John Hiemstra
Vietnam Diary
Web Page 8

THE BEST OF CHARLIE HORSE
VIETNAM

1Jan72 Phu Bai

Our troops didn’t fly today.  I’m still not out of here. It looks like it will Monday before I get to go.

2 Jan 72 Phu Bai
I out-processed today.  For a while I thought finance had lost my pay records
but they were found in the CO’s office. What a relief it was to find them.
Our troop received word today that we are to avoid U.S causalities at all cost-
which means doing a poor job of VR out in the AO.

3 Jan 72
I got up early today in an effort to get a ride to Da Nang on one of our maintenance ships but that fell through.  I couldn’t even get out on the C-130’s.  I’m spending the evening at Camp Campbell in the chaplain’s quarters. I also saw Don Finn again. He is DER0S’ing tomorrow.

4 Jan 72 MM (Marble Mountain)
After waiting all morning, I finally got a C-130 to Da Nang.  Don Finn and Joe Silva, and Bob Smith were among my fellow passengers. The pilot, after leaving Phu Bai, flew up to Evans and shot some GCAs. None of us knew what was happening due to the lack of windows at our eye level in the aircraft.  We suffered terribly, not knowing the reason for the weird flight attitudes and what the aborted landings meant.  After getting to Da Nang, Don, Joe, and I went to the DEROS center. Ha, ha, Don had just relieved himself at the airport, when at the center he had to go to great effort to get enough urine for a drug sample. I spent the night with Don.  During the evening we went to Freedom Hill to watch “Scream and Scream”.

5 Jan72 MM
            I left Don early this morning.    What a lucky guy, he will be home on this date.

6 & 7Jan72 MM  No entry.

8 Jan 72 MM
I spent most of the day sleeping. Not really much happened today.  Still no mail from home.

9 Jan 72 MM
Ah, today I was “cheerfully” awakened at the sweet hour of 05:20 to hear that I was to fly today--and oh did we fly. My “PIC” was George Schofield of Farm¬ington, N. M.  We escorted slicks into LZs and out of PZs all day…7+20 hours of it. The only high light of the day was a man’s body I spotted floating in the river just west of Marble Mountain. Nobody seemed interested in investigating so the matter was dropped.

10 Jan 12 MM
I spent the day in the ready action room on the ten minute standby.


11 Jan 72 MM

Again I spent the day in the RF (Ready Force) on 30 minute standby.  I had to fly one mission today—a short one. We (Capt Riggs and I) helped escort a helicopter carrying the Secretary of the Army from FSB Linda to Da Nang.  Other than this, not much happened.

12 Jan 72 MM
I didn’t fly today—had the day off. We had five slicks and two guns down to Quang Ngai today on a CA (combat assault).  All five slicks were hit by ground fire.  WO1 Steve Griffin, whom I’ve known since basic training, had his ship hit twice in the cargo compartment and once in the rotor.  One ARVN was killed aboard his ship, also one U.S. crew chief was hit in the legs.  We don’t know of casualties for the other side.

13 Jan72 MM
Again I spent the day in the ground. This morning was spent helping with a P.E. on one of other Cobra’s.  Last night 15 mortars hit near the SW side of the air¬strip but didn’t inflict damages.  Capt Holdgrafer,  my roommate, found out today that his Cobra transition was dropped and that he received a drop from July to March to DEROS-ETS.  He wants to stay in. Ha, I want out but can I get out, nooo.

14 Jan 72 MM
It was quiet last night and today wasn’t much different.

16 Jan 72 MM
I didn’t do anything today other than sleep in the QRF (ready reaction room)
since I was on 10 minute standby all day.

17Jan 72 MM
Last night we had one practice alert—we flew 4 hours.  I don’t think I like night flying very well (VERY dark).  Today has been a very tiring and aggravating day trying to get from place to place getting personal problems squared away.  One highlight though is that I got my order off for some stereo equipment.

