Welcome to RvnAir
Written by Web Master   
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The Vietnam War was the birthplace of Army Aviation, or at least it is where we came of age.  The use of the helicopter as a means of transportation to and from combat, a mobile gun platform, and moving observation tower, came into its own during Vietnam.  The crewmembers of that era had a strong bound with each other.  They flew together, fought together, lived and died together.  You never left a fellow crewmember behind.  It is no wonder we still have a desire to rekindle those old relationships and ensure our buddies are still OK.  The Internet presents a tool like no other to make that happen and many units web sites are popping up every day. 

This site is designed to provide information about combat aviation units during the Vietnam conflict, as well as the stories of the aircrews, maintenance, and support personnel that served in these units.  I hope it will assist former veterans of Vietnam Aviation Units, their families, relatives, and other parties in making contact with former members of their individual units. Besides the camaraderie and friendship we shared, many former vets need vital information to assist them with VA claims or other activities.

If you would like to post your stories, comments, or other information here, please REGISTER, using the form on the left menu.  By registering, you can submit articles, links, use the forum to post information about your unit, and have access to other areas. This site will grow only if the community uses it.  Feel free to use the services here to help stay in touch and provide others with information about Combat Aviation in Vietnam.  After over 30 years, much of the "institutional" knowledge of that confilct is fading, help us to capture some of it from first hand accounts before it is gone.

I have also included a section for My Stories.  I had started writing these for my famly history web site, but so much of what I remember and what happened impacted or was impcated by many others.  Many of the stories here have been added to, or corrected by, the memories of others who were involved in them.  To me, some of these are historical events, to my grandchildren, they are grandpa's stories, to others just the ramblings of an old man.  Regardless of your point of view, they are here to help tell about what we did and how we preceived it then, as well as reflection through 40 years of history.

Let me know how I can assist  This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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My Story
Written by Web Master   

I joined the US Army in 1965 immediately after graduation from high school and served for 26 years, including two tours of duty in Vietnam as a Combat Helicopter Pilot.  I graduated from "flight school" in 1967 and reported to the 187th Assault Helicopter Company (Blackhawks/Crusaders/Rat Pack) in Tay Ninh, Vietnam. Serving as a "slick" pilot, flying the UH-1D aircraft, I completed 10 months of combat duty, acquired over 1100 hours of combat flight time, 2 Distinguished Flying Crosses (DFC), and a Purple Heart. My second tour, I was assigned to the 180th Assault Support Helicopter Company (Big Windy), a CH-47 unit in Phu Hiep/Tuy Hoa, Vietnam (1970-1971).

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Combat Assault
Written by Web Master   

The 187th AHC was primarily a combat assault company.  Combat Assault was considered to be when you were inserting troops into a landing zone (LZ).  The were three types of flight time, Combat Assault (CA), direct combat support (DCS), and other combat support (OCS).  DCS was resupplying troops or providing other direct support to combat troops.

A majority of my flight time in Vietnam was CA, but for a break, once a week or so, the company would get a day of DCS mssions (ash and trash).  These were usually single ship affairs, resupplying troops in the field, or performing courier missions.

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