WEBVTT 00:00:20.010 --> 00:00:22.429 across America and around the world. Welcome 00:00:22.429 --> 00:00:25.269 to America's number one veterans program, Veterans 00:00:25.269 --> 00:00:29.730 Radio. And now, live from the studios of WDO 00:00:29.730 --> 00:00:32.469 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, here's your host for 00:00:32.469 --> 00:00:37.770 today, former CB Chulai, 1966, Republic of Vietnam, 00:00:38.729 --> 00:00:47.729 Gary Lilly. And thank you very much, Bob. You're 00:00:47.729 --> 00:00:51.429 right, proud CB. CBs can do. I'd like to say 00:00:51.429 --> 00:00:53.570 good morning to all our troops around the world, 00:00:53.850 --> 00:00:56.030 that thin green and blue line that's providing 00:00:56.030 --> 00:00:58.229 freedom to not just our country, but to every 00:00:58.229 --> 00:01:01.130 country around the world that will accept it. 00:01:01.450 --> 00:01:04.349 To my veteran brothers and sisters, welcome home. 00:01:04.709 --> 00:01:07.189 And to all of our international listeners. I 00:01:07.189 --> 00:01:09.250 can't say down under anymore because they're 00:01:09.250 --> 00:01:12.090 all over the place. Good morning to you and thanks 00:01:12.090 --> 00:01:14.450 for listening. And good morning America. Thanks 00:01:14.450 --> 00:01:17.280 for being with us on Veterans Radio. Sitting 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:20.519 in the studio with me is the old helicopter pilot, 00:01:20.620 --> 00:01:23.560 Dale Throneberry. Good morning, Gary, and welcome 00:01:23.560 --> 00:01:26.040 back. We're taking a little break and we want 00:01:26.040 --> 00:01:28.760 to make sure that everybody knows about our board 00:01:28.760 --> 00:01:31.060 boss today, our air boss. Standing in the door 00:01:31.060 --> 00:01:34.200 is Bob Gould. Oh, thank you very much, Dale and 00:01:34.200 --> 00:01:38.680 Gary. It's good to be back in the hot seat. That's 00:01:38.680 --> 00:01:42.620 it? That's good to be back. You've got everything 00:01:42.620 --> 00:01:44.920 under control. Oh, yeah, we're cool. That is 00:01:44.920 --> 00:01:49.189 very nice. Dale, we've got a little fundraising 00:01:49.189 --> 00:01:51.989 project that we're going to be doing. Tell us 00:01:51.989 --> 00:01:54.790 about it. I'll start right away. Attention to 00:01:54.790 --> 00:01:57.170 orders. We want you to become a member of the 00:01:57.170 --> 00:01:59.629 Veterans Radio Network. According to Will Rogers, 00:01:59.810 --> 00:02:02.010 we all can't be heroes. Some of us have to stand 00:02:02.010 --> 00:02:04.769 on the curb and clap as they go by. Well, Veterans 00:02:04.769 --> 00:02:07.069 Radio welcomes all of you who want to stand on 00:02:07.069 --> 00:02:09.090 the curb and clap as they go by and become a 00:02:09.090 --> 00:02:11.849 member of the Veterans Radio Network, supporting 00:02:11.849 --> 00:02:14.810 a radio program for America's veterans by American 00:02:14.810 --> 00:02:17.659 veterans. This is talk radio program for anyone 00:02:17.659 --> 00:02:20.500 who knows or honors and honors our veterans from 00:02:20.500 --> 00:02:22.900 all of our wars and conflicts right up to today's 00:02:22.900 --> 00:02:25.680 war on terror. Veterans voice, we like to call 00:02:25.680 --> 00:02:28.479 it the voice of America's veterans. Your membership 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:30.819 will allow us to expand our number of affiliates 00:02:30.819 --> 00:02:32.680 and to purchase the technology and equipment 00:02:32.680 --> 00:02:34.780 we need to continue telling the stories that 00:02:34.780 --> 00:02:38.520 you want to hear. As all of you have always wanted 00:02:38.520 --> 00:02:40.879 to be a general. Well, now here's your chance. 00:02:41.080 --> 00:02:43.000 You could be anywhere from a one -star to a five 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:44.759 -star. It all depends on how much you want to 00:02:44.759 --> 00:02:47.319 contribute to Veterans Radio's network. We want 00:02:47.319 --> 00:02:49.120 to thank you in advance for becoming a member. 00:02:49.699 --> 00:02:51.840 If you become a member, this is a good deal that 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:54.060 you're going to get. Number one, you get a free 00:02:54.060 --> 00:02:57.840 listing on our website as a individual or a corporate 00:02:57.840 --> 00:03:00.520 member of the Veterans Radio, a personalized 00:03:00.520 --> 00:03:02.560 acknowledgement and membership certificate from 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:05.360 Veterans Radio. One of these hard items to get 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:09.039 is a genuine Veterans Radio bumper sticker. Yeah, 00:03:09.120 --> 00:03:11.759 there you go. We've got some again. Yeah. Direct 00:03:11.759 --> 00:03:14.199 access to the producers for ideas and comments 00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:17.039 on past and future programs, and much, much more 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:19.800 as we continue to grow. If you would like to 00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:21.740 become a member of the Veterans Radio Network, 00:03:22.340 --> 00:03:24.840 we ask that you go to our website, click on Become 00:03:24.840 --> 00:03:27.080 a Member, and it will take you right to the page. 00:03:27.400 --> 00:03:29.360 If you'd like to mail in your contribution, that's 00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:33.620 Veterans Radio, P .O. Box 3085, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 00:03:33.699 --> 00:03:36.750 48106. That's on the website too. That's on the 00:03:36.750 --> 00:03:38.949 website or you want to make a contribution by 00:03:38.949 --> 00:03:41.169 credit card. We have a PayPal account set up 00:03:41.169 --> 00:03:43.789 on the site. You just click and go. And they 00:03:43.789 --> 00:03:46.150 can also remain anonymous. They can, yes. We 00:03:46.150 --> 00:03:47.830 won't publish your name unless you want us to. 00:03:48.189 --> 00:03:50.110 And what are we looking for? We're looking to 00:03:50.110 --> 00:03:51.889 make sure that we can send out that certificate 00:03:51.889 --> 00:03:55.689 that we've invented. We're looking for a thousand, 00:03:55.750 --> 00:03:58.110 right? We want to thank, we did this last week 00:03:58.110 --> 00:03:59.930 and we actually got our first donation. I won't 00:03:59.930 --> 00:04:02.439 mention his name. But he comes from Florida, 00:04:02.780 --> 00:04:04.780 and we want to thank him for making his contribution. 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:07.800 And with that money, we can expand. We can get 00:04:07.800 --> 00:04:10.120 the equipment that we need to go out on site 00:04:10.120 --> 00:04:15.960 and do a wider program. Right. More remote programs. 00:04:16.139 --> 00:04:18.240 Many of the stations that we have talked to, 00:04:18.300 --> 00:04:20.220 in order to become an affiliate, they want us 00:04:20.220 --> 00:04:22.680 to pay up front. And so we need to raise funds 00:04:22.680 --> 00:04:24.519 to do that. Otherwise, we would be on a lot more 00:04:24.519 --> 00:04:27.420 stations already. So if you have a station that 00:04:27.420 --> 00:04:29.360 you think would be interested, please contact 00:04:29.360 --> 00:04:32.290 us and let us know. send them out a demo tape 00:04:32.290 --> 00:04:34.529 or whatever they want to try and get on there. 00:04:34.610 --> 00:04:36.490 We think we have a great product and we know 00:04:36.490 --> 00:04:38.490 because of the input that we've gotten from you 00:04:38.490 --> 00:04:40.949 that you appreciate what we're doing and we want 00:04:40.949 --> 00:04:44.389 to make it grow. And I got an email last night 00:04:44.389 --> 00:04:47.149 from a lady named Jan, a friend of our guest 00:04:47.149 --> 00:04:49.689 today, suggesting a radio station over where 00:04:49.689 --> 00:04:52.769 she lives and who to talk to. That's the type 00:04:52.769 --> 00:04:56.920 of leads that we need. Give us a range. What 00:04:56.920 --> 00:04:58.959 does it take to become a one -star general? And 00:04:58.959 --> 00:05:01.579 what is it for a five -star general? One -star 00:05:01.579 --> 00:05:05.579 general is $25. Five -star general is $2 ,500. 00:05:07.279 --> 00:05:10.920 And if you don't want to be a general, we'll 00:05:10.920 --> 00:05:13.540 take $5. We don't care. Whatever it is that you 00:05:13.540 --> 00:05:15.939 feel that you can afford to help us out will 00:05:15.939 --> 00:05:17.899 be greatly appreciated and we really want to 00:05:17.899 --> 00:05:19.839 expand this program. I think we want to get a 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:21.779 thousand, don't we? A lot of great feedback. 00:05:22.079 --> 00:05:24.079 over the last six years, which I should remind 00:05:24.079 --> 00:05:26.779 everybody, is that we have been on for six years 00:05:26.779 --> 00:05:29.199 now. Yeah, but we want to get a thousand, right, 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:32.139 Dale? Dale can't hear you. That's what I thought. 