Ivory Jack, #8534 LTG Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 A special tribute: The Man in the Door . This is near and dear to me, and I'm sure a lot of my pards feel the same way. Godspeed the young men and women in the Armed Forces of the United States who are currently serving as "The Man in the Door".
Big Jake1001 Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Somebody ought to copy this link and forward it to Flint Westwood in an E-Mail. I think that's what he did in VietNam. Big Jake
Shynee Graves, SASS #19,614 Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 Thanks Ivory!! If you can listen to this and not get a knot in your throat--you got a lot of hard bark on ya. STRENGTH AND HONOR (damn right i'm shouting) S.G.
Ivory Jack, #8534 LTG Posted March 8, 2011 Author Posted March 8, 2011 Somebody ought to copy this link and forward it to Flint Westwood in an E-Mail. I think that's what he did in VietNam. Big Jake Jake - Flint has seen it on my Face Book page already.
Ambush Posted March 8, 2011 Posted March 8, 2011 I have had “The Man in the Door” look towards us passengers and sound off, “IT’S HOT!” And then instantly the green tracers would break the horizon and incoming. Our orbit would straighten out and our ride would start the descent to the landing zone. I have experienced nothing more exciting than a combat assault via helicopter into a hot LZ. Helicopter crews did this every day somewhere in theater. I have witnessed some of the bravest men flying those missions; they had to have had ice-water running in their veins. I salute them… Gary Wetzel is one of our Wisconsin’s “The Man in the Door” soldiers. Gary was bored with driving truck and volunteered to be a door-gunner. His bravery is just one example of these incredible men. You can check out Gary Wetzel’s citation here.
Irish Red OToole, #48939 Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 IJ, I never "saw the elephant" the way you and BT and a bunch of others have in Vietnam. You have my utmost respect and admiration for your service to this country. Thanks for posting this link. IROT
The Shoer 27979 Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 I am a couple years to young for that Southeast Asia senior field trip but I do have a lot of respect for those pilots and door gunners
Ghost Dancer,SASS #17672 Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Thank you Ivory Jack for this posting. It brings back memories good, and bad. I was a Marine Huey pilot in Nam with Marine Observation Squadron Six (VMO-6) and we were based out of the KY HA and CHU LAI area. I flew Medevac and and Gunship missions. I lost my starboard (right side) door gunner over the village of Hiep Duc at the end of the Que Son Valley. He was a twenty year old Lance Corporal from Waco, Texas. We were hit by a burst of ground fire and Benny took rounds in the head. I got the bird back to Danang, where he was treated, and he was flown out immediately to Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. He died two days later. I flew 561 missions in my year's tour, but that was the toughest one. He had a sister and a twin brother. His sister somehow tracked me down about two years ago. His father had died and his mother had no memory left, dementia. The sister wanted to know the details of Benny's death. With great reluctance I told her after she insisted. That brought back one of the bad memories. The Huey was a great aircraft and a pleasure to fly. Thanks again for the post.
Crosscut Jack, SASS #67759 Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 God Bless America and especially its Men and Women warriors. Crosscut Jack
Doc Burns Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Salute to the men and women that served in Nam. My utmost respect for all of them
Rance - SASS # 54090 Posted March 9, 2011 Posted March 9, 2011 Wow!!! Nice Link.. thanks Ivory Jack.. A huge Salute and Thank You to the men that served and are still serving our country... Screens gettin' a little fuzzy... signin' off fer now.. Thanks again Rance
Paladin Gun For Hire Posted March 10, 2011 Posted March 10, 2011 Ivory, I will never forget those day's. Seems like a lifetime has past since then. God protect our people who are serving now. Thanks for the post.
crooked jake,4371 Posted April 9, 2011 Posted April 9, 2011 IJ, I never "saw the elephant" the way you and BT and a bunch of others have in Vietnam. You have my utmost respect and admiration for your service to this country. Thanks for posting this link. IROT A big plus 1 what Howdy said also
Trailrider #896 Posted April 9, 2011 Posted April 9, 2011 What can I say except, "Thank you!" All of you who laid your lives on the line for the rest of us. The only two or three times I ever rode in a helo nobody was shooting at us, and the only excitement was when a bored pilot, just back from 'Nam chased a coyote across the Montana countryside. Godspeed to all those still in harm's way in the defense of Freedom everywhere! God Bless you, and God Bless America! Your humble Pard,
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