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An up close and personal interview with U.S. Air Force Veteran and Togetherweserved.com Member:
SMSgt Stanton Nelson U.S. Air Force (Ret) (1960-1980)
WHAT INFLUENCED YOUR DECISION TO JOIN THE MILITARY?
 Minus 35 degree temperature in my home town, Pelican Rapids, MN, Jan 1960. I worked at a lumber yard, delivering building supplies to an elevator under construction. A good friend of mine, Skip Treinen, was on the construction crew and we complained to each other how cold it was. I told him we needed to go to a warmer climate. He asked me, "Where that would be?" and I replied "Texas". He asked "What work would there be in Texas?". I replied, "The United States Air Force". The next day we went to the Otter Tail County recruiting office to enlist. We walked past the US Army, US Navy and the US Marine Corps recruiting offices where the respective recruiters asked us to come in and hear their pitch for their service branch. We quickly replied that we were enlisting into the US Air Force. Three days later, we were on our way to Lackland AFB, Texas for basic training.
WHAT WAS YOUR SERVICE CAREER PATH?
Basic training at Lackland AFB, Tex Jan to Feb 1960.
Basic training and helicopter tech school, Sheppard AFB, Texas, Feb to Jul 1960. 1110th Balloon Activity Sq, Hdqtrs Command, Goodfellow AFB, TX, Aug 1960 to Jun 1961. Assigned as a CH-21B Flt Mechanic. We chased high altitude air sampling balloons across  the southern US from Arizona to Tennessee and Alabama.
1212th balloon Activity, Air Weather Service, Goodfellow AFB, TX, Jul 1961 to April 1963. CH-21B Flt Mech, Still chasing and recovering air sampling balloons over the southern US and upper great plains from South Dakota to Wisconsin.
Det 15 Central Air Rescue Center, Goodfellow AFB, TX. May 1963 to May 1965. CH-21B Flt Mech, Chasing and recovering air sampling balloons.
Reassigned to Det 9, Atlantic Air Rescue Center at Moron AB near Sevilla, Spain in Jun 1965. Unit's mission was local base rescue (LBR) equipped with the Kaman HH-43B helicopter. In Jan 1966 unit was involved in the recovery of four H-bombs that fell to earth near Palomares, Spain as a result of a mid air collision between a B-52 and a KC-135 during air refueling operations.
In June 1968 I was reassigned to Det 9 Central Air Rescue Center at Perrin AFB near Sherman, TX. Unit was equipped with the HH-43B for the LBR mission.
July 1969 I went TDY to Eglin AFB, Fla to train and qualify as a Flt Mechanic on the HH-53 for combat rescue duty in Southeast Asia. I completed my training and qualification on the HH-53 in Oct 1969. I attended the two week aircrew survival school at Fairchild AFB, WA. Upon completion, I returned TDY to Eglin AFB to augment the training crews until Dec 1969.
Dec 31, 1969, I departed Travis AFB, Cal for Clark AFB in the Philippines for jungle survival training prior to my assignment to the 40th ARRSq at Udorn AB, Thailand.
I arrived at Udorn AB in mid Jan 1970. The 40th ARRSq, equipped with HH-53B & C model helicopters and was responsible for the rescue of downed combat aircrews over North Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. I completed my tour with 320 combat hours and 126 combat and combat support missions. In Nov 1970, personnel and five HH-53C's from the 40th ARRSq took part in the overnight raid on the Son Tay POW camp near Hanoi, NVN.
In Dec 1970, I was reassigned to USAF Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB, Cal. I flew in support of  numerous test projects, including UH-1N weapons system tests, Cat II system testing of the HH-53C, mid air recovery (MARS) tests on the HH-53C and initial testing of the HH-53 Pave Low I.
Feb 1972, I was reassigned to the 37th ARRSq at DaNang AB, Republic of South Vietnam. Two months into my tour the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) Easter offensive began and DaNang lived up to it's reputation of "Rocket City".
In Dec 1972, the 37th ARRSq was deactivated and the helicopters were absorbed into the 40th ARRSq at NKP, Thailand. I was reassigned to ARRS headquarters at Scott AFB, Illinois.
In Jan 1973, I arrived at Scott AFB, Illinois where I was assigned to the office of Aircrew Stand/Eval, Director of Operations, Hdqtrs Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service (ARRS) as an HH-53 Flight Mechanic Flight Examiner. My duties were to review and edit ARRS aircrew operational, flight and training manuals. Our office was also responsible for establishing, updating and evaluating helicopter aircrew mission performance as well as flight safety procedures. We also supported the Hdqtrs Aircrew Stand/Eval team (ASET) inspection visits to Wing, Squadron and Detachment units throughout the world.
In February 1974, I attended the Military Airlift Command NCO Academy at Norton AFB, California.
In June 1974, I left Scott AFB for Initial training on the HH-3E helicopter at Hill AFB, Utah. in preparation for my next assignment to the 5040th Helicopter Squadron (HES) at Elmendorf AFB Alaska. I arrived at Elmendorf AFB in Oct 1974. The 5040th equipped with CH-3E's and HH-3E's, was responsible for resupplying remote radar and communication sites, aerial forest fire fighting and rescue missions throughout Alaska. The unit also supported recovery operations of high altitude research rocket nose cones from the Brooks mountain range above the Arctic circle.
In Sept 1975, the 5040th was deactivated and reassigned to the 71st ARRSq making it a composite rescue unit with both HH-3E's and HC-130N's.
I took over as the HH-3E flight mechanic section NCOIC, responsible for managing the scheduling, training, currency requirements and evaluations of assigned HH-3E engineers.
