Navy Marine Corps Medal

The Navy and Marine Corps Medal is the second highest non-combatant medal awarded by the United States Department of the Navy to members of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. The medal may be awarded to service members who, while serving in any capacity with the Navy or Marine Corps, distinguish themselves by heroism not involving actual conflict with an enemy. Typically, it is awarded for actions involving the risk of one's own life.

The four married couples lived in Gramham Park Apartments several miles south of the Marine Corps Base at Quantico, Virginia. Two couples lived upstairs (Babe and Alice and Dennis and Carol) and two couples lived downstairs (Ken and Jean and Roy and Alice). The 4 men had recently returned from Vietnam. Babe had been a scout dog handler, Dennis an aerial gunner, Ken an artillery man and Roy was a combat engineer.

Over the course of several months it became obvious that Roy and Alice had some serious domestic issues evidenced by loud verbal altercations and physical abuse which more often than not resulte in Alice sporting bruises. Third parties were involved which heightened the situation's tenseness causing the apartment's occupants to believe there soon would be serious violence.

On a sultry day in July, 1968 once again the arguments, shouting and hitting ensued when suddenly Roy left their downstairs apartment got into his car and screeched out of our parking lot while his wife remained inside. While all this was going on the rest of us sat outside enjoying the weather. We did hear Alice calling the police and found out later that she had told them Roy had hit her repeatedly. She had previously suffered a wrenched neck but this injury seemed more serious and it look as though her nose was broken.

At the time we did not realize that the Highway Patrol and the Military Police had been dispatched to our apartment complex
and they arrived just moments after Roy had returned pulling his car up in front of apartment house. Once he saw the law enforcement vehicles driving down our cul de sac he seemed to get very angry and rushed to the trunk of his car, opened it and tooked out a rifle and pointed it at the police vehicles that had now come to an abrupt halt. I believe there were 4 or 5 cars with 7 or 8 law enforcements officers. When the officers saw Roy point the rifle at them they immediately assumed defensive positions behind their vehicle doors and fenders drew their weapons preparing to shoot.

The three of us couples scattered while watching the drama unfold right in front of our apartment about 75 feet away. (I should note it was about mid day and their were many other people outside from other apartments in our complex).

At this point I began to approach Roy who continued to point his rifle at the officers. I kept talking to him as I approached from about 50 feet saying "Roy put the rifle down these guys are going to be real pissed off at you" his only response was "I am going to shoot the m____f_______s. As the distance closed between us Roy turned and pointed the rifle at me and said "first I am going to shoot you".The law enforcement people must have seen that Roy was distracted by me and began to approach him when he swung his rifle back around towards them. It was this moment that allowed me to close the distance between us and knock Roy to the ground behind his car. After trading a few blows the police rushed to my aide and handcuffed him.

Several days later I was advised by my lieutenant that the local authorities as well as the military police had commended me for my response to an impending danger. At that time I was nominated for the Navy Marine Corps Medal and was subsequently awarded the medal by Lt. General Lewis Fields on April 17, 1969.

The citation reads:

"For heroism while serving at Headquarters Company Headquarters Battalion, Marine Corps Base, Quantico, Virginia, on July 14th 1968. Upon recognizing the possibility of a gun battle at the Graham Park Apartsments between an individual with a loaded rifle and the military and civilian authorities in the execution of the official duties in serving a warrant for the individual's arrest, Corporal Pregent, with complete disregard for his own safety and fully aware of the personal dangers involved, unhesitatingly assited in the apprehension of the individual. He thus prevented serious injury and possible death to innocent bystanders in an apartment complex. Corporal Pregent's courageous and prompt actions in the face of great personal risk undoubtedly prevented bloodshed in a heavily populated area and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service".

Marine Corps Recruit Depot-Parris Island

I became a member of Platoon 211 of the 2nd Recruit Battalion, Recruit Training Regiment on February 1st, 1965. Over the next 12 weeks we had 5 drill instructors governing our existence and I specifically remember Sgt. Johnson, Sgt Mills, Sgt Lankford & Sgt. Goodman (Cpl. Weed was with us for a short time). Sixty-Seven of us became official Marines on April 19th, 1965.

