It would make a rousing movie, the same genre as the siege of Zinderneuf in Beau Geste, the firefight around the DC-3 in The Wild Geese,the evacuation of the ice planet Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back, the fall of Osgiliath in The Return of the King.
A Special Forces camp is overrun. Defenders desperately hold off a swarming attack. Fighter jets drop bombs ever closer to the shrinking perimeter to keep the attackers at bay. Other airplanes land under heavy fire, lifting out frantic civilian, dependents and combatants.
The last team is almost left behind, surrounded. A pilot makes one last landing for a dramatic rescue.
On May 12, 1968, 40 years ago today, Technical Sergeant Mort Freedman was rescued at Kham Duc, Vietnam. He was the last man out.
Kham Duc had a 6,000 foot runway, surrounded by mountains. The North Vietnamese had the high ground. There were 1,700 defenders — Montagnard tribesmen, their families and dependents, American soldiers and US Green Berets.
Before dawn a decision was made to evacuate the camp. C-123 and C-130 cargo airplanes launched from Cam Ranh Bay, Danang and Tan Son Nhut for the evacuation.
A three-man Combat Controller Team, or CCT, was already on base. The CCT was composed of a C-130 pilot and two enlisted combat controllers. Their mission was to control air traffic in the combat zone. They were now the control tower, working with a radio jeep by the runway.
Every fighter and bomber mission in Vietnam was diverted to Kham Duc. Cargo airplanes, some based out of Mactan air base in the Philippines, orbited overhead, with helicopter gunships, fighter jets, B-52s, and Forward Air Controllers flying small Cessna 0-2s.
A CH-47 Chinook, a UH-1H Huey and a Cessna O-2 were shot down in the middle of the runway.
A C-130 Hercules, still loaded with cargo, landed under fire and was mobbed, people running into the propellers in a frenzy. Fuel gushed from bullet holes in the wing, and a tire was shredded. The pilot aborted his takeoff. The passengers abandoned the airplane. The crew hacked the rubber tire away from the wheel and tried again. With just 4 passengers aboard, they made it out.
The passengers were the 3-man CCT and another officer. They flew to safety in Cam Ranh Bay.
Another C-130 landed and slammed to a halt. Hundreds of civilians mobbed the airplane. Women and kids were crushed in the rush to get in.
The airplane stayed on the ground for only a couple of minutes, then hurriedly took off. As it rotated off the runway, it was hit by ground fire, and crashed and exploded a mile from the camp. All who had made it on board died.
Another C-130 crash landed on the runway, hit the CH-47 wreck and slewed into a dirt mound off the runway.
Other C-130s, a C-123 and helicopters landed and lifted out 600 remaining civilians and defenders. A last C-130 picked up the crashed aircrew and the last rear guard.
The camp was now almost entirely in enemy hands.
Then one more C-130 landed. The same 3-man CCT got off. In the confusion of the battle, they had been ordered back to control air traffic for the evacuation. They ran into the camp and found it empty.
They were the only ones left in Kham Duc. They were stuck in a base that was now in enemy hands.
The C-130 could not wait. No one came to be rescued. The pilot saved the airplane and flew out. As he climbed out, he heard the order to the orbiting fighters to destroy the entire base with bombs and napalm. The C-130 pilot screamed into the radio that they had just inserted an American Combat Controller Team. The entire frequency went silent as the blunder sank in.
The CCT — two enlisted Combat Controllers and a C-130 pilot officer — hunkered down in a ditch beside the runway. They held off the North Vietnamese with their M-16s. They had just 220 bullets among them.
A C-123 Provider then landed on the runway, the pilot hoping to flush out the CCT. He had to immediately take off again because of heavy fire. As he banked left, his crew members saw the CCT running back to the ditch. They were alive!
The next C-123 in line made a steep combat approach and stopped on the runway. The CCT ran out onto the airplane, and the last men out of Kham Duc were finally rescued.
The C-123 pilot, Joe Jackson, got the Medal of Honor. One Combat Controller, James Lundie, met Jackson again by accident at the Charlotte Speedway in North Carolina in 1997, 29 years after the battle.
The other Combat Controller, Mort Freedman, made the Philippines his home. He has been the skydiving safety officer at the Philippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta for 2 years now.
Mort is a gentle, quiet person. He told me about Kham Duc at the Fiesta. He holds the C-123 pilot in very high regard. I’m glad Mort was saved.
