Vietnam

[Darren]

SeminoleWind

Thanks for putting lzbetty on here so others could look at it. When you click on 1968, the first picture is the mess hall where I ate at. The date of the attack is incorrect. It was Feb. 22, 1969 2a.m.. When you see the picture of Co. E and how level that was, it was done by vc getting thru the barwire on the gravesite side of lzbetty. 2 bunkers down from where I and 2 others were on guard duty that night. They ran thur the area throwing charges. We went down inside the bunker but didn't like that because we couldn't see everything that we needn't to see, so we went back up top and then we got pinned down because of shrapnel coming from Co. E getting level with their motar rounds going off. The guy next to me got hit with shrapnel, he was doing what we were trained to do, laying there with is hands protecting his neck, and his hand took the shrapnel. Was a little worried about the ammo dump behind us getting hit. That would have been some fireworks. They also came up the side of the cliffs on the beach side, that is were the mess hall was and s-2, s-3 was. Roll down some more pictures and I am in the group filling sand bags. Once again, it is something to see something on the internet that happen so long ago and was a part of it.

[flvideo]

Jimmbo, I smelled a lot of those burning latrines, Thankfully my latrine was in the back of the plane. When we stayed in country I had to stay with the plane and gaurd it. Thank God no body ever came aboard I 'd have made another Crapper. As Darren said, LZ Betty wasn't there when I was in country. When we left Korea, Naha, to fly into country we stocked up with the meals they had for the officers mess. Now they, we, ate good we carried 4 officers and 2 or 3 non coms. I'd have liked to fly some of those later C-130's with the Gatlin guns. I saw some being configured at Warner Robins in GA in 1965 I think. We flew down to pickup a new plane for my Squadron just before I got out. Bob...

[ocalasp76]

Hey Bob....

Here is a video of the AC 130 Gunship. Puff The Magic Dragon.
Enjoy.......Charlie didn't though.
-GYM-



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpyFMEKQyrk

[flvideo]

Thanks Jimmbo, Ain't that thing awesome? A lot of fire power. I only saw the ones in Ga being cofigured I never saw one fire live. I bet its a welcome site.
The only gun ships I can remember is the Huey's an B47's. I never saw a B47 drop either. There was a lot of Huey's there.. And the little single engine firebugs would light up a DZ at night. Those guys had a set of Kahuna's for sure. The only armour they had was a plate across the bottom. You know I never joined any vet groups when I got out. I have probably talked more about it on here than ever. I had a good buddy that was there in '68. He drove a truck all across the country carring ammo. Now thats not my idea of a good occupation. Bob...

[ocalasp76]

Check out some of the other videos on that site. The A-10 Warthog is amazing. Night engagements of the Taliban....never knew what hit them.
-JIM-

[Andy S]

The A-10 Warthog is amazing.

Where I'm from in England is totally flat and the perfect place for air bases, so the USAF have a bunch of them in the region. They also regularly used the bombing range that was out on the shore near my hometown for practice. I still remember being out in my brother's garden one afternoon and seeing a couple of those A-10s come right overhead so low and slow that the guys inside looked down at us, made eye contact, and waved as they went past!

[ocalasp76]

Where I'm from in England is totally flat and the perfect place for air bases, so the USAF have a bunch of them in the region. They also regularly used the bombing range that was out on the shore near my hometown for practice. I still remember being out in my brother's garden one afternoon and seeing a couple of those A-10s come right overhead so low and slow that the guys inside looked down at us, made eye contact, and waved as they went past!

Dam good thing you were not wearing a diaper on your head .......

Hope to see you at the Gov. Cup next weekend.
-JIM-

[flvideo]

Andy, I used to fly into Mildenhall AB was that near your home? I seem to remember a range where we had to fly around it. That may have been a bomb range. I loved the milk over there and in Scotland. It was so sweet. When we were ther I would drink 2 or 3 glasses of it. I guess it rained so much the grass was greener. The grass did seem to be awful rich looking there. Bob...

[Andy S]

Andy, I used to fly into Mildenhall AB was that near your home?

That part of England, where everything is flat, reclaimed sea land that is only inhabitable because of the water management, is called The Fens, and I'm from the far north of that, where Mildenhall is right down in the south. Exactly the same piece of land, just about 100 miles north.