00:05:32.379 --> 00:05:34.839 Have them switch jacks. That would be nice. Switch 00:05:34.839 --> 00:05:38.100 jacks. That's right. We still got a problem here 00:05:38.100 --> 00:05:41.040 with the board. While he's switching jacks, Bob, 00:05:42.060 --> 00:05:43.920 you have some troops to welcome home. Is that 00:05:43.920 --> 00:05:47.339 right? Yes, we do, Gary. Each week we have Veterans 00:05:47.339 --> 00:05:51.379 Radio Welcome Home. who've been stationed around 00:05:51.379 --> 00:05:54.879 the world and are returning back to America. 00:06:03.860 --> 00:06:07.120 Dateline Camp Lejeune braving chilly weather 00:06:07.120 --> 00:06:10.579 and a crowd of nearly 400 gathered at Camp Lejeune 00:06:10.579 --> 00:06:12.480 to welcome home a company from what has been 00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:16.800 dubbed America's Battalion. About 150 Marines 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:19.639 in echo company of the 2nd Battalion 8th Marine 00:06:19.639 --> 00:06:23.459 Regiment returned to Camp Lejeune from Afghanistan's 00:06:23.459 --> 00:06:26.800 Helmand Prodments. Many of those waiting to welcome 00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:29.240 their troops home wore Indigo sweatshirts with 00:06:29.240 --> 00:06:32.620 the inscription, there's a quote, front toward 00:06:32.620 --> 00:06:36.339 hero. Two Marine parents, Rod and Heather Vance, 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:38.839 who came from California to welcome their son, 00:06:39.139 --> 00:06:41.680 Corporal Joshua Vance, greeted and distributed 00:06:41.680 --> 00:06:44.949 the shirts as part of what they called Operation 00:06:44.949 --> 00:06:48.670 Homecoming. The inscription, a play on the phrase 00:06:48.670 --> 00:06:51.670 front toward enemy that appears on landmines, 00:06:52.089 --> 00:06:54.170 was created so that when they got off the bus 00:06:54.170 --> 00:06:57.310 they would see the shirts and know they were 00:06:57.310 --> 00:07:00.610 heroes. Also coordinated was an effort to create 00:07:00.610 --> 00:07:04.589 more than 600 welcome baskets filled with essentials 00:07:04.589 --> 00:07:07.449 to help the Marines make the transition back 00:07:07.449 --> 00:07:10.569 to life in the barracks. The executive officer 00:07:10.569 --> 00:07:13.750 for the two -eighth commented, that despite challenges 00:07:13.750 --> 00:07:18.069 the battalion had accomplished much in Afghanistan 00:07:18.069 --> 00:07:21.209 and I quote the commander the company went into 00:07:21.209 --> 00:07:23.389 position starting off with what they had on their 00:07:23.389 --> 00:07:26.110 backs they went into areas where no one had been 00:07:26.110 --> 00:07:29.410 and stayed end quote the battalion's success 00:07:29.410 --> 00:07:31.970 in fulfilling no mission of providing security 00:07:31.970 --> 00:07:35.069 for afghan people and forces was owed largely 00:07:35.069 --> 00:07:39.509 to a new approach of entering towns and asking 00:07:39.509 --> 00:07:44.170 leaders what they most needed rather than attempting 00:07:44.170 --> 00:07:47.149 to provide what the U .S. military thought they 00:07:47.149 --> 00:07:50.949 needed. Clean drinking water was among the local 00:07:50.949 --> 00:07:54.250 needs the Marines met. Gary, you said you had 00:07:54.250 --> 00:07:57.790 a comment on that. I do. I stumbled on a clip 00:07:57.790 --> 00:08:00.470 on YouTube last night in which early days of 00:08:00.470 --> 00:08:04.170 the war, Bill O 'Reilly was interviewing a retired 00:08:04.170 --> 00:08:08.029 Lieutenant Colonel Marine. And he said, the Marine, 00:08:08.449 --> 00:08:11.350 that this is reprehensible. They're 18 months 00:08:11.350 --> 00:08:14.370 into this, and they don't have clean drinking 00:08:14.370 --> 00:08:19.069 water. O 'Reilly asked, what do we need? More 00:08:19.069 --> 00:08:22.449 contractors? He said, no. Pick a city, give them 00:08:22.449 --> 00:08:25.110 security, and send in a battalion of seabees. 00:08:25.370 --> 00:08:27.750 Within three months or less, they'll have clean 00:08:27.750 --> 00:08:29.629 drinking water. They'll have the place cleaned 00:08:29.629 --> 00:08:35.750 up. And we'll be able to show. This is what we 00:08:35.750 --> 00:08:39.029 can do. I think it all points back to some of 00:08:39.029 --> 00:08:41.389 the training that we saw, Gary, this past summer 00:08:41.389 --> 00:08:46.549 at Camp Grayling. I mean, it really is working 00:08:46.549 --> 00:08:49.230 within the population. Let the military do the 00:08:49.230 --> 00:08:51.809 job, right? And the CBs, I'm telling you, I can 00:08:51.809 --> 00:08:54.370 tell you from experience, get the job done. Well, 00:08:54.370 --> 00:08:56.129 if the CBs go in, you guys will build a whole 00:08:56.129 --> 00:08:59.350 village within a week and a half. I know. I look 00:08:59.350 --> 00:09:01.070 back on it sometimes and I don't know how we 00:09:01.070 --> 00:09:05.000 did what we did. What do you do? Just a real 00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:07.460 brief, how do you clean up the water? Obviously, 00:09:07.639 --> 00:09:11.559 there's protocol. What do you do? Cleaning up 00:09:11.559 --> 00:09:16.159 the water. Oh, drill new wells. They've got well 00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:18.039 drilling rigs, and they'll move well drilling 00:09:18.039 --> 00:09:21.340 rigs in there and drill new wells. We did a lot 00:09:21.340 --> 00:09:23.500 of that over in Vietnam. There were a lot of 00:09:23.500 --> 00:09:26.330 villages that didn't have water. They would take 00:09:26.330 --> 00:09:28.809 the water right out of the river or the creek 00:09:28.809 --> 00:09:30.710 or stream. That doesn't sound very clean, no. 00:09:31.149 --> 00:09:33.289 What they're doing in Afghanistan, in addition 00:09:33.289 --> 00:09:34.950 to digging wells, is they're also putting in 00:09:34.950 --> 00:09:39.389 water purification, not plants, but equipment, 00:09:40.009 --> 00:09:41.610 so that whatever the water does come out of the 00:09:41.610 --> 00:09:43.549 ground, it goes through this purification thing 00:09:43.549 --> 00:09:45.669 and they've got clean water. It seems so simple 00:09:45.669 --> 00:09:47.789 to us because we all have running water, but 00:09:47.789 --> 00:09:49.929 that's really one of the main things that they've 00:09:49.929 --> 00:09:53.299 won. And that's what the Colonel was stressing. 00:09:53.559 --> 00:09:55.679 He said, just give it to the CBs, they'll do 00:09:55.679 --> 00:09:59.059 it. Can do. Thank you, Gary. Dateline, Fort Hood, 00:09:59.059 --> 00:10:02.000 Texas. The 1st Cavalry Division's rear attachment, 00:10:02.600 --> 00:10:07.200 the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry 00:10:07.200 --> 00:10:09.379 Division soldiers arrived to the applause and 00:10:09.379 --> 00:10:11.340 cheers of family in front of the 1st Cavalry 00:10:11.340 --> 00:10:13.919 Division headquarters. The returning group was 00:10:13.919 --> 00:10:15.919 the first of this Iraqi deployment to arrive 00:10:15.919 --> 00:10:18.600 home, beginning of the Grey Wolf's return to 00:10:18.600 --> 00:10:22.190 Fort Hood. after a 12 -month deployment to Iraq. 00:10:22.809 --> 00:10:25.629 After a brief ceremony and the retiring of the 00:10:25.629 --> 00:10:28.230 Colors, family members and friends shouted out 00:10:28.230 --> 00:10:32.009 loved ones' names as Lieutenant Jeffrey Sauer, 00:10:32.230 --> 00:10:34.649 1st Cavalry Division's Rear Detachment Commander, 00:10:35.110 --> 00:10:38.450 uttered the most anticipated words to those in 00:10:38.450 --> 00:10:43.250 attendance, Charge! Husbands and wives were reunited, 00:10:43.669 --> 00:10:45.909 children hugged and kissed their parents and 00:10:45.909 --> 00:10:48.950 girlfriends leaped into their boyfriend's arms. 00:10:49.129 --> 00:10:52.710 It was a scene of joyous emotion. One family 00:10:52.710 --> 00:10:55.690 member was quoted, It's overwhelming. I knew 00:10:55.690 --> 00:10:57.870 some members were coming, but I never thought 00:10:57.870 --> 00:11:01.590 it would be this many. We were family and we 00:11:01.590 --> 00:11:05.090 support each other. A lot of our members are 00:11:05.090 --> 00:11:08.190 veterans and we know what it's like for soldiers 00:11:08.190 --> 00:11:11.210 to return home with no family members in attendance. 00:11:11.549 --> 00:11:14.789 So we wanted to be there to welcome them home. 00:11:15.380 --> 00:11:18.340 The soldiers had a welcome home ceremony that 00:11:18.340 --> 00:11:21.059 continued to take place at Cooper Field, the 00:11:21.059 --> 00:11:24.100 parade field located in front of division headquarters. 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:27.620 And we're back with Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan 00:11:27.620 --> 00:11:31.100 Meyer who was a fact pilot and we'll get into 00:11:31.100 --> 00:11:34.159 exactly what a fact pilot was in a moment, but 00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:38.600 they flew very light planes, low and slow. Lieutenant 00:11:38.600 --> 00:11:41.620 Colonel Jonathan Meyer retired. Welcome to Veterans 00:11:41.620 --> 00:11:43.639 Radio. Good morning, Gary. How are you doing? 