War Stories
Enjoy the stories in this section. Some of them may even have been true!! Have a favorite war story you've been relating over the years? Well sit down
and shoot us a draft of it. Don't worry, we'll do our best to correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling before we publish it. to us and we'll publish them for all to enjoy.
28 January 1971
by Jimmy A. Norris
and
Terry A. McCarl,
Historian, 15th Medical Battalion Association
WITH CONTRIBUTIONS BY: John
Reed, Harry Halle, John Tabor and Tom Trifiro
HISTORIAN'S SUMMARY OF THE MISSION
This story is an outstanding example
of the dedication of Army Air Ambulance Crews, 1st Cavalry Division Medevac
in this case. Whenever one crew was in trouble, another would spring into
action to come to its aid or to take over and continue the mission of the
other.
This story is also a tribute to CW2 Warren G. Jackson, the
Aircraft Commander of the 1st Up aircraft on 28 January 1971.
On 28
January 1971, the 1st Up Medevac Crew at Phuoc Vinh was called out for an
emergency pick-up in triple-canopy jungle. A hoist mission would be
required-the most dangerous type. The Aircraft Commander (AC) was flying the
mission while the Pilot was running the radio. They came to a hover over the
pick-up site and started receiving enemy fire. The AC was shot in the hand.
The Pilot took control of the aircraft and flew out of the area. At this
point, the crew would have been justified in aborting the mission and flying
back to Phuoc Vinh to get the AC medical treatment. Instead, after a brief
crew meeting, the decision was made to make a second rescue attempt with the
Pilot flying and the AC operating the radio.
Returning to the
pick-up site, they again came under heavy fire. The Pilot was hit in the
right arm and rendered unable to fly the aircraft. The AC took back the
controls and was able to fly to a safe location where they could be picked
up by another Medevac and taken to Phuoc Vinh for medical treatment.
At the time that the 1st Up Crew radioed in that the AC and Pilot had been
shot, the 2nd Up Crew at Phuoc Vinh immediately mobilized and took off to
resume the mission of the 1st Up Crew. When they arrived at the pick-up
site, they were overwhelmed with enemy fire. Miraculously, even though the
aircraft was seriously damaged, the crew did not sustain any injuries. They
were able to "limp" to a clearing and set down and were rescued by another
crew.
There was great relief for both crews when it was determined
that everyone had survived that rigorous day!
Account of
the 28 January 1971 Mission by Jimmy A. Norris
In early 1971, the Air
Ambulance Platoon (call sign “Medevac”) of the 15th Medical Battalion, 1st
Cavalry Division (Airmobile) was headquartered at Phuoc Vinh, RVN with 12
aircraft. Daily, we had five crews on duty; 1st, 2nd, and 3rd up at Phuoc
Vinh, and a crew on a one-week standby at LZ Buttons at Song Be and another
at LZ Mace, several kilometers east of Xuan Loc and at the base of Nui Ba Ra
mountain.
On 28 January, I was the pilot for the 3rd up crew at Phuoc
Vinh. Regretfully, I don’t remember who the other crew members were.
Typically, 3rd up flew all the backhauls (transfer of stabilized patients
from the clearing stations to either the 24th Evac or 93rd Evac hospitals in
Long Binh or the 3rd Field Hospital in Saigon). I don’t remember my crew
being very engaged that day. There was no requirement for either the 2nd or
3rd up crews to be present in flight operations, but could be anywhere
reachable within the unit area. Because I was the assistant operations
officer, I was in operations performing routine operations duties.
The 1st up crew consisted of CW2 Warren G. Jackson, aircraft
commander—“Medevac 25”; CW2 John Reed, pilot; SP5 John Tabor, flight medic;
SP4 John Uebelacker, gunner; and SP4 Harry Halle, crew chief. In the early
afternoon, they were bounced on a mission for the 1/7th Cav who was in
contact and had wounded. The location was to the north, northeast of Phouc
Vinh and in triple canopy jungle; therefore, it was a hoist mission. Our
unit had its own “Medevac” FM frequency; some missions were run with the
ground unit on that frequency, depending on the ground unit's wishes.
Whether we were monitoring or whether we received a call from Jackson, I
don’t recall. But we soon learned that after arriving on site, the crew ran
into significant trouble. I believe they approached the hoist location, but
encountered significant small arms fire. They took off but then made a
second attempt, settling in over the hoist site. They immediately came under
fire again. Reed took an AK47 round in the arm and Jackson was hit in his
left hand holding the collective pitch control. We in operations were
immediately concerned; these were our buddies.