The following are some of my recollections 44 years later:

I remember arriving at Parris Island by bus late a night and sitting at a desk at rigid attention for several hours while our DI's screamed at us. One black kid spoke out and was quickly knocked to the floor by a DI. This abrupt action had a great influence on those of us in the room and we tried to sit even more motionless. Hours later we were allowed to sleep and I ended up on the top bunk feeling very lonely and afraid...at seventeen this was this first time I had been away from home.

In the following day we were processed through the typical induction rituals e.g. pack up all our civilian clothing & personal items for mailing, received military clothing and health care items, haircuts, shots, physicals, testing, receiving our rifles etc....

I remember spending hours on the "grinder" practicing short order drill & the manual of arms, hours in indoor & outdoor classrooms learning Marine Corps history, military conduct, handling of weapons, compass reading etc.

After awhile we had 1/2 or 1 hour of free time at night that was closely regulated to shining shoes or letter writing (no talking!!). On Sundays we we could be marched to chapel, if we wished to attend a religious service. Catholics were called "mackerel snappers" meaning we ate only fish on fridays. Also Sunday was reserved for washing our clothes a long "wash racks' outside. We had been issued a bucket, scrub brush and soap to help in this process.

We had a wide variety of physical training exercises e.g. daily runs, typical calisthenics (jumping jacks, pull ups,push ups etc)..We also frequently ran the obstacle course.

Some of my personal memories:

• The only time I dropped out of a training run the DI made the rest of the platoon exercise because of my failure while I sat and watched them.
• One time I was caught smiling and Sgt. Johnson filled my mouth with shaving cream and another time when I was caught talking the same DI repeatedly hit me on the head with a tent pole while I was at attention. I got a good size bump from this action.
• Another time while serving as a "house mouse" (the person who waited on the DI e.g. made his rack, shined his shoes etc) we ate some hidden cookies and the DI's made a examples of us to the platoon by having us do many jumping jacks under a poncho and the drink a canteen of warm water. We repeated this punishment 2 or 3 times until we vomited and then we fired as house mouses.
• Another time I was present when a DI struck Pvt. Phillips in the mouth for eating "pogey bait" (candy) without permission. The DI's blow caved in Phillip's front teeth.
• I received a letter from my Aunt Phyllis and the stamp on the letter was upside down (in those days this might signify "sealed with a kiss") and the DI made me do 150 jumping jacks.

One of the most important times of boot camp was the rifle range. We moved from our regular barracks out to the range for an intense 2 week period of weapons instruction and marksmenship. The DI's believed our prowess as marksmen was a strong indicator of our overall ability to be an effective Marine. High quality shooting was everything!!

We (3/4 marines) once had a late night "blanket party" for Pvt. Vanasse who was shooting poorly and negatively reflecting on our platoon. A blanket party was usually 3 or 4 marines sneaking up on an unsuspecting marine who was sleeping, dropping a blanket over his head and then beating him with your fists. The theory was that the beating would encourage him to try harder and be a better marine. Our blanket party also included poring a number of canteens of water into his rack while we held him down with a blanket and beat him. I don't think it was very effective but certainly part of our tradition.

During boot camp there was a good amount of discussion by the DIs concerning Vietnam which was an rapidly emerging as a full blown conflict. There was strong encouragement for us to get to the "action" as soon as possible. I remember Sgt. Lankford asking us what do you feel when you shoot someone? The answer was only 3.5 pounds of trigger pull which was the amount of pressure required to pull the trigger on an M-14 rifle.

More to come....

Helicopter Marine Medium (263) 1st Assignment

Sometime in August, 1970 I requested re-assignment to serve as a gunner with a Marine Corps helicopter squadron. My request was granted about 30 days later after passing the briefest of eye exams. At the time I was concerned that my limited vision (I wore glasses) would preclude me from being reassigned. The corpsman was very "helpful" and made broad allowances for me allowing a passing grade as long as I could see the chart on the wall (not the letters)!!! The only other crew member requirement was a .50 caliber machine gun familiarization flight over the South China Sea that required us to shoot at a yellow dye marker.