00:11:44.059 --> 00:11:46.840 Just fine. You were born in London, England. 00:11:46.919 --> 00:11:50.559 How did you happen to end up in our military? 00:11:51.539 --> 00:11:55.159 Long story, try to keep it short. My father was 00:11:55.159 --> 00:11:58.100 English, my mother was American. I held dual 00:11:58.100 --> 00:12:01.220 nationality for a number of years and came over 00:12:01.220 --> 00:12:04.960 finally at the age of 16 after school leaving 00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:09.860 exam to go to college here and took up my American 00:12:09.860 --> 00:12:14.759 citizenship fully in 53 ROTC commission. and 00:12:14.759 --> 00:12:18.320 everything else went downhill from there. You 00:12:18.320 --> 00:12:21.580 flew F -86's, didn't you, at one point? The L 00:12:21.580 --> 00:12:25.440 model, the interceptor version. Alright, and 00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:28.940 then you ended up going down to a plane that 00:12:28.940 --> 00:12:33.039 was operated a lot slower and a lot lower, the 00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:36.399 FAC. How did that come about? Tell us what a 00:12:36.399 --> 00:12:39.820 FAC is. uh... affect as a forward air controller 00:12:39.820 --> 00:12:43.500 and the uh... l nineteen to use its old name 00:12:43.500 --> 00:12:48.340 of one as we called it uh... will be single airplane 00:12:48.340 --> 00:12:50.980 that was flying forward air control during the 00:12:50.980 --> 00:12:53.740 early years of the war uh... there were two others 00:12:53.740 --> 00:12:57.000 the o two and the o p ten that came along successfully 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:00.299 later but when it was my turn to go to the southeast 00:13:00.299 --> 00:13:04.039 asia i was uh... went from an f one o one b interceptor 00:13:04.039 --> 00:13:07.509 squadron uh... to the uh... one to be a forward 00:13:07.509 --> 00:13:10.450 air controller. And that plane was designed right 00:13:10.450 --> 00:13:15.490 after World War II to replace the old canvas 00:13:15.490 --> 00:13:18.850 covered ones? Something like that. I believe 00:13:18.850 --> 00:13:21.690 it was first made in the early 50s and the Army 00:13:21.690 --> 00:13:24.009 flew it for some years before the rest of the 00:13:24.009 --> 00:13:28.750 services got their share. What was that plane? 00:13:29.309 --> 00:13:33.149 Was it a one seater, two seater? It was it could 00:13:33.149 --> 00:13:36.350 be flown by one but could carry an observer in 00:13:36.350 --> 00:13:39.190 the back or another pilot They were in tandem 00:13:39.190 --> 00:13:42.889 seats. That's front and back. It was a high wing 00:13:42.889 --> 00:13:47.009 single engine fixed pitch propeller at the time 00:13:47.009 --> 00:13:51.210 and We had good visibility out of the airplane, 00:13:51.309 --> 00:13:54.049 but it was slow and low and that's how we did 00:13:54.049 --> 00:13:57.870 our job I'm assuming you got shot at a bit while 00:13:57.870 --> 00:14:00.559 you were down there A few times. I only got hit 00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:02.860 once though, probably a lot less than average. 00:14:04.379 --> 00:14:08.019 When you got word, did you volunteer for this 00:14:08.019 --> 00:14:11.860 or were you assigned to it? No, I wasn't. I was 00:14:11.860 --> 00:14:14.799 assigned and as far as I was concerned it was 00:14:14.799 --> 00:14:18.799 sort of an interruption in my supersonic jet 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:22.179 plane flying. But I hadn't been over in Vietnam 00:14:22.179 --> 00:14:24.059 for more than two or three weeks when I became 00:14:24.059 --> 00:14:26.039 a very strong believer in what we were trying 00:14:26.039 --> 00:14:28.889 to do over there. stayed that way ever since. 00:14:29.509 --> 00:14:32.289 What was your reaction when you learned that's 00:14:32.289 --> 00:14:34.049 what you were going to do and what was your training 00:14:34.049 --> 00:14:39.110 like? Reaction was sort of aghast but orders 00:14:39.110 --> 00:14:43.149 are orders and went down and checked out in this 00:14:43.149 --> 00:14:47.629 airplane at Hurlbuck Field in the Panhandle of 00:14:47.629 --> 00:14:53.509 Florida. training on the plane, did they train 00:14:53.509 --> 00:14:56.629 you in observation? As much as we could be, it 00:14:56.629 --> 00:15:01.870 was visual reconnaissance or RECI and so we were 00:15:01.870 --> 00:15:04.809 dependent upon daytime good weather conditions 00:15:04.809 --> 00:15:07.250 to be able to see anything. We didn't have much 00:15:07.250 --> 00:15:09.889 in the way of sensors except binoculars from 00:15:09.889 --> 00:15:12.850 time to time and we were just basically trying 00:15:12.850 --> 00:15:17.210 to circle around our province or sector. to see 00:15:17.210 --> 00:15:19.409 what, if anything, we could see on the ground. 00:15:19.649 --> 00:15:21.830 This was not always easy in the central highlands 00:15:21.830 --> 00:15:24.070 because there was a lot of mountainous terrain 00:15:24.070 --> 00:15:27.049 and foliage. Did it take a while to really get 00:15:27.049 --> 00:15:31.090 your eyes, you know, at first it's all jungle 00:15:31.090 --> 00:15:34.289 and after a little bit of experience, I'm speaking 00:15:34.289 --> 00:15:37.429 hypothetically or guessing, after a little bit 00:15:37.429 --> 00:15:40.470 of experience you would be able to pick things 00:15:40.470 --> 00:15:43.679 up a little better? Of course, experience always 00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:47.200 helps. Did you get calls from the guys on the 00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:52.580 ground? Sure, from time to time. Usually in our 00:15:52.580 --> 00:15:57.419 province of Khantoum, we worked to a fair degree 00:15:57.419 --> 00:16:00.639 with the Special Forces A -Team's camps and I'd 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:03.279 contact the camp any time I was in the vicinity. 00:16:03.820 --> 00:16:06.360 Occasionally I'd get a call from patrol on the 00:16:06.360 --> 00:16:09.679 ground wanting to know something or tell me something. 00:16:10.169 --> 00:16:13.029 and that's how we maintain contact over Fox Mic 00:16:13.029 --> 00:16:16.950 radio, FN frequency. Hi, Jonathan, this is Dale 00:16:16.950 --> 00:16:20.169 Throneberry. I was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam 00:16:20.169 --> 00:16:22.649 and we used you guys many, many times. I was 00:16:22.649 --> 00:16:25.509 down in III Corps between the Parrot's Beak and 00:16:25.509 --> 00:16:28.629 the Tishook and many of our missions were one 00:16:28.629 --> 00:16:30.850 -ship missions and you guys would go out and 00:16:30.850 --> 00:16:33.830 prep our landing zones to make sure that the 00:16:33.830 --> 00:16:35.750 bad guy at least kept their head down for a little 00:16:35.750 --> 00:16:39.090 bit. And I wanted to just thank you for all of 00:16:39.090 --> 00:16:40.970 the helicopter pilots out there for the work 00:16:40.970 --> 00:16:43.649 that you did over there in protecting us. You're 00:16:43.649 --> 00:16:46.970 welcome. I put in a few what they called LZ or 00:16:46.970 --> 00:16:49.950 landing zone creps where we'd put in a flight 00:16:49.950 --> 00:16:54.690 or two of fighters to, as you say, bomb around 00:16:54.690 --> 00:16:56.570 the general area that was planned for landing, 00:16:56.690 --> 00:17:00.049 make sure there were no ambushes waiting. You 00:17:00.049 --> 00:17:04.609 guys were basically unarmed, but how did you 00:17:04.609 --> 00:17:07.309 mark a target? And what did you carry for self 00:17:07.309 --> 00:17:11.109 -protection? Well, the target marking was by 00:17:11.109 --> 00:17:15.349 Willie Pete, or White Phosphorus Rocket. At my 00:17:15.349 --> 00:17:18.609 time, we had two on each wing, so we had four 00:17:18.609 --> 00:17:21.549 of marking shots, and those would set up a cloud 00:17:21.549 --> 00:17:25.529 of white smoke. We also had smoke grenades, where 00:17:25.529 --> 00:17:28.930 if you couldn't see the target at a flat range, 00:17:29.069 --> 00:17:31.329 you could fly over it and perhaps pick it up 00:17:31.329 --> 00:17:33.349 and just drop a grenade out your side window. 00:17:33.690 --> 00:17:37.309 and it would mock with smoke. Now for self -protection, 00:17:37.569 --> 00:17:39.710 we really didn't have much except sitting on 00:17:39.710 --> 00:17:44.309 our parachutes or sitting on flak vests and M16 00:17:44.309 --> 00:17:48.630 for survival and beautifully a shiny six -shooter 00:17:48.630 --> 00:17:53.250 revolver. That sounds like World War I. That's 00:17:53.250 --> 00:18:01.230 exactly right. trying to point out to our audience 00:18:01.230 --> 00:18:02.829 how primitive some of the things that you were 00:18:02.829 --> 00:18:04.910 doing, in addition to throwing smoke grenades 00:18:04.910 --> 00:18:07.089 out, of course you weren't going very quickly, 00:18:07.130 --> 00:18:10.809 but how did you aim those rockets? It was a matter 00:18:10.809 --> 00:18:13.609 of lining up the area you wanted to hit with 00:18:13.609 --> 00:18:16.309 about the second stud on the center of the windshield 00:18:16.309 --> 00:18:19.529 and hosing one off. So in other words, you had 00:18:19.529 --> 00:18:22.049 to point the airplane where you wanted the rocket 00:18:22.049 --> 00:18:25.769 to go. Right. I don't know how you guys hit anything. 