John Hiemstra
Vietnam Diary
Web Page 9

THE BEST OF CHARLIE HORSE
VIETNAM

1 Feb 72 MM
I was on standby today; we flew 2.5 hours in support of a CCN team that was be¬ing extracted after they came in contact with a small element of enemy. It was very dramatic. Clouds covered their position making it necessary for the slicks to hover around over the trees being guided in by the men on the ground.  The slicks were hanging it out terribly bad.  There was a tremendous amount of screaming and near hysteria on the part of the CCN team leader and the air rescue AMC. We covered the slicks all the way back to Hill 55 as they slung their pre¬cious load out on ladders.  Ray Cox showed up today to do some con¬tact work here in the Da Nang area.  He is staying with me tonight.  Ray is quite a guy, devoted to his mission of helping out the members of the Church organize themselves and keep their faith going by meeting and worshipping together.

2 Feb 72 MM
Ray and I spent the entire day together. He took me to meet a young man, PFC Jerry Hess, a SP at China Beach.  I also meet Sgt Gardner from 84th engineers at 80th Group.  I hope we can all get together in fellowship. I finished my purchasing plan today. Wow, was it expensive but practical.

3 Feb 72 MM
I spent all morning with Ray Cox meeting people he was trying to contact. I left him about 1300 and went back to 80th Group to finance aid then back to home base. I met John Harms today in the “0” club along with Hodges and Joe Pyror.  John and Hodges were on their way back to D 3/5 from leave and Joe was here on a maintenance run. I found out that on the 24th of January, Capt Mills and WOl Bear Byrant were shot down in the Ashau.  Capt Mills got out unscratched, but Bear broke his back and both legs.  Bear would tell me while I was his roommate that he would go home before I did.  He did. Bear’s normal DEROS was in September. TET is getting close and GI’s nerves are taunt.

4 Feb 72 MM
Today was a hard day, but one of accomplishment.  I tried all morning and half the afternoon to get a 3/4. ton truck so I could pick up my hold baggage.  My driver and I had some problems with the Vietnamese that were milling around, the gate to hold baggage. They tried to strip everything they could off our truck but we stopped them. Sims told me this evening that there are AA weapons (37mm, 23mm, .51 cal) all over QT province including the area around QT airfield, Evans, Eagle, and Phu Bai.  This doesn’t sound very healthy.  I got my paisley suitcase back today from lLt John Harms.  It has been to the world twice this past month. Wish it could have been me instead of the suitcase.

5 Feb 72 MM
I was on standby for 24 hours with Capt Rogers. We didn’t do any flying during this period. There is nothing else to report.

6 Feb 72 MM
After escorting our slicks into the PZ and. into the LZ on Chalk Ridge this morn¬ing, we (guns) were called over to a ridge about a mile away to support some Korean troops who had. been in contact a few minutes earlier. We shot up the ridgeline just above their position giving them very close support. My turret was working like a champ. I had a ball raking the target with 40mm and 7.62.  We didn’t take any fire during the action nor do we know if we inflicted casualties on Charlie but I’m sure we demoralized him with our impressive firepower. We also escorted a   C& C into an LZ near FSB Mawd--no other action.

7 Feb 72 MM
I took my 90 day stan (standardization check ride) ride with Capt Riggs today. He likes to give the rides in the front seat so I was initially nervous about performing the maneuvers from the
back seat—something I haven’t done since flight school last April. I did well through. The day was surprising cool--and enjoyable. Capt Carty showed up D3/5 Cav on his way to 3/1Cav in Ben Hoa today.   I invited him to use a spare bed in my hooch for his overnight stay for which he was quite grateful.

8 Feb 72 MM
Posey was sick this morning with no one to replace him so I flew with Capt McCabe on a C&C. We controlled a CA into a small valley north of Da Nang about ten miles away.  During the prep of the LZ, the grass caught fire, later cutting off one element from the main body.  McCabe hovered down over the flames blowing them away from its fuel.  It was a rather hairy maneuver to perform but it worked.  I didn’t like flying the slick very well; it felt unresponsive after flying the sensitive Cobra.  At 3,000 ft it was terribly cold but we had to stay there for good radio commo—brrrr.  High winds came up during the afternoon cancelling any mission for the afternoon. Cpt Carty told me that the Cobra that was said to have been shot down on landing at Phu Bai was a half truth.  It went down all right, due to mechanical problems, not gunfire.  I still haven’t won a game of spades against Bob Bailey and Bill Holdgrapher yet, but I came close last night.

9 Feb 72 MM
Rain has been falling all day, but it hasn’t stopped any missions. I spent the day sleeping, and writing home. Da Nang AB received 25 122mm rockets early this morning—3 killed and 10 wounded.

10 Feb72 MM
A B52 strike (ARC LITE) went in last night so close (about 4 miles away) that our hooch vibrated from the shock waves. This strike was in retaliation for the rocket attack on Da Nang AB yesterday morning. Our colonel from 223rd Bn told us this evening at O call that the TET offensive was a 3 step plan; (1) recon, (2) assassination, and (3) harassment of military installations. The last step is to take place after TET. An American rock group played at the 0 club tonight but lacked both talent and show appeal.

11 Feb 72 MM
I went on standby at 1800. About 2030 we had a test alert that turned into the real thing. Three B-40 rockets slammed into the small G.I. outpost on the Marble beside the CCN camp. One G.I. (ARVN) was wounded in the back. Our job was to provide cover for the medavac. It was fun watching M79 rounds hit against the side of the Marble making big splashes of light, and the tracers bounced across the rocky face. We didn’t have to shoot.

12 Feb 72 MM
We covered one CA this morning and a CA into a LZ in the afternoon. I t was fun
prepping the LZ with rockets and 40mm. Capt Gunter told me today that Capt Dobbs is
In the 11th CAG—probably to harass me!