18 Jan72 MM
Bob Posey (my hooch mate) had $100 watch stolen today. We suspected a part-time hooch maid had it and had her searched--but no watch.  I tried to get my hold¬ baggage today but no luck.  I still haven’t flown--ha, maybe next week I’ll get my chance.

19 Jan 72 MM
I and about 15 other ex-lO1st officers had a brief visit with General McKinnon today. He talked mostly about the near future of the 101st in Vietnam.  Not much else happened that I know of personally.  It’s a real battle within itself fighting boredom.  Some guys were digging holes in the sand and then refilling them just for something to do.

20 Jan 72 MM
Another dull day spent lounging around. Still can’t get my hold baggage.

21 Jan 72 MM
This sitting around for days at a time is making me paranoid about flying. I guess it’s because I’m getting “short” and I worry more.  I did fly today with Jim Kelly.  We flew gun cover for an attempt to recover a body from the river near coordinates 973356.  The guy was a member of the crew that was shot down today.  I don’t know what happened to the rest of the crew. We didn’t get the body out today.

22 Jan 72 MM
I still didn’t do anything today as far as flying goes. I did lie in the sun some and did some exercises.

23 Jan 72 MM
I slept in to 1100 as usual.  I did some reading this afternoon and some more exercising. The mortar crews shot out quite a few rounds this evening.  Everybody is getting a little jumpy as Tet gets closer.  Some good news and bad news today!  I flew with George Schofield on a “funny people” mission to the Ashau. George and I never made it past Phu Bai due to a hydraulic leak. It took us the entire day to get the problem fixed. Mean¬while, I talked to a few of my friends from Charlie-Horse. As has been rum¬ored, D 3/5 Cav is moving to the Da Nang area in a few weeks and then stand down!  The bad news, Capt Allen, Frank Angotti, and crew were shot down in flames by an accurate .51 crew west of Khe Sanh.  One ARP and the crew chief were left on the aircraft in the scramble to rescue the crew, since they were both dead from their burns. It’s believed at present that their bodies are unrecoverable. The rest of the crew is back in the States undergoing medical care for their exten¬sive burns and internal injuries. Bob Ramsey was shot down in his Cobra during the first week of January. An air burst blew away his canopy and stunned him and his front seat. The aircraft was so severely damaged that nearly all the caution lights were flashing on. Bob managed to guide the aircraft to the ground near Khe Sanh were Herrick had put his LOH down on the 31 of December 71.  Bob got a Distinguished Flying Cross with a “V” for his actions.  He was shot down a few days later in the same area by a .51 but made it back to QT. Yesterday Deady crashed his LOH into a tree on the Da Krong while training Esposito for the right seat. None of the crew was hurt. The NVA are so strong around Khe Sanh now that it is murder to send helicopter crews out there. Eight ships and a few lives have been lost this past month in the Khe Sanh area. I found out that both WO2 Tichoner and WO2 Hart are home and out of the Army on a RIF.

25 Jan 72 MM
Another day spent in waste.

26 Jan 72 MM
How much longer can this go on?

27 Jan 72 MM
I had 30 minute standby today, as usual. I have a terrible time waking up in order to get out to the flight line. I have got to shape up.

28 Jan 72 MM
I had the dentist clean my teeth today.  If I’m a good boy and brush my teeth after every meal, he might fill some of my cavities for me next week.

29 Jan 72 MM
I wandered around Da Nang today, places like Freedom Hill and China Beach, just looking for things to occupy my time.  Maj. Kingman keeps saying we’ll be here till Hell freezes over.  I hope he’s wrong.  Not any good rumors to record other than D 3/5 possibly lost a Cobra and crew on the 24 or 25 of January.

30 Jan 72 MM
I didn’t do much today, slept some but didn’t do much else.

31 Jan 72 MM
I flew 7.5 hours today, all of it C&C support near FSB Mawd. A Chinook punched off a load of ammo enroute to Mawd today, so we had to secure that until it was policed up.  We didn’t see any action.



Page 9 - February 1972