Sgt Michael Duffy
Charliehorse Gunner
Personal Album
I'M SENDING YOU A PICTURE OF TWO OF D-TROOP PILOTS AND A DOOR GUNNER I USE TO FLY WITH.
ONE OF THE PILOTS (WILLIAM (TINKER) BELL) WAS KILLED FLYING
FIRE FIGHTERS IN COLORADO IN 2002.
LOOKING AT THE PICTURE LEFT TO RIGHT, 1) STANDING LEFT, NIEL JONES KIA.
2) KNEELING, MICHAEL DEADY, LIVES IN TEXAS FLYING TO OFFSHORES RIGS IN GULF, IN THE NATIONAL GUARD AND JUST RETIRED, FLEW IN SOUTH AMERICA DRUG INTERDICTION, GRENADA, AND DESERT STORM 1991,
WE USE TO CALL HIM CAPTAIN AMERICA ONE HELL OF A PILOT AND FRIEND.
3) STANDING RIGHT WILLIAM (TINKER) BELL DIED IN COLORADO.
Mom a Son Phoom, our Hooch Maid for 3/5 Cav., she washed our Nomex flight uniforms. She was from Quang Tri.
This photo was taken at the Wall in D.C. in 2007,
if you look on the left side you'll see a reflection of my wife (Bev) as she points to the of name of Capt. Derrill Lee Burnside.
He and I were flying together when we got hit with a 51 & 23 that ripped us apart and we crashed and burned,
and he was KIA, to make a long story short.
He was a soldier's officer, he came up through the ranks. May he rest in peace.
My wife (Bev) is pointing to the name of Sgt. Gary Lee Westphal.
He was hit with a 51 in the stomach & died after receiving over 80 pints of blood.
When I was shot down in Laos, Gary came and suppressed fire and helped get us out.
He was starting his second tour and already had a silver star when he joined the Scouts.
He re-upped for the Scouts. One Hell of a leader and Brave man.
May he rest in peace!
Capt Gronberg getting some rest flying stand-by, Third Team.
ing?
This photo I took on the way to help SP4 Frank Orcini and Capt. Martin Gronberg (KIA) that were downed on the Z (DMZ).
We called it the Checker Board because of all the Bomb crater from the B-52 strikes.
The checker board was an area where they use to divert B-52's when their mission had to be canceled and they needed to drop their loads.
The Gooks used this area to bring down supplies and used the water in the bomb craters to mix concrete for their bunkers.
We used to go destroy them all the time.
Jones (left), while suppressing fire after he got shot down and safely helping an evacuation of his wounded crew members was a KIA.
Yeakley (right) made it back to the world OK.
Jonsie really loved the Scouts. It really fit him well. May He Rest in Peace.
Sgt. Tom McBride 11B40. One of my best Friends in the Nam. He was a ground pounding Grunt before becoming a Charliehorse Scout.
He taught me how to read a trail from the air and the warning signs.
He said he wanted to become a scout because he was tired of the bush and wanted a bed to sleep in, and after a couple weeks he ate those words.
He and Gary Westphal came and pulled us out when we went down in Laos.
Well Tom, how is Rosemary do
This photo is of all of the Scouts that have enough time in country to Deros.
Everyone else had to help clean and prep all the aircraft to send back to the States.
The photo was taken around Saigon. Everyone was glad to leave.
Picture of me after spending a while in the hospital, thought I was going to lose my leg.
Had what they called elephant leg after it got infected from a crash I was in in Laos, got shot down and I had my leg sticking out the door, go figure.
I also thought I was going home because while I was in the Hospital they sent all my stuff back with 3/5 Mech. Cav to Fort Lewis Washington.
The Air Cav was sent to Phu Bi. Oh well, can't win them all.
I had another 5 months left.
Picture of me working on aircraft in my cast after I crashed and broke my leg. I spent a month in the hospital and thought I was going home.
WO Bill Halvey at Quang Tri getting out orders for the day.
And look at the Swagger he has.
He was our Maintenance Officer also.
Good guy and very honest, and knew how to put the peddle to the metal.
Jim Sprag, another Grunt that came into the Scouts for a clean bed and found out the reason it stayed clean was, ya never slept in it all that often.
After Jim left the Scouts he used to drive the Old Man around in the Jeep, but he was always a Scout at heart.
And he used to like to eat Frogs Raw, that's why we used to call him FROGGY.
Sue, was drawn by one of the Scout door Gunners (Don't remember Who) and she used to get kissed everyday! Guess where at?