00:18:26.509 --> 00:18:28.849 Well, that was often a gamble and you simply 00:18:28.849 --> 00:18:32.980 adjust. anybody's bombing run from the position 00:18:32.980 --> 00:18:35.720 of your smoke. If you hit right on you'd say 00:18:35.720 --> 00:18:39.019 hit my smoke. If you needed to move them 50 meters 00:18:39.019 --> 00:18:42.299 one way or another that's how you do it. And 00:18:42.299 --> 00:18:46.220 it was right down to those that close I mean 00:18:46.220 --> 00:18:48.960 when you said you had to move them 50 meters 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:52.980 is that because you had visual contact with the 00:18:52.980 --> 00:18:56.210 bad guys on the ground? Well, if one had the 00:18:56.210 --> 00:18:59.109 visual contact, that's what we would do. If it 00:18:59.109 --> 00:19:01.509 was a matter of hitting certain areas where we 00:19:01.509 --> 00:19:04.069 thought the enemy was or that we had been directed 00:19:04.069 --> 00:19:07.069 to hit as an intelligence -generated target, 00:19:07.589 --> 00:19:09.829 it really made no difference. We'd use the same 00:19:09.829 --> 00:19:12.329 basic technique. I had a friend who was a fact 00:19:12.329 --> 00:19:16.049 pilot. He was like you. He flew saber jets and 00:19:16.049 --> 00:19:19.700 then ended up becoming a fact pilot. And he told 00:19:19.700 --> 00:19:22.220 me a couple of times that he would be up there, 00:19:22.420 --> 00:19:25.220 he was supposed to, his orders would be take 00:19:25.220 --> 00:19:30.259 off from the Danang airport, take a heading of 00:19:30.259 --> 00:19:37.480 270, one and a half miles, mark the target, and 00:19:37.480 --> 00:19:43.039 step aside. So the thing is, how do you know 00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:44.900 that you're actually even hitting anywhere near 00:19:44.900 --> 00:19:48.140 something? But more importantly, he would... 00:19:48.140 --> 00:19:50.880 said that a couple of times. He found enemy in 00:19:50.880 --> 00:19:54.319 the open and would phone in or radio in and they 00:19:54.319 --> 00:19:56.759 would say acknowledge proceed on mission. Did 00:19:56.759 --> 00:19:59.440 you ever hear of or see anything of that nature? 00:20:00.180 --> 00:20:03.900 I personally did not. If one is given a target 00:20:03.900 --> 00:20:07.180 through the intel process they'd normally give 00:20:07.180 --> 00:20:10.359 it in coordinates and you'd find that area on 00:20:10.359 --> 00:20:13.700 your map. which is basically an artillery chart 00:20:13.700 --> 00:20:18.519 of 1 to 50 ,000 scale and aim your fire according 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:20.900 to that. You might not even know what you're 00:20:20.900 --> 00:20:24.339 hitting. Sometimes if you hit an enemy storage 00:20:24.339 --> 00:20:26.960 place of some kind, you might get set off what 00:20:26.960 --> 00:20:29.759 they call the secondary explosion as you hit 00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:31.700 something and it blew up. Usually the fighters 00:20:31.700 --> 00:20:35.140 would do the actual striking, of course. How 00:20:35.140 --> 00:20:39.109 often would you have that type of success? For 00:20:39.109 --> 00:20:43.289 me, at my time, it was rare. You flew nighttime 00:20:43.289 --> 00:20:46.789 missions. I didn't realize that. In the DMZ, 00:20:47.069 --> 00:20:48.789 when I was up there for about three and a half 00:20:48.789 --> 00:20:52.250 weeks with Operation Tally Ho, we flew around 00:20:52.250 --> 00:20:56.769 the clock up there. What is Tally Ho? It was 00:20:56.769 --> 00:21:00.369 sort of a project in also the area in Route Pack 00:21:00.369 --> 00:21:04.970 1, or the demilitarized zone, so -called, that 00:21:04.970 --> 00:21:08.319 separated North and South Vietnam. And because 00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:11.799 of the infiltration across the border there from 00:21:11.799 --> 00:21:14.259 the north to the south, as well as down the Ho 00:21:14.259 --> 00:21:17.180 Chi Minh Trail through Laos, they set up this 00:21:17.180 --> 00:21:20.880 tally -ho operation where we had bird dogs doing 00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:24.519 day -night surveillance and conducting air strikes 00:21:24.519 --> 00:21:26.779 if they found anything that looked suspicious 00:21:26.779 --> 00:21:30.000 or that we were directed to look for. The bird 00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:33.130 dog is what you called? Your plane, the L -19 00:21:33.130 --> 00:21:37.109 or O -1? The O -1, that's right. Did everybody 00:21:37.109 --> 00:21:41.109 refer to their observation planes as bird dogs? 00:21:42.029 --> 00:21:45.829 Well, only the ones that flew the bird dogs or 00:21:45.829 --> 00:21:48.769 when the bird dog was flying. If it was a different 00:21:48.769 --> 00:21:51.730 airplane, the O -2 or the OV -10, they had different 00:21:51.730 --> 00:21:54.450 call signs and different times and places. I 00:21:54.450 --> 00:21:57.009 think our audience needs to know that a bird 00:21:57.009 --> 00:22:00.140 dog is really like a Piper cub. that if you went 00:22:00.140 --> 00:22:01.880 out to your local civilian airport, you could 00:22:01.880 --> 00:22:03.539 probably see a lot of them that looked just like 00:22:03.539 --> 00:22:07.319 the bird dog. This is true, except that mostly 00:22:07.319 --> 00:22:10.680 the airplanes these days have tricycle landing 00:22:10.680 --> 00:22:16.319 gear. We had a tail wheel on our airplane. It's 00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:19.680 that old in terms of design. I think trying to 00:22:19.680 --> 00:22:21.960 get people to understand how primitive these 00:22:21.960 --> 00:22:24.180 things are. When you were talking about reading 00:22:24.180 --> 00:22:28.160 your map, You're trying to fly your airplane, 00:22:28.519 --> 00:22:30.940 and the map is like the old map that your dad 00:22:30.940 --> 00:22:32.880 used to use for the trips across the country, 00:22:33.400 --> 00:22:36.400 and you would open that up, find the coordinates 00:22:36.400 --> 00:22:38.220 of wherever the area was that you were going 00:22:38.220 --> 00:22:40.460 to, continuing to fly and looking at the map 00:22:40.460 --> 00:22:41.940 and looking out the window. There wasn't anything 00:22:41.940 --> 00:22:45.519 such as GPS in those days. Absolutely not. That 00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:48.240 came later when I was in the Pentagon. And you 00:22:48.240 --> 00:22:50.140 might have been lucky if you were able to go 00:22:50.140 --> 00:22:52.980 off of a radio of AFVN or something like that. 00:22:53.940 --> 00:22:56.579 Actually, we were basically out of range or line 00:22:56.579 --> 00:22:58.880 of sight of any kind of attack hand station, 00:22:59.400 --> 00:23:03.079 so we had those radials and circles marked on 00:23:03.079 --> 00:23:05.299 our maps so we could direct fighters, according 00:23:05.299 --> 00:23:07.339 to that as a reference, but they were no good 00:23:07.339 --> 00:23:09.660 to us in the central highlands where I was flying. 00:23:11.220 --> 00:23:13.859 To pick up again on what Dale was saying, as 00:23:13.859 --> 00:23:17.079 I was researching the subject on the internet, 00:23:17.259 --> 00:23:21.660 I came across a photograph. It was a 101st airborne 00:23:21.660 --> 00:23:24.900 camp. out in the field where they did have tents. 00:23:25.920 --> 00:23:29.920 Bob is putting both thumbs up for the 101st Airborne. 00:23:30.420 --> 00:23:34.200 Two guys took cover in their bunker because of 00:23:34.200 --> 00:23:36.859 incoming and then it was nighttime so it was 00:23:36.859 --> 00:23:39.680 actually their tent. They had sandbags around 00:23:39.680 --> 00:23:42.359 it. When they woke up in the morning there was 00:23:42.359 --> 00:23:45.740 a bird dog right next to them and it was so tight 00:23:45.740 --> 00:23:49.160 that the wingtip was over their tent and this 00:23:49.160 --> 00:23:52.460 guy had received damage and so he landed. right 00:23:52.460 --> 00:23:55.819 there on the rough ground where there was no 00:23:55.819 --> 00:24:01.900 airstrip there. Right. So the next morning they 00:24:01.900 --> 00:24:04.559 decided that they looked the plane over decided 00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:08.059 they thought it could make it and so he took 00:24:08.059 --> 00:24:10.200 off and I think he left his observer behind to 00:24:10.200 --> 00:24:13.160 get out another way. Right he probably needed 00:24:13.160 --> 00:24:16.359 to save the weight and space. When you were getting 00:24:16.359 --> 00:24:19.640 contact on the ground did you ever get contact 00:24:19.640 --> 00:24:22.579 from troops that were under fire that were really 00:24:22.579 --> 00:24:25.920 needed help. Yes, that was one of the missions 00:24:25.920 --> 00:24:28.660 I happened to fly. It just