The picture is the only known photograph of an ongoing Medal of Honor action. The wrecked C-130 is in the foreground, the CH-47 in the middle of the runway. A crashed Cessna O-2 is just above the C-130, and across the runway from it is the wrecked UH-1H Huey. At the top of the photo is Jackson’s C-123. Three tiny dots to the right are the CCT running for their lives.
Kham Duc is annotated in Google Earth. You can still see the broken up asphalt runway.
“Rescue at Kham Duc”, an article by John Correll published in the online Airforce magazine, is a detailed narrative of this exciting episode. Some of the photos here came from that site. There is also a book, The Airlift Evacuation of Kham Duc, by Alan Gropman.
Posted from Manila, May 12, 2008.
.
I was the Flight Engineer on the C-130 that was landing when the C-130B was shot down.Lt Col Boyd was my pilot. We made a go around and came back in and took a full airplane load of troops back to Chu Lai
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My dad was a Marine and was killed during this battle. My uncle did some research and this is what he found – read below….. Many thanks to those brave men who put their lives on the line to help others. Thanks, Verle Skidmore, II
Hi Everyone, I’ve been holding this information for awhile and decided I needed to get it out to everyone. I did a search on Verle Skidmore and found the links below. Two of the names are next to his on The Wall and websites have been set up for them. As I have read the information, I found out that after the battle in May 1968, only two of the bodies came home right away and Verle’s was one of them.
Here’s a summary of what I discovered:
· 39 soldiers and Marines killed
o Only two came home originally, one of them was Verle
· Of the remaining 37
o 5 were found and identified in 1970
o 12 were found and identified in 2005
o Twenty are still not found
I remember our family talking about this at the time; hoping and praying his body would come home so we could have closure. I can’t imagine the anguish of always wondering….
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Hi Verle,
Thanks for visiting here.
Traces of the airfield at Kham Duc can still be seen on Google Earth. I can only imagine what the surrounding hills are like, where many of the unrecovered casualties probably lie.
There is a book on the evacuation of Kham Duc, by Alan L. Gropman. There are blurry pictures, and a dramatic account of the battles leading up to the final evacuation on May 12. I had a copy of the book, but gave it to Mort Freedman, a member of the CCT and the last man off the ground at Kham Duc. Mort made his home in the Southern Philippines after retirement.
The US forces reoccupied the base in 1970. But by then many of the casualty remains must have been lost forever.
.
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Verne
In contactwith a good number of Ngok Tavak Marines,
Thanks
Bill Schneider
636-942-4042
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Having a hard time locating you. Need to reconnect to the “A” Co. newsletter.
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Gene, Bill Schneider here Kham Duc Group coordinator,, Have a reunion set for 2014 Oct in St.Louis,,
WSchnei591@aol.com 636-942-4042.
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Larry, write me at WSchnei591@aol.com for “A” Co newsletter,,, Bill S
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Verle,
I’ll be “standing watch” at the TRAVELING WALL at March Air Force Base this evening. I’ll place a copy of the article at the foot of your Dad’s panel.
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WOW!!! Thank you very much!!! I have seen the Traveling Wall 2 times and the Vietnam Wall Memorial 1 time in Washington DC. There is such an amazing spirit at seeing such sacrifice emanating from that memorial.
God Bless ALL those that sacrifice so much for all of us and for this great country!!!
Thanks, Verle J Skidmore, II
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I’m an OLD DAWG – walked the Pooch; Libya 66-67 (Astor 275H), nuke 52s at Blytheville 67-68 (Sam 5X23), and Tan Son Nhut 68-69 (Sarge 46X4) – came home and out in Aug 69 and never looked back. I have my own Hero on the wall – PFC Stewart F Hemp, 3/III Marines, 19W-95.
Threats of great bodily injury got me on a plane in ’07 and my first Nam unit reunion and THE WALL in DC. We started FEED THE DAWGS at Camp Pendleton in ’08 and now it’s a major part of my life. The Marine Corps thought enough of me in 2010 to allow my adoption of Condor H053 (Patrol/Drug) – the only Dog I was ever allowed to “bring home!” I have a very close and valued relationship with all Marines, but especially the Young Dawgs.
Please know that your Father will be appropriately honored this evening – in addition to normal and formal recognition. We’re all just damned lucky to have been the beneficiaries of Wall of Heroes.
