MEDEVAC
15th MED\15th FSB
Mike Bodnar
307B N Main
Copperas Cove, TX 76522 1704
254-542-1961
e-mail: mbodnar27@juno.com
http://ascca.ecorp.net
Thomas BREAUX <TLBREAU@AOL.COM>from Natchitoches, LA writes
in that he was in C Co. 15th MED '68-'69 and was a Medical
Specialist in the ward. He Would like to hear from anyone
from Charlie Company.
Dennis STANKIEWICZ <DENNY1CAV@WEBTV.NET>who was in Phuoc
Vinh '68-'69 wrote in to say, "I know this is a long shot but
I desperately need to find anyone who remembers treating my
left arm for a small wound in either April or May '69 at
Phuoc Vinh. I need this to obtain my VA claim. Please help!"
LTC Carle E. DUNN, USA-Ret. <CDUNN7738@362AVNCO.COM>from SC
whose Web site: "362nd Aviation Company- The Last Hookers"
<HTTP: index.html www.362avnco.com>responded to the
MEDEVAC\15th MED Assn. Web site: "An absolutely excellent
site that pays homage to the most important group of Army
Aviators in history. They were everyone's lifeline that never
failed."
MSG (Ret) Bill DOLINGER <WADOLINGER@WEBTV.NET>from
Petersburg, VA says that he was in HHC and Co A 15th MED Bn
'68-'69.
Julio A. MARTINEZ <CHESSFREAK182@AOL>comments: "I was in the
15th MED C Company from '82 to '85. Any of you crazy guys out
there? I remember all of you."
I got snail mail from Randy CAVANAUGH, P.O. Box 87161, San
Diego, CA 92138. I believe that I mentioned Randy before in
the Saber. He says that he was a Medic in C Co 15th MED Jan
to Dec '68. He writes that he would like to know how many WIA
and KIA came through C Co in '68. He says that somebody kept
a record of that. If anybody reading this kept those records
please respond. The National Archives may have that
information; write to them, call them, see if they are
online.
Randy reflects: "Sometimes reading the Saber I get the
feeling people are thinking being with the CAV was a big, fun
Boy Scout campout! I didn't have any fun-it was a nightmare-
getting out and home with your body in one piece was the best
you could hope for. Does anybody remember Graves
Registration? So many young men-who looked all alike. I can't
forget."
I know what Randy is talking about. Medics like myself, Jim
HALL, Joe DENNISON, and others whom I cannot name did our
best out in the field humping in the infantry and then flying
on MEDEVAC to keep those wounded men alive. Sometimes it was
beyond our control and they were KIA.
On the less serious side, which is how I learned from the
grunts to take it, but I rarely did, that is how they were.
Make the best of your situation. There seemed to them to be
no purpose suffering anymore than one had to, so make it as
fun as possible. I think that G.I.s have always been that way
for the most part. As they say in TX: "If you ain't having
fun it's your own damn fault."
When it came to being serious, those grunts, and I am sure
everyone in the CAV, knew how to turn it on, as the CAV
usually prevailed. I saw more than one F.N.G. gets his mind
blown on his first day out in the field. They expected hell
and instead found a bunch of good old boys who had made it
home.
I remember one time in Cambodia flying around during the day,
basically on call, and monitoring one CAV grunt unit who was
in contact, hearing the screams and panic over the radio when
they and the cache they had captured suddenly were attacked
by numerous N.V.A. Later that night we went in to extract at
least one individual who was a Medic in that unit. They had
him in a straight jacket because he went crazy after his
buddies had been WIA/KIA. That is what I assumed from what
was said.
In those incidents, and life in combat in general, you have
to forget about it and just move on. If you do not, you are
next!
I received follow up snail mail from MEDEVAC crew chief, 10-
'71 to 01-'72, Doug CAMPBELL, C/0 389 Monaco Avenue, Union
City, CA. He wrote say thanks for being included in the
Saber. Of course, that's the idea. He said that it is
important for him and his "guys" to be: "Included with the
MEDEVACers who went before and established the high level of
dedication to the mission that we felt and tried to sustain."