I knew that we needed to
launch 2nd up to possibly pick up our friends—we didn’t know the aircraft's
status—or at least to assume the extraction mission. The 2nd up crew that
day was WO1 Tom Trifiro, aircraft commander—“Medevac 14”; 1LT David Sheets,
pilot; SP4 Andy Kramer, gunner and regretfully, I don’t remember who the
crew chief and medic were. Without really thinking it through and as an
emotional response I immediately ran to the 2nd up aircraft to get it
started while the crew was rounded up. Very quickly, Tom and the other guys
jumped aboard. We waited momentarily for David Sheets, but then, due to the
mission's urgency, I decided to take over the pilot's position and we took
off.
We made our way out to the unit location and I remember that
John Chisholm, platoon leader at the time, came on the radio and told us in
a worried-sounding voice to be careful. We made an approach firing M60’s out
of each side of the aircraft. We lowered the hoist while artillery was
firing to our rear, a Cobra gunship was shooting rockets on our left side,
and an F4 jet was putting ordnance down on our right side. I had never
before or since experienced such firepower up so close. The noise was
intense, even in an SPH4 helmet. Tom was on the controls and I was reading
the gauges to ensure we didn’t over torque or bleed off RPM. We often
referred to Tom as “Terrible T”. To keep things light and due to the
excitement, I recall saying “Terrible T, everything is looking good for you
and me”. A Longfellow I wasn’t, but it did rhyme! Just as we thought that
the unit below had put one of the wounded guys on the jungle penetrator
(JP), we began to take fairly heavy small arms fire. Tom attempted to pull
straight up to get out of the area without being shot down or further
damaged, hoping to clear the trees with the JP and what we thought was the
patient. Knowing we might have to “blow” (cut) the hoist cable to save the
aircraft and crew, I had my finger on the red cable cut switch—thinking I
might be dropping a fellow soldier to his death in doing so. As it turned
out fortuitously, the patient wasn’t yet on the JP. I didn’t have to cut the
cable because the JP snagged in the trees. Luckily the cable immediately
broke instead of adversely affecting our control of the aircraft. None of
our crew sustained any injuries.
We could get a call off to
operations telling them that we couldn’t make it back to Phuoc Vinh due to
the damage the aircraft had taken. We limped over to a clearing near the
route from Phuoc Vinh to Song Be, sat down, set up a perimeter of sorts and
waited for the unit to send an aircraft to retrieve us and rig our aircraft
for slinging out. However, it didn’t take more than an hour to get to us,
because we couldn’t communicate with anyone while on the ground; it seemed
much longer. That was the end of our involvement that day.
I believe
that at least one more and maybe two more crews attempted the mission with
the ultimate success of evacuating all of the 1/7th’s casualties that day. I
am not certain whether the 1st Up Crew had to be retrieved or if it was able
to “limp” back to Phuoc Vinh.
Warren Jackson was treated in the 15th
Med clearing station at Phuoc Vinh and remained with the unit. John Reed was
taken to one of the Evac hospitals in Long Binh and was there for several
days. Some of us visited him while he was there and we all went to lunch at
a really nice Chinese Restaurant either on or near the compound. For a 1st
Cav guy, it was almost like being back in “the World.”
John fully
recovered and returned to the unit.
Photos of Awards Ceremony after
the 28 January 1971 Mission
After this Mission was initially written up, Terry McCarl asked everyone
if they had anything to add. Terry and the Pilot of the First Up aircraft
that day, John Reed, added this to the Mission background via email:
Terry McCarl wrote to John Reed:
So you weren't new to the war in Jan 71.
Did you have any experiences with D 229th that were more harrowing that 28
Jan 71?
Reed’s reply:
I was flying Cobras with the “Smiling
Tigers” D229 when we invaded Cambodia 1 May 1970...a good day. President
Nixon broadcast to the world that we would be out by 1 July. Not a wise
announcement.
As we were pulling out the troops in Cambodia for
President Nixon’s schedule, a lot of slicks were shot out of the sky. My job
was to escort the slicks into the LZ with rocket and mini-gun cover for
troop pickup and cover them on departure. Charlie/NVA were waiting for us. A
terrible day for us. My worst experience in the war where I felt angry,
helpless and very sad. Many soldiers died that day. I will never forget it!
John
McCarl writes back:
Thanks, John! What a way to start
your tour as a Medevac Pilot!
Was your Medevac Number 18?
John
Reed replied:
Yes…Medevac 18…I was into my 13th month in RVN after a
year of flying Cobras with the 1st Cav D229th. Spent a total of 18 months.