The day after my qualification I moved in to a bug/rat infested hootch very close to the squadron's runway and was ready/excited to begin my new assignment. I found out that crew members were to report early each morning to an "assignment shack" to find out which ship (helicopter) they would be on, with whom they would fly and what their their mission designation would be e.g. recon insertions, medevacs, troop lifts, re-supply etc.

My first mission involved the medevacing of a number of South Vietnamese civilians who had been accidently wounded by Marine artillery. We flew a number of kilometers away from Marble Mountain and arrived at the outskirts of a small village with a number of thatched huts. I was surprised to find out we were picking up about 20 to 25 wounded women and children. Most suffered from shrapnel wounds although there were 4 or 5 amputees.

The crew members and I proceeded to load the wounded on our aircraft. I carried 2 or 3 people on to the aircraft but will always remember carrying/holding a 2 year old girl whose left leg had been blown off. She was whimpering slightly but otherwise never said a word. It was a very sad moment for me especially as I thought of my 2 year daughter back home. I can remember wondering what the other crew members were thinking but as I looked around everyone seemed busy an unaffected.

There was an older women in the group of wounded who seemed to be dying from the many wounds all over her body. She was swathed in gauze, almost from head to toe, that did very little to staunch the blood that was seeping on to the stretcher. Once she was identified as a vc sympathizer she received no medical attention especially since the corpsman was so busy treating the friendly civilians.

After everyone was aboard our helicopter we flew to the USS Sanctuary, in the Danang harbor, where the ship's medical staff helped us off loaded our wounded passengers.

R & R in Hawaii

During the Vietnam War U. S. service members were permitted to take 5 day leaves called R&R (Rest & Recreation). R & R destinations were: Bangkok, Hawaii, Tokyo, Austrailia, Hong Kong, Manila, Penang, Taipei, Kuala Lumper and Singapore. Hawaii was the usual destination for married servicemen.

Carol and I had been separated about 10 months when we met in Hawaii on December 20th, 1967. I can still remember flying from Danang to Hawaii and then being bused to Fort DeRussy the Army's R & R Welcome Center where I was to meet Carol. I felt very excited yet anxious after not seeing or talking with her for so long. I could not remember what her voice sounded like and wondered if I would recognize her when I first saw her. All those concerns quickly quickly disappeared when we met at the Center. I knew her immediately and found out how wonderful it was to hold her again. I could not wait to leave the Welcome Center and be by ourselves. We left the Center after receiving some instructions on local customs and a serious warning to me to make sure I was at the airport on time for my return flight to Vietnam.

We stayed at a small inexpensive hotel off of the main street called "Aloha Punawai" and went shopping for some clothing e.g. flowered shirt, mini mumu's and sun glasses. Once outfitted we went almost directly to Waikiki Beach to just lay in the sun together. We visited the International Market Place as well as the Ala Moana Shopping Center but otherwise most of our time was spent eating at nice restaurants, laying on the beach or just being together.

The days passed very quickly and we found ourselves saying good bye again on Christmas Day. It was difficult and wrenching for both of us to be separated again and for me to head back to Vietnam. Our only encouragement was knowing my tour was almost over.

Resupplying the Infantry (grunts)

In the time I served with HMM 263 most of our missions involved resupplying marine infantry (grunts). Generally these missions were routine and involved delivering such items as: ammunition/grenades, C-Rations, Marine replacements, mail, scout dogs and their handlers, beer and one time a pallet of 5 gallon containers of melted ice cream.

The deliveries were made to mountain tops, cleared landing zones in the jungle and to base camps. The resupply was conducted in all types of weather and during my time with HMM 263 the rainy monsoon season (mid-May to mid-October) was in full force.

I can particularly remember resupplying an infantry platoon on a hilltop during a heavy rain. When we landed a number of grunts off loaded the supplies while we stayed near our machine guns. One marine passed me a bundle of letters and asked if I would mail them for him.

Most of the other marines remained on the perimeter sitting in their foxholes which were half filed with water. They were using their ponchos for roofs over the fox holes but our landing and departure blew away a number of their "roofs".

Seeing their conditions made me appreciate being able to return at night to Marble Mountain and sleep in a hootch.

