The rearing black cat on the yellow circle on the nose of these Hueys reminds me they were our resupply and courier service in Viet Nam in 1969. This is one of their bases somewhere near Da Nang.

Note the M-60 machinegun tilted downward on the left side of the bird on the right. Nobody went unarmed. Even our Medevacs had door guns. Old times.

“George was a husband, a father, a grandfather, an uncle, a brother and a friend, but one role that he was especially proud of was that of Army Infantryman.

“He was a career serviceman and a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran. He served in many units and battalions, but the one closest to his heart was the 26th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division….Interment will follow at a future date in Ft. Benning, Ga….”

As a young captain, Wolfe commanded Infantry Officer’s Candidate School class 504-68 at Ft. Benning, of which I was a graduate in June, 1968. He had talked me out of quitting, when the daily stress of the six-month program finally wore me down.

Although I was commissioned in Armor, I fought in Vietnam as an Infantry lieutenant, and like Lieutenant Colonel Wolfe, I have always been proud of being an Infantryman.

Via The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Never occurred to me at the time (1969-70) that the Army would replace these birds with bigger and faster ones. The Huey, or UH-1B, being small, was harder to hit. But, compared to a Blackhawk, it was pokey slow.

First of several American war in Vietnam photos I’ll be running here. This is my old headquarters unit from RF-PF advisory days in 1969.

Guy on left is my RTO holding my M-79 while I take the pix. Next to him is Mr. B.’s future godfather in his younger days. I hope the rest of them also survived but, since I didn’t keep their names, I have no way of knowing.

For more C-ration memories (if you’re so inclined) go here. Not only a photo of the famous P-38 (not the WW2 fighter but the 1969 can opener) but also the small four-packs of Marlboros and matches from those pre-PC days.

“Specialist Chazray Clark was dying due to politics, and the Army and Air Force pilots are very angry about this.  Chazray’s is not the only such case…It is important to be absolutely clear–this is not about the Dustoff pilots and crews, who are incredibly courageous.

“They have earned enormous respect.  They’ll fly into hell to get one of our wounded troopers.  This is about politics getting in the way of saving lives…The General in charge of this fiasco needs to be fired.”

More from embedded correspondent Michael Yon.

Obamalot could remedy this with a phone call, and damn well better.

Delayed, that is, because they have to wait for Apache gunship escorts. Not because the landing zones are especially hot but because the Medevacs wear Red Crosses and the Geneva Convention doesn’t allow them to carry defensive guns.

Jeeze, Louise. All our Medevacs in I Corps in Viet Nam in 1969 wore Red Crosses and always carried door guns. The enemy there had no more respect for Red Crosses than the Taliban does now. So much for progress, eh? Visit Michael’s web site and consider helping defray his expenses so he can continue to tell these stories that are NOT being told elsewhere. I do and have for years now.