Still couldn’t buy a beer when I got home! Cheers!
From McCarl:
Thanks, John! Did you get any other medals for that mission? Sounds like
a "great" first Medevac mission!
From Reed:
Terry…yes I did
receive a DFC later. I was in the hospital I guess when the guys got theirs.
I got my Purple Heart in the hospital along with a picture of General Putnam
putting it on. I really enjoyed flying Medevac. It’s only by the Grace of
God that we survived that mission! Whew!
Reed continued in another
email:
I can add a few details. I flew pilot for ”Papasan" Jackson
that day. My first mission for Medevac was one to remember. We scrambled and
I navigated to the contact/extraction site. We made radio contact and
Jackson elected to fly the mission while I ran the radios. Upon coming to a
hover over the trees, we immediately took hostile fire and Jackson was hit
in the hand, I took over the controls and flew out of the area. At a safe
altitude, we discussed our options and it was decided that I would fly the
next run and Jackson would do the radio work. I remember coming to a hover
above the troops and the right side of the aircraft came under intense fire.
I was hit in the chest but my chicken plate deflected the AK-47
armor-piercing round and it went through my right arm. At that time, Jackson
took over and flew us to a safe altitude. Shortly thereafter another Medevac
contacted us on FM, and we relayed our status and took off for Phuoc Vinh
but we were unable to make it. We had to land at a fire support base short
of home base. The aircraft never flew again, to my knowledge. And yes, I got
a Purple Heart.
Medals presented for valorous actions on 28
January 1971 were as follows:
CW2 Warren Jackson: Silver Star, Purple
Heart
CW2 John Reed: DFC, Purple Heart
SP4 Harry Halle: DFC
SP5
John Tabor: DFC
SP4 John Uebelacker: DFC
1LT Jimmy Norris: DFC
WO1
Thomas Trifiro: DFC
SP4 Andrew Kramer: DFC
Presumably, the unknown
Crew Chief and Medic on the second aircraft also received DFC's.
Despite extensive efforts to contact
John Uebelacker and Andrew Kramer, we have not been able to locate them. If
anyone has information on them, or the unknown Medic and Crew Chief's
identity, please contact historian@15thmedbnassociation.org .
TRIBUTE TO CW2 WARREN G. “PAPASAN” JACKSON
By Terry McCarl
CW2
Warren Jackson was given the nickname “Papasan” because he was somewhat
older than the other Warrant Officer Medevac Pilots assigned to the 15th
Medical BN in 1971. He was 33 at the beginning of his tour, whereas most
warrant officers with whom he served in the 15th Medical Battalion were ages
19-25. He had served a previous tour in Vietnam, as an OH-13 Scout Pilot
with the 1st Infantry Division.
His tour dates are not known for
certain, but are estimated to have been September 1970-September 1971. He
served with 15th Med BN from September 1970-April 15, 1971 when the Stand
Down and return to the US of the 1st and 2nd Brigades of the 1st Cavalry
Division occurred. At that time, the 15th Medical BN in Vietnam ceased to
exist, and Medical Company, 1st Composite Service and Support Battalion
(CSSB) was created (primarily consisting of personnel of the 15th Med BN) to
provide medical support to the 3rd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division which
remained in Vietnam until June of 1972. Medical Company, 1st CSSB was
re-designated as Medical Company, 215th Composite Service BN on 30 June
1971.
If you read “Mission 1- The Rescue of Curley Bowman: 28 June
1971, in Helicopter Rescues Vietnam, Vol. VIII”, you have already been
introduced to Warren Jackson. Exactly five months after that mission on 28
January 1971, on 28 June 1971, CW2 Warren Jackson had the distinction of
being the only member of 1st Cavalry Division Medevac to be awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross, the 2nd highest award, second only to the Medal
of Honor.
Below is the citation for Jackson's DSC:
The
President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the
Distinguished Service Cross to Warren G, Jackson, Chief Warrant Officer
(W-2), U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military
operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of
Vietnam, while serving with Medical Company, 215th Combat Support Battalion
(Separate), 3d Brigade (Separate), 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). Chief
Warrant Officer Jackson distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous
actions on 28 June 1971 while serving as aircraft commander of a UH-1H
medical evacuation helicopter answering an urgent medical evacuation request
for Charlie Company, 2d Battalion, 8th Cavalry. This unit had sustained
eight critically wounded patients while engaging an undetermined size force
of North Vietnamese troops situated in well-fortified bunkers, While Chief
Warrant Officer Jackson circled the contact site, he observed another
medical evacuation helicopter, answering the same urgent call for
evacuation, sustain serious damage from ground fire and crash in flames.