Medevac-Queson Mountains-Vietnam-updated

Sometime in September, 1970 we were flying with our sister ship re-supply marine units located somewhere near the Queson Mountains when we received an emergency medevac call requesting immediate assistance for a marine patrol. The patrol had been out for several days and when they made camp the previous night they had set out their claymore mines to protect the perimeter. Sometime during the evening the vc turned the claymore mines around so that they faced the marines.

Early the next morning the vc made some noise very close to the perimeter and so the marines in an effort to protect themselves triggered the claymores and discharged hundreds of pellets right into themselves wounding the entire seven marine patrol and critically wounding 2 or 3 of them.

We quickly proceeded to the area and hovered above while our sister ship provided assistance. After ensuring the vc were gone, the helicopter hovered near the steep mountain and tried to position itself to pick up the marines. The hill side was too steep and too heavily forage (with trees) to allow the chopper to get very close.

Finally the helicopter lowered what we called a jungle penetrator, which is a long tube that had fold out seats, and was used to extract people from dense jungle areas. The process of extracting the entire team took some time and I believe one of the helicopter crew members was lowered to help strap the wounded onto the penetrator. They could only extract 2 people at a time so it took a number of minutes to bring out all 7 marines..... some who were screaming because of shattered bones and multiple bullet punctures.

Our sister ship brought the marines to Charlie Med and we hooked up later at the base to hear first hand about the mission. It was somewhat frustrating for us to be hovering waiting to assist while our sister ship was involved in all the action.

Note: The "Claymore" designated M-18A1 is an anti-personnel mine that weighs approximately 3.5 lbs has over 700 steel balls that adhere to C-4 explosive (1.5 lbs) and is usually placed on the ground using its 2 sets of scissor legs. It has an effective range of 100 meters but is optimally used when enemy personnel are within 50 meters. It could be used for a variety of purposes but primarily in defensive situations and ambushes. The claymore is "triggered" with a firing device connected to a blasting cap.

Vietnam--1st Tour-Updated

In January 1967 I submitted an Administrative Action form requesting to be transfered from Headquarters & Service Battalion, Fleet Marine Force Altantic (FMFLant), Norfolk, Virginia to Fleet Marine Force Pacific (FMFPac)-Western Pacific (WesPac) ground forces. The request was approved and I received orders to the Western Pacific in February, 1967. I then proceeded to Camp Pendleton, California's 3rd Replacement Company, Staging Battalion and was assigned to Unit # 3056 for the months of March and April, 1967.

As a corporal I was given squad leader duties and in charge of 12 marines. For most of our field training we were stationed at Camp Los Pogas and lived in old quonset huts. Our training included a lot of hill climbing, learning survival skills, escape & evasion, familiarization with booby traps, land mines, weapons and vietnamese culture course.

This was the first time I had been so far from home and I remember being very lonely and missing Carol. There was very little recreation or free time. I did go to Disney World in Aneheim, California and another time to Tijuana.

After arriving in Okinawa in April, 1967 I was assigned to Supply Company, Provisional Service Battalion at Camp Hansen and was responsible for miscellaneous duties e.g. prison chaser, clean up details, supervised recreational rooms etc.

From April through August, 1967 I moved between Camp Hansen and Camp Schwab working in primarily supply positions. During this time period I also became SCUBA qualified and was able to do some spear fishing off the coast. The reefs were beautiful and contained many varieties of fish.

Also while I was on Okinawa, I went to Kadena Air Force base (visited the Enlisted Club), to Moon Beach across the island and to several small towns e.g. Ishikawa, Henoko, Nago right outside the bases where I was stationed. I saw several razor fights between black & white marines and provided assistance to a marine who had attempted suicide by slashing his wrists in the head (restroom). I remained on "Oki" until my request for transfer to Vietnam was approved.

Finally in August, 1967 I was reassigned to the 1st Force Service Regiment (FSR), Force Logistics Command (FLC) which was located at a place called Red Beach several miles west of Danang,Vietnam.