I know Mildenhall well as there's a team there that rides *my* speedway - the Mildenhall Fen Tigers. I've had many a fun afternoon out there watching the racing, and as a kid it used to be exciting seeing all the USAF planes in the area. They have bombing marshes up in Lincolnshire where I lived, and my Uncle (who was a fishermen) had a contract with the RAF to sail derelict fishing boats out into the sea there so they could use them for live target practice. Driving down that road at night (as far as the military police would let us) and seeing those A-10s doing a live attack runs was incredible!

[Edm]

Where I'm from in England is totally flat and the perfect place for air bases, so the USAF have a bunch of them in the region. They also regularly used the bombing range that was out on the shore near my hometown for practice. I still remember being out in my brother's garden one afternoon and seeing a couple of those A-10s come right overhead so low and slow that the guys inside looked down at us, made eye contact, and waved as they went past!

Not related to Vietnam but in Somolia I was a M-60 gunner on a humvee. When we would get in a mess either the Pakastani Cobras or the USAF Ac-130 spectre gun ships would come in for close air support and let me tell you there is nothing in this world like that. I am still amazed at how close they would come, you could almost reach up and touch them.

[flvideo]

Vietnam, Somolia, it doesn't matter you are a brother and were on foreign soil in harms way. Sometimes I wish I wasn't so old, I'd like to seen the AC-130 live. One time we were crew resting at home and I went to commanders call. They showed us a film where a C-130A landed on an aircraft carrier. Now that was close to disaster. Bob...

[ocalasp76]

Vietnam, Somolia, it doesn't matter you are a brother and were on foreign soil in harms way. Sometimes I wish I wasn't so old, I'd like to seen the AC-130 live. One time we were crew resting at home and I went to commanders call. They showed us a film where a C-130A landed on an aircraft carrier. Now that was close to disaster. Bob...

Yup I've seen that film too. That was some piloting.
Egland AFB in the panhandle has a weapons musiuem with all kinds of air craft. The SR-71,original Puff the Magic Dragon C-47,B-52,etc.
Pensacola Naval Air Station has an air musiuem with all kinds of stuff including trainers from different plans you can sit in,engines,smart bombs....the best place second only to the air and space one in Washington DC. Even some early Blue Angels jets, in formation, hanging from the ceiling.
If you or any one going to the Snowball,take a little time to see this great stuff. See where all your tax money used to go before all the BS today.
-JIM-

[Edm]

When the AC-130 lays down cover fire is a sight to be seen.

found some video, not cover fire but still effective http://www.spike.com/video/ac-130-gunship/24
Heres anotherhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZReu...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsaRH...eature=related

Another museum that is really good is the Dayton Air Force Museum in Ohio. http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/


These don't have the Roar of an A-10 Warthog but they pack one hell of a punch.

[flvideo]

Thanks Ed, that was a treasure trove. I have been to Wright Pat many times and never realized the Air Force musem was there. I went thru 40 pages of their aircraft and I saw 13 planes that I worked in or around in the day.It brought back fond memories. Fat chance I'll ever get to see them in person. Thanks Agin. Bob...

[Jane]

I am trying to go to the Snowball Derby this year and if I get to, I will defnitely go to the Air Force Base and check out the museum. We have a small museum in Titusville but it does not have that much. I have always loved C-130's. To me, they are amazing and beautiful. I don't remember where it was, but I did once see my Uncle Bob's plane and what it looked like but I was little and really don't remember where it was. But I will check it out if I get to go.

My family has mainly been Army men - my grandfather, my mom's dad, my ex-father-in-law and ex-husband. But I guess my Uncle Bob had to be Air Force if he flew but I am not sure back then. But my ex-brother-in-law was Air Force and last stationed in Oregon and I did visit him and his family on their base. Was very interesting for sure. My dad was Merchant Marine, my Uncle John Day was Navy on a carrier, and my Uncle Jimmy was Navy. Dad was too young when he joined the Merchant Marines to serve and lied about his age. My granny always said she wanted to kill him for that but my dad had already graduated from college when he was 17 and wanted to go. Back then during the war, dad said that he finished high school when he was 14, graduated from Ole Miss when he was 17, joined the Merchant Marines, and by the time he married mom at the ripe old age of 20, he owned his own Studebaker dealership in Mendenhall, Mississippi.

Dad said he use to take in cows, washing machines, etc. for a new car but he lost the dealership when I was about 2 and started his public relations career and had written his first book and had it published.

Dad does have a book that some of you might like to read called The Seas That Mourn about his Merchant Marine days. If you are interested in getting one, just e-mail me and I will tell you how.