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Verle, meant to get back to you much sooner than this . . . I do have a snap shot that I’d like to email to you – send me an email at jonhemp@thedawgsproject.com and I’ll attach it and send it back. Be well. Be safe. BE DELIBERATE.
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Gene. Could you please contact me. My name is Chris Rumley and I am the historian for the 314th Airlift Wing in Little Rock Arkansas. Would love to talk to you sometime soon. Please contact me at christopher.rumley@littlerock.af.mil or cmrumley@hotmail.com
(501) 987-6332.
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Gene, I was sitting in the rear of the plane opposite you. I was a medic with C 2/1 196th LIB. We were supposed to get on the plane that the locals rushed. Our CO told us to wait and we would get on the next plane out. We ended up on Col. Boyds plane. I still remember you telling us what had happened to the other plane, your coveralls being drenched in sweat, and all of us just being glad to get out of Kham Duc. I remember when the rear cargo doors were opened at our destination insulation flew everywhere. We took numerous hits but got out OK. I have always wanted to thank you guys for getting us out that day. We were all blessed that day.
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Bill,, Bill Schneider with Kham Duc Group,, Lost track of you somehow,
WSchnei591@aol.com
Thanks , Bill
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Bill, If you happen to get this I was the Loadmaster on Boyd’s plane and you were more than likely sitting in the back with me, Gene was on the flight deck on the way to Chu Lai. Email me at sam.kerro@gmail.com, would love to communicate with you.
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Bill, If you happen to get this I was the Loadmaster on Boyd’s plane and you were more than likely sitting in the back with me, Gene was on the flight deck on the way to Chu Lai. Email me at sam.kerro@gmail.com, would love to communicate with you.
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Good heavens!
Welcome to Flying in Crosswinds, Gene. And thanks for taking the time to write a comment.
As a pilot myself, I find it incredibly brave for someone to take and airplane on a mission where they are actually shooting at you.
Every instinct nags at me to mitigate risk. Enough things go wrong with my airplane in normal, civilian flying. But to actually land on an airstrip under artillery and small arms fire, geez!
I’m in Rome, Italy, now. I’m so glad I was online when your post came in.
Feel free to share more. That was an incredible mission.
.
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I worked with Mort at the Air Force Academy. He is featured in a chapter in a book I wrote. He is one of the few men I respect. How can I contact him?
Major Jack E Walsh
815-937-1675
jackewalsh@comcast.net
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I was one of the soldiers on Col Boyd’s flight. I believe the C130 was named the lucky duck. About 35 years after he pulled us out the crew chief sent me several photos from that day. I was actually in one of the photos after we landed back in chu lai. Will always remember that day.
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Glenn, I was the Loadmaster on Col. Boyd’s plane, if you happen to see this please email me at sam.kerro@gmail.com
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Glenn and Gene,
Would love to see your pictures. Col (Ret) Alan Gropman is coming to talk to the 314th Airlift Wing at Little Rock AFB next week (4 March) about Kham Duc. If you are in the area- we would welcome you at our heritage luncheon.
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I was at Kham Duc 10-12 May 1968 as a Grunt with “A” Co 1/46th Inf. I also am the Newlsletter guy/ Roster keeper/
Reunions etc for the Kham Duc/ Ngok Tavak group. well over 300 men on roster, just had another reunion in San Antonio Oct 2009. Book about Kham Duc written, at least words on paper, not by me.
Had a huge Reunion 2005 in DC,,, co-incided with Burial of Ngok Tavak Marines in Arlington..
Bill Schneider
636-942-4042
wschnei591@aol.com
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It was neat to find this and see the photo of Morty. A couple of us from &AF DXI Combat News Branch went with him and Lundie to the SF Camp near Tay Ninh, later in the year, and on another run we went with Jim into Thien Hnong, got to see what a mortar looked like from the top, looking down from a Huey as we di-died out, having left Jim and taken on board Morty, who was laying on top of me with his CAR 15 stuck out the door. Long ago, far away, never forgotten. Hope you see this Morty! All the best, Rick
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When I see him again, I will pass it along. I used to have his phone and email, will look it up again
Thanks for dropping by Flying in Crosswinds!
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Interesting comments after all these years. So sad to read statistics reported by Verle Skidmore. This mission was FUBAR all the way. Rick, bad as Kham Duc was, the mission at Thien Ngon you mention is the one that haunts me in the middle of the night.