As a member of the Supply Company, Supply Battalion I worked as a warehouse man from 6:00pm to 9:00am seven days a week. Our primary purpose was providing support/equipment to in-country Marine units. I was involved in perimeter guard duty but for the most part the job was fairly routine warehouse job.. There were a number of times our base was rocketed with 122 millimeter rockets which on a several occasions destroyed portions of my work area. One night the rockets destroyed a hootch about 50 meters from where I slept (the rocket critically wounded everyone in the hootch many of whom I had came overseas with and knew well). Another time when I was on on perimeter duty 4 vc sappers (saboteurs) dressed as U.S. Marines destroyed a marine outpost with a satchel charge. We saw the vc walking down the road about 100 meters away never realizing who they were. The charge leveled the outpost and killed all 4 marines. Medevac choppers quickly arrived and picked up the bodies and Puff (gunship) was called on station to saturate the area with fire. I never knew if we killed the sappers.

In November, 1967 I was reassigned to D Company, 1st Military Police Battalion right next to the Danang airbase. My military specialty was changed from 3041 (supply) to 0331 (infantry) and as a corporal I was a squad leader in charge of 12 men and we were responsible for base security, traffic issues and patrolling areas around the base. Our duties were on a 3 day rotation, one day patrolling and setting ambushes, the next day guarding the airbase perimeter and the 3rd day was set aside for repairing bunkers and training. During this time period we transitioned from the M-14 rifle to the M-16 which, at the time was not considered very reliable. As a squad leader I was able to carry a 12 gauge shotgun for patrolling and lead a number of patrols during my time with the 1st MP's. I can remember setting up L shaped ambushes on the edge of rice paddies and remaining immersed in water for a number of hours trying not to move while leeches attached themselves to me. Other than attract leeches we failed to ambush any vc.

Our area was continually dusty/dirty, the occasional shower was cold and the beer was warm. The noise was perpetual with fighter planes from the airbase running missions 24/7 and frequent artillery bombardments supporting marines in the field. When off duty we would hitch a ride to Freedom Hill (Hill 327) to visit the PX.

I went on R&R to Hawaii to meet Carol from December 20 through the 26th, 1967. Carol and I processed through the Fort DeRussey R&R center and then stayed at a local hotel. The visit was wonderful but always had the dark specter of my eventual return to Vietnam. We separated again on Christmas day when I left for Vietnam. It was particularly difficult seeing Carol after being separated for 10 months and then having to return.

My tour of duty in Vietnam ended January, 1968 and I returned to Marine Barracks, Naval Station, Treasure Island in San Francisco and remained there until March awaiting my next assignment.

Charlie Med-Danang

Several times during my brief stint as a crew member with HMM-263 we brought wounded or heat exhausted marines to "Charlie Med" which I believe was located near 1st Marine Headquarters in Danang. I was usually only on the ground for a short period of time helping to off load and carry stretchers into the operating room.

These short visits gave me glimpses of what went on at this place of immediate action where injured marines were medically stabilized as we brought them in from the field.

During one medevac we brought stretchers into a large sandbag room (with no door but a wide opening) and placed the stretchers on saw horses so the medical staff could begin their work. What I noticed before I left the room was how the staff work urgently to stabilize the patients while at the same time cutting off their clothing/boots. I did not stay long enough to see any medical procedures but did notice how a thick overhead beam had many different organizational patches and individual insignias nailed to it representing the different units and ranks of those people they had treated. I also notice how the floor was inclined so blood could flow to a sump area where it disappeared into the floor.

During another one of our medevacs I helped load wounded marines into ambulances which I presumed were headed to areas that would provide more advanced medical treatment. We loaded a number of double amputees into the back of ambulance while they were moaning deliriously in pain. I also stopped at one of the hooches that was a patient holding area and held a number of grieviously wounded marines. I notice one marine totally inert on a respirator and another unconscious marine with gauze covering most of his midsection. He apparently had been hit by schrapnel and had many wounds that were seeping through the gauze ranging from his penis to his upper chest.

I left the room quietly and returned to the ship (helicopter) for our next mission.

Supporting the Grunts

One morning shortly after leaving Marble Mountain with our sister ship 2 Cobra gunships "snakes" join us. I don't remember the mission designation but it appeared as though we were headed southwest and would be available for infantry support. About 5 or 10 kilometers from Marble Mountain we received an urgent call from a marine patrol who were in direct contact/receiving fire from about 7 to 9 vc.