 Alaska was my favorite assignment. There was hardly a day that went by that we weren't involved with life saving, site support, special missions. Of my 17 years in Air Rescue, Alaska was the most challenging and rewarding of my assignments. When we made a life saving rescue, it was quite an uplifting experience. However, when a rescue mission turned into a body recovery, especially a child's body, it was heartbreaking.
In Dec 1976, my assignment to the 71st ARRS was curtailed a year early and I was reassigned back to ARRS headquarters at Scott AFB, Illinois. Upon reassignment, I was re-certified on the HH-53 and held dual qualifications as a flight mechanic flight examiner on both the HH-3E and the HH-53.
In Aug 1977 I went TDY to Red Flag at Nellis AFB for a week, evaluating combat rescue aircrew operations. I flew with aircrews from the 41st ARRSq from McClellen AFB, Cal observing and participating in live fire, rescue pickup, terrain masking and air to air evading of aggressor force fighters.
In Aug 1978, I was selected to attend the USAF Senior NCO Academy at Gunter AFS, Alabama, graduating in Oct 1978.
On my second tour of duty at ARRS headquarters, I was heavily involved in developing a proposal to establish a separate AFSC for all Air Force helicopter flight mechanics. The proposal included cost savings, basic engineer, OJT and advanced training program, career field management, testing and promotions, assignments and unit manning authorizations. Headquarters USAF approved the proposal and in Dec 1979, a separate AFSC was established for all USAF helicopter flight engineers.
On Sept 1, 1980 I retired from active duty after 20 years and 9 months of military service.
DID YOU PARTICIPATE IN COMBAT OPERATIONS? IF SO, COULD YOU DESCRIBE THOSE WHICH WERE SIGNIFICANT TO YOU?
Yes, I did participate in combat operations over Southeast Asia. On the afternoon of April 6, 1970, a F4-D Phantom, Laredo 02 was shot down by 37mm AAA, 10 miles southeast of Ban Ban, near Route 7 in north central Laos. A SAR task force was assembled to recover both pilots  who successfully ejected from their stricken aircraft, landing approximately 1/3 mile from each other.
As the A-1 Sandys came in to locate the survivors and the enemy forces in the area, one of the Sandys was shot down by another 37mm AAA. Now there were 3 crew members on the ground, surrounded by numerous AAA and enemy ground forces. The SAR forces concentrated on rescuing the A-1 pilot and a successful rescue was made after night fall, under flare light from a C-130. A decision was made to suspend further rescue attempts due to darkness and the close proximity of enemy forces. The F-4D aircrew (Laredo 02 Alpha and 02 Bravo) were directed to bed down and camouflage their location for the night. Throughout the night, an OV-10 remained overhead in the area to monitor Laredo 02A & 02B status.
Before dawn on April 7, 1970, another SAR task force was launched and was over the survivor's location at sunrise. The A-1 Sandy lead took over as on scene commander and they began to seek out the AAA and enemy ground forces in the immediate area. An OV-10 Bronco, working with the Sandys marked AAA sites that were located with smoke rockets. Together with the OV-10, F-4's attacked the AAA sites that were marked. This continued throughout the morning hours in an attempt to take out AAA as well as enemy ground forces.
Around 1000 hrs, the home alert helicopters were launched from Udorn RTAFB, Thailand and proceeded to the area south of the downed pilots. I was on the low bird of the home alert force and around 1200 hrs, we were moved into the primary position on the SAR force. Our helicopter would be the first to make the rescue attempt when Sandy lead felt it was safe enough to attempt a rescue.
Meanwhile, other Sandy aircraft laid out a heavy smoke screen around the survivors location, masking the pickup site from enemy ground forces. Around 1400 hrs, a call came through, directing that a rescue attempt should be made. Sandy lead replied that 1 more AAA gun was left, but it could not be pin pointed to lay some ordinance on it. The controller directed that they should gamble the first helicopter in hopes of getting through to the survivors. Our Aircraft Commander (AC) replied back that it was us he was willing to gamble. Sandy lead called us and told us to come up company freq on the FM radio for an aircraft to aircraft discussion. Sandy lead apprised us of the situation. He stated that he knew the approximate location of the AAA gun and he assured us that he could lay his ordinance on the AAA gun before it could get an accurate track on us. Our AC discussed this with us and asked us for our decisions. We all agreed that we should make the rescue attempt.
At 1417, we started our ingress to the downed pilots. One of the A-1 Sandys escorted us on the ingress. We took up a northwesterly heading flying up a small stream valley to some low rising hills. I had the hoist cable attached to the forest penetrator and as soon as our escort Sandy called for us to decrease our airspeed, I deployed the perpetrator from the doorway and started lowering it. I looked forward on the right side and started to look for the survivor. He popped his MK-13 smoke and I immediately caught sight of his location at 1 o'clock. He was standing at the base of a large dead tree 75 ft below us.
By the time we reached his location, the penetrator was almost down at his location. Since he was standing below a dead tree, I didn't know if I could thread it through the branches to place it within his reach. Our rotor downwash near the ground then blew the penetrator under the edge of the tree branches, landing at his feet. Bending over, he grabbed the penetrator, deployed the seat and placed the safety strap around him. I immediately started winching him up. As I was winching him up, our copilot spotted the marker smoke of 2nd pilot in our 10 o'clock position,1/3 mile away. The AC then started a side slip to the left and hover taxied to his location. I spotted the MK-13 smoke and started lowering the penetrator to the smoke, giving the AC hover instructions to his location.
 Over the smoke marker, I had the hoist almost to the ground when I caught sight of someone running towards us, up hill from our location. My initial thought was that it was a bad guy getting ready to hose us down with automatic fire. Our combat photographer took aim at the figure and then I realized that he was the second survivor. I called out to the photographer "don't shoot, that's the survivor". I didn't know if he heard me or not because he kept his M-16 on him. I called out again to the photographer "don't shoot". He continued his aim on the survivor and I had to release the hoist cable and hit him on his helmet to get him to take his aim off the survivor.
