RING of FIRE
On
Arriving on scene it was observed that the now fiercely burning aircraft
had crashed in the Defense Perimeter of an ARVN Outpost. Several of the
helicopter’s crewmembers could be seen lying in a ditch located behind a small
tree. Because of the perimeter barbed wire and other obstacles, after landing
the FSK, both ABR’s and the PJ were forced to jump from the hovering Husky. As the PJ made his way to the injured personnel,
the ABR’s deployed
the FSK hose and proceeded towards the burning aircraft to check for any
trapped survivors.
Though dressed in
clumberson Firefighting Clothing and ensuring not to puncture the hose, the ABRs crossed 3 sets of concertina wire and
several ditches in minimum time. Arriving at the crashed aircraft one Rescueman
entered the forward section of the big helicopter while the second Rescueman covered
the entry and extinguished any threatening fire. The sound of exploding
ammunition could be heard throughout the operation.
Having assessed that the personnel in the ditch had only minor
injuries and not needing immediate treatment, the PJ repositioned to the edge of the perimeter covering the ABRs with his weapon.
Failing to find any trapped survivors, the FSK was expended on the
burning aircraft.
PEDRO 39 had finally repositioned and landed in a
clear area back from the edge of the Defense Perimeter. A U.S. Army Huey
“Dustoff” landed behind them and medivaced the crash victims.
As the Rescuemen retrieved the hose and prepared the FSK for flight,
a Vietnamese Soldier from the Outpost approached and told them that the area
they had crossed was mined and booby trapped.
Edward Cartwright one of the Rescuemen on this mission provided
the following narrative:
The best I remember, we jumped out of the
chopper from about 10 ft. and deploying hose to the Chinook. I stepped in a
hole with my right leg and pulled out a five gal can. I shook it off and later
learned it was a bamboo stake booby trap. Good thing I HAD ON MY BOOTS or I
would have had shit in my blood. The Chinook started cooking off ammo and SSGt
Spickler stayed until he was certain no one else was inside. After we returned
to base it kind of hit me that we could have bit the dust. I was glad no one
was in the Chinook, but we had no way of knowing, so we did what we were
trained to do. A pat on the back would have been good for me.
It seems like we took some small arms fire when
we left the scene. There had been some fighting in the area before we got
there.
For his actions during this mission, SGt Edward Cartwright was
awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.
The other crewmembers on this mission were:
(P) CAPT Thomas D. Precious
(CP) CAPT Albert E. Tollefsen
(PJ) SGt Lonnie G. Conner
(ABR) SSGt James E. Spickler
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