As we flew to the area at about 2500 feet we could see from quite a distance a small patrol of marines (maybe a squad of 12 men) somewhat on-line but slightly scattered over a broad open plain. They had marked their location with a green smoke grenade and the radio operator was frantically trying to get our assistance in suppressing the enemy's fire.

One of the Cobra gunships contacted our helicopter pilot, who seemed to be senior officer on station, and requested authority to engage the vc. In just a matter of seconds, once we were sure of the marines exact location, permission was granted for the gunships to make their strafing run.

We had a ring side seat (at 2500 feet) and watched both ships make their firing runs. It appeared as though they were using their mini-guns (versus cannons or rockets) as we watched 100's of bullets create dust puffs across the area where the vc were located. The entire action was over in seconds and the grunt radio operator called us to thank us and said they would begin searching the bodies for papers or equipment.

I can remember saying to myself I have never seen 9 men die so quickly....in a matter of seconds...

Night Time Medevac

The _______lights were dim, the ramp was down we could hear over the net “keep the gunners” on their machine guns we have”gooks in the wire”. The sounds and lights of battle were everywhere. Over the noise of our rotors we could see incoming and outgoing tracers, RPG explosions and grenades going off in what appeared to be a number of firefights going on throughout the Hill 55 compound.

Our ship, a CH-47 Sea Knight, was on station for night medevacs when we were summoned to Hill 55 to pick up a marine who had been killed in action (KIA). We were advised that the hill was still engaged with the enemy and receiving incoming small arms fire as well as some RPGs. Our captain was considering whether to land the ship and jeopardize 5 crew members to pick up 1 permanent routine when over the net we heard the “ground” now had 3 wounded (one critically) and 2 permanent routine.

Once we heard there was a critically wounded Marine our decision was made and the captain began a rapid descent towards the Hill with our landing lights turned off until just several feet before touching the helo-pad.

The situation on the ground was chaotic, what had been an inky black night from 2500 feet in the air became of 4^th of July fireworks show with lights, explosions and people running everywhere in the pitch dark.

Several corpsman quickly loaded stretcher case on board and also help 2 wounded hobble on. This took a matter of several minutes and just prior to lift off 2 dead marines were loaded on our ramp, The ramp was lifted up and we quickly lifted off headed ……for additional medical help.

The inside of the aircraft had muted dome lights on which cast eerry shadows throughout the helicopter.

Once we were in the air I helped the corpsman who was working on the critically injured marine trying to perform a tracheotomy. I held the marine’s head while the field “trach” was performed, It appeared as though he had been hit in the head and most of skull was missing. When the trach had been completed I wiped my bloody hands on my flight suit and then went to check on the other wounded.

One marine had a minor flesh wound in the shoulder and the other one had been hit in the ankle and his left foot was hanging on by just sinew although the wounded man kept walking on his exposed bone shouting deliriously. I thought he had probably received a shot of morphine and didn’t realize what he was doing. After a short period he settled down and staid in his sling seat.

Shortly afterwards I went back the ramp area to see the 2 dead marines who had been partially covered with ponchos when they were loaded aboard. The poncho on one marine had been blown partially off and I noted he was Hispanic, looked very serene and had a hole in the center of his forehead. The other marine remained covered from the waist up with a poncho but the area around his neck and head was flat and it was obvious that his neck and head were missing. I left them as they were and returned to help with the wounded.

We quickly gained altitude and headed to NSA in DaNang where there were more sophisticated medical services to care for the marine with a head injury. What appeared to be a doctor and several corpsmen were waiting for us when we landed and I quickly helped move the stretcher off the helicopter onto a waiting gurney.

Next we escorted the two wounded marines to more waiting hands and then over the sound of the helicopter I could see the corpsman wanted help off loading the two dead marines. I grabbed the the legs of the marine with the fatal head wound and with a corpsman lifted and placed him on another gurney. At this point I was near the “head” area of the other dead marine and the corpsman was asking me, over the din of the rotors, to lift him by his arms. I couldn’t or didn’t want to afraid of seeing how badly he had been maimed. I signaled with my hand that I didn’t want to off load him and someone else quickly step in front of me grabbed him by the arms and placed him on the gurney. I noticed that his arms/shoulders came together when he was lifted and that most of his chest/neck and head were gone. I also remember that my flight boots seemed to be sticking to the floor and at some point realized it was blood from the wounded marines that was sticking to my boots.