I directed the AC to move his hover up hill to the 2nd survivor and dropped the penetrator within his reach. He strapped himself to the seat and I started to winch him up. As he was coming up, the AC did a pedal turn to the left and began his egress to the southeast. After getting the 2nd survivor on board, I reinstalled the No#2 mini-gun in place and started laying down suppressive fire along the right side of our egress path. We climbed to orbit altitude with the other five Jollys and headed south to Udorn RTAFB, Thailand. I checked the time on our climb out and noticed that 7 minutes had elapsed from the start of our ingress to the completion of our egress.
The 2nd survivor threw his MK-13 smoke marker 75 feet downhill when he saw our helicopter turn towards him. From our hover altitude, the red smoke stood out against the green foliage which is what we were trained to home in on. It was difficult to see the 2nd survivor in his green flight suit and the only thing that got my attention was his arms waving over his head. He made an error when he threw his marker smoke away that almost cost him his life.
When we got back to Udorn RTAFB, the flight engineer of our high bird sister ship asked me if I saw the AAA that was firing at us on our ingress. I told him that I didn't see any AAA fire. He stated that we were drawing AAA as they saw 4 air bursts behind us. I asked him if the air bursts were gaining on us. He said that if the AAA got another 3 or 4 rounds off, we would have been hit on our right side.
WHICH, OF THE DUTY STATIONS OR LOCATIONS YOU WERE ASSIGNED OR DEPLOYED TO, DO YOU HAVE THE FONDEST MEMORIES OF AND WHY?
In March of 1974, I received an assignment to Osan Air Base, Korea. Since I had two short tours in 3 years, I knew that I shouldn't be going for a 3rd short tour in 4 years.  I went to CBPO and asked them why I was going on another short tour. They checked into it and found out that I hadn't been credited with with my last short tour. They then advised me that I would be soon up for another long tour overseas. Since I was up for another long tour, I updated my assignment dream sheet and put in for Alaska.
Within less than two months, I got an assignment to the 5040th Helicopter Squadron under the Alaskan Air Command at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. The Unit was equipped with 13 CH-3E and HH-3E helicopters. Enroute to Alaska, I had to attend HH-3E flight mechanic training and qualification course with the 1550th Aircrew Training Wing at Hill AFB, Utah. One week before leaving for Utah, our youngest son was born at Scott AFB, Ill. On Jun 15, 1974 we headed for Utah, towing a 20 ft RV trailer with a '73 Chevy Cheyenne pickup.
We arrived at Hill AFB on a Sunday evening and I began my HH-3E flight mechanic training on Monday. Training consisted of classroom academics, pre-flight and inflight procedures, hoist, gunnery and sling training. I completed HH-3 training and qualification in 45 days and headed for Minnesota for 30 days leave.
When my 30 day leave was over, we headed for Alaska. We traveled across North Dakota and crossed the border in to Saskatchewan, Canada at Portal, North Dakota. We traveled through Saskatoon Sask, Lloydminster, Sask, Edmonton, Alberta, Grand Prairie, Alberta, and Dawson Creek, British Columbia.
Dawson Creek, the beginning of the Alcan Highway runs 1,675 miles to Fairbanks, Alaska. In 1974, the paved road ended at Ft Saint John, BC. From Ft Saint John to Beaver Creek, Yukon Territory, the Alcan was a wide gravel covered roadway that was heavily traveled by 18 wheelers hauling goods and pipeline equipment to Alaska. We ran into snowfall at Ft Saint John, BC and we had to chain up the tires to make it through a 10 inch snowfall. It took us 5 days to reach the Alaska border. Upon arrival at Beaver Creek, Yukon Territory, I had to check in with the RCMP to check my hand guns out of Canada. Departing Beaver Creek we crossed into Alaska and turned west toward Anchorage at Tok Junction. We arrived at Elmendorf AFB, 10 days after leaving Minnesota.
 After processing in, I started flying locally to get checked out in squadron training and operational procedures. Upon being certified, I was cleared to start flying on assigned unit missions throughout Alaska.
The 5040th HES missions included: rescue, Blair Lakes bomb range support, radar and communication site support, aerial forest fighting, seismic site support, Poker Flats rocket nose cone recovery, Operation Santa Claus support to native villages along the Yukon River, Army and Air Force combat exercises, and special missions.
Rescue mission: Due to Alaska's extreme terrain and environment, most of our rescue missions involved civilian aviation accidents. In the 1970's, 1 in 4 Alaskans owned an aircraft. Most aircraft accidents were a result of flying beyond the pilot's skill level and fast changing weather conditions. Sometimes, we would have up to 3 or 4 rescue missions working simultaneously in different locations. More than half of these missions resulted in body recoveries. A lot of the missions were from extremely difficult locations.
One mission involved the recovery of 2 souls flying from King Salmon to Anchorage via Lake Clark Pass between 4 and 5 thousand feet. The pilot flew into IFR conditions and continued his flight until he picked up the Kenai radio signal. Thinking he was clear of the pass, he turned right and crashed into the side of a 70 degree mountain side. The aircraft stuck into the mountain side and burst into flames. If he would have been another quarter mile further out and 500 ft higher, he would have cleared the mountain. We were launched for a body recovery after a Civil Air Patrol search aircraft found the crash site. Since it was a known body recovery, we took an Alaskan State Trooper with us to declare them as deceased before we removed the bodies.