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A comment for Jim Lundie and Morty Freedman from Rick Fulton, lbkrvn@gmail.com
Gentlemen, I was telling a friend about what had happened to you at Kham Duc, couldn’t remember how to spell it, and went back to this article. That is when I found Jim Lundie’s comment. I want to welcome you both and all your comrades of 8th Aerial Port, all USAF members and all servicemen from Vietnam back home and tell you how proud I am to have walked with you in service. My e-mail address is lbkrvn@gmail.com.
About Thien Ngon Jim, glad you got out of there okay. I have always felt bad about you having to stay when the rest of us left, but the camp commander thought he was going to have to exfiltrate if the camp was overrun and wanted a good man with him to call in air support. That turned out to be you and the rest of us had to boggy.
Morty knows the rest of the story about what happened after we left, but you had to stay when the camp commander kicked the rest of us out. That first Huey had a lot of battle damage but the two gents from 600 Photo, myself, and Morty got into the second one along with all the MOPIX gear, all of it just slung in, and folks in a big pile with Morty on top when the pilot took off. I saw within seconds the mortar go off right where we had been sitting. Black and gray. Very ugly.
We went out low, Morty had his CAR-15 stuck out the door. I was laying on top of my M-16. We went out maybe 15 feet off the deck and looked down at you know who, then flew to the little PSP airstrip at Tay Ninh behind the Cao Dai Temple. Morty took charge of our group and went looking for transportation.
Carl and Jerry and myself stood there beside the ramp and I had a tape recorder going, as they gave their thoughts about what had just happened. This later wound up as a 7AF NEWS story. Anyway, across the ramp this gent kept waving at us, and we kept waving back, thinking how friendly he was.
Morty came up with a jeep and driver from the B Team at Tay Ninh and said we were to go out to where the 25th INF had a brigade LZ for a ride back to TSN. So we all piled in the jeep, cameras, tripods, etc and started down the road. We went past a cemetery. Then we came up on a file of US Infantry headed towards the cemetery. It seems there were a lot of Charley inside and had been fighting there all morning. In addition to where you were, and throughout Tay Ninh Province there had been like a mini Tet going on. The officer who stopped our jeep couldn’t believe where we had just come by that cemetery. The SF gent driving just grinned at him and we wished them luck and took off again for the LZ. Typical SF humor, him having a jeepload of USAF types.
Anyway we got to the LZ and got on another Huey and flew to Hotel Three at Tan Son Nhut. That night at the tape lab we had my little casette transferred to a large reel to reel and amplified to make some edits for a tape release….and we kept hearing these whing sounds, later identified as bullets. Seems at the airstrip the reason the gent was waving at us was that some folks were shooting at us. The joys of being a Blue Suit out in a green world.
Later Morty showed us some of the photos he and the other controller had from Thien Ngon. Maybe you took some of them ??? My buddy, A1C Carl Leach from 600 Photo, was a whiz with any kind of camera and he made photocopy slides on a sandbag outside your barracks over there at TSN.. They went into 7AF Photo records. Jerry Prestwood was our MOPIX gent that trip. Carl did the stills and I did tape and writing. The pictures showed the close air support. How terrifying that must have been. If we hadn’t been kicked out by the camp commander we would have had MOPIX of that instead of why we went there for the LAPES stuff.
Well, long ago. Anyway it was good to see your note and to write this back to you. We at 7AF DXI Combat News really appreciated you all. I felt a special kinship with Morty because of his service as a Marine Embassy Guard in North Africa. I had pulled an 18 month tour at Wheelus outside Tripoli as a dog handler my first enlistment and completely understood his comments about being in a ditch with a BAR. Then and now, Arabs are less than charming. The early 60s in North Africa were good training for the Nam at the end of the decade. Well, I am rattling on. It was so good to see your name and I wish you and Morty all the best.
WELCOME HOME !
Rick Fulton
Pittsburg, Kansas.
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I was just in the Philippines on business and found that Mort is living in Mindanao, enjoying his “retirement.” I got to know him over the course of 6 years when I lived in Manila. I got to do a couple hundred sport jumps along side him, and my wife did her first and only skydive as Mort’s tandem passenger.
Reading about the exploits here just puts him and the others there several notches up in my esteem.