We returned to our night medevav station and awaited further calls.

Recon Insertion

Early in the morning we headed to Camp Reasoner, headquarters of the 1st Recon Battalion, to pick up a recon team for an insertion on a distant mountain top. This was my first exposure to reconnaissance marines.

All 7 of them quickly came aboard our aircraft and I noted how coolly they conducted themselves, how they were dressed and what they were carrying. They all wore camouflage bush hats, faces were painted, camouflage jungle utilities and no flak jackets. They carried M-16s, an M-79 grenade launcher and many other accessories e.g. 3 or 4 canteens per person, ropes, binoculars, radio, ammunition, grenades etc. It appeared to me that they would be in the field for at least several days.

Very quickly we lifted off and at some point became accompanied by 2 Cobra gunships. As we approached a mountain top that was going to be the insertion site one of the Cobras began firing its 40 millimeter cannon to ensure the LZ was not booby trapped. The hilltop was about 50 to 70 meters wide with very little vegetation. After several moments, with no secondary explosions, we swooped in lowered our ramp and the team disembarked and quickly moved down the mountain. The drop off took less than a minute and we were back in the air.

We were less than 2 or 3 kilometers from the drop off when we received a call from the team's radio man that the team was heavily engaged and needed to be extracted immediately. Our pilot quickly turned around and we returned to the LZ in just minutes. The pilot approached the LZ from a different direction in case the VC had prepared an ambush for our bird. He also hovered on the opposite side of the hilltop from where we dropped the team to avoid unnecessary contact with the enemy. I noted that the team leader had already sent several reconners back up the mountain to ensure the LZ was secure. The team quickly re-boarded our aircraft and we flew off in a different direction.

Afterwards we were told that the team had barely started down the mountain when they were engaged by a sizable force of VC and had expended nearly half their ammo in just getting back to the LZ.

I vividly remember this extraction and how casual and professional the reconners were as they came back board our ship. Most of them lit a cigarette, said nothing and acted very calm.

We then returned them to Camp Reasoner.

First Mission

One of our first missions was a day time medevac of approximately 20 women and children who had been accidently hit by Marine Corps artillery fire. We landed in a rural area right outside a village and immediately began loading them on our helicopter. Both the crew chief, myself and the other gunner helped carry them on board. It appeared that most of them had receive some basic medical treatment although I don't remember seeing a corpsman. A number of the women and several of the children had bandaged stumps where legs and arms should have been. While their wounds had received some field treatment many had blood seeping through their bandages. Most needed to be carried onboard, very few could walk and there was one "stretcher" case that looked particularly serious, a woman with many shrapnel wounds. I can remember helping carry several people on board and placing them in the web seating. I particularly recall carrying a two year old girl on board that had no legs and thought how close she was to my daughter's age and how light she was.

We lifted off very quickly and initially I did not realize where we were going but at some point in the mission the pilot advised us we were headed to the U.S.S. Sanctuary, a hospital ship, located in Da Nang harbor.

We seemed to get there very quickly, landed on the ship's deck and then began off loading our wounded passengers with the help of the Sanctuary's crew.

I think the entire mission lasted less than 2 hours but I can remember being very anxious and upset after carrying that 2 year old girl. I now remember, 38 year later, glancing at the other crew members looking for some type of reaction, finding just grim faces saying to myself "I'm glad Marines don't cry"...

Serving with HMM 263

I volunteered to serve with HMM 263, as a door gunner, during September, 1970. I was about half way through my second tour when I volunteered. After the briefest orientation and a rudimentary physical I was temporarily transferred to Marble Mountain (Da Nang). We were assigned to a "hootch" and began working almost immediately. The first thing in the morning we needed to check in at the operations center to find out what bird we had been assigned to and what our mission would be for the day. The most common missions were: resupply, recon insertions, large troop movements and day and night medevacs.