Vietnam & Laos -- 1966-1971 |
Vietnam & Laos -- 1966-1971 |
...formed at Ft. Benning, GA in 1965 and deployed all personnel
and equipment to Vietnam by U.S. Navy ships in 1966, landing at the Vietnamese
port at the city of Qui Nhon. The unit's three primary "homes" in Vietnam were
Lane Army Heliport near Qui Nhon (1966; II-Corps), Duc Pho in Quang Ngai
Province (1967-1970; I-Corps), and Chu Lai, basecamp for the Americal Division
(1971; also I-Corps). The 174th flew various models of the UH-1 "Huey"
helicopter. The unit served long and proud in Vietnam and saw much combat action
in the rice paddies and mountains in the northern half of South Vietnam from
1966 until 1971, and in Laos during Operation Lam Son 719 in 1971. Within these
pages we've included many pictures and much information about the people,
places, and things the 174th experienced. This home page is dedicated to those
Dolphins and Sharks, both pilots and enlisted crewmembers--brave men all--who
did not return.
Below: "Sharks on standby at the Gia Vuc Special Forces Camp. Gunships Shark #161 'Surfer' and #140 'Hooded Cobra'. We actually had a heavy fire team of three gunships heading back for fuel after a combat assault, when we happened upon a group of 'un-uniformed' regulars. We 'opened up' on them as they scrambled for their weapons. No enemy survival. As close to 'face to face' with the enemy I saw and participated in. L-R: Jarvis Gambrill, Sgt. Ronald Grothe, Budd Vann, Bob Millius (tall guy, with dark hair), John Moore, Gary Harter (seated) and Lt. Bob Hackett's back"- Fred Thompson
Pictured below is a combat assault (CA), taken on short-final to the landing zone (LZ), with infantry troops jumping from a UH-1 "Huey." This photo was taken in the Americal area of operations between Duc Pho and Chu Lai. The lead helicopter has just taken off; chalk-2 is unloading (note the right skid hasn't even touched down yet and one troop's already out of the helicopter and has reached the rice paddy dike); chalk-3 is on short-final just before touching down; and the rest of the flight is barreling down on Chalk-3 from the rear. Chalk-2 will probably be on the ground for less than five seconds.
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