The Time: Summer 1970
The Place: Mekong Delta, RVN
The Event: Another Day
The pounding noise grows louder and louder. It's coming from the door on my
hooch. A voice yells, "Mr. Gallagher, you're up today, sir". I sit up in my bed and shout back
something obscene. The voice laughs, walks to the next hooch and the pounding starts
again. It's another day in Viet-Nam. Or is it? It's still dark out. God isn't up yet, why am I?
Pop the top off a can of warm beer, gargle, spit, gargle, swallow, gargle, swallow, swallow,
swallow. So much for breakfast!
I walk down the narrow path to the showers. No warm water again. Everything in
this country is hot but the water. Not much small talk from the other guys this morning.
Bad omen, must be a tough mission area today. Finish up, get dressed, pick up the gear,
helmet, guns, ammo and place that "last letter" up on the shelf till, and if, I get back.
My eyes hurt from the bright light of the naked bulb in the combination Flight
Operations/ Mortar Bunker. We gather around the mission map. A long black line from a
grease pencil tells it all. It starts at home base, Vinh Long, and then stabs southward into
the heart of the U-Minh Forest. "Indian Country"!!! The granddaddy ofbad neighborhoods.
Twenty years ago a French paratrooper battalion went in there and they haven't been
heard from since.
The day wears on and so far, so good. We've been working the area of operations for
about an hour with no contact. "We" are a heavy "pink team". Two AH-1G helicopter
gunships, called Cobras or Snakes, flying about 1500 feet above the ground and two OH-6
Light Observation Helicopters, called Loachs or Scouts, flying at mud level. WO-1 "Cal"
Callison is lead ship and I'm flying trail position, at his 5 o'clock. We're flying slow left
hand circles, scouting for bunkers, spider holes or footprints. Cobra lead calls and says he
has activity a couple of "klicks" ahead of us.
We climb to 1000 feet and see this guy running. He has a gun. He has a uniform.
Neither one is US issue. Calisson rolls in, and I'm tight in behind him. Cal says it's an easy
, -
kill. The guy on the ground disagrees. He turns, raises his weapon and lets loose.
Suddenly, necessary parts of Cal's instrument panel start to disappear, only to be replaced
by unsightly bullet holes. This guy is good! A hole appears in the bulkhead next to Cal's
head. This guy is very good! Rounds splat into the control system, the stick starts to get
sloppy. This guy is deadly! Cal breaks off the attack and I have to follow him. I try to act
invisible as this Viet Cong "Rambo" takes a bead on me. I'm staring down his barrel when
he disappears in a huge cloud of fire and smoke. The "Snakes" have struck. The Snake
driver's beer is free tonight when we get back to home base. Cal and I will see to that.
The mission finally ends. A couple more ships get shot up, but the angels are with
us and no crews are hurt. We get back to base and party hearty. We celebrate the
preservation of all our lives for one more day. We laugh and joke about the day's
happenings till the day is all gone.
The pounding noise grows louder and louder. A voice yells, "Mr .Gallagher , your up
today, sir". I sit up in bed; it's another day in Viet-Nam.

(The author is a former US Army helicopter pilot
with over 200 combat missions in Viet Nam and Cambodia)

CMS Ed Gallagher
    ASC/SMG
Wright Patterson AFB

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