Doug also wrote to correct that while he was there they were
only "talking about painting the MEDEVACs white." Doug says
that they did not do that while he was still there. Looking
over the book: Army Aeromedical Evacuation in Vietnam, I do
not see any definite date when that happened. It mentions
them "talking about it in mid-1971," as Doug states, and that
it was approved in August for the Army Medical Command in
Vietnam and some of their aircraft. It may never have
happened to MEDEVAC unless someone can confirm that and when
it did go into effect.
If ever I do not include an address for someone, like Doug's
in the last Saber, remember, as members of the 1st Cav Assn.
you can get information on any other member from them. You
can call them at 1-800-234-9313. They are user friendly.
I somehow completely forgot to take advantage of that option
when I mentioned in the last Saber the death of Jim HALL. I
wanted to include his address to better identify him in the
event that there would be any confusion. I tried to contact
Doc MCNANEY for that information because he had relayed to me
the original notification but I could not contact him. Jim's
MEDEVAC PSG from 1969, Gordon RUSSELL <GRDNRUSSELL@AOL.COM>
contacted me to confirm if it was the Jim HALL who had served
under Gordon. I figured it was but I just found out that the
Assn. had that information when I asked them to confirm that
from a 1992 Reunion sign in roster sent to me by a 15th MED
veteran, Dick GLOAR, who knew Jim. And so, Jim HALL, whom I
had mentioned, was from P.O.B. 952, Lillington, NC 27546. He
signed into that '92 roster as 15th MED '66-'73.
I had heard that Jim had been in and out of 15th MED-on
MEDEVAC-a lot and that he had been a Medic in the 7th Cav. He
may have left just before I flew on MEDEVAC from Jan-Jul '70
and he may have returned, but not until I had left. I think
that he retired from an Army career, as a FSG. The times when
I met and saw Jim at the Reunions he was quiet, passive, and
a nice guy. But, I think that the tiger lurked within.
Dick GLOAR of 2613 92nd St. S, Lakewood, WA 98499, who sent
snail mail in response to my quest for necessary input from
15th MED veterans, also retired as a 1SG. Dick says that he
rode out to the Cambodian border on Jim HALL's MEDEVAC and
was almost left behind when he got off to help with the
wounded. A helpful act, but not one recommended if you want a
guaranteed ride back. That, I think, was up north in Vietnam
and not in III Corps.
Dick says that he joined B Co 15th MED on the Golf Course at
An Khe. He mentions names like the "Turkey Farm" by II Corps
HQ and in the Fall of '66 operated out of Oasis, which was by
the Cambodian border in II Corps. He says they then went to
base camp at the beginning of '67 and was made HQ 1SG under
LTC William DONNEY (Could be Denny. If there are any
inaccuracies here it is because I am deciphering handwriting;
e-mail or typing is always better). He says that he had to
supervise a lot of building to get out of their tents. There
was no help from the Engineers so it was work done by those
who benefitted from it, including the quarrying of cement
gravel from Hon Cong Mt. and then mixing and pouring it.
Dick says that as long as they were working their butts off
he felt that morale deserved a boost and put up the sign:
"Through These Doors Passed the Best Damn Medics in the
World." He says that a MEDEVAC crew once brought in a wild
pig by litter which had to be roasted in a pit BBQ and eaten.
Dick mentioned his former 15th MED B Co at LZ English in June
'67 was right next to the ammo dump with only a dirt berm
between them when it blew up and that only deep bunkers and
overhead saved a lot of lives. He says that he went back to B
Co in the Fall of '67. The battalion commander, LTC Rex
DAVIS, picked him up there, bag and baggage, and flew in a
full maintenance helicopter, with no room to spare, up to LZ
Baldy.
Dick says that on the way they spotted a body on the beach so
they stopped to pick it up. He says that he had to give up
his seat and stand in the bent leaning rest position. Also,
the body had been in the water for 12-15 days and smelled of
decay. The maintenance officer pilot then flew map of the
earth all the way to Baldy to avoid any extra maintenance
like patching up holes, to say the least.
Upon arrival at LZ Baldy Dick says that the "colonel"
informed him that he was to be 1SG of the company there.
Company improvement seemed to be nothing new to Dick. He was
also later told that body they had picked up was a Marine.
