"Go-Go's Last Stand"

Guns-a-Go-Go

On February 22nd, 1968, while participating in the big push to recapture Hue during the x;psing days of the Tet Offensive, "Birth Control" recieved some bad hits while pulling up from a gun-run, basically because the ceiling was so low that day due to weather, and had to auto-rotate into the rice paddies about 600 meters NW of the Citadel walls.    "Easy Money" made several attempts to land, but waved off at the last second because the incomming was so intense, especially from some thatched huts just off the NW corner of the Citadel!     Finally "Easy Money" landed, but came in hot and wound up between "Birth Control" and the oncoming enemy.    The crew laid down supressive fire while the downed crewmembers began making their way over.    Fire from the huts quickly made that an impossible task, but about that time, two "Hogs" from the 1/9th showed up and they were ready for a FIGHT!     While one covered, the other flew right up in front of those huts and came to a hover about 20ft off the ground, unleashing a full salvo of 2.75 FFAR's (76 rockets) into the structures!     This got things quite enough for the remainding crewmembers to board "Easy Money".     As she was struggling to get airborne from all the extra weight, a WP round came in near the back of the ship, hit one of the structures, and fell UNDER the chest protector of one of the crewmembers!     He started screaming and flopping around, prompting the others to think he was hit, so they jumped on him to keep him from falling out the back of the helicopter.     All he was trying to do was get that burning phosphorus out of his clothes, but the harder he struggled to do so, the tighter all the other crewmembers held on!    He got burned bad enough to get a Purple Heart, but survived, and as it turned out, was the only one injured during the events of that day!     "Easy Money" made it safely out and evaded to Camp Evans.    Before an aircraft recovery could be attempted, the report came in that the NVA had walked mortars up to "Birth Control", completely destroying her where she sat.   Upon recieving the news, crewmember Walt Lacy responded: "She went out proud."


Crew Testimonials

    Wade Jackson; "That afternoon we were scrambled to support the 5/7th again during the big push to recapture Hue.   We had been on station for about 35 minutes, and I had taken pretty heavy fire on my last three passes... nothing but skin damage.   As I was climbing out from my last run they hit me hard and we started to loose the aft trans and #2 engine.   The Master Caution Panel lit up like a Christmas tree.   I autorotated into a rice paddy and started taking heavy fire as soon as we hit the ground.   Major Matthews started to level the village the fire was coming from and called in the 1/9th.    They sent two Hogs which did a beautiful job.   Major Matthews got a secondary out of the village.    After about 10 - 15 minutes (felt more like a week) Major Matthews came in to pick us up."
    "It was a beautiful sight with the .50's firing and the crew bailing out to give us cover with their personal weapons."   Everyone got out without a scratch; but when 49 was lifting off it took several hits which sprayed shrapnel all over Buzzell, Hiatt, Florez and Demaray.   Florez got a tracer down his shirt and was nearly killed by all the people trying to hold him down to see what was wrong.   That mob got off with Tetanus shots and bandages.   Shortly after we dee-deed the ship, Charles mortared it and blew it up.   She was completely destroyed, but as Lacy said, "She went out proud."


    Jim Bradshaw; "Walt Lacy was pinned down. Buzz and I were outside, he was shooting his pistol, and I had my M16.   The fire was so heavy that it was hard to hear single rounds being fired....it was more like hornets buzzing.   The ground seemed alive.   Even then, however, it got funny....Buzz had this strange look on his face (like I'm getting shot at AND hit look) but it was the brass ejecting from my M16 hitting him.   I really don't know if his reaction was from being hit by the brass or was caused by him seeing me laugh in the middle of all that."
    "As we lifted off, #149 continued to take hits as described.   Gallows humor again came in to play with Flores taking that .51 cal AA tracer down his shirt under his armor chest plate.   Of course, with the way he was flopping around it looked as though be had just been blown away.   Naturally, everyone tried to hold him down so first aid could be rendered.   Of course, that just made it even worse for him as the tracer rolled around his chest causing him to struggle more causing everyone to hold him down more!"
    "The primary topic then became one of how to pick up 154.   Several of us wanted to go crank it up, and realizing the trans might seize, fly it out in just a hover so if it came unglued it wouldn't have far to fall....but the rest, as they say, is history."


   Len Demaray; "As best that I can recall, I first fired at the tree line, way out in the distance. When I fired, people in the rice paddy looked up, which is when I realized that people had been crawling toward the aircraft.   Another gun on board fired (I think that it must have been WO1 Jackson, as I believe it to have been the rear left .50, as I was on the Ramp mounted .50).   I dropped my fire into the rice paddy, at what I then noticed to be movement within the paddy.   I was told later that 'other aircraft' had confirmed 14 kills around 54."

Epilog

Since the Army would not allow the ACH-47 to operate alone, plus the fact that lift helicopters were badly needed in the field, the program was cancelled, and "Easy Money" was transferred back to Vung Tau, where she served as a maintenance trainer with the in-country Boeing Facility.

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