One of the most unsung heroes of the Southeast Asian War were Winch Men. Lowered from large camouflage helicopters into the tropical foliage, these "Green Giants" rescued fallen American pilots from the clutches of the Viet Cong. Each mission brought together new technology and human resourcefulness for one purpose: to "get the pilot out."
VIDEO HERE (50 minutes)
My uncle was a snake driver(cobra copter pilot) and he aided covering such missions and getting other wounded out besides just pilots with folks winching into the jungle not knowing what was below em half the time,they would be their own shot callers and me uncle would fire up area they wanted hit.Myuncle said those folks who winched into that insanity were very sturdy folks.
ReplyDeleteFifty years ago next week Dan Coombs III went down in his scout plane. No need for rescue, as both died instantly in the flames. Had Dan made it home he may have been a mechanic, a lawyer, a pro athlete, who knows? But for sure he would have been a wonderful husband, father, and grandfather. Not unlike, I suppose, many of the other thousands who likewise did not come home alive. Gone but never forgotten.
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