Previously Held AFSC/MOS 1525Z-Navigator-Bombardier
Service Years
1965 - 1971
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Image
Distinguished Flying Cross - 1970
Name of Award Distinguished Flying Cross
Devices
none
Year Awarded 1970
Last Updated: Sep 14, 2019
This ribbon will display Multiple Award devices automatically based on the total number of awards listed
Details Behind Award
On October 21, 1968 we landed at the community of Song Mao about 70 miles southwest of Cam Ranh Bay. October is the second rainiest month of the "rainy season" in Vietnam. That day the weather was especially bad. We landed with a heavy load, intending to pick up 10 South Vietnamese soldiers. The airfield was a cleared and leveled field covered with Perforated Steel Planks (PSP) so that it could be used as an airfield. It was 4,000 feet long, about the minimum length for our loaded airplane to land. PSP is slick in the rain and we skidded on landing. The pilot, Col John Turregano and copilot, Lt. Dan Marchioni maintained control and when we stopped, we had the entire crew look over the undercarriage to determine any damage from the skid. We saw no damage so we then loaded the soldiers to continue our mission.
We started our takeoff roll and when we got to lift off speed and past any abort options the aircraft began to violently shake. We thought we might have taken ground fire hits. Then when we reached about 100 feet, Col Turregano's seat suddenly failed, causing it to crash to its bottom position. That startled all of us because we thought Col Turregano had been hit. Col Turregano immediately said to Lt Marchioni, "You"ve got it! Lt Marchioni took control of the plane and we continued our climb. Col Turregano, the flight engineer and I repaired his seat as we finished the climb. When we reached our cruising altitude, the shaking had stopped but we knew we had a problem.
The weather was even more miserable on the coast where our potential landing bases were, and in fact, the wet conditions had caused all ground high voltage electrical power on the coast to fail. We could expect no descent or landing help from the ground. We descended for safety over the water and made several low passes over Nha Trang airfield to see if anyone on the ground could tell what the problems with our aircraft were. Ground observers could see no damage to our plane. The cloud cover descended even further and the flight engineer warned us that we were running short of fuel. We concluded we must land, regardless of the unknown problems with the aircraft.
We then flew south to Cam Ranh Bay, our home base but, as a result of the storm, ground assisted landings were unavailable. I had been maintaining my "Airborne Radar Approach" (ARA) training wherein, as a last resort, the navigator aboard the aircraft guides the aircraft to a landing when ground assisted approaches were not available. I was given an excellent opportunity to use my ARA skills in this situation.
Ground observers had determined that the cloud cover was below the minimum level for an ARA but at this point we had no choice but to attempt one anyway. My job as navigator was to guide the airplane, using radar, to the approach end of the airfield at a reasonable height for a visual landing and keep the pilots on the glide path, (the proper altitudes along the approach.) We commenced the ARA but when we reached our minimum altitude, we could not see the ground.
Because we were low on fuel, and the recommended minimums were known to have a small margin for error, we decided to descend slightly lower. We broke out of the clouds but were off center for a landing. I can still see, 47 years later, a clear image of the airport tower just a few feet below us as we passed.
We climbed back out and circled for another attempt. By this time we were seriously considering the possibility of having to ditch the airplane in the water if we were unable to land with this next approach. Once again, I used my radar scope and altimeter to keep us on the proper glide path and slope but this time when we got to our minimum altitude, we were able to see the runway. We landed and when we did the aircraft, once again, began the violent shake. The pilots were able to maintain control and brought us to a stop. We were happy to be on the ground in one piece!
Later, maintenance people inspected the plane and it was determined that when we skidded on landing at Song Mao we had scrubbed all the rubber from a relatively small part of our tires and thus caused them to be severely out of balance. When we reached takeoff speed at Song Mao and when we landed at Cam Ranh Bay the spinning wheels caused the violent shake.
