Vietnam Diary

9 July

More on MAJ Brown - He saw Sam launch also & got a SHRIKE lock on - but shot both individuals at the sight & most likely hit it! Unfortunately the time taken to deliver it cut down his [?] time to where he was downed. Lost all electrical power and aircraft went out of control system explosion - said it sounded like he was hit [?] light [?] (420# warhead) Suspects he injured leg on ejection by Seer kit catching in instrument panel. Injuries - Riser burns on neck - Dislocated hip - Badly sprained knee (tore all its cartilage out, scrape wounds for landing on chart armpit - Black ge. - was able to crawl about 35 yds [?] after landing - tearing most of his flight suit off doing so. - Lost his seer kit so no Morphine. Picked up & hour later by Jolly Green - From its home to CONS for operation on knee - Probably be 8 months before he'll be able to fly -

SGT Milleneau returned today from R&R - Thank god -

Hop yesterday - DCD "d" TPQ - [?] [?] to home Apr-22 or 23 [?] to days - about 500 ft above

cloud deck - The old eyeball is still the best Sam detector.

Two TPQ's [?] after midnight - a DEC"d" & KL "u". - Slept [?] of afternoon - Sweated more than I slept [m?] or [b?] - They find a total of nine missles that night - and things are a [?] having stair of night split S - [?] chugging stalls etc.

Never a dull moment in the DMZ

9 July - 1967

Now comes the story of my near - demise First real [?] beginning of my career -

Mss #107 with MAJOR Coward bingoed from CH 109 as they had no targets for us a controller and Den "D" had to fly to stacked up waiting - Joyride gave us a secondary with Hellix 34 - 167/32 from Chu Lai. About 12-15 north of Chu Lai an engine noise attracted my attention looking at the engine instrument I found the oil pressure gauge reading zero? After reducint power to 85% I called my leader and turned toward the water - told him the situation and that I was going to drop my ordinance (8-D2) in the sea - I got rid of my kneeboard and the plastic binder I was strapped to my left knee - storing them in the aft left & right control sections - I asked MAJOR Conart if it was clear below - he said there was a ship at 12:00 and to turn 090 - I turned about 20-30 degrees when the engine noises increased in intensity - Not wanting to go any further away from the field I rolled up on my

right wing - looking below the area looked clear except for a ship about 10:00 - well clear. Originally I was going to chain off everything except the tank - but as all ordinance [?] were all [ca?] except the master arm - I found it on & pickled. The nose & tail arm [?] and I remember [?] asking to [?] abort explosives north of the field during my approach - exact [?] [?] . I turned back to the field and called a freq change to tower. - Interpting somebody I declared an emergency. Told him my position & started getting set up for an HPA - Getting closer in I felt hight & too close so put out speedbreak. (Power was still at 85% with grinding noises) An 32F or C1A was making a straight in approach and was relly baring down on him. I remember him making a call to tower and my saying "get him out of the way" - was greatly relieved when he got out right. At this time the engine noise increased drastically decelerating more - Observed the RPN falling off and the TPT going up - As it [?] 650 and rising rapidly I shut the engine down and pulled the emergency generatlro handle. Judging by my [?] to the [sog?] and

eyeball impression I was [?] about 2000 ft. I would have ejected then - I was hight enough for safe eject - speed still 200-220. But there was no place to put the airplane. I was pretty much straight away to the runway looking at an night & day 13 on the left and a big [?] area on the right. I noticed the speedbrakes were still out (by the light) and punchec the speedbrake [?] forward. I lowered the gear by the normal means and the two mains when safe but the nose gear was hung - I then pulled the engaging gear extension handle [?] I think they all went unsafe - I pumped the nose 2 or 3 times - really just shut jerks at the stick and they all locked down safe. I believe I called 3 down & locked - Somewhere in here I notiect the boards were still out - recenter you have no electrical [?] of brakes as [?] [?] & tried to push the [?] speedbrake aside. I couldn't get at it or couldn't find it. I [?] plastic binder was in the way. Anyway I didn't have time to juble around with it as the rway was rapidly approaching - Lost time I looked at the airspeed it read 180K

I started to pull back on the stick but the nose hardly moved - using both hands I pulled back as far and as hard as I could bu the sink rate was still rather sickening. I landed or rather pranged - slightly left of centerline and 75 - 125 ft short of a good meatball touchdown. My head snapped forward and I bounced Id guess 20 ft in the air up & left - bounced again - and again -- by this time on the hard pack to the left of the rway. - tore out one runway lite. I [?] [?]that the right gear [?] just as the first bounce - then the second bounce I landed right wing down. I remember trying to guide it back to the center of the ruway with aileron & rudder - at the same time being wings level trying to be wings level for the next bounce. Sanbon the aircraft get back on the ruway and I not [?] the arresting [?] up - 3500 ft - M21 steering for it I lowered the hook and engaged it [?] 20 left of centerline heading back to the right - the hook engaged and as I stopped I blew the [?] - pulled harness release handle and jumped over the left side - swearing fluently. As I went shedding

[?] the merest crew gave runway and - crash crew pulled up and ambulance appeared [?]. Crash crew hosed down the aircraft - I took Sam Pretus and then drove up the runway to return pieces. Found both [?] - are tore right in half - Met the RDO Jerry Cadick - Peddling down the runway with pieces of [?] [?] [?] & strut housing - Somebody else picked up the gear. Total elapsed time from first tower call to touchdown - 90 seconds - I returned my gear and went to sick bay with Doc Guines - [?] physical check & exrays for stiff neck - grounded for 24 hours - enough excitement for one day - 0906 - 11 July 1967

14 July -

Long day today - awake at 0700 to stand alert - launched about 0400 with MAJOR Blockington - Rockets - [?] for troops going in sort of the - [?] after flight work on the LZ but copter didn't arrive and we bingoed - bad aircraft - [?] [?] [?] shitty radio - no instrument lights -

Left for Danang at 0800 after [?] Breckfort CH-53 to [?] hit - [?] to [havline?] - Picked up checks and use [?] & back to Chu Lai - Same bird I'd taken hit in - 10 days to [?] - Had big electrical problems - no gyro - R141 a turn a speedbrake - weren't all on same bus so suspected canon play [?] - Sure enough - [?] save & fixed - manal speedbrake cable broken. - left Danang on 1245 for .5 and quick test hop to Chu Lai -

O-Annual - assumed afternoon alert - launched [?] - Emergency run extraction - with Dick Jacobs - Good hop - well controled & coordinated we maped & strafed as copter went in - the whole world cut loose ! - then baked after they lifted out -

Fell asleep early -

15 July -

Good thing I got UC-9 out of Danang yesterday - Danang was hot last night - rockets, heavy mortars - the [?] - have heard 3 - GV-14 FHC HAG-11 Full Pts & C-117 - 2 - F8 - 14 killed 60 wonded -[?] [?] Air Force Ans Dup - HAG-11 out of Cusan & Danan cloud.

[?] a [?] day on the alert pad - handed twice