Arriving at the site, we saw the burned out wreckage hanging onto the side of a 70 degree slope. We established a 100 ft hover over the wreckage. I first lowered a PJ to the crash site. As the PJ approached the site, the rotor wash pushed him out away from the crash site to where the ground fell to more than 500 ft below him. After clearing the aircraft to the left, I directed the pilot to move the hover to the left and continued lowering the PJ until he reached the crash site. On the left side, the left landing gear was dragging through the brush. On the right side, the crash site was 100 ft below us. I then directed the pilot to move back to the right and brought the forest penetrator back up to deploy the state trooper and two body bags. I then lowered the state trooper and as he approached the crash site, I again directed the pilot to move the hover to the left so I could lower him on the crash site. After recovering the forest penetrator we took off and flew an orbit over the site until the PJ called us for a pick up.
After the bodies were placed into the body bags, we again came into a hover over the crash site and lowered the hoist. We again had to move our hover to the left and then to the right  when the hoist was on the ground. We picked up bodies one at a time, repositioning the hover each time. I then retrieved the state trooper and finally the PJ. Our hover time was close to 45 minutes which burned up a considerable amount of fuel. AN HC-130 was orbiting overhead in case we needed fuel to reach Elmendorf AFB.
Recovering high altitude research rocket nose cones launched from Poker Flats launch facility north of Fairbanks in February was an annual mission under taken by the 5040th HES. The nose cones, weighing between 200 to 400 lbs, were used to gather data from the aurora-borealis activity over 100K ft. They came down by parachute and landed in the Brooks Range of mountains north of the Arctic Circle.
Locating the nose cones in such a rugged remote area was easy when the location transmitter worked. When it failed, it was virtually impossible to find. In February 1975, a research rocket was launched and the nose cone landed 75 miles northwest of Fort Yukon, Alaska. We located the nose cone and parachute at the top edge of the tree line buried in 12 ft of snow. We came into a 75 ft hover over the nose cone. I cautioned the first recovery person on static electricity generated by the dry snow that was blown loose from the pine trees circulating through the rotor blades. He noted the caution and I lowered him to the ground. On his way down, pine tree branches whipped around by the rotor wash touched him, sending thousands of volts through him causing his arms and legs to go into spasms. He got zapped 3 to 4 times on his way down.
After lowering the second recovery person, we departed the site and flew down to the snow covered river 4500 ft below the recovery site. We made an approach to land on the river to conserve fuel. On our first approach, the rotor wash blew up so much snow that a "white out" came up from behind us, and we had to abort the landing. We made another approach with the same result. Our pilot then set up a 250 ft per minute rate of decent approach at 10 to 15 kts and held that through the white out until the aircraft landed and settled softly on the deep snow in a stable position.
 I opened the crew door and lowered the entry ladder and stepped down from the ladder and dropped several feet before standing on firm footing. I dug through the snow to the right main landing gear and found that the tires were not firmly on the ice. The snow under the aircraft was supporting its weight. I went back to the entry ladder and had to reach up to grab the ladder's lower rung to pull myself up to reenter the cabin. The snow depth was 8 to 10 feet deep.
Twenty minutes later, the recovery specialists called us and said that they were ready for a pickup. The pilot made an instrument take off until we got clear of the white out conditions and headed for the recovery site.
Coming into a hover, I lowered the hoist and recovered the 400 lb nose cone. Before I picked up the recovery specialists, they signaled that they wanted to be picked up from an area that was clear of tree branches to avoid more static shocks. Once they were on board, we headed back to Poker Flats research facility to off load the nose cone.
My most memorable trip occurred in Oct 1976. I was selected for a TDY trip to Pensacola, Florida to pick up and ferry an HH-3E from the overhaul facility and return it to Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. Our flight back was via Barksdale AFB, Louisiana, Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, Nellis AFB, Nevada, via the Grand Canyon, McClellan AFB, California, Klamath Falls, Oregon, McChord AFB, Washington, Vancouver, British Columbia, Prince George, British Columbia, Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Watson Lake, British Columbia, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory and Elmendorf AFB, Alaska. It took us eight days and 45 flight hours to complete the ferry flight.
I thoroughly enjoyed my assignment in Alaska and was going to extend my tour there for another year. However, when I returned from our ferry flight, I found out that my assignment was curtailed and I was directed to return to Headquarters Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service Director of Operations at Scott AFB, Illinois. All good things must eventually come to an end.
FROM YOUR ENTIRE SERVICE CAREER WHAT PARTICULAR MEMORY STANDS OUT?
On 18 February 1970, I was the flight engineer on high bird alert for air strikes in the "Barrel Roll" area of operations over northern Laos. Around 1000 hrs, we were scrambled on a mission to rescue the crew of an F-4D (Banion 03) that was shot down  a quarter mile west of the North Vietnamese border in Bartholomew Pass (Fishes Mouth) south of route 7. Our search and rescue (SAR) task force consisted of two HH-53C (high & low birds) Jolly Greens, four A-1H Skyraiders (Sandys), and an HC-130 (King) for helicopter air refueling and command & control duties. After crossing into Laotian airspace, we ran the combat SAR checklist and armed our three 7.62 mini-guns.
We established an orbit in a holding area northeast of Ban Ban, Laos, north of route 7 while the A-1H Sandys checked for the location of the downed aircrew and enemy ground activity. They would fly low over the downed crewmen and check for any ground fire. We found out that Banion 03B, the back-seater, was the only survivor. It seems that the F-4D was hit by a 37 mm AAA which ejected the back-seater clear of the aircraft and that the pilot was KIA in the crash. After three hours, we air refueled, topping our tanks off in preparation for the rescue attempt. When the low bird came off the tanker, it experienced a 2nd stage tail rotor servo failure and returned to base (RTB). We then became low bird and would be the first to go in when Sandy lead called. Meanwhile, waiting for our high bird replacement, the Sandys continued to prep the area around the survivor for a rescue attempt.
