early days of the huey, they were not sure how effective it would be to add another man to the combat crew, or how to train him. Forces during the last few years of americas debacle in vietnam is first.

Air story out of vietnam air america helicopter shoots down nva airplane by lawrence e. Combat stories from vietnam witness to war foundation. Although huey pilots sat in armored seats, many were killed or wounded by groundfire coming up through the chin bubble, the plexiglass just below the pilots feet, which was positioned on the antitorque controls, the pedals that controlled the tail rotor. Normally, a door gunner would not fly his last month in country, but steve long finagled his way into the air. I received an air medal with a cluster, i flew as a doorgunner over 125 aerial missions in hostile territory. The monkey harness allowed a door gunner more movement, including leaning out on the helicopter skids, to get a better firing angle. Vietnam history vietnam war photos north vietnam vietnam veterans military helicopter military aircraft american war military history usmc. Vietnam war graves registration vietnam veterans of america. In his other job in the avionics shop, he had a runin with the new officer in charge. He got a little satisfaction the night after he got his orders home. We were a gunship and thats what we did and we didnt care how many of them there were.