174th Assault
Helicopter Company


DOLPHINS & SHARKS


WO1 Tom Burch
Dolphin Pilot 1st Platoon

March- September 1967

Ninh Hoa, Qui Nhon and Duc Pho



These (88) photos below are taken from Tom Burch's tour with the 174th in 1967. All below are "thumbnails". Click on each thumbnail to see the full-sized photo. Most of these photos were taken around July 1967. If anyone has additional comments it would be appreciated.



* In a May 2005 e-mail, Tom Burch provided the following information:

”I was a Warrant Office WO1 when I joined the 174th in Ninh Hoa, in March 1967. I graduated from Warrant Officer Flight School in February 1967, and like most others went directly to Vietnam. I was a ‘slick-driver’ in the 1st Flight Platoon; CPT Chuck Schexnayder was my first Platoon leader. My contemporaries were Billy Wood, Danny Burton, Blackmon, Prince Alexander, ‘Cuz’, Pete Moss and Carmichael. That’s about all can remember. Later Platoon Leaders were Ron Newcomer and ‘Bear’ Bryant, I believe.

By the way, you may notice some of the pictures show me holding a flight helmet with some very visible damage to it. That happened on a mission in July or August 1967 - North of Duc Pho. I was the A/C with Danny Burton as the pilot. He was flying – I was watching the gauges, and working the radios. Ron Newcomer was flight lead. We were a flight of three ships and had to make three sorties into a ‘hot’ LZ to extract some US infantry.

We had a couple of Shark gunships on station and they prep’d the LZ as best they could, without hitting the ‘friendly-troops’ on the ground. On the third, and last lift out of the LZ we were cleared to return fire, if fired upon. Well, we were fired upon and our ship took a couple of hits – no one was hurt. But one of the rounds came through the right windscreen, right in front of Danny Burton. It came across the cockpit and hit my flight helmet on the right side – through the earphone, and out of the cockpit near the left side door. Three more inches and it would have hit me between my right eye and my right cheekbone. I’m sure I wouldn’t have felt anything.

I called Ron Newcomer on the radio – told him we took some hits, no apparent damage, except the A/C took one through the helmet, no injuries. His comeback was – ‘Are you shitting me!??’ We dropped the troops off at their firebase and returned to Duc Pho. Some of the guys had a little fun with me – and that was that. I couldn’t keep the flight helmet. I was told it had to go back to the US Army Safety Center. A month or two later I was on my way to Japan for hospitalization from hepatitis.

That’s my one and only ‘war-story.’ My total time with 174th was a little less than seven months – I missed Tet ’68 (Jan.), which would have been near the end of my ‘normal’ 12-month tour. Although I only spent seven months with the unit, I have lots of memories – it was a wonderful time in my life

My tour was somewhat uneventful and was curtailed by a case of hepatitis I caught around September 1967. I left the unit for a hospital in Japan to recuperate and from there I went to Germany. I had a second tour in 1969 – 1970 flying Chinooks in the 271st ASHC ‘Innkeepers’ in the southern part of Vietnam – the Delta. I took a direct commission from CW2 to 1LT while on my second tour. I retired from the Army in 1986 as a Major.

I’m just now finishing my second career as a Program Manager for a company in Tampa, FL. that makes flight simulators for the US and foreign military. I plan to retire next month – I’ll be 63 years old, and no longer look like the lad in the pictures you are looking at.”- Tom Burch May 24, 2005