This one is a picture of SP5 Simon (background) and myself Sgt. Mike Duffy (Foreground) doing all the required maintenance as well as flying all day.
Simon was a big guy @ 250#'s and a lot of the pilots used to come and ask me what aircraft they had for the next day, and when I told them they would say can I have ### instead,
and when I asked why they would say I'm teamed up with Simon on second team and we need all the power we can get, bad TOT.
One heck of a nice guy, do anything for ya.
He also made it back to the world OK.
This one is of a mission along the Ho Chi Min trail, that we came back to rearm and refuel.
One of the old Scouts, (Mike Grady) that went into the Maintenance crew.
Another one of the of the scout that drank from the Skull.
Mike made it back to the World also. And Yeah Mike, your # 1. LOL.
Look at this group of bad asses all decked out. Lt. William (Tinker) Bell, Capt. William Allen, Sp4 Ed White.
Getting ready to go work out in the A.O..
Capt. Bill Allen (Right) and I (Left,Mike Duffy) are checking aircraft to make sure they were Mission Ready for the next day.
Capt. Bill Allen and I got along very well.
He use to ask if their was anything I could do with the foot pedals on the 6's because he had a hard time reaching them,
so I said I'd make up a set of training blocks he could use on all the aircraft, and so I did, and I use to tease him about it all the time.
But he was one hell of a brave man.
The last I heard just before I left country was he was flying Slicks and got hit with a SAM missile and crashed and was severely burned.
Great guy!
The Three Amegos! Ya know we had some of the best pilots in Nam, and I'm proud to have served with these guys!
William (Tinker) Bell (outside), Michael (Capt. America) Deady (Pilot), & ___?___ (Copilot).
The best Scout we ever had in our Platoon was Rudy Laws (Right). This guy could get into the thick of things and nothing would happen.
Always came out smelling like a rose. Teflon Rudy!
My first training runs along the coast and in the gulf of Tonkin was with Rudy.
Rudy, Remember how wet the it was in the Gulf and the Sharks. LOL.
Thanks for all the help Rudy, it helped me get through it.
The other guy in the photo is Ben __?___ . At this time I cant remember his last name, we used to call him Bugger Ben.
When this photo was taken Ben was recovering from a crash.
He cracked a couple ribs and got a couple teeth knocked out when they crashed and his chicken plate hit him and caused all the damage.
But as you can see Ben is getting a little pain relief from a can of beer.
Page 2
LOOKING AT THE PICTURE LEFT TO RIGHT, 1) STANDING LEFT, NIEL JONES KIA.
2) KNEELING, MICHAEL DEADY, LIVES IN TEXAS FLYING TO OFFSHORES RIGS IN GULF, IN THE NATIONAL GUARD AND JUST RETIRED, FLEW IN SOUTH AMERICA DRUG INTERDICTION, GRENADA, AND DESERT STORM 1991,
WE USE TO CALL HIM CAPTAIN AMERICA ONE HELL OF A PILOT AND FRIEND.
3) STANDING RIGHT WILLIAM (TINKER) BELL DIED IN COLORADO.
Mom a Son Phoom, our Hooch Maid for 3/5 Cav., she washed our Nomex flight uniforms. She was from Quang Tri.
This photo was taken at the Wall in D.C. in 2007,
if you look on the left side you'll see a reflection of my wife (Bev) as she points to the of name of Capt. Derrill Lee Burnside.
He and I were flying together when we got hit with a 51 & 23 that ripped us apart and we crashed and burned,
and he was KIA, to make a long story short.
He was a soldier's officer, he came up through the ranks. May he rest in peace.
My wife (Bev) is pointing to the name of Sgt. Gary Lee Westphal.
He was hit with a 51 in the stomach & died after receiving over 80 pints of blood.
When I was shot down in Laos, Gary came and suppressed fire and helped get us out.
He was starting his second tour and already had a silver star when he joined the Scouts.
He re-upped for the Scouts. One Hell of a leader and Brave man.
May he rest in peace!
Capt Gronberg getting some rest flying stand-by, Third Team.
ing?
This photo I took on the way to help SP4 Frank Orcini and Capt. Martin Gronberg (KIA) that were downed on the Z (DMZ).
We called it the Checker Board because of all the Bomb crater from the B-52 strikes.
The checker board was an area where they use to divert B-52's when their mission had to be canceled and they needed to drop their loads.
The Gooks used this area to bring down supplies and used the water in the bomb craters to mix concrete for their bunkers.