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Thanks for visiting here, Stuart. Yes, Mort is in Mindanao. Two hundred jumps! Unfortunately, there is hardly any civilian skydiving now in the Philippines.
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I was there on the 12th, pilot of Ch46, flew into the trench along side the runway, picked up some wounded, and who ever was there(as many as we could) It was a and awful time in everyone’s life..I just recently have thought about this event.
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I thank you for that Captain.
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Good morning Jim. Hope you are having a great Spring! Very warm here in SE Kansas today.
Rick Fulton
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Merry Christmas to All !
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Merry Christmas to you too, Brother.
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Jim,,, Bill S here with the Kham Duc Group,, Just saw that Mort passed away,, A hero without doubt both of you,, Bill S
WSchnei591@ aol.com.
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Yes Bill, the world lost Mort a couple years back. Leaves a hole in my soul. Thanks for thinking of him and for you kind words.
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Rick Fulton, the PAO guy. I think of both of you often. Have a good fall.
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Hi Victor,
Did you land just after the boxcar got shot down & burned?
bconroy45@verizon.net
Bob
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Yes, i think so, it was burning. I’m sorry my recollection of the events of that day are very vague there was a plane burning on the runway was either a 1:30 or the Box Car I’m not sure which. The flight records, which I have, shold establish the time..
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Hello Capt. DeMaria,
I know this is post is six years old, but I would be great to know whose ch46 took me and others from B 2/1 196 infantry to safety on that horrific day. We were told to load “that” ship and I remember the tight slow upward spiral above the runway. Later in life I found out the enormous skill this manouver took jockeying collective and turbine speed etc.. Having said what I thought might be my last prayer, we continued the accent, I was just waiting for the bullets to start ripping us apart, but thanks to the gunner on the load ramp and the door gunners laying down suppressive fire and the skill of both pilots we made it out. When we landed at LZ Ross, I thanked the guy who was the ramp gunner. The only thing I remember about him was he was a black Marine who thankfully “wore that M60 out” during our climb out. I am 50 years late, but I want to thank all of those Marines who came to help save an Army buddy’s life and many others on that day. Such courage on your part to know you would be going back to that hell-hole to save others and that your lives would certainly be at great risk. Others from the Army and Air Force also earned their money that day, but I have the greatest respect for the CH46 air crews, all of them. God bless all of you and Semper Fi from an Army grunt.
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Mike I wish I could recall more about that moment. it wasn’t until my flight records a few years ago that I realized I was there. I kind of knew it but I didn’t really pull it together but after reading my flight records of the event,and reminded of my own personal Terror the moment, it all came back to me, but I that’s as far as I can go. we were doing our job, as we did so many times. I’m just glad that we made it out. Thank God.
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Yes, thank God. So many didn’t make it out. I feel partially responsible for that. I sometimes awake thinking I’m still in that ditch. I can hear the ammo dumb blowing. I wonder what would have changed if we hadn’t obeyed the orders of the mission commander. He was a C-130 driver. We knew he wasn’t prepared for this. Who was?
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BTW, thanks for you Post, it means a lot to me.
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Thanks for the prompt reply. Your modesty is only exceeded by your valor. Please pass on the thanks for a job well done to any of your other pilots and crews that flew that day. Like I said, a lot of us Army folks are in your debt.
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Mike,
I will pass this along to all HMM364 of that time period. There are still a few left.I will try to get infor on the other choppers involved as to crews.
Thanks again,
Vic
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Capt, DeMaria,
Thanks,
Mike
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I was on hill 29 Hawk Hill in 70 when yall went back in,i watched an listened to bombing an radio for days on end.They brought many of the wounded to C Co 23rd med on Hawk an took other to Chu Lia.I have it on video 8mm of the run way an c130 shot up off to the side,what a hell whole,Death Valley we called it….Wm Goforth Nam Rat 1970
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I was a crewchief with the 116th AHC and we were one of the companys that inserted troops from the Americal in Chu Lai into Kham Duc in 1970 to re take the base.
We then supported them in operations to the surrounding areas. I remember flying in two ship insertions via rope ladders and no gunship cover.
Right before they decided to close down operations because of bad weather they told us, we were toting up equiptment up to a gun implacement to the north west of the strip on a hill. While waiting for them to unload my aircraft I saw arvns diging soil to fill sand bags. One of them un covered some bones and U.S. dog tags, along with some jungle boots.