Around 1415 hrs, Sandy lead called and advised us to start our ingress to the survivor. We ran the prepick-up checklist and I attached the forest penetrator to the hoist cable. Descending from our orbit altitude, our airspeed increased to 170 knots and we leveled off just over the tree tops. We stayed low, following the terrain to avoid any AAA along our ingress route. We crossed over route 7 and headed for a high karst rock formation. We pulled up into a 75 ft hover over an upslope on the north side of the karst. The aircraft commander (AC), established the hover facing the north face of the karst formation which rose vertically for 700 to 800 feet.
Hovering for a few moments, with no ground fire, I lowered the forest penetrator to just over the jungle foliage. I looked for the telltale crimson smoke from the survivors MK-13 location marker. Not spotting any smoke, the AC rotated the nose of the helicopter 90 degrees to the left and we immediately started receiving heavy ground fire from directly below us and our 4 to 5 o'clock level position.  The No# 2 PJ on the rear mini-gun opened fire on the ground fire at our 4 to 5 o'clock position. I looked back at the rear cabin which quickly filled with smoke from the mini-gun fire. I could see holes appearing in the cabin floor working their way forward. I leaned further out the door to look below the helicopter to see if I could see the marker smoke. I could see bullet holes appearing in the right main fuel tank and drop tank. Not seeing any marker smoke, I cleared the AC to move the hover back. Still not seeing any marker smoke, I cleared the AC to move left, then forward and then to the right. Still not seeing any sign of the smoke, the AC directed the No#1 PJ to assist me in looking for the survivor's smoke. Again, I cleared the AC to again move back, to the left, forward and back to the right. Meanwhile, we were still taking ground fire, and the No#2 PJ kept up a steady 2000 rpm rate of fire from his mini-gun. His return fire mowed down jungle foliage like a sickle going through a hay field. Red and green tracers were arcing out from the ground fire and ricochets from the rocks over the aft fuselage.
Still not locating the survivor's smoke marker, I advised the AC that we had taken a lot of battle damage to the rear fuselage and fuel tanks and that the survivor could not be located.
Due to the enemy resistance, a decision was made to abort the rescue attempt. The AC rolled the aircraft to the left and began a low fast egress back to the north. After crossing route 7 we began our climb to 8000ft escorted by two A-1 Sandys. Reaching our orbit altitude, one of the Sandy pilots flew near us to see how much battle damage we received. He reported that we were losing fuel and hydraulic fluid from numerous holes. We were unable to use the fuel in the drop tanks because they could not be pressurized with engine bleed air. The main tanks held 900 to 1000 lbs each. No#2 engine was placed into cross-feed taking fuel from the left main tank due to confirmed damage to the right main tank. A call was made for a rendezvous with the HC-130 for air refueling. Soon the HC-130 came into view and positioned to our right and 200 ft below us.  The AC moved us into refueling position and we made contact with the left refueling hose. I flipped the main tank switches on the refueling panel to take fuel into our main tanks. I left the drop tank switches off to avoid filling the bullet riddled drop tanks. When the tanker started the refueling , all four tanks began to fill and could not be shut off. I advised the AC that I could not stop the flow to the drop tanks. Suddenly, one of the PJs began yelling from the aft cabin. I turned around to see what was going on in the cabin and all I could see was a thick fog of atomized jet fuel filling up the cabin. The Sandy off our aft right wing called us and advised us that we had a 20 to 30ft rooster tail stream of fuel shooting up from the aft end of our right drop tank and was being sucked into the cabin through the open aft ramp and door.
Numerous hydraulic lines in the aft ramp area were severed precluding us from closing the aft ramp and door. Our AC called the tanker to shut off the fuel transfer which diminished the amount of fuel spewing from the leaking drop tank. Because we were still a good distance from a friendly landing site and our critical fuel situation, the AC opted to stay connected to the refueling hose until we reached a friendly landing site. When our main tank fuel level dropped below 500 lbs, he called the tanker to give us some more fuel. We stayed on the refueling hose for 30 minutes until we reached Lima Site 20 (LS20) at Long Thein, Laos.
We disconnected from the tanker and made our approach and landing to the runway and taxied into a parking spot on the west end of the field and shut down the rotor and engines. We did a post shut down walk around and counted 57 entry holes throughout the helicopter. The largest was a 6 inch hole at the aft end of our right drop tank, which is where the rooster tail stream of fuel that entered the aft ramp came from. Just above the aft ramp, a1/2 inch wire bundle was severed in two, exposing bare wires.
Later that evening, one of our other rescue crews made the rescue pickup without receiving any ground fire. The rescued pilot debriefed us the next morning and stated that he tried to warn us that it was a trap. Two or three Pathet Lao soldiers jumped him as we came into our hover over him. He threw his red smoke marker down slope and dove for cover. He shot and killed one of the enemy soldiers while the other two were firing at the belly of our helicopter. He stated that after we left the area, the enemy troops picked up the weapons of those killed (approx.15 to 20), and walked off the mountain side, leaving him there by himself.
WERE ANY OF THE MEDALS OR AWARDS YOU RECEIVED FOR VALOR? IF YES, COULD YOU DESCRIBE HOW THIS WAS EARNED?
 Yes. My very first combat rescue mission (see above entry) on 18 February 1970. I was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for heroism by Brigadier General Frank K. Everest, Commander of the Aerospace Rescue & Recovery Service. General Everest was once famed as the "Fastest Man Alive" when he was an Air Force Systems test pilot flying most of the early "X" series research aircraft.