13 Feb 72 MM
Nothing seems to go right for Charlie-Horse lately. They moved into Red Beach yesterday with all their aircraft and personnel, then whooosh, a rocket attack!
D 3/5 lost one Cobra destroyed and several slicks damaged. The medavac company there lost a couple of ships too.  1Lt Bob Smith and lLt Ron Dibella (Godzilla) lost a Cobra at the Phu Bai POL two days ago when it caught fire and burned. Neither pilot was injured. This morning lLt Alan went inadvertent IFR over the ocean and lost control, balling the aircraft up in the sea. The crew chief sank with the ship; the others (3) escaped with small cuts and bruises. I was talk¬ing with a friend of mine from D 3/5, lLt Flynn, he said two of the ARPS medivaced to Japan died of their burns. There still is no word on Capt Allen and WOl Frank Angotti. The Marbles were rocketed again last night-but no sweat for us.

14 Feb 72 MM
I found out today that three packs were killed in that crash yesterday.  A B52 strike rumbled somewhere west of here this afternoon.  It must have given somebody a headache.  Bob Posey, Steve Carty, and I spent a lazy afternoon swimming in the surf and sunning on the beach.  Time still goes slow--too slow.

15 Feb72 MM
Not much happened today - thankfully.  I really didn’t do much; slept, read, walk.

16 Feb 72 MM
I got up at 0600 for a CA. We didn’t actually go until 1200 because of poor visibility (fog). When I did fly, it was with Steve (Clarence) Griffin, a guy I’ve worked with all the way from basic training days. I got some good photos of the slick driver’s job on a CA They really hang it out, much more than us “gunnies” do.  I went to the craft shop today. They don’t have much. They do have a dark room set up though, but can only develop B&W negatives now.

17 Feb 22 MM
Ah, another day spent lounging in bed or otherwise non-profitable endeavors.

18 Feb 72 MM
Ever seen a repeat, well today was a repeat!

19 Feb 72 MM
After sleeping in to 1200, I ate lunch and then hitched a ride to Freedom Hill where I paid for my “Hong Kong Special” winter tweed suit. It really looks nice. From there I went to gunfighter village to make a tape at the tape center. By the time I am finished taping it was dark, about 2000. When I tried getting a ride at the gate, the guard discouraged me from doing so. He said the main gate had taken AK fire only a few minutes ago. So I stayed on the base overnight.

20 Feb 72 MM
Today I went to worship service after having slept in all morning. It was great being with my brothers again. I met WOl Jerry Harlin while at Da Nang AB. He is an instructor for the VNAF. I made one more tape today and then returned to MMAAF.

21 Feb 72 MM
I tried to get a little business done today but didn’t accomplish much! I did
get some letters from home though!

22 Feb 72 MM
I made another tape today. The rest of the peter pilots haven’t caught up with
my flight time, so I’m still unscheduled to fly.

23 Feb 72 MM
Again I went to Gunfighter village to make a tape. I’m getting to be a familar face over there. I usually leave about 11:00, tape for 4 or 5 hours, and hitch a ride back to MM by 4 or 5 P.M.  I was on the standby alert all night but didn’t do any thing.

24 Feb 72 MM
Wow, today more than made up for the past week.  I flew ten hours. In the morn¬ing we supported a CA into two different LZs. The first LZ was cold and the second was hot. I don’t think any slick was hit.  On the shuttle from the PZ by Hill 55 to the LZ, the slicks would fly over a small village rather isolated from the rest of the population.  From this village they drew fire just about every flight (sortie). We went over to check the village out while the slicks were at the PZ. Everything looked normal, except that the people were a little jumpy and spooked easily when we low leveled over them, but nothing unusual. But in the outlying fields Miller spotted one gook with a rifle duck into a bunker by a plot of rice.  As we circled. around low looking for him, I saw a concentric circle of ripples in a small creek move away from the bank not far from the rice field. After receiving word that the slicks had taken fire from this area, we proceeded to fire the area up. We must have got the guy on the bank, we poured everything we had into his position, nails, ten pounders, 7.62. In the afternoon, we went south to Quang Ngai to support an ARVN insertion on a mountain overlooking a small village. The slicks were shot at several times here but nobody shot at us. Towards evening we put in an ARVN insertion on the village mentioned just pre¬nviously. The ARVNs set fire to one hooch and the fire spread to two others.  It was not very good for making the ARVNs popular.  Miller took a .51 through his main rotor during the morning while observing the village first mentioned this morning.  I served as duty officer all night. It was hard not being able to sleep.

26 Feb 72 MM
Today I went to Gunfighter village again and to the Aerial Port to get a re¬serve ticket for the flight to Saigon. Bob Posey slept with his girlfriend, Nancy, last night and missed his scheduled sortie.  There will be trouble for this.

27 Feb 72 MM
Besides making another tape today, I served as “trash officer” inspecting the trash barrels in our company area for GI junk, letters, confidential material, drugs, etc. Bob saw the CO today. He is going to receive a General Article 15 for missing his sortie. Capt Dobbs had a hard over in the SCAS pitch channel today.  He had to set the aircraft down on the beach just outside the compound. Capt Dobbs came to the Joker platoon yesterday from D 3/5 Cav.

28 Feb 72 MM
I was on standby today but didn’t fly. Not much else to say except I’m getting very excited about R&R.

29 Feb 72 MM
I made part of a 3hr tape today but was unable to finish it. This evening I was on standby with Capt Dobbs-interesting. We had one test Red. Alert, otherwise the night was quiet. Mama-san bought a conical hat as a gift for my wife.  It was very sweet of her.



Page 10 - March 1972