CLAUDE STEVENS
Long Knife Crewchief

(1970)

That was the day C&C CE John Williams and C&C AMC 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 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 the 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 pilot Lumpy Martin flew the ship on out 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.
 It was the first time I got to ride on a CH-47 Hooker with my helicopter hanging below it.

Claude


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