OF THE MEDALS, AWARDS AND QUALIFICATION BADGES OR DEVICES YOU RECEIVED, WHAT IS THE MOST MEANINGFUL TO YOU AND WHY?
The second award of the Meritorious Service Medal (MSM) was for the performance of outstanding service to the United States as Superintendent Combat Standardization and Evaluation Flight Engineer, for the Directorate of Aircrew Standardization, Headquarters Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service from Jan 1977 to Sept 1980.
During that time period, in addition to my assigned duties, I worked on two major projects:
The first project was directed by Gen Ralph Saunders, commander of ARRS, as a result of an HH-53 near accident, resulting in the death of a crewmember and the serious injury of another after bailing out from an aircraft that went out of control during night IFR conditions. I was assigned with two HH-53 pilots to work up a briefing/training presentation to Air Force H-53 units throughout the US, Pacific and Europe. We put together a presentation that reviewed  previous incidents and accidents experienced by H-53 crews as well as the causes of these accidents. The briefing included aircrew procedures from the aircraft flight manual, service, command and Air Force training and operational manuals, systems knowledge, crew member duties and responsibilities. Special emphasis was made on preflight planning, preflight inspection checks, checklist procedures, aircraft limitations and safety.
We began our TDY to the Pacific the second week of Nov 1977 spending 3 to 4 days with each unit. The first unit on our schedule was the 1550th ATTWg at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. We then visited the 41st wing at McClellan AFB, Cal, 6594thTest wing at Hickam AFB, Hi and the 33 ARRSq, at Kadena AFB, Okinawa. We returned before Thanksgiving Day and updated our briefing from things learned on our Pacific trip. The first week in Dec, we departed on our next TDY on the Atlantic trip. Our first stop was to a TAC unit at Bergstrom AFB, Texas, then on to the 55th ARRSq at Eglin AFB, Florida, 67th ARRSq Woodbridge AFB, England and a TAC unit at Sembach AFB, Germany. We returned from this TDY just before Christmas day 1977.
The second major project was the proposal, study, development and implementation of a separate AFSC for Air Force helicopter flight mechanics. Throughout the 1960's and most of the 70's, helicopter flight mechanics were assigned to and worked in maintenance authorized positions. Unit missions in most cases required a flight mechanic to accomplish the many and varied missions of the unit. In addition to the minimum monthly hour requirements, flight mechanics had to maintain currency in gunnery, hoist, sling, medevac, preflight, TOLD data, weight & balance, air refueling, MARS, and a host of other duties. In 1970, a new night recovery system (NRS) was developed for the HH-53's in Southeast Asia (SEA), which added on additional currency requirements for helicopter flight mechanics. The pipeline training for the flight mechanics enroute to SEA grew from 10 to 13 weeks to 14 to 16 weeks, including the required survival training. After completing their one year combat tour, many flight mechanics were reassigned to a non-flying maintenance positions resulting in the loss of fully combat qualified crew members. As a result of these losses, new flight mechanics had to be trained to replace these losses. Often, recruiting, training and qualification could not keep up with combat unit manpower requirements, resulting in flight mechanic shortages in SEA combat units.
 In the late 70's, Pave Low III modified HH-53's equipped with terrain following/avoidance radar, FLIR, INS/GPS navigation, hover coupler, night vision came into operation which increased training and qualification to 6 months. Flight mechanic PAVE Low III training and qualification became so extensive and costly, that their retention became a priority in the helicopter operations community. As a result, in 1978 we developed a proposal at ARRS headquarters for a separate AFSC for helicopter flight mechanics. We coordinated this proposal with ARRS units, MAC, ATC, AFMPC and Air Force Headquarters to work out management, training, manpower authorizations, promotion testing, assignment procedures and policies for a new career field.
In Dec 1979, the career field proposal was approved and implemented by Air Force and AFMPC headquarters. The helicopter flight engineers were assigned the A113X0B career field and have since been managed under this career field. Many of the Pave Low III flight engineers went on as flight engineers on the MV 22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft.
WHICH INDIVIDUAL PERSON FROM YOUR SERVICE STANDS OUT AS THE ONE WHO HAD THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON YOU AND WHY?
SSgt Nolan P. Pearson (CMSgt retired) had the biggest impact on me at the start of my military career. We were stationed together at Goodfellow AFB, Texas from 1963 to 1965. It was through his influence and guidance that I got off on the right foot in starting my military career. He set the example for me in supervision and resource management practices which prepared me for leadership positions throughout my 21 year military career at Detachment, Squadron and Numbered Air Force levels of command.
CAN YOU RECOUNT A PARTICULAR INCIDENT FROM YOUR SERVICE THAT WAS FUNNY AT THE TIME AND STILL MAKES YOU LAUGH?
I've had several hilarious occurrences throughout my 21 year military career. One of the more hilarious occurred during my assignment at Moron Air Base in southern Spain. The HH-43B Huskie helicopters we were equipped with were modified with a pair of bullhorns on the nose that was driven by a  powerful amplifier. It had an audible range of 5000 feet where people on the ground could hear it over the noise of the helicopter and ground noise. I was flying in the left seat one day on a local training flight. South of the air base, we noticed a Spanish Air Force primary trainer flying several hundred feet below and 1/4 mile ahead of us, flying in the same direction. The primary trainer was a two seat open cockpit biplane aircraft flown by one pilot. Our pilot decided to have a little fun with the Spanish pilot. We maintained our position behind and above the trainer. He turned on the bull horn amplifier, cranked up the volume and called out to the trainer pilot in Spanish, saying "Hola, amigo,que pasa"? Upon hearing that, the trainer pilot, looked to his left and right and sat up to look into the front cockpit. Not seeing anyone, he made a turn to the right and left to see if anyone was flying too close to him. Not seeing anyone, he probably thought that an angel or God was speaking to him. Our pilot continued talking to him as he tried to locate the source of the voice he was hearing. Finally, our pilot told him to look back and up, which he did. We then dropped to his altitude and flew off his right wing and he waved to us, probably relieved that he wasn't hearing things.