july001.jpg
Americal Division Doctor administers to villagers on the coast north of Duc Pho
54.72 KB
july002.jpg
Village life near Mo Duc, Quang Nhi province
54.12 KB
july003.jpg
WO1 Burch in 174th AHC company area, August 1967
32.08 KB
july004.jpg
Korean Division displays captured weapons, Ninh Hoa March 1967
60.22 KB
july005.jpg
Villagers assembled during search for weapons
57.55 KB
july006.jpg
WO1 Burch, Ninh Hoa – March 1967
68.35 KB
july007.jpg
Combat Assault into a “hot” LZ, Task Force Oregon, Duc Pho – Summer 1967
60.38 KB
july007-01.jpg
Wounded Vietnamese being carried to 174th AHC helicopter for transport to medical facility
55.51 KB
july008-01.jpg
174th AHC helicopter landing during combat assault
30.54 KB
july009-01.jpg
WO1 Burch at the controls of a 174th “slick” helicopter
44.69 KB
july010.jpg
WO1 Burch / 1LT "Bear" Bryant – showing helmet with bullet markings from near-miss
36.16 KB
july010-01.jpg
174th AHC helicopter landing during combat assault
33.94 KB
july011.jpg
174th pilots prepare to launch after Combat Assault briefing, Qhan Nhi Province - June 1967
59.74 KB
july011-01.jpg
Troops from the 3rd Bde, 25th Infantry Division relax after an all night battle, Northwest of Duc Pho – July 1967
85.24 KB
july012.jpg
Pilot Bill “Cuz” Williams and crewchief at a fire base, stand-by on Command and Control duty.
70.09 KB
july012-01.jpg
Troops in an LZ just after being inserted
61.94 KB
july013.jpg
174th Shark gunship gets rearmed with 2.75” FFAR
62.19 KB
july014.jpg
Dolphin Crew Chief and Gunner
53.81 KB
july015.jpg
174th Shark gunship, 40MM “Thumper” & rockets (Shark #UH-1C 66-15137)
57.60 KB
july015-01.jpg
Troops from the Americal Division head out for perimeter security, Duc Pho
40.83 KB
july016.jpg
Vietnamese villager
47.29 KB
july017.jpg
7th ACR M-1 Tank, north of Duc Pho
76.88 KB
july017-01.jpg
WO1 Burch and PFC Bugher – on the coast north of Duc Pho – June 1967
45.33 KB
july018.jpg
Vietnamese villager
54.27 KB
july018-01.jpg
Unknown helo-pad (An Khe ? ?)
47.89 KB
july019.jpg
Ladies in Qui Nhon – July 1967
53.20 KB
july019-01.jpg
Children in Mo Duc, Quang Nhi Province – June 1967
48.42 KB
july020.jpg
WO1 Moss, 1st Flight Platoon, 174th AHC
51.98 KB
july020-01.jpg
1st Flight Platoon, 174th AHC – sign with slogan
36.69 KB
july021.jpg
Control Tower and Como gear – Qhi Nhon
63.96 KB
july021-01.jpg
VC suspect on the helo ramp – Duc Pho
56.63 KB
july022.jpg
Pilot Bill “Cuz” Williams with kids
52.49 KB
july022-01.jpg
174th AHC Company area, orderly room and mail CONEX.
37.09 KB
july023.jpg
Kids – Mo Duc, June 1967 – note the little girl in the black shirt is wearing a catholic religious medal
64.20 KB
july023-01.jpg
25th ID “Aloha Airlines” scout helo points of bullet hole in nose of H-23
52.29 KB
july024.jpg
174th AHC Company Area, Duc Pho
34.36 KB
july024-01.jpg
25th ID troops prepare for 174th AHC lift into a combat assault
51.00 KB
july025.jpg
174th AHC “Welcome” sign – Duc Pho
47.37 KB
july025-01.jpg
no comment
50.17 KB
july026.jpg
WO1 Burch displays the flight-helmet he was wearing in the “close-call” described in the narrative above
49.59 KB
july026-01.jpg
Combat Assault- troops prepare for landing in LZ
46.54 KB
july027.jpg
174th AHC pilots in the company area
51.49 KB
july027-01.jpg
Kids in Mo Duc smile for the 174th AHC pilots – June 1967
46.92 KB
july028.jpg
Combat troops support search for VC
67.22 KB
july028-01_r1.jpg
Kids ask 174th AHC pilots for candy – Mo Duc, June 1967
45.64 KB
july029.jpg
WO1 Burch sticks his finger through the hole in his flight helmet – August 1967
40.17 KB
july030.jpg
7th ACR on the beach – north of Duc Pho – June 1967
33.81 KB
july031.jpg
174th AHC, 2nd Flight Platoon Sign
37.76 KB
july032.jpg
“Hootch-Maid”, Ninh Hoa – March/April 1967
46.32 KB
july033.jpg
WO1 Burch, Ninh Hoa – March/April 1967
44.46 KB
july034.jpg
Shark UH-1C 65-09426
34.14 KB
july035.jpg
no caption
77.11 KB
july036.jpg
no caption
47.09 KB
july037.jpg
no caption
66.83 KB
july038.jpg
no caption
38.19 KB
july039.jpg
no caption
39.92 KB
july040.jpg
Combat Assault
53.18 KB
july041.jpg
no caption
55.32 KB
july042.jpg
no caption
88.96 KB
july043.jpg
Notice on the other side of the tree line...INDIANS!
68.21 KB
july044.jpg
Air base at Chu Lai
50.15 KB
july048.jpg
no caption
50.58 KB
july049.jpg
VC bunker
76.02 KB
july051.jpg
no caption
61.94 KB
july052.jpg
no caption
41.61 KB
july053.jpg
no caption
37.83 KB
july054.jpg
no caption
37.57 KB
july055.jpg
no caption
50.01 KB
july057.jpg
Combat Assault
33.91 KB
july058.jpg
Grunts jumping out "un-assing" my aircraft- CA
37.46 KB
july059.jpg
Grunts jumping out "un-assing" my aircraft- CA
33.82 KB
july060.jpg
no caption
39.83 KB
july061.jpg
no caption
59.86 KB
july062.jpg
Pick-up of Special Ops
55.16 KB
july063.jpg
176th AHC slick crash July 1967
46.42 KB
july064.jpg
176th AHC slick crash July 1967
43.74 KB
july065.jpg
Same 176th AHC slick crash
48.67 KB
july066.jpg
Another of the air base at Chu Lai
47.73 KB
july067.jpg
no caption
26.10 KB
july068.jpg
no caption
55.71 KB
july069.jpg
UH-1D 66-00874. Apparently, the Crewchief was
marking a spot with a "Willie Pete". He missed
the door and the WP hit behind the FM radios.
Trying to reach for it, he fell out 300 ft. to the
ground. July 1967. Anybody remember the
Crewchief? Boyd Mitchell was one of the pilots.
56.54 KB
july070.jpg
Same incident (as above right) of UH-1D 66-00874
47.58 KB
july071.jpg
Americal Division resupply point – troops and supplies wait for a 174th helicopter ride into the “boonies”
49.84 KB
july072.jpg
WO1 Burch, Duc Pho – July 1967
41.89 KB
july073.jpg
Combat Assault
41.85 KB
july074.jpg
Combat Assault
35.59 KB
july075.jpg
174th AHC helicopters in formation, ready for landing in LZ
32.55 KB
july076.jpg
174th AHC helicopter in the LZ on a combat-assault mission
41.31 KB