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Official US Government records show that between 1962 and 1973 a total of 1,211 UH-1 aircraft were lost in combat in Vietnam. John B. Morgan was the pilot of one of these aircraft and was flying for the 4th Infantry Division Aviation Battalion at the time.
I was shot down on 15 February 1967. At that time my unit had been in-country about 40 days and operational only about two weeks. I was a WO-1, a Warrant Officer, flying co-pilot for Major Charles A. Neal, the 1st Platoon Leader. Our mission that day was to reinforce a battalion of US infantry who were surrounded and under heavy fire by the NVA. Ours was the second attempt that day, the first having been unsuccessful due to the intensity of ground fire.
We were flying fifteen UH-D slicks, organized in five ‘Vs of three’ in trail formation. Each V of three had about a 30-second interval as our landing zone was only large enough to accommodate three aircraft. We had picked up units of the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry at a ‘PZ’ about ten miles south of the ‘LZ’. Major Neal and I were flying the lead ship and had five Pathfinders aboard who would co-ordinate communications upon successful insertion.
The LZ was about 75 yards in diameter, surrounded by 60- to 80-foot trees and heavy brush. The American unit was dug in around the perimeter, leaving the center open and clear for landing helicopters. As we approached from west to east the artillery prep was shut off and the last round marked by smoke, as per SOP (standard operating procedure). At that time our two pairs of UH-1C helicopter gunship escorts started their race-track firing pattern and our door gunners were told to open fire. The gunships were firing 2.75-inch diameter folding fin air-to-ground rockets with nine-pound high-explosive warheads and quad flexible M-60s into the area surrounding the LZ.
Needless to say, this 22-year-old co-pilot in the lead ship, on his first ‘hot’ combat assault, was not the only one present with sweaty palms! As we started our deceleration and approach the noise was impressive.
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