They placed them in an old rocket box and put them on board and told us to fly them to Chu lai graves regestration.
I mentioned this to a few folks after returning home but could not figure out why the U.S. would not go back and dig around that place. Kham Duc was a spooky place for sure, and we lost a few men there also. I can only imagine what it was like when it was overrun. All of you that were there are hero’s in my book!
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If anyone “has eyes” on Verle Skidmore, please let him know that I have a photo I’d like to email to him as a jpg attachment. Haven’t heard from him since we exchanged notes here in March 2012. Jon Hemp (TSN 68-69) jonhemp@thedawgsproject.com
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Hey, I am right here 🙂
My email address is:
Verle.skidmore@gmail.com
I would love anything you can send to me!!
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Glad we got reconnected, my Friend. I trust you found the pics respectful. You don’t stand a single day alone.
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Gentlemen,
The official 50th Commemoration of the Vietnam War National Program continues to grow. Information can be found at http://www.VietnamWar50th.Com This program focuses on the Warrior and not the War. It is not about debate of political questions. It is about remembering the Service, Valor and Sacrifice of all involved, and to say Thank You and Welcome Home.
Rick Fulton
Pittsburg, Kansas
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i only learned of the importance of this place whilst travelling through in June this year. i stopped at a local hotel and walked along the old run way where i have got many pictures. i cant imagine what went on there but i have a huge respect for the guys that were there and the ones that are still.
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Hi Tonet, It might have escaped you but our long time friend and fellow skydiver Mort Freedman has made his last dive. Morton died of Adrenal Cancer on 27. March 2014 http://www.cctmemorial.com/Brothers/F/Freedman_M/Freedman_M.html
Mort Freeman’s ashes were put to rest in the Bohol Sea on 14. May 2014
http://www.margaritastation.com/readfull.php?m=1469
Mort was not only a Vietnam War Hero but also one of the safest and most knowledgeable and most experienced skydivers in the Philippines!
A last salute for a great friend:
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Max, thank you. I did learn about his passing, and I would have wanted to be at the memorial service in Cagayan de Oro, but was traveling at the time.
I will miss him too. He was selfless, dedicated and a true master if his craft.
Tonert
Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.
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As a survivor of the May 12th disaster, I can confirm it was a living hell that day. Anybody that made it out, knows what “hell on earth” means.
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Here some more pictures of our dear friend Mort
http://www.cctmemorial.com/Brothers/F/Freedman_M/Memory.html
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I just learned of mort’s passing all my adult life I have thought of him as a friend. He was a true hero of Vietnam and will be sorely missed. To Jim, I am very sorry for his passing.
Rick Fulton
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I was stationed on Mindanao from 1984-85. Mort taught a group of us from an AF Detachment to scuba dive. I did a couple of night dives with Mort as well after we were certified. The guy was made out of stone. He didn’t talk much about his time in Vietnam but I knew he had served. He had already retired from the AF when I met him. I went to his house a couple of times. Nice place right on the ocean. We had a few beers after our dives some times. Condolences to his wife and friends.
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I was with the 196th lib when we back to Kham Duc on 7-12-70. It was quite an experience to go there knowing what happened on 5-12-68. We had some contact with NVA and VC while there, but not anything like the guys in 68. On 8-26-70 a chinook with a platoon from my company (D-2-1) was shot down as we were being moved from Kham Duc to LZ Judy killing 31 including the crew. That was a tough day!
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I was a Crew Chief with the 174th Assault Helicopter Company. My chopper and 6 others from different Companies were involved in an emergency ammo resupply mission to Kham Duc, May 12, 1968. When we landed my Door Gunner and I kicked out 1000 pounds of wooded boxes of ammo. just after that three men boarded, one with an eye injury… mortar rounds started coming in , we took off and got out of there along with a C130 flying out behind us. We flew low till the end of the airstrip, then up the side of a mountain and away. I remember that experience at Kham Duc as though it happened yesterday.
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I wish to share…
The 174th Assault Helicopter Company
http://www.174ahc.org/index.php
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You ought to take part in a contest for one of the greatest blogs on the web.
I will recommend this web site!
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I was crew chief with HMM-265 on 10 May 1968 when we flew an Australian by the name of John White into Ngok Tavak. That was the 1st time I saw the enemy in a real khaki uniform. We lost a pilot that day, H.H. “Bud” Fleming
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And I’m Proud To Be An America… And of Our President, Donald J Trump .