turned out that I 00:24:28.660 --> 00:24:31.740 was the guy in the air at the time and there 00:24:31.740 --> 00:24:34.920 was a patrol that had gone out of our special 00:24:34.920 --> 00:24:38.559 forces B team to a village about 20 odd clicks 00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:43.380 to the north, that's kilometers, and they in 00:24:43.380 --> 00:24:46.900 effect wound up fighting a reinforced company 00:24:46.900 --> 00:24:50.440 and called for help. I was able to put in several 00:24:50.440 --> 00:24:52.759 strikes all around them and it turned out from 00:24:52.759 --> 00:24:56.680 a later debrief that we actually got 28 KIAs 00:24:56.680 --> 00:25:00.680 on the enemy side. That was about one occasion 00:25:00.680 --> 00:25:02.980 where yes, troops were under fire and yes, I 00:25:02.980 --> 00:25:06.680 came to their aid. Other people, of course, had 00:25:06.680 --> 00:25:12.720 done a lot more. For the audience, a B team versus 00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:14.859 a reinforced company, what would the odds be? 00:25:15.200 --> 00:25:18.759 Well, this B -Team patrol was about 30 people 00:25:18.759 --> 00:25:22.819 strong, led by a couple of Special Forces NCOs. 00:25:23.200 --> 00:25:26.619 Sergeant Rockford was the man, and the rest of 00:25:26.619 --> 00:25:31.200 his troop were largely Vietnamese strikers who 00:25:31.200 --> 00:25:34.059 would be trained by the Special Forces to help 00:25:34.059 --> 00:25:37.559 defend their areas. And a reinforced company 00:25:37.559 --> 00:25:40.059 would be something over 100 people, and that's 00:25:40.059 --> 00:25:43.109 what they ran up against. A friend of mine was 00:25:43.109 --> 00:25:45.690 a radio relay operator that would set up on a 00:25:45.690 --> 00:25:50.250 hilltop and relay the transmissions from out 00:25:50.250 --> 00:25:54.509 in the field back to the say artillery or mostly 00:25:54.509 --> 00:25:57.809 artillery. And he said that one of the things 00:25:57.809 --> 00:26:00.450 that was tough was trying to get the guys in 00:26:00.450 --> 00:26:04.089 the field to calm down so they could get coordinates. 00:26:04.470 --> 00:26:07.130 You know if you can imagine they're under intense 00:26:07.130 --> 00:26:10.490 attack or an intense firefight. The nerves are 00:26:10.490 --> 00:26:14.670 up there. What was the sound to this B team from 00:26:14.670 --> 00:26:18.990 these Special Forces guys? I don't understand 00:26:18.990 --> 00:26:22.950 the question. Was this a calm or was this excited? 00:26:23.650 --> 00:26:26.369 They sounded somewhat excited as one naturally 00:26:26.369 --> 00:26:28.950 would be but they certainly weren't panic stricken 00:26:28.950 --> 00:26:30.950 or anything like that. They were professionals 00:26:30.950 --> 00:26:34.210 and doing their job. I was only too happy to 00:26:34.210 --> 00:26:40.019 oblige and give whatever help I could. But all 00:26:40.019 --> 00:26:42.940 of our troops were so professional and that's 00:26:42.940 --> 00:26:46.680 the one thing that I want to keep stressing is 00:26:46.680 --> 00:26:49.759 how good the troops were over there and today. 00:26:50.799 --> 00:26:53.220 Oh and today especially. They are my heroes. 00:26:54.759 --> 00:26:56.920 Isn't that nice to hear? I hope there are some 00:26:56.920 --> 00:26:59.759 troops listening right now because we all look 00:26:59.759 --> 00:27:02.839 that way and I never miss an opportunity to tell 00:27:02.839 --> 00:27:06.220 the troops how proud we are of them and how good 00:27:06.220 --> 00:27:12.940 they are. We're going to be coming into a break, 00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:16.220 so I won't ask you another question. Dale, these 00:27:16.220 --> 00:27:20.119 FAC pilots were awfully brave people. Well, when 00:27:20.119 --> 00:27:22.720 you think about how low and slow they were going, 00:27:23.299 --> 00:27:26.720 it's amazing what they were able to do. You're 00:27:26.720 --> 00:27:28.539 listening to Veterans Radio, and we'll be back 00:27:28.539 --> 00:27:30.640 right after this break. The Medal of Honor is 00:27:30.640 --> 00:27:32.759 the highest award for valor in combat given a 00:27:32.759 --> 00:27:34.660 member of the Armed Forces of the United States. 00:27:34.829 --> 00:27:37.589 There had been over 3 ,400 recipients of the 00:27:37.589 --> 00:27:40.829 nation's highest award. This is one of them. 00:27:41.089 --> 00:27:43.589 Lance Corporal Roy Wheat threw himself on an 00:27:43.589 --> 00:27:45.970 anti -personnel mine to save his fellow Marines. 00:27:46.609 --> 00:27:51.950 Details after this. Wheat and two other Marines 00:27:51.950 --> 00:27:53.950 were assigned the mission of providing security 00:27:53.950 --> 00:27:56.509 for a Navy construction battalion crane and crew 00:27:56.509 --> 00:27:59.250 operating along Liberty Road in the Quang Nam 00:27:59.250 --> 00:28:02.490 province. After the Marines had set up security 00:28:02.490 --> 00:28:04.589 positions in a tree line adjacent to the work 00:28:04.589 --> 00:28:06.970 site, Wheat reconnoitered the area to the rear 00:28:06.970 --> 00:28:09.569 of their location for the possible presence of 00:28:09.569 --> 00:28:12.609 guerrillas. He then returned to within 10 feet 00:28:12.609 --> 00:28:15.349 of their friendly position and here, unintentionally, 00:28:15.849 --> 00:28:18.490 triggered a well -concealed bounding -type anti 00:28:18.490 --> 00:28:21.710 -personnel mine. Immediately, a hissing sound 00:28:21.710 --> 00:28:24.130 was heard which was identified by the three Marines 00:28:24.130 --> 00:28:28.029 as that of a burning time fuse. Shouting a warning 00:28:28.029 --> 00:28:31.890 to his comrades, Wheat in a valiant act of heroism 00:28:31.890 --> 00:28:34.549 hurled himself upon the mine, absorbing the tremendous 00:28:34.549 --> 00:28:37.710 impact of the explosion with his body. The Medal 00:28:37.710 --> 00:28:40.029 of Honor series is a production of Veterans Radio. 00:28:40.769 --> 00:28:44.529 This is about hunting trucks by starlight. In 00:28:44.529 --> 00:28:48.630 May of 1966, a FAC unit called Tally Ho was formed 00:28:48.630 --> 00:28:51.210 to operate in the so -called demilitarized zone, 00:28:51.529 --> 00:28:54.650 or DMZ, between I Corps in South Vietnam and 00:28:54.650 --> 00:28:57.740 North Vietnam proper. The Tally Ho Facts flew 00:28:57.740 --> 00:28:59.799 out of the Marine base at Dong Ha, which was 00:28:59.799 --> 00:29:02.700 west of Quang Tri, east of Kaesong, and just 00:29:02.700 --> 00:29:06.099 a few miles south of the DMZ itself. Its mission 00:29:06.099 --> 00:29:08.319 was to help stop the infiltration of supplies 00:29:08.319 --> 00:29:10.759 from North Vietnam into the south at the northern 00:29:10.759 --> 00:29:13.319 end of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. We're talking to 00:29:13.319 --> 00:29:15.980 Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Meyer, retired, who 00:29:15.980 --> 00:29:20.380 was a FAC pilot over in Vietnam. Went from 100, 00:29:20.579 --> 00:29:23.500 what were they, F -101s down to, that flew really 00:29:23.500 --> 00:29:30.349 high and really fast. Right we just did the Medal 00:29:30.349 --> 00:29:35.029 of Honor received up, baby We just did the radio 00:29:35.029 --> 00:29:39.910 we just did the Medal of Honor segment Jonathan 00:29:39.910 --> 00:29:42.950 you you guys had a Medal of Honor recipient as 00:29:42.950 --> 00:29:47.990 a fact pilot Tell us about that I was looking 00:29:47.990 --> 00:29:50.309 at signals from the control room tell us about 00:29:50.309 --> 00:29:53.150 this man that won the Medal of Honor and won 00:29:53.150 --> 00:29:56.230 Received the medal it was awarded the Medal of 00:29:56.230 --> 00:29:59.559 Honor right nobody wins it you know i don't know 00:29:59.559 --> 00:30:02.059 that there were two facts who were awarded the 00:30:02.059 --> 00:30:04.500 medal of honor uh... both of them posthumously 00:30:04.500 --> 00:30:07.359 one was uh... a classmate of mine in fact school 00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:11.200 hilliard a willy will banks uh... that was during 00:30:11.200 --> 00:30:14.380 my time the other was uh... steven bennett uh... 00:30:14.380 --> 00:30:17.920 the lv ten a few years later uh... but willy 00:30:17.920 --> 00:30:20.779 was the one that uh... affected me the most and 00:30:20.779 --> 00:30:24.150 as far as i'm concerned he uh... The count was 00:30:24.150 --> 00:30:29.490 that he saved approximately about 134 Vietnamese 00:30:29.490 --> 00:30:32.509 Rangers and their U .S. Army Ranger advisors 00:30:32.509 --> 00:30:36.829 from an ambush by the North Vietnamese, something 00:30:36.829 --> 00:30:39.349 close to a regiment of troops who were laying 00:30:39.349 --> 00:30:44.440 in wait for them. What did he do? Can you expand 00:30:44.440 --> 00:30:46.960 on that a bit? Yes, he was familiar with that 00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:49.539 particular area when nobody had been able to 00:30:49.539 --> 00:30:53.079 find this enemy unit. He knew where to look, 00:30:53.380 --> 00:30:56.859 spotted them, couldn't get any air support in 00:30:56.859 --> 00:31:03.539 time and to protect the Arden troops, that's 00:31:03.539 --> 00:31:07.069 Army of Republic of Vietnam, Rangers. and their 00:31:07.069 --> 00:31:10.329 advisors, he started making passes at the enemy 00:31:10.329 --> 00:31:12.730 force, first firing his Willie Pete rockets. 