This is a story about War Wagons, Rick Wait and Bill Hanegmon. Hanegmon was the gunner. One morning he was running around the flight line looking for a gallon of hydraulic fluid. I told him that there was no hydraulic fluid in a Loach. He said he knew this and that he was making a bomb with it. This was news to me but since I was not a bomb expert I just had to find out what the hell he was doing. So we found some hydraulic fluid and Hanegmon produced a concussion grenade and six c-4 packs. He cut a hole in the top of the hydraulic can just big enough for the grenade to fit in. He then cut the handle off the side of the grenade and put tie wire around  it to hold it in the can, about 7/8 of the grenade was in the hydraulic oil. He then melted wax some to seal it. Then he took the C-4 and stood it up around the gallon can and I wrapped duck tape to hold it in place. This was one hell of a bomb. I asked him what in the world he was going to do with it. He said that the bunkers that they had tried to blow open yesterday were tough and the grenades just didn't cut it. So he was going to try this out.
    The next day we were back in the same place. I can't remember the name of the place but it was just northwest of Dong Tam. I was flying C&C until the regular C&C ship, which had trouble that morning showed up. The C&C helicopter showed up and we flew to Dong Tam. We changed everything around and went back out with some other people who were there to watch.
    Waite and Hanegmon were flying lead and were looking at this real big bunker, at the same time we were almost hit by artillery shells. They just missed about 20' away. They sounded like a freight train as the rounds came by the side of my helicopter. We were at about 2500' when this happened and the pilot headed for the ground. We went down to 500' and I started to look for the loaches. I could hear Waite say that they were going to drop a grenade and they did. It didn't even raise a little dust, so I know what was coming next, I just had to see this bomb go off.
    Waite came around and said something about a big bomb was going to be dropped. I saw Hanegmon kick the thing out the door and they took off like a bat out of hell. They got about 50 yards away when the thing went off. At that time I looked at Waite and Hanegmon flying off, I saw something hit the main rotor head and the helicopter just blow up and disintegrate. There was sh-t flying everywhere for about 100 yards. I knew it was over for them two. I was all ready saying prayers for them. We got down to the ground  really fast and I could see Waite and Hanegmon still strapped in there seats. They were not moving. We were getting closer to them and the C&C helicopter got to them first. All of a sudden I see both of them jump up and start running for the C&C helicopter. No one could believe this. There was nothing left to pick up. How could they still be alive. My prayers were answered faster than we got down to them. Waite can read this to see how much I remembered, but I can tell you one thing he is still hear to talk about it and that I do know.
 

Editor's note. Waite and Hanegmon's helicopter was actually hit by a 40 mm grenade fired from a Crusader Cobra. The Loach was in a banking turn when the round flew in through an aft cabin door and struck the main transmission. The crew got out OK.

See; "Mud Men" by Rick Waite