Disregarding his personal safety, Chief Warrant Officer Jackson immediately
descended his helicopter through a small opening in the jungle canopy to the
site of the crippled aircraft and its crew. Enduring intense hostile fire
from enemy soldiers advancing from the surrounding wood line, Chief Warrant
Officer Jackson remained in control of the situation by directing
suppressive fire from nearby Cobra gunships which stopped the enemy's
attack. The time gained by this act allowed the downed crew to be loaded on
his aircraft for evacuation to safety. As Chief Warrant Officer Jackson
began his take-off the burning helicopter's fuel cells exploded requiring
him to make immediate evasive maneuvers to avoid having his own aircraft
destroyed by the blast. Upon leaving the immediate area. Chief Warrant
Officer Jackson's aircraft was again subjected to devastating small arms
fire, but due to his calm and professional attitude disaster was again
averted, Chief Warrant Officer Jackson's devotion to duty and concern for
his fellow soldiers led him to the same embattled area twice again that day
with his damaged aircraft; thus, eight more wounded troops were safely
evacuated. Chief Warrant Officer Jackson's extraordinary heroism and
devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military
service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United
States Army. Headquarters, US Army, Vietnam, General Orders No. 871 (May 1t
1972}
Note: This citation incorrectly identifies Jackson's unit as
the “Medical Company, 215th Combat Support BN” instead of “Medical Company,
215th Composite Service BN.”
SP4 Harry Halle was also the Crew Chief
on the mission of 28 June 1971.
I never knew Warren Jackson
personally, but wish I had. My tour was about a year before his. Several who
knew him personally describe him as a Medevac Pilot of uncommon courage and
skill, admired by all he came in contact with.
He also was very
appreciative of the efforts of his fellow crew members. In January of 1971,
he was awarded a Silver Star, the third highest medal. He somehow
ascertained the home addresses of two of his crew members and sent letters
to the parents of each, giving detailed accounts of their sons' heroism and
expressing his appreciation.
Harry Halle provided the following
email with a copy of the letter written to his mother by CW2 Warren Jackson
after the 28 January 1971 mission:
“Attached is a copy of the actual
letter written by CW2 Jackson (Papasan) that he had sent to my mother after
this mission. I was pretty upset that he had sent this to her as I had told
her that I was NOT flying so as to not have her worry. I received a
Distinguished Flying Cross for this mission. We received 63 hits to the
chopper & had to go to Phu Loi (not sure of the spelling) for repairs. We
never were able to retrieve any patients due to both pilots being wounded,
but, we surely tried.”
Harry Halle
16 January 2020
Letter
from Vol. IX, Mission 12:
Dear Mrs. Carter,
I’m writing in regard
to your son Harry Halle, concerning a mission that we were on together on
the 28th of January. I don’t know if he mentioned it to you or not but I’d
like to add a few things.
On our first attempt to hoist the patient,
bullets started coming through the side of the aircraft and real close to
where Harry was sitting. He never wavered a bit, kept to his duty station,
clearing the aircraft and searching the area for the enemy. We were forced
to leave the area because of the heavy fire. The ground unit said the
wounded man was dying so I asked Harry and the rest of the crew if they
minded giving it another try. They all insisted on returning to attempt
another pickup.
The layout was such that the only way into the area would
expose Harry face on to where we thought the VC [Viet Cong] were. I told
Harry this on the way in, explaining that I hated to expose him like that
but it was the only way in. His reply was “Roger that, Sir. Let’s get the
patient.”
Again, after we got to the pickup site bullets started coming
thru the aircraft, this time up through the floor. Harry kept his cool and
poured out fire from his machine gun at the VC. We don’t know how much good
it did but the VC stopped firing so he at least kept their heads down and we
were able to get out. The other pilot was shot through the arm and the
aircraft pretty badly damaged so we had to leave. A couple of other ships
were able to get the patients out later and they are all recovering nicely.
Your son certainly showed his true colors that day. His concern for his
comrades and sense of duty are really outstanding and I’m real proud to have
served with him.
Hope this letter finds you well and happy.