Dick's new company was A 15th MED, in G-P medium tents, on
the side of a rice paddy. Graves Registration was in the
company area, also in a tent, which provided more odors so he
says. He says that they had no room for the MEDEVACs to land
so he had to have the Marine Engineers make the rice paddy
smaller and the MEDEVAC pad bigger. He says that he had a
fine M.D. as CO., That was CPT Donald BANTON (could be BASTON
or BARTON, again, I am deciphering).
In the Fall of '67 Dick says that they moved from Baldy,
through Danang, over Monkey Mt., through Hue, up to Camp
Evans, just before Tet '68 when he finished his second
volunteer tour to get out of Ft. Sam Houston. He retired
after twenty-five years as FSG of the Medical Holding Company
at Madigan Army Hospital with 1800 patients.
Dick then worked for the Veterans Administration which
explains why his five page letter to me was written on VA
Form 7051b DATA SHEET. He says that although he now makes WA
state his home he was born on a ranch west of Childress, TX
and raised in East TX near Yantis. If you want to call him he
gives (253)584-6625.
I had recently researched the military unit awards books in
the 1st Cav Assn. office to correct and update my DD-214
which I finally managed to do after thirty years of trying
with the military records department. I noticed a unit
citation for 15th MED in an Army update which is not in a
previous edition. I had not known about that and the military
records department did not include that when I had originally
applied for the medals awarded to me that I had never been
issued.
If you were in 15th MED-all companies-from 1 May 70 to 31 Jan
71 then you are authorized the Meritorious Unit Commendation.
This according to DA PAM 672-3 UPDATE from the TAPC MIL UNIT
& CAMPAIGN PARTICIPATION REGISTER. Someone must have thought
that we were doing an extra good job then. If you e-mail a
request to me I will send a scanned copy of that above award
evidence by e-mail which you can print out and submit to the
records corrections department if it is not already on your
DD-214. It worked for me.
I have looked at many, many Web sites and one of the best
sites that I have seen yet is for C 2\5 Cav
<HTTP: www.tallcomanche.org />. I had seen the link for it on
a 1st Cav Assn. Web site Guestbook sign in that was by their
Webmaster or someone close. I look at most of those unit Web
site links that veterans post but that unit in particular
struck a chord because I knew it to be the unit that James
ESTEP was briefly the CO of from Dec '67 to Mar '68 before he
was severely wounded as Comanche Six. That is also the name
of his excellent and believable book which I was reading at
the time.
When I first went to their site there was hardly anything on
it. The next time that Webmaster, or close associate, signed
into the 1st Cav Guestbook I took another look, as a
reminder, even though I had bookmarked it. This time I saw
myriads of information that chronicles by years, months, and
days, the history of C 2\5 Cav from its arrival in Vietnam
until it departed, with after action reports, names of
participants, photos submitted by them, and extra, personal
stories.
I initially looked over some selected dates and more
specifically the times in 1969 when my field company, C 2\7
Cav, was in regular contact not far away. For those times I
noticed some praise for MEDEVAC by C 2\5 while they were also
in heavy contact. For June 19, 20, and 21 ('69)-you can read
the full text on their Web site; I realize that many readers
are not yet online so I include here:
"Comanche was again working out of LZ Ike in the vicinity of
the Mustang trail...Both the Platoon Leader, LT PAUL, and the
Platoon Sergeant, SSG Richard FUJIWARA, were severely
wounded. The 'L-T' was taken over to the company CP with a
sucking chest wound. The only way he could breath was to prop
him up. He even wanted a cigarette, but some strong words
from the company commander and the senior medic helped change
his mind. LT PAUL would have died that night if not for the
bravery of a MEDEVAC crew. Though there was no place to set
down a helicopter, a small LZ was blown with C4 wrapped
around the right trees. Even with some sniper fire coming in,
and the tips of the blade slapping the trees, the bird came
in and got him. During the night, we had Spooky on station.
At our FO's direction, he would hose down an area with mini-
guns."
For July 21 - 22 ('69): "A call was made for MEDEVAC and a
bird came in and hovered over a bomb crater that we
illuminated with trip flares. We loaded the wounded, and off
they went. The next day a resupply bird refused to land in
daylight where a MEDEVAC had landed at night while taking
fire."