00:31:13.250 --> 00:31:15.650 When he ran out of those, he started shooting 00:31:15.650 --> 00:31:18.950 his M16 at them out the window, and they of course 00:31:18.950 --> 00:31:21.910 were firing back, and eventually hit him, brought 00:31:21.910 --> 00:31:28.039 him down, and he died. He was alive when they 00:31:28.039 --> 00:31:32.079 got to him finally, right? Just barely, but he 00:31:32.079 --> 00:31:36.740 died on the way back in a helicopter to medical 00:31:36.740 --> 00:31:39.680 attention. And this was a classmate of yours? 00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:42.799 Yes. What about the other Medal of Honor recipient? 00:31:42.900 --> 00:31:46.319 Do you know the story on him? Only broadly, and 00:31:46.319 --> 00:31:50.019 I'm not the authority, but he had, I believe, 00:31:50.160 --> 00:31:52.720 a Marine in the back seat, and when they took 00:31:52.720 --> 00:31:58.579 a hit, He wanted to eject both of them, but the 00:31:58.579 --> 00:32:01.319 guy in the back, his parachute had been shredded, 00:32:02.119 --> 00:32:06.299 so Steve Bennett decided to make a water landing 00:32:06.299 --> 00:32:08.839 in the OV -10, knowing full well that it wasn't 00:32:08.839 --> 00:32:11.880 really a survivable process, but he saved his 00:32:11.880 --> 00:32:15.900 backseater at the cost of his own life. The bravery 00:32:15.900 --> 00:32:20.079 and the unselfishness. We're going to go to an 00:32:20.079 --> 00:32:22.319 upbeat part of it right now. Bob, would you give 00:32:22.319 --> 00:32:30.039 us the pink elephant polka? I swam along on a 00:32:30.039 --> 00:32:36.279 dawn patrol as hard as I could be Up in the tribal 00:32:36.279 --> 00:32:42.160 area where nothing could I see When I happened 00:32:42.160 --> 00:32:47.259 to spot a jungle trail and gave my bird a jink 00:32:47.259 --> 00:32:52.640 I saw two elephants handling along and both of 00:32:52.640 --> 00:33:13.539 them were pink We've got to stop right there 00:33:13.539 --> 00:33:18.859 because it gets a little GI talk. Yes, Catholic 00:33:18.859 --> 00:33:22.039 radio. Pardon me? Catholic radio and no delay. 00:33:22.259 --> 00:33:27.609 There you go. You saw pink elephants, Colonel, 00:33:27.670 --> 00:33:32.089 tell us about those. Well, they were pink, and 00:33:32.089 --> 00:33:34.430 people didn't believe me when I got down and 00:33:34.430 --> 00:33:37.809 told them about it. But a few days later, I had 00:33:37.809 --> 00:33:40.490 an Army observer in my back seat. We flew to 00:33:40.490 --> 00:33:43.190 the same area, and he said, by golly, they sure 00:33:43.190 --> 00:33:46.609 are pink. And that's how my song ends. His name 00:33:46.609 --> 00:33:49.670 was Gary Wintere, and I tried to get together 00:33:49.670 --> 00:33:53.369 with him at a helicopter reunion. nine or ten 00:33:53.369 --> 00:33:55.670 years ago but unfortunately he had to leave. 00:33:55.809 --> 00:34:00.430 He was ill and we never did meet. Give us the 00:34:00.430 --> 00:34:02.509 explanation of why those elephants were pink. 00:34:03.369 --> 00:34:06.029 The basic inference and by the way other facts 00:34:06.029 --> 00:34:08.449 have reported that they too had seen pink elephants 00:34:08.449 --> 00:34:12.909 was that they would roll in the mud and the earth 00:34:12.909 --> 00:34:15.590 was sort of reddish around the highlands and 00:34:15.590 --> 00:34:18.769 elsewhere and when it dried it would dry sort 00:34:18.769 --> 00:34:23.510 of red on gray which muted out to pink. It was 00:34:23.510 --> 00:34:27.349 red and it was down there in the July area. We 00:34:27.349 --> 00:34:30.010 have a caller from Albuquerque. He says he knows 00:34:30.010 --> 00:34:33.309 you. Let me get him on the phone. Great. Welcome 00:34:33.309 --> 00:34:38.530 to Veterans Radio. Caller from Albuquerque. Good 00:34:38.530 --> 00:34:41.030 morning, Jonathan. Hey, Lee. How are you doing? 00:34:41.489 --> 00:34:46.829 I'm doing great, Guy. Super. What is it that 00:34:46.829 --> 00:34:50.219 you're calling in on, Lee? I'm sorry? What is 00:34:50.219 --> 00:34:52.940 it that you're calling on to say, Lee? I'm sorry, 00:34:53.139 --> 00:34:57.699 Jonathan. The old ears are shot. Tell us your 00:34:57.699 --> 00:35:00.980 story about Jonathan. Can you hear me, Lee? Jonathan 00:35:00.980 --> 00:35:05.079 was my mentor when I arrived in Vietnam to teach 00:35:05.079 --> 00:35:09.400 me the ropes and did it well. And I can verify 00:35:09.400 --> 00:35:14.840 that the pink elephant story is fact. And I'd 00:35:14.840 --> 00:35:18.380 love to hear some more of that 12 string. Well, 00:35:19.320 --> 00:35:22.679 we're going to give it in the third segment. 00:35:22.840 --> 00:35:25.559 We're going to give an email address where anybody 00:35:25.559 --> 00:35:29.800 can order that. You've got two CDs, Jonathan, 00:35:29.800 --> 00:35:34.019 is that right? Yes. Okay, they're very entertaining. 00:35:35.219 --> 00:35:39.099 Lee, where did you say you flew in the Central 00:35:39.099 --> 00:35:42.579 Highlands? Yeah, we flew out of Khantum together. 00:35:44.440 --> 00:35:48.639 And you said that you saw the same thing? Yes, 00:35:48.639 --> 00:35:53.320 I saw the pink elephant. I should probably fly 00:35:53.320 --> 00:35:57.679 to the river they were on today. There's a saying 00:35:57.679 --> 00:36:00.079 amongst warriors that I've seen the elephant 00:36:00.079 --> 00:36:03.679 and that means they've been in battle and truly 00:36:03.679 --> 00:36:10.460 you guys did see the elephant. Yes. Have you 00:36:10.460 --> 00:36:12.920 got any story that you would like to tell or 00:36:12.920 --> 00:36:16.170 any point that you would like to make, Lee? No, 00:36:16.170 --> 00:36:18.869 I just wanted to call in I've been listening 00:36:18.869 --> 00:36:22.190 since the show started haven't seen John in a 00:36:22.190 --> 00:36:26.550 while and Just say hey Well, I thought you did. 00:36:26.590 --> 00:36:29.530 Thank you very much Lee good talking to you. 00:36:29.530 --> 00:36:36.949 Take care Jonathan oh Dale I didn't get to see 00:36:36.949 --> 00:36:39.309 red elephants. I did see camouflaged elephants. 00:36:39.550 --> 00:36:42.190 This is up in a northwestern section of three 00:36:42.190 --> 00:36:46.019 core and it was It takes you aback when you see 00:36:46.019 --> 00:36:48.739 these creatures. They had more equipment on them 00:36:48.739 --> 00:36:52.539 than trucks would have. The VC and NVA, or mainly 00:36:52.539 --> 00:36:54.780 the NVA, they were using them as pack animals. 00:36:55.219 --> 00:37:00.659 Absolutely. It's just so amazing when you think 00:37:00.659 --> 00:37:02.860 about the things that you saw out there, Jonathan. 00:37:03.320 --> 00:37:05.659 It's very hard for people, especially civilians, 00:37:06.179 --> 00:37:09.219 to understand the stories that we tell. They're 00:37:09.219 --> 00:37:11.659 true. We don't make these things up. No, the 00:37:11.659 --> 00:37:14.460 irony is that some of the time you didn't understand 00:37:14.460 --> 00:37:16.539 exactly what it was you were seeing when you 00:37:16.539 --> 00:37:19.219 saw it. It was only later when you compared notes 00:37:19.219 --> 00:37:23.019 or you read extra information in historical vein 00:37:23.019 --> 00:37:25.960 that you realized just what it was. I think that's 00:37:25.960 --> 00:37:27.780 so important. It's one of the things that we 00:37:27.780 --> 00:37:29.679 love to do on Veterans Radio is to tell these 00:37:29.679 --> 00:37:32.539 stories because it validates some of the things 00:37:32.539 --> 00:37:36.099 that we thought we saw. We just want to make 00:37:36.099 --> 00:37:39.400 sure that it was true. Exactly. And that's a 00:37:39.400 --> 00:37:42.480 big point of reunions. I was talking to a guy 00:37:42.480 --> 00:37:45.679 from the 101st and I said, you know, I felt so 00:37:45.679 --> 00:37:49.980 relieved when I finally saw in some documentation 00:37:49.980 --> 00:37:54.559 that we had a 138 degree temperature on one particular 00:37:54.559 --> 00:37:57.900 day in a 10 day stretch of 130s. And after I 00:37:57.900 --> 00:38:00.239 told that for a while, I thought, that can't 00:38:00.239 --> 00:38:02.659 be true. It couldn't have been that hot. Thankfully, 00:38:02.780 --> 00:38:05.059 I saw it in writing and it relieved me. And he 00:38:05.059 --> 00:38:10.159 said the same thing, you know. You sit and you 00:38:10.159 --> 00:38:12.739 think to yourself, that couldn't have happened. 00:38:13.000 --> 00:38:15.400 If that ambush had taken place at 30 feet, I'd 00:38:15.400 --> 00:38:18.360 be dead right now. Yes. But when you hear other 00:38:18.360 --> 00:38:21.219 people talk about it and add on to the story, 00:38:21.619 --> 00:38:23.559 you said it gives you a great feeling of relief. 