WHAT PROFESSION DID YOU FOLLOW AFTER THE SERVICE AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOW? IF CURRENTLY SERVING, WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT JOB?
After retiring from the US Air Force, I went into commercial aviation maintenance. I taught aircraft systems at Parks College near Cahokia, Illinois. In June 1981, I went to work at American Airlines Training as an instructor on the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter, teaching Sikorsky customer mechanics on maintaining the aircraft systems.
In Dec 1982, I became a Director of Maintenance for an off shore helicopter company near Houston, TX, providing transportation for offshore oil workers throughout the gulf coast.
In Sept 1983, I went to work for Heliflight Systems at Conroe, TX as their senior maintenance training instructor.
In June 1984, the parent company, consolidated training operations and moved all company training to Air Logistics Inc in Lafayette, LA. In addition to training, I worked in the company safety office working with the company safety officer inspecting offshore oil rig helidecks for safety issues and hazards. I also assisted in accident investigations, documented and processed NTSB reports of these accidents to the NTSB as well as the FAA.
 With the downturn in the oil industry in 1986, I applied for, interviewed for and was hired on as a maintenance supervisor with Pacific Southweat Airlines (PSA) in San Diego. I was assigned as a supervisor in their main maintenance facility in San Diego working on BAE 146 and Douglas MD-80 aircraft.
In April 1988, PSA was bought by US Air and I was kept on as a line foreman.
In June 1992, US Airways moved me to Charlotte, NC, working on the Boeing 767 phase checks. I worked as a heavy maintenance foreman on the Boeing 737, 757, 767, Airbus A319, 320, 321, and the A330 aircraft. Working in heavy maintenance, I also flew on aircraft test flights before the aircraft were released for revenue service. I finished my aviation career supervising the aircraft interior shop which overhauled seats, galleys, cabin carpets and upholstery.
I retired from US Airways in Feb 2005.
WHAT MILITARY ASSOCIATIONS ARE YOU A MEMBER OF, IF ANY? WHAT SPECIFIC BENEFITS DO YOU DERIVE FROM YOUR MEMBERSHIPS?
 I am a life time member of the Air Force Association. The Air Force Association keeps me informed and up to date on Air Force affairs, new equipment, policies and future changes and modernization. It also provides an avenue for supporting Air Force education of high school and college students that are interested in a career in the United States Air Force.
HOW HAS MILITARY SERVICE INFLUENCED THE WAY YOU HAVE APPROACHED YOUR LIFE AND CAREER?
My initial time in the U.S. Air Force helped me change from a care free teenager into a mature airman who took the job of maintaining aircraft seriously because the lives of fellow airmen depended on my talents.
My experience in the United States Air Force prepared me for a career in aviation maintenance management and aviation safety. My technical school training and flight line maintenance experience helped me in attaining my FAA Airframe and Powerplant license which enhanced my resume in applying for a position as a supervisor in the commercial aviation industry.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU HAVE FOR THOSE THAT ARE STILL SERVING?
What ever one's career field, job or task, do it with passion. Approach your assigned tasks with  a positive, can do attitude. Become an expert in your field of expertise and gather all the facts relating to a problem before making a decision. Use the three "C's", Coordinate, Communicate and Cooperate when working with peers and management. Above all, take ownership of your work.
IN WHAT WAYS HAS TOGETHERWESERVED.COM HELPED YOU MAINTAIN A BOND WITH YOUR SERVICE AND THOSE YOU SERVED WITH?
Togetherweserved.com has provided an avenue for me to get in touch with, communicate with and renew old friendships with the many Airmen I came in contact with and worked with throughout my Air Force career.
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the southern US from Arizona to Tennessee and Alabama.
numerous test projects, including UH-1N weapons system tests, Cat II system testing of the HH-53C, mid air recovery (MARS) tests on the HH-53C and initial testing of the HH-53 Pave Low I.
Alaska was my favorite assignment. There was hardly a day that went by that we weren't involved with life saving, site support, special missions. Of my 17 years in Air Rescue, Alaska was the most challenging and rewarding of my assignments. When we made a life saving rescue, it was quite an uplifting experience. However, when a rescue mission turned into a body recovery, especially a child's body, it was heartbreaking.
who successfully ejected from their stricken aircraft, landing approximately 1/3 mile from each other. 
should gamble the first helicopter in hopes of getting through to the survivors. Our Aircraft Commander (AC) replied back that it was us he was willing to gamble. Sandy lead called us and told us to come up company freq on the FM radio for an aircraft to aircraft discussion. Sandy lead apprised us of the situation. He stated that he knew the approximate location of the AAA gun and he assured us that he could lay his ordinance on the AAA gun before it could get an accurate track on us. Our AC discussed this with us and asked us for our decisions. We all agreed that we should make the rescue attempt. 
Over the smoke marker, I had the hoist almost to the ground when I caught sight of someone running towards us, up hill from our location. My initial thought was that it was a bad guy getting ready to hose us down with automatic fire. Our combat photographer took aim at the figure and then I realized that he was the second survivor. I called out to the photographer "don't shoot, that's the survivor". I didn't know if he heard me or not because he kept his M-16 on him. I called out again to the photographer "don't shoot". He continued his aim on the survivor and I had to release the hoist cable and hit him on his helmet to get him to take his aim off the survivor.
