basically some kind of combat mission every day or two days three days at the most or sometimes in one day we are approved three missions each mission lasts about less than two hours yeah see that’s what’s cool about being a pilot right two hours you know two hours and you’re done if you live they come home yeah if you have to come home you’re doing all right you’re back eating good chow and drinking a cold beer indeed uh so so how long did it take before you finally ended up getting shot down oh they said good like when did i know you ended up getting shot down how long were you flying for before you got shot down for the first time over four years first time let’s see some time in 67 or 66 i don’t remember because i was at that one time four times and you were shut down four times yeah and uh i don’t really i don’t even remember which day or that except the last time i lost my hand remember that yeah the first time you got shot you don’t really remember what happened the first time you got shot down oh uh the first time i was shut down was in south of the maple mountain and in the morning the we supposed to uh take the uh the platoon to make the uh security line south of the mountain and marble mountain right where f4b4 was so this is an in-country mission and they’re picking up a battalion to put it on the south side of marble mound because fob-4 was on the north side but and they were having some issues they put the battalion out there for security purposes they’re working along with the marines at that point and so seven o’clock in the morning south vietnam he gets shot down yeah yeah it’s a i right now at six o’clock and uh this is the uh mandraki uh the troop and when the second king made the land and he said that he kept he caught the graphite and i told him remember which way and i come back to my mountain pick up more people and then land again and ask him which uh which direction is that he said two o’clock and i take up and have to two o’clock direction and i saw a line of people was moving with the holy holy woman and she a kid and with the junior remember the two musketeers they carry us yeah and i i totally the uh the cruise ship all the people the civilian people don’t don’t shoot and as as long as i finished it i heard a long fire from that from that life from that people from those people and the engine just quit and i make i make a class do on a rice paddy and the uh the third shop that came down to pick me up and bring me back to the name and at nine o’clock again to take the chopper back and we we took that shop away the mechanics they couldn’t find any around so they keep asking me tell or tell them to tell them what happened what would happen if uh we couldn’t find the any uh route then it must be the technical problem and i said yes i did yeah i i and later in the afternoon one of the mechanics ship he was he opened the front door uh of the engine and he looked around and suddenly he he saw the uh the the uh the lid the cap of the uh magneto there was a hole in there oh so that was it and uh he was wondering why this is there is a hole in it why did the people didn’t change it so he just called the mechanic and opened it oh my my bullet was in there and that was already uh ignited wow yeah so you would go back out and you went back out and recovered that aircraft yeah would you tie straps onto it and bring it back or how would you do it i i i go out and we had to show them how to to break bring the down would you bring it back with another helicopter yeah just tie it on and bring it back and then start working on it did you feel jinxed going back in that aircraft again or did you feel lucky you already got shot down you let you made it you know when uh when i i uh class on in the rice paddy uh i um i jump out of the shop and grabbed the uh the m3 the old one the world war ii machine gun and then my cruise ship bring a little carry the armor box and my uh my co-pi he ran along with me when i when i picked up the inventory i looked back and i saw the the the water on the rice belly was fairly exhausting because in the from the they were shooting from the village oh yeah still and i ran to the bottom of the rice painting and put again put the machine gun on and were not the most reliable after after the first 30 years of combat
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