00:38:24.019 --> 00:38:27.119 Jonathan, do you have any story or point that 00:38:27.119 --> 00:38:28.659 you would like to make? We've got two minutes 00:38:28.659 --> 00:38:31.480 left in this segment. No, I'll just respond to 00:38:31.480 --> 00:38:35.519 questions as best I can. Okay. Who was the bravest 00:38:35.519 --> 00:38:38.849 person you saw over there? Well, it had to be 00:38:38.849 --> 00:38:41.889 Hilliard Wilbanks, though I didn't see him after 00:38:41.889 --> 00:38:46.130 we left the United States. I knew where he was 00:38:46.130 --> 00:38:49.289 and heard about his last mission and death about 00:38:49.289 --> 00:38:52.349 two days before I was rotating for home, which 00:38:52.349 --> 00:38:57.030 was a very unpleasant surprise. Since then, I've 00:38:57.030 --> 00:39:01.389 got to know his family and we've shared a lot 00:39:01.389 --> 00:39:05.349 of thoughts together. One other thought is... 00:39:05.320 --> 00:39:08.400 The helicopter pilots who came to Hilliard's 00:39:08.400 --> 00:39:11.920 rescue have never been truly recognized even 00:39:11.920 --> 00:39:16.760 in the Air Force magazine story. John Groh is 00:39:16.760 --> 00:39:19.760 perhaps the chief among them and Jerry Borquin, 00:39:19.980 --> 00:39:23.519 the last known out in California. John Groh took 00:39:23.519 --> 00:39:27.099 about 52 or so hits in his helicopter trying 00:39:27.099 --> 00:39:33.619 to rescue Hilliard. He wasn't successful in that, 00:39:33.659 --> 00:39:37.679 was he? No, they managed to make a vacuum out 00:39:37.679 --> 00:39:39.900 a little later, but it just shows you the bravery 00:39:39.900 --> 00:39:42.880 of the helicopter pilots, like the Raven FACS, 00:39:42.960 --> 00:39:46.159 the F -105 pilots over the north, the F -4 pilots, 00:39:46.760 --> 00:39:48.900 just about everybody who flew, depending on what 00:39:48.900 --> 00:39:52.579 you were flying and where and which year, your 00:39:52.579 --> 00:39:55.059 fortunes could be totally different. Dale wanted 00:39:55.059 --> 00:39:58.440 to add on to the 52 hits. No, I didn't want to 00:39:58.440 --> 00:40:00.400 add on to the 52 hits, that's for darn sure, 00:40:00.500 --> 00:40:02.539 but I did want to just point out that it didn't 00:40:02.539 --> 00:40:04.539 make any difference who you were or what branch 00:40:04.539 --> 00:40:06.940 of the service you were in. If it was an American 00:40:06.940 --> 00:40:09.019 that went down, we would go get him. We didn't 00:40:09.019 --> 00:40:12.300 care. You bet. And that's the fact motto, basically, 00:40:12.460 --> 00:40:14.420 was if the troops are in trouble, we let it all 00:40:14.420 --> 00:40:18.280 hang out to go and help them. Yeah. Discretion 00:40:18.280 --> 00:40:20.400 was not the better part of valor sometimes. No. 00:40:20.780 --> 00:40:22.739 If the VC could have shot straight while I was 00:40:22.739 --> 00:40:24.159 there, I probably wouldn't have made it home 00:40:24.159 --> 00:40:27.119 either. Right, well we talked about this, actually 00:40:27.119 --> 00:40:29.159 we've got a break coming up, I'll mention that 00:40:29.159 --> 00:40:32.719 later. We'll be right back right after this break. 00:40:32.840 --> 00:40:35.079 We're back talking to Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan 00:40:35.079 --> 00:40:38.880 Meyer who was a FAC pilot in Vietnam, the guys 00:40:38.880 --> 00:40:41.159 that directed the airstrikes and the artillery. 00:40:43.519 --> 00:40:48.099 That kind of really exemplified the difference 00:40:48.099 --> 00:40:51.420 in the jobs over there. While those guys were 00:40:51.420 --> 00:40:53.039 out in the jungle and were going to be eating 00:40:53.039 --> 00:40:55.940 sea rations if they got the chance, you'd be 00:40:55.940 --> 00:40:59.099 going back to steak. Well, that's on the rare 00:40:59.099 --> 00:41:01.980 occasions. Actually, I ate plenty of sea rations, 00:41:02.199 --> 00:41:04.059 too. Most of them while I was flying on the early 00:41:04.059 --> 00:41:07.579 morning dawn patrol. But that song happened to 00:41:07.579 --> 00:41:11.019 be the one that I did spread around Vietnam to 00:41:11.019 --> 00:41:13.840 special forces camps in Con Tum in Pleiku Province. 00:41:14.170 --> 00:41:16.869 And I guess that's the one that gave me my 15 00:41:16.869 --> 00:41:20.150 minutes of fame about 20 or 30 years before I 00:41:20.150 --> 00:41:22.530 even knew it had made that much impression on 00:41:22.530 --> 00:41:27.409 anybody. How did you learn that it did? I got 00:41:27.409 --> 00:41:33.329 a pocketbook sent to me by a former F -101 backseater 00:41:33.329 --> 00:41:38.269 that said, see page umpty -ump. And the book 00:41:38.269 --> 00:41:42.409 was Mike Force by former Lieutenant Colonel Bucky 00:41:42.409 --> 00:41:45.800 Boris. And he was a Special Forces guy and he 00:41:45.800 --> 00:41:48.059 and his facts had picked it up. They used to 00:41:48.059 --> 00:41:50.199 sing it around the bar. There it was, spread 00:41:50.199 --> 00:41:52.639 across about two and a quarter pages of his book. 00:41:53.860 --> 00:41:57.639 I wish I'd known that song at the time. It's 00:41:57.639 --> 00:42:01.559 very appropriate. We would get messages like 00:42:01.559 --> 00:42:02.980 that every once in a while. They'd call us up 00:42:02.980 --> 00:42:07.639 on the Fox FM radio and we would home in on them. 00:42:08.440 --> 00:42:09.960 And then they'd say, okay, now where am I? Well, 00:42:09.960 --> 00:42:13.409 you're right below us. Well, where's that? Well, 00:42:14.170 --> 00:42:16.769 in this particular case, that song, while it's 00:42:16.769 --> 00:42:19.909 a spoof on both the special forces and the FAC, 00:42:19.989 --> 00:42:25.190 that's me, kind of snappy, there's a lot of truth 00:42:25.190 --> 00:42:28.750 backing that song up and I did have to find a 00:42:28.750 --> 00:42:30.469 patrol and found them on the wrong mountain. 00:42:30.769 --> 00:42:34.190 That's the thing about war and the thing about 00:42:34.190 --> 00:42:40.380 the American is that you're flexible. when you 00:42:40.380 --> 00:42:43.739 pick up an aircraft in the air and say that, 00:42:43.860 --> 00:42:47.719 you know, where are we? Dale, did you? Yeah, 00:42:47.760 --> 00:42:49.880 we did that a few times. We landed in an wrong 00:42:49.880 --> 00:42:53.059 LZ more than once, unfortunately. And they said, 00:42:53.199 --> 00:42:54.420 but there's nobody here. And they said, well, 00:42:54.639 --> 00:42:57.000 we're, you know, we're 50 clicks to the north, 00:42:57.280 --> 00:42:58.679 south, east or west. And we're going, oh, this 00:42:58.679 --> 00:43:00.579 looks just like the field you described to us 00:43:00.579 --> 00:43:02.380 because we would do all of our stuff low level. 00:43:02.760 --> 00:43:04.860 So, I mean, it happened and you're adaptable 00:43:04.860 --> 00:43:07.500 and that's one of the things about American forces 00:43:07.500 --> 00:43:12.900 that we are resilient and we think. And help 00:43:12.900 --> 00:43:17.300 each other. Absolutely. What is your proudest 00:43:17.300 --> 00:43:19.860 feeling about what you did, Jonathan? Well, I 00:43:19.860 --> 00:43:23.039 think I was convinced when I got home that I'd 00:43:23.039 --> 00:43:25.480 had the best job in the war because I not only 00:43:25.480 --> 00:43:29.699 got to see the bit of the country and just visit 00:43:29.699 --> 00:43:32.630 some of the of the camps and the villages and 00:43:32.630 --> 00:43:35.730 work with the military on the ground, that I 00:43:35.730 --> 00:43:39.530 think was the most rewarding, being able to help 00:43:39.530 --> 00:43:42.929 people who are really in trouble and just simply 00:43:42.929 --> 00:43:46.010 take the risks. I wasn't doing anything deliberately 00:43:46.010 --> 00:43:49.230 stupid, at least not most of the time, and I 00:43:49.230 --> 00:43:51.489 was just glad to be able to help, and that was 00:43:51.489 --> 00:43:53.889 what I thought was the most important thing, 00:43:54.030 --> 00:43:56.210 the sort of the joint operations that we tend 00:43:56.210 --> 00:43:58.929 to mount today. I'm going to ask you another 00:43:58.929 --> 00:44:01.340 question, but for your listeners, We're going 00:44:01.340 --> 00:44:03.840 to come back with an email address if you would 00:44:03.840 --> 00:44:07.059 like to order Jonathan's music. And we'll do 00:44:07.059 --> 00:44:09.780 that right after we talk about this subject. 00:44:10.360 --> 00:44:13.679 When someone got on the ground, would it be the 00:44:13.679 --> 00:44:16.059 nearest FAC, when they got in the shuttle on 00:44:16.059 --> 00:44:17.699 the ground, would it be the nearest FAC that 00:44:17.699 --> 00:44:19.880 would head there? And what would happen with 00:44:19.880 --> 00:44:22.280 the jet fighters? Well, as a general rule, that's 00:44:22.280 --> 00:44:25.460 what would happen. Whichever FAC either got the 00:44:25.460 --> 00:44:28.420 word or was nearest would sort of immediately 00:44:28.420 --> 00:44:32.269 go there, take over. So to be FAC on the scene, 00:44:32.909 --> 00:44:35.469 meanwhile he'd be radioing or fighters would 00:44:35.469 --> 00:44:40.289 already be ordered to respond. This is what we 00:44:40.289 --> 00:44:42.550 would call an immediate airstrike with troops 00:44:42.550 --> 00:44:46.889 in contact, TICs. Those were the ones where people 00:44:46.889 --> 00:44:49.869 just dropped everything and went to do what was 00:44:49.869 --> 00:44:52.590 necessary. The FAC put the fighters in, gave 00:44:52.590 --> 00:44:55.329 them the information, controlled the air battle 00:44:55.329 --> 00:44:58.610 as it were. and let the fighters do the work. 00:44:58.769 --> 00:45:00.570 They were usually fighters. They were sometimes 00:45:00.570 --> 00:45:03.570 light bombers. And that would try to take care 00:45:03.570 --> 00:45:05.550 of business and help whoever was on the ground. 