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
Americal Division Doctor administers to villagers on the coast north of Duc Pho 54.72 KB |
Village life near Mo Duc, Quang Nhi province 54.12 KB |
WO1 Burch in 174th AHC company area, August 1967 32.08 KB |
Korean Division displays captured weapons, Ninh Hoa March 1967 60.22 KB |
Villagers assembled during search for weapons 57.55 KB |
WO1 Burch, Ninh Hoa – March 1967 68.35 KB |
Combat Assault into a “hot” LZ, Task Force Oregon, Duc Pho – Summer 1967 60.38 KB |
Wounded Vietnamese being carried to 174th AHC helicopter for transport to medical facility 55.51 KB |
174th AHC helicopter landing during combat assault 30.54 KB |
WO1 Burch at the controls of a 174th “slick” helicopter 44.69 KB |
WO1 Burch / 1LT "Bear" Bryant – showing helmet with bullet markings from near-miss 36.16 KB |
174th AHC helicopter landing during combat assault 33.94 KB |
174th pilots prepare to launch after Combat Assault briefing, Qhan Nhi Province - June 1967 59.74 KB |
Troops from the 3rd Bde, 25th Infantry Division relax after an all night battle, Northwest of Duc Pho – July 1967 85.24 KB |
Pilot Bill “Cuz” Williams and crewchief at a fire base, stand-by on Command and Control duty. 70.09 KB |
Troops in an LZ just after being inserted 61.94 KB |
174th Shark gunship gets rearmed with 2.75” FFAR 62.19 KB |
Dolphin Crew Chief and Gunner 53.81 KB |
174th Shark gunship, 40MM “Thumper” & rockets (Shark #UH-1C 66-15137) 57.60 KB |
Troops from the Americal Division head out for perimeter security, Duc Pho 40.83 KB |
Vietnamese villager 47.29 KB |
7th ACR M-1 Tank, north of Duc Pho 76.88 KB |
WO1 Burch and PFC Bugher – on the coast north of Duc Pho – June 1967 45.33 KB |
Vietnamese villager 54.27 KB |
Unknown helo-pad (An Khe ? ?) 47.89 KB |
Ladies in Qui Nhon – July 1967 53.20 KB |
Children in Mo Duc, Quang Nhi Province – June 1967 48.42 KB |
WO1 Moss, 1st Flight Platoon, 174th AHC 51.98 KB |
1st Flight Platoon, 174th AHC – sign with slogan 36.69 KB |
Control Tower and Como gear – Qhi Nhon 63.96 KB |
VC suspect on the helo ramp – Duc Pho 56.63 KB |
Pilot Bill “Cuz” Williams with kids 52.49 KB |
174th AHC Company area, orderly room and mail CONEX. 37.09 KB |
Kids – Mo Duc, June 1967 – note the little girl in the black shirt is wearing a catholic religious medal 64.20 KB |
25th ID “Aloha Airlines” scout helo points of bullet hole in nose of H-23 52.29 KB |
174th AHC Company Area, Duc Pho 34.36 KB |
25th ID troops prepare for 174th AHC lift into a combat assault 51.00 KB |
174th AHC “Welcome” sign – Duc Pho 47.37 KB |
no comment 50.17 KB |
WO1 Burch displays the flight-helmet he was wearing in the “close-call” described in the narrative above 49.59 KB |
Combat Assault- troops prepare for landing in LZ 46.54 KB |
174th AHC pilots in the company area 51.49 KB |
Kids in Mo Duc smile for the 174th AHC pilots – June 1967 46.92 KB |
Combat troops support search for VC 67.22 KB |
Kids ask 174th AHC pilots for candy – Mo Duc, June 1967 45.64 KB |
WO1 Burch sticks his finger through the hole in his flight helmet – August 1967 40.17 KB |
7th ACR on the beach – north of Duc Pho – June 1967 33.81 KB |
174th AHC, 2nd Flight Platoon Sign 37.76 KB |
“Hootch-Maid”, Ninh Hoa – March/April 1967 46.32 KB |
WO1 Burch, Ninh Hoa – March/April 1967 44.46 KB |
Shark UH-1C 65-09426 34.14 KB |
no caption 77.11 KB |
no caption 47.09 KB |
no caption 66.83 KB |
no caption 38.19 KB |
no caption 39.92 KB |
Combat Assault 53.18 KB |
no caption 55.32 KB |
no caption 88.96 KB |
Notice on the other side of the tree line...INDIANS! 68.21 KB |
Air base at Chu Lai 50.15 KB |
no caption 50.58 KB |
VC bunker 76.02 KB |
no caption 61.94 KB |
no caption 41.61 KB |
no caption 37.83 KB |
no caption 37.57 KB |
no caption 50.01 KB |
Combat Assault 33.91 KB |
Grunts jumping out "un-assing" my aircraft- CA 37.46 KB |
Grunts jumping out "un-assing" my aircraft- CA 33.82 KB |
no caption 39.83 KB |
no caption 59.86 KB |
Pick-up of Special Ops 55.16 KB |
176th AHC slick crash July 1967 46.42 KB |
176th AHC slick crash July 1967 43.74 KB |
Same 176th AHC slick crash 48.67 KB |
Another of the air base at Chu Lai 47.73 KB |
no caption 26.10 KB |
no caption 55.71 KB |
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 |
Same incident (as above right) of UH-1D 66-00874 47.58 KB |
Americal Division resupply point – troops and supplies wait for a 174th helicopter ride into the “boonies” 49.84 KB |
WO1 Burch, Duc Pho – July 1967 41.89 KB |
Combat Assault 41.85 KB |
Combat Assault 35.59 KB |
174th AHC helicopters in formation, ready for landing in LZ 32.55 KB |
174th AHC helicopter in the LZ on a combat-assault mission 41.31 KB |