CLAUDE STEVENS
Longknife Crewchief
Copyright 1997
Then there was the day C&C CE
(crewchief) John Williams and C&C AMC (air mission commander) Roy
Sudek
had made a bet. John had spotted a VC from their orbit up at about 1100
ft. John bet Roy that he could hit the guy with the smoke grenade.
Roy told him, “No way”! John won the bet. He hit the dink right
in
the back with the smoke.
The Loaches had been working the area but never spotted the guy until the smoke hit him. Then the Lead Loach nailed him.
It was also the day I got shot down.
I had changed sides with my door gunner because he wanted
to know what
it felt like to fly on the left side. As we were going into the
LZ
we had to fly
over this river and land right close to the bank.
We were on
short final when
this ARVN pax starts pointing. So I follow his finger, sure
enough
there are these two gooks, one standing, one lying on the ground and
both
had AK-47s.
I started firing my M60 at them. The one lying down was firing
his AK on full auto. Before I finished him he gave us 8 new holes
in the tail boom.
I swung the gun on the guy standing up. I saw the
rounds go through his chest as he dropped to the ground. I know I got
both
of them with my M-60 but never did get credit for it
The guy standing up had been firing one shot at a
time. He fired
one round right through the middle of the metal frame that divides
windshield.
This is also where the main bundle of wires runs from the instrument
panel
up to the overhead console between the two pilots on the cockpit
ceiling.
Lots of wires!
The fire light came on and all of the instruments on
the panel stopped
working and the inside of the helicopter filled with smoke.
About this time the Helicopter was full of smoke and the firelight
came on
and with all that getting my attention I forgot all about the
kills.
The
pilo,t Lumpy Martin, flew the ship on out of the LZ and I was out on
the
skids with the fire extinguisher looking for a fire that wasn't there.
Man did scouts do a lot of killing that day. It was a
good day for the Cavalry. It called for a party that night too.
They sling loaded our Huey back to Vinh Long. It was the first time I got to ride on a CH-47 Hooker with my helicopter hanging below it.
Claude