00:45:06.329 --> 00:45:09.030 Did you ever get a thank you from them? Yes, 00:45:09.030 --> 00:45:13.409 I did. I got a thank you letter from the C -Team 00:45:13.409 --> 00:45:17.050 commander. He was sort of the head of the Special 00:45:17.050 --> 00:45:21.309 Forces in Vietnam for putting in the sort of 00:45:21.309 --> 00:45:25.809 rescue effort that killed those 28 NBA or VC. 00:45:27.400 --> 00:45:31.420 Okay, give us the email address if somebody wants 00:45:31.420 --> 00:45:36.059 to order your CDs. The best way to do it is through 00:45:36.059 --> 00:45:41.280 the email address I use for many society of old, 00:45:41.599 --> 00:45:45.900 bold aviators, and the letters would be S -O 00:45:45.900 --> 00:45:54.619 -B -A at L -E -R -O -L -S dot com. And that SOBA 00:45:54.619 --> 00:45:59.380 stands for what again? Society of old, bold aviators. 00:46:00.539 --> 00:46:02.699 It's a take off on the old saying that there 00:46:02.699 --> 00:46:05.260 are old aviators and there are bold aviators, 00:46:05.300 --> 00:46:08.800 but there are no old, bold aviators. And those 00:46:08.800 --> 00:46:11.300 of us who sing about the days of yesteryear claim 00:46:11.300 --> 00:46:16.679 we were both. Okay, I told Dale it was old, bold 00:46:16.679 --> 00:46:20.699 aviators. That may be getting that way, but the 00:46:20.699 --> 00:46:23.739 rest of us have our hair. That's right, we do. 00:46:24.239 --> 00:46:27.079 It may be white, but we still got it. Most of 00:46:27.079 --> 00:46:33.260 it, yes. It's a combination of my... Bob's in 00:46:33.260 --> 00:46:35.659 the control room sticking his tongue out at us. 00:46:36.219 --> 00:46:38.739 I was lucky to see that because of the light 00:46:38.739 --> 00:46:47.219 reflecting off it, Bob. Give us a wrap up sort 00:46:47.219 --> 00:46:53.130 of on the things that you saw over there. Well, 00:46:53.510 --> 00:46:56.869 the best thing I can say is that most of my tour 00:46:56.869 --> 00:47:00.250 was spent doing visual reconnaissance. Some of 00:47:00.250 --> 00:47:02.530 it, you know, whenever necessary or whenever 00:47:02.530 --> 00:47:05.510 scheduled, was putting in air strikes or conducting 00:47:05.510 --> 00:47:08.349 some operation that would support ground troops. 00:47:08.889 --> 00:47:11.030 But there were lots of other things we did. I 00:47:11.030 --> 00:47:15.230 carried the mail. I carried an Army Ranger to, 00:47:15.230 --> 00:47:18.309 say, Mongbakh Special Forces camp with two spare 00:47:18.309 --> 00:47:21.190 machine gun barrels and cases of ammo and mail 00:47:21.190 --> 00:47:25.809 bags. landing in a sort of very rainy cross wind. 00:47:27.210 --> 00:47:29.130 You never knew where the excitement was going 00:47:29.130 --> 00:47:32.190 to come from and again I just have to emphasize 00:47:32.190 --> 00:47:35.550 that my stories are just those of one person. 00:47:35.969 --> 00:47:37.909 There were many different kinds of facts flying 00:47:37.909 --> 00:47:40.090 different airplanes in different places at different 00:47:40.090 --> 00:47:42.889 times and they all have different sets of stories. 00:47:43.550 --> 00:47:45.949 Now you said you never knew which way the danger, 00:47:45.969 --> 00:47:48.409 I almost got through this without telling the 00:47:48.409 --> 00:47:51.559 story of my friend Dick Root. he was a line company 00:47:51.559 --> 00:47:55.719 officer in the army and ended up becoming a FAC. 00:47:56.199 --> 00:47:59.300 He was a backseater to you guys and one time 00:47:59.300 --> 00:48:02.539 flying low and slow they got shot down and his 00:48:02.539 --> 00:48:06.199 pilot put it down in a clearing and it was kind 00:48:06.199 --> 00:48:08.840 of a semi -controlled landing in which the plane 00:48:08.840 --> 00:48:11.199 crumpled up and both of them were jammed inside 00:48:11.199 --> 00:48:14.719 the cockpit and the bad guys started coming out 00:48:14.719 --> 00:48:17.619 of the woods at them and they were defending 00:48:17.619 --> 00:48:21.130 themselves with that little folding M16 that 00:48:21.130 --> 00:48:24.909 you guys carried and then the helicopter gunship 00:48:24.909 --> 00:48:28.650 showed up and then the other aircraft keeping 00:48:28.650 --> 00:48:34.409 the bad guys away and so on and they were eventually 00:48:34.409 --> 00:48:39.329 cut out of the airplane and rescued by a helicopter 00:48:39.329 --> 00:48:42.010 crew. And as he told the story he kept getting 00:48:42.010 --> 00:48:45.789 angrier and angrier and angrier and he said dirty 00:48:46.900 --> 00:48:49.559 blankety blanks, shot us down, broke both my 00:48:49.559 --> 00:48:52.539 legs, and then they tried to kill us. It was 00:48:52.539 --> 00:48:58.719 a bit unsporting of them. I laughed so hard I 00:48:58.719 --> 00:49:02.519 hit my head on the table. The things that we 00:49:02.519 --> 00:49:04.820 laugh about that other people would look at us 00:49:04.820 --> 00:49:08.159 and say, what's so funny about that? Well, the 00:49:08.159 --> 00:49:10.300 irony is that if you don't get hurt, killed, 00:49:10.380 --> 00:49:15.039 or badly scared, war can be most enjoyable, sometimes 00:49:15.039 --> 00:49:20.500 addictive. And the adrenaline would become an 00:49:20.500 --> 00:49:22.420 addiction like heroin for some of the people. 00:49:22.639 --> 00:49:25.139 I mean, I sometimes would fly low and slow over 00:49:25.139 --> 00:49:27.760 after an airstrike, sort of trolling for gunfire, 00:49:28.059 --> 00:49:30.360 and the fighters wondered why I did it. Well, 00:49:30.500 --> 00:49:32.900 I was pretty sure there was nothing down there, 00:49:33.420 --> 00:49:35.880 but just to kind of show them that, hey, if we 00:49:35.880 --> 00:49:37.739 could drum up a little more business, they'd 00:49:37.739 --> 00:49:40.559 have something else to shoot at. Drum up some 00:49:40.559 --> 00:49:45.309 more business. The thing about it, I tell people 00:49:45.309 --> 00:49:47.530 I fell in love with the American people in Vietnam 00:49:47.530 --> 00:49:50.110 because it seemed the more miserable things got, 00:49:50.289 --> 00:49:53.329 the funnier people got. And we did a lot of laughing 00:49:53.329 --> 00:49:57.190 over there. You bet. And it helped to have a 00:49:57.190 --> 00:50:01.889 club in the evening. Being a CB, there's two 00:50:01.889 --> 00:50:03.369 things they have to do. They have to keep you 00:50:03.369 --> 00:50:07.590 in food and beer. Beer and mail were very important. 00:50:07.789 --> 00:50:11.440 Mail. I tell that to people today. Somebody out 00:50:11.440 --> 00:50:14.079 in the field, if they had a choice between food 00:50:14.079 --> 00:50:17.519 and mail, they would pick mail every time. Right. 00:50:18.460 --> 00:50:22.440 Well, Jonathan, it was great having you on Veterans 00:50:22.440 --> 00:50:25.320 Radio listening to your stories. The time has 00:50:25.320 --> 00:50:28.460 flown past. And again, we want to thank you. 00:50:28.840 --> 00:50:35.840 And that email address again is soba at erols 00:50:35.840 --> 00:50:40.610 .com. Right? That's correct. OK. Thanks again, 00:50:40.610 --> 00:50:44.409 Jonathan. Thank you, Gary. Take care. You too. 00:50:44.769 --> 00:50:47.369 Dale, this guy has the driest sense of humor. 00:50:47.769 --> 00:50:51.389 I would say. I love talking to him in a couple 00:50:51.389 --> 00:50:54.730 of the pre -interviews, and I've seen him at 00:50:54.730 --> 00:50:58.190 the wall on Veterans Day and Memorial Day as 00:50:58.190 --> 00:51:01.750 a tent. It's called the Memorial Day Writers 00:51:01.750 --> 00:51:05.610 Project. That's where I first met Jonathan. Troops 00:51:05.610 --> 00:51:08.670 come out to read the stuff they wrote and sing 00:51:08.670 --> 00:51:11.530 the songs they wrote. Really worthwhile. We've 00:51:11.530 --> 00:51:13.150 been getting a lot of those lately. If you have 00:51:13.150 --> 00:51:15.389 songs or anything that you want us to mention 00:51:15.389 --> 00:51:17.869 on the air, send us an email. Go to our website, 00:51:18.030 --> 00:51:20.289 click on contact us and we'll try to get you 00:51:20.289 --> 00:51:23.110 on the air. And next week we're going to have 00:51:23.110 --> 00:51:27.190 General Bill Henderson retired. He flew F -4s 00:51:27.190 --> 00:51:30.969 over Cambodia. South Vietnam became the first 00:51:30.969 --> 00:51:32.789 black commander of the Michigan Air National 00:51:32.789 --> 00:51:35.929 Guard. Really a great guy. In the meantime, you 00:51:35.929 --> 00:51:50.829 are dismissed. The views and opinions expressed 00:51:50.829 --> 00:51:53.269 in this program are not necessarily a veteran's 00:51:53.269 --> 00:51:54.530 radio or the station.