We used to go destroy them all the time.
Jones (left), while suppressing fire after he got shot down and safely helping an evacuation of his wounded crew members was a KIA.
Yeakley (right) made it back to the world OK.
Jonsie really loved the Scouts. It really fit him well. May He Rest in Peace.
Sgt. Tom McBride 11B40. One of my best Friends in the Nam. He was a ground pounding Grunt before becoming a Charliehorse Scout.
He taught me how to read a trail from the air and the warning signs.
He said he wanted to become a scout because he was tired of the bush and wanted a bed to sleep in, and after a couple weeks he ate those words.
He and Gary Westphal came and pulled us out when we went down in Laos.
Well Tom, how is Rosemary do
This photo is of all of the Scouts that have enough time in country to Deros.
Everyone else had to help clean and prep all the aircraft to send back to the States.
The photo was taken around Saigon. Everyone was glad to leave.
Picture of me after spending a while in the hospital, thought I was going to lose my leg.
Had what they called elephant leg after it got infected from a crash I was in in Laos, got shot down and I had my leg sticking out the door, go figure.
I also thought I was going home because while I was in the Hospital they sent all my stuff back with 3/5 Mech. Cav to Fort Lewis Washington.
The Air Cav was sent to Phu Bi. Oh well, can't win them all.
I had another 5 months left.
Picture of me working on aircraft in my cast after I crashed and broke my leg. I spent a month in the hospital and thought I was going home.
WO Bill Halvey at Quang Tri getting out orders for the day.
And look at the Swagger he has.
He was our Maintenance Officer also.
Good guy and very honest, and knew how to put the peddle to the metal.
Jim Sprag, another Grunt that came into the Scouts for a clean bed and found out the reason it stayed clean was, ya never slept in it all that often.
After Jim left the Scouts he used to drive the Old Man around in the Jeep, but he was always a Scout at heart.
And he used to like to eat Frogs Raw, that's why we used to call him FROGGY.
Sue, was drawn by one of the Scout door Gunners (Don't remember Who) and she used to get kissed everyday! Guess where at?
This one is a picture of SP5 Simon (background) and myself Sgt. Mike Duffy (Foreground) doing all the required maintenance as well as flying all day.
Simon was a big guy @ 250#'s and a lot of the pilots used to come and ask me what aircraft they had for the next day, and when I told them they would say can I have ### instead,
and when I asked why they would say I'm teamed up with Simon on second team and we need all the power we can get, bad TOT.
One heck of a nice guy, do anything for ya.
He also made it back to the world OK.
This one is of a mission along the Ho Chi Min trail, that we came back to rearm and refuel.
One of the old Scouts, (Mike Grady) that went into the Maintenance crew.
Another one of the of the scout that drank from the Skull.
Mike made it back to the World also. And Yeah Mike, your # 1. LOL.
Look at this group of bad asses all decked out. Lt. William (Tinker) Bell, Capt. William Allen, Sp4 Ed White.
Getting ready to go work out in the A.O..
Capt. Bill Allen (Right) and I (Left,Mike Duffy) are checking aircraft to make sure they were Mission Ready for the next day.
Capt. Bill Allen and I got along very well.
He use to ask if their was anything I could do with the foot pedals on the 6's because he had a hard time reaching them,
so I said I'd make up a set of training blocks he could use on all the aircraft, and so I did, and I use to tease him about it all the time.
But he was one hell of a brave man.
The last I heard just before I left country was he was flying Slicks and got hit with a SAM missile and crashed and was severely burned.
Great guy!
The Three Amegos! Ya know we had some of the best pilots in Nam, and I'm proud to have served with these guys!
William (Tinker) Bell (outside), Michael (Capt. America) Deady (Pilot), & ___?___ (Copilot).
The best Scout we ever had in our Platoon was Rudy Laws (Right). This guy could get into the thick of things and nothing would happen.
Always came out smelling like a rose. Teflon Rudy!
My first training runs along the coast and in the gulf of Tonkin was with Rudy.
Rudy, Remember how wet the it was in the Gulf and the Sharks. LOL.
Thanks for all the help Rudy, it helped me get through it.
The other guy in the photo is Ben __?___ . At this time I cant remember his last name, we used to call him Bugger Ben.
When this photo was taken Ben was recovering from a crash.
He cracked a couple ribs and got a couple teeth knocked out when they crashed and his chicken plate hit him and caused all the damage.
But as you can see Ben is getting a little pain relief from a can of beer.
Page 2