I went to CBPO and asked them why I was going on another short tour. They checked into it and found out that I hadn't been credited with with my last short tour. They then advised me that I would be soon up for another long tour overseas. Since I was up for another long tour, I updated my assignment dream sheet and put in for Alaska. 
After processing in, I started flying locally to get checked out in squadron training and operational procedures. Upon being certified, I was cleared to start flying on assigned unit missions throughout Alaska.
when the hoist was on the ground. We picked up bodies one at a time, repositioning the hover each time. I then retrieved the state trooper and finally the PJ. Our hover time was close to 45 minutes which burned up a considerable amount of fuel. AN HC-130 was orbiting overhead in case we needed fuel to reach Elmendorf AFB.
I opened the crew door and lowered the entry ladder and stepped down from the ladder and dropped several feet before standing on firm footing. I dug through the snow to the right main landing gear and found that the tires were not firmly on the ice. The snow under the aircraft was supporting its weight. I went back to the entry ladder and had to reach up to grab the ladder's lower rung to pull myself up to reenter the cabin. The snow depth was 8 to 10 feet deep. 
a quarter mile west of the North Vietnamese border in Bartholomew Pass (Fishes Mouth) south of route 7. Our search and rescue (SAR) task force consisted of two HH-53C (high & low birds) Jolly Greens, four A-1H Skyraiders (Sandys), and an HC-130 (King) for helicopter air refueling and command & control duties. After crossing into Laotian airspace, we ran the combat SAR checklist and armed our three 7.62 mini-guns.
The No# 2 PJ on the rear mini-gun opened fire on the ground fire at our 4 to 5 o'clock position. I looked back at the rear cabin which quickly filled with smoke from the mini-gun fire. I could see holes appearing in the cabin floor working their way forward. I leaned further out the door to look below the helicopter to see if I could see the marker smoke. I could see bullet holes appearing in the right main fuel tank and drop tank. Not seeing any marker smoke, I cleared the AC to move the hover back. Still not seeing any marker smoke, I cleared the AC to move left, then forward and then to the right. Still not seeing any sign of the smoke, the AC directed the No#1 PJ to assist me in looking for the survivor's smoke. Again, I cleared the AC to again move back, to the left, forward and back to the right. Meanwhile, we were still taking ground fire, and the No#2 PJ kept up a steady 2000 rpm rate of fire from his mini-gun. His return fire mowed down jungle foliage like a sickle going through a hay field. Red and green tracers were arcing out from the ground fire and ricochets from the rocks over the aft fuselage.
The AC moved us into refueling position and we made contact with the left refueling hose. I flipped the main tank switches on the refueling panel to take fuel into our main tanks. I left the drop tank switches off to avoid filling the bullet riddled drop tanks. When the tanker started the refueling , all four tanks began to fill and could not be shut off. I advised the AC that I could not stop the flow to the drop tanks. Suddenly, one of the PJs began yelling from the aft cabin. I turned around to see what was going on in the cabin and all I could see was a thick fog of atomized jet fuel filling up the cabin. The Sandy off our aft right wing called us and advised us that we had a 20 to 30ft rooster tail stream of fuel shooting up from the aft end of our right drop tank and was being sucked into the cabin through the open aft ramp and door.
previous incidents and accidents experienced by H-53 crews as well as the causes of these accidents. The briefing included aircrew procedures from the aircraft flight manual, service, command and Air Force training and operational manuals, systems knowledge, crew member duties and responsibilities. Special emphasis was made on preflight planning, preflight inspection checks, checklist procedures, aircraft limitations and safety.
In the late 70's, Pave Low III modified HH-53's equipped with terrain following/avoidance radar, FLIR, INS/GPS navigation, hover coupler, night vision came into operation which increased training and qualification to 6 months. Flight mechanic PAVE Low III training and qualification became so extensive and costly, that their retention became a priority in the helicopter operations community. As a result, in 1978 we developed a proposal at ARRS headquarters for a separate AFSC for helicopter flight mechanics. We coordinated this proposal with ARRS units, MAC, ATC, AFMPC and Air Force Headquarters to work out management, training, manpower authorizations, promotion testing, assignment procedures and policies for a new career field.
powerful amplifier. It had an audible range of 5000 feet where people on the ground could hear it over the noise of the helicopter and ground noise. I was flying in the left seat one day on a local training flight. South of the air base, we noticed a Spanish Air Force primary trainer flying several hundred feet below and 1/4 mile ahead of us, flying in the same direction. The primary trainer was a two seat open cockpit biplane aircraft flown by one pilot. Our pilot decided to have a little fun with the Spanish pilot. We maintained our position behind and above the trainer. He turned on the bull horn amplifier, cranked up the volume and called out to the trainer pilot in Spanish, saying "Hola, amigo,que pasa"? Upon hearing that, the trainer pilot, looked to his left and right and sat up to look into the front cockpit. Not seeing anyone, he made a turn to the right and left to see if anyone was flying too close to him. Not seeing anyone, he probably thought that an angel or God was speaking to him. Our pilot continued talking to him as he tried to locate the source of the voice he was hearing. Finally, our pilot told him to look back and up, which he did. We then dropped to his altitude and flew off his right wing and he waved to us, probably relieved that he wasn't hearing things. 
With the downturn in the oil industry in 1986, I applied for, interviewed for and was hired on as a maintenance supervisor with Pacific Southweat Airlines (PSA) in San Diego. I was assigned as a supervisor in their main maintenance facility in San Diego working on BAE 146 and Douglas MD-80 aircraft. 
a positive, can do attitude. Become an expert in your field of expertise and gather all the facts relating to a problem before making a decision. Use the three "C's", Coordinate, Communicate and Cooperate when working with peers and management. Above all, take ownership of your work.