God Bless the U.S.A. by Lee Greenwood
Uploaded on July 10, 2007
Dennis Pelliccia – Viet Nam War Veteran – July 1967 to July 1968.
174th AHC Assault Helicopter Company
http://www.174ahc.org/bio-21.htm
I was in the Battle of Kham Duc on May 12, 1968
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And it was the only time I saw enemy tanks and uniformed caucasions accompanying the NVA.
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Morty and Jim are both in a recent book about Kham Duc entitled BAIT: The Battle of Kham Duc by James McLeroy and Gregory Sanders. It is a very well done presentation.
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I was a HMM-265 crewchief on one of four 46’s lifting 102 ngok tavak survivors from mountaintop to Kham Duc on afternoon of 10 may 1968.
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I was the Loadmaster on the C-130 that was piloted by Col. Boyd that made it to Chu Lai. when we landed at Chu Lai I managed to take a few pictures of some of the troops that we rescued as well as our co-pilot spray painting “Lucky Duc” on her side. If anyone was on the aircraft with me please contact me at sam.kerro@gmail.com. Also if anyone knows how I can get in touch with the following people I would appreciate it…….. Bill Tidwell, Glenn Ehlers
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Just put up a tribute to all involved that last day.
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A time in this country, when “NO MAN LEFT BEHIND” meant something to every man in uniform, and to me, my flight and crew of Hmm364 and the men of B 2/1 who were stuck in the culvert along the North side of the runway on that afternoon on May 12, 1968, ,
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If any of you all ever get to southeast Kansas, please visit the Veterans Memorial on the grounds of Pittsburg State University. They have a black granite half scale model of the Wall that is just exceptional. Rick
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Rick Fulton again. I remember Morty and I had another connection. We had both been sent in for duty to Khe Sanh, though Morty before I. My time was the last of March and the first day of April 1968. The siege was almost over, though there was some counter sniper stuff going on. The photographer with me and I got to spend some time as spotters. Big stuff for a couple of Public Affairs folks. The Marines treated us well. Chaplain Stubbe I met a long time later when Red Clay was having a reunion, and I was a PAO type (still at it) in Chicago. He sends us Christmas cards every year. A fine man. He had been one of the chaplains at Khe Sanh. Rick Fulton
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FLYING IN CROSSWINDS popped up on my computer screen this morning. It was good to read the whole string, and to remember Morty, Jim from those long ago days. A couple of just very fine Americans. Hope everyone of you is doing okay with the Covid. Hello Jon. Think of you often. Lorella and I sold our RV. We had health issues and it wasn’t being used very much. El Pao was fun! If you see those folks again out there, please pass along our greetings.
Rick Fulton
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Thank you to all who remember this day, and remember the galant warriors who were less fortunate than Marty and me.
JgL Sent from my iPad
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AMEN!!!!!
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I had a chance encounter with a rifleman towards the end of 1968.
He and his Sgt. were survivors of a 5th of the 46th recon platoon
that got wiped out back in the spring.
He and his Sgt. found themselves at the side of the runway at Kham Duc on that day.
Mission was to secure the runway while aircraft evacuated personnel.
Two outposts had already been overrun when they got there.
The quad 50’s on the outposts had fire superiority.
He told me, ” they shot down at least two of every type of aircraft that came to help”.
His Sgt. put him on a chopper about to take off.
Quad 50’s brought it back down. His Sgt. watched the crash,
saw it catch fire and ran to it.
The rifleman was hit by a 50 Cal. while they were in the air.
Grazed his left hip, jumped to his left arm. jumped from his
shoulder to the side of his head. Tore his ear off.
The Sgt. dragged him out of the burning chopper.
A chinook style chopper came in and landed behind them.
He carried the rifleman to the chinook, where the Sgt. collapsed
at the base of the rear ramp.
Someone from the chopper came down the ramp and dragged them both up.
he told me ” If I was at the top of that ramp, I wouldn’t have comer down to save me.”
“The 50 Cal.’s were hitting all around us.”
Victor J. DeMaria, Capt. USMC
Vic, I believe these two men were the ones you picked up.
The Sgt. had walked on hot steel in the chopper and it melted through
his boots, heating the metal and then trough to his feet.
The rifleman never saw the Sgt. again.
Vic, thank you for your service!
Bob
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