That was the MEDEVAC that I knew as a field Medic and my
11B buddies had also praised, and why I extended to serve in
their team to do more. I noticed that MEDEVAC door gunner
Mike SMITH signed into the C 2\5 Cav Web site Guestbook:
"Mike 'tater' Smith <MVANCO@AOL.COM>
Greenleaf, Id USA
I was assigned to C 2\5 Cav from: no
Comments: I served with 1st Cav 15th Med "Medevac" as a door
gunner 69-70 and had the honor to pull a few missions with
the C 2\5. I was shot down in Cambodia during the big push in
1970 and Medevac'ed back to the world. If it hadn't been for
the brave 'grunts' on the ground I would have been killed or
captured. There were a lot of brave men in Vietnam and I
welcome them all HOME!
Mike 'tater' Smith
President of The 15th Med assoc.
- Tue Jul 17 11:45:47 2001"
My CO from C 2\7 Cav '69, Bob MEAGER, is writing his own book
and asked me for my view of a mortar attack we had on May 01,
'69. I always wondered why so many men in the prone and
supine positions were so badly fragged, KIA and WIA, other
than the sheer force and killing power of the 82mm mortars.
For June 20th, '69, the same day that C 2\7 can note in the
bad casualty column and have that burned in our minds, I
noticed a comment on the C 2\5 Web site for an almost
identical incident of theirs' as our mortaring on May 1st
that I referred Bob to:
"When the mortar attack came, it was very heavy. 3/6 caught
the brunt of the attack, and one mortar round landed in the
CP foxhole. During the attack, many of the rounds burst in
the tree branches overhead, showering us with shrapnel. Even
if you were down in your hole, you could get hit."
That could very well have been what happened in our
situation. Tree bursts could have done the damage that we had
experienced. I was only about twenty meters from where
the rounds landed. I did not hear anything that sounded like
high detonation but it could have happened. The results were
evidence even though the worst casualties were at the impact
area.
We even had one direct hit on a hole as C 2\5 did. Our Daily
Journal lists six line ones and five line twos, plus me. I
was not with the company after that to critique the reason
why guys laying on the ground were hit so badly. I spent the
next eleven days in the 93rd Evac hospital, receiving a
Purple Heart, while they continued to bring in more
casualties from C 2\7 and my platoon needed me. The
information on the C 2\5 Web site was useful after all these
years.
As well as identical incidents between C 2\5 and C 2\7 Cavs,
our jungle flora was probably also identical. 2\5's LZ Ike
was at XT338719 and 2\7's LZ Jamie was at XT482715, adjacent
A.O.s, only about fifteen klicks Echo-Whiskey. Where C 2\7
got mortared on May 1st was at XT420789 which was about as
close as possible to 2\5's A.O. and probably somewhere near
where C 2\5 was mortared. Sprague TAVEAU, whom I have
mentioned before, was then the CO of A 2\7 whom we took over
from on May 1st and they had been working with the 11th
A.C.R. clearing out a N.V.A. hospital complex. That is where
we had set up, next to bloated, dead N.V.A. piled up like
cord wood, and a pile of G.I. equipment which indicated that
there had been a battle there.
Bob MEAGER was an Airborne Ranger and had been a platoon
leader in the 101st in '66 op-conned to the 1st Cav at Tuy
Hua. I introduced him to Chan DURYEA at the 54th Reunion in
June. Chan was CO of C 2\7 Cav in '66 and working the same
area at the same time where Bob was in the 101st. They had a
good talk.
EVERYONE has a story. I and the other Saber readers want to
read your CAV stories. So get your creative energies going
and send your's to me; preferably e-mail, it is easier to cut
and paste your exact words. Typed snail mail is OK, and
handwritten is better than nothing. Anything MEDEVAC\15th MED
1st Cav for this column. You may have more to be proud of
than you think! Write two or three; also, it has to be true!
Remember, carpe diem! That does not mean dead fish, it means
WRITE your heart out, and be famous, it's later than you
think!
Always remembering our 1st Cav troops on duty around the
world; over and out.
FIRST TEAM!
Garryowen,
Mike Bodnar C 2\7 Cav 1969
MEDEVAC 1-7\1970
SO THAT OTHERS MAY LIVE