Sincerely,
Warren G. Jackson
Medic SP5 John Tabor's adoptive parents also received a
letter from Jackson. John provided the following email with that letter:
“Harry/All: My grandparents raised me and they lived the last 10 years
of their life with me and my family. Your email got me to thinking, when my
grandparents died we went through their things and came across every letter
I had written to them during my vacation in Vietnam. I couldn’t believe they
had saved every letter, but I could not bring myself to read them, I still
haven’t to this day. Yesterday I got those letters out and went through
them, sure enough there was one from Papasan addressed to my grandparents,
I’ve attached it below. Jimmy’s (Norris) write- up of the mission brought
back some memories but both letters from Papasan, yours and mine, brought
back details I had long forgot. I remember bullets coming up through the
floor close to me and getting hit by a piece of metal and of course I
thought I was shot in the leg. We were all very fortunate and blessed that
day.”
John Tabor
18 January 2020
Jackson’s letter:
31 Jan 71
Dear Folks
I'm writing to you in regard to your
grandson John. I was the Aircraft commander of Med-Evac 25 on the 28th of
this month and John was my medic. We had a call for an urgent medevac
mission about the middle of the afternoon and took off at once. At first it
appeared that to be a pretty routine hoist. Just when we were over the
friendly troops a VC (Viet Cong) fired at us and wounded me slightly in the
hand and we had to leave. John at once jumped up and gave me first aid. The
people on the ground and the fellow they had down there was going to die if
we didn't get him out at once so I asked John and the other crew members if
they were willing to go back for another try. They insisted on trying again
so we went back in.
This time a machine gun opened up on us, several
bullets coming through the floor of the aircraft and only inches from John.
The other pilot was shot in the arm and a fragment of a bullet hit John in
the leg at this time. John didn't know how badly he was hurt but he jumped
up, exposing himself to the enemy gunners and helped the injured pilot out
of his seat and gave him first aid. As it turned out, John wasn't hurt, only
stung slightly but at this time he had no way of knowing this.
I'm
very proud to serve with such a fine young man as your grandson and I know
how proud you must also be of him. His concern for his fellow crew members
and patients is really outstanding. Hope this letter finds you well and
happy.
Sincerely,
Warren G. Jackson
Med-Evac 25
P.
S. The patients were evacuated later by another aircraft and they were all
doing fine and on the road to recovery.”
One can only imagine how
proud those parents must have felt to receive these letters, and how much
they appreciated an officer going to the effort to find their addresses and
write these letters.
It must have seemed like Warren Jackson was well
on his way to a highly successful military career in aviation when he
returned home from Vietnam in 1971.
His detailed military assignment
history is unknown, but after his Vietnam tour, he was assigned to the
Medevac/Crash Rescue Unit at Fort Wolters, TX. Reportedly sometime in the
mid-1970s, he was stationed at Ft. Rucker, AL, serving as an aviator. He
somehow developed a medical condition that grounded him, and he was assigned
a job as a ground aviation maintenance officer. He left Ft. Rucker and was
told to go back home while the Army evaluated him. After a couple of years
without hearing from the Army, he started law school. After a couple of
years of law school, the Army contacted him and said he had to come back
into the Army for a year and then retire. He begged them to allow him to
stay in California and continue law school, but the Army sent him to Germany
and made him an Officer's Club Manager, a position entirely unsuited to him.
Warren Jackson died in Germany on June 26, 1978. The cause of death
is not known, but presumed to be accidental. What a tragic ending to such a
promising life!
Warren Jackson is on the “In Memory Honor Roll”, a
program by the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund to honor Vietnam Veterans who
survived the war, but died later as the result of their service. Indications
on the honor roll page are that his death was considered to be the result of
PTSD.
No obituary has been found for Jackson, but below is an entry
for him on www.findagrave.com .
HISTORIAN'S
NOTE
This story is “Mission 5” in Phil Marshall’s book, Helicopter
Rescues Vietnam, Vol. XIII. It is the 13th 15th Medical Battalion Medevac
mission included in Phil’s 15 books.
Helicopter Rescues Vietnam,
Volume XIII, and Phil's other 14 books as well, may be purchased by going to
Amazon.com and searching for “Phil Marshall Vietnam.”
If you would like a
copy signed by the author with a written dedication, any of Phil’s 15 books
may be purchased directly from him for $20.00 each, which includes sales
tax, postage and handling. Send cash or check (payable to Phil Marshall) for
$20.00 per book with instructions on what book(s) you want to order and
where to send the book(s) and what, if anything, you would like in the
dedication. His address is 1063 Cardinal Dr., Enon, OH 45323, phone is
937-371-3643, and e-mail is dmz.dustoff@yahoo.com . You may also use PayPal.
Phone or e-mail Phil with any questions.
Terry A. McCarl
Historian,
15th Medical Battalion Association
historian@15thmedbnassociation.org
[ Return To Index ]