MEDEVAC
15th MED\15th FSB
Mike Bodnar
24927 W Red Robin Drive
Wittmann, AZ 85361-8549
(623)388-9150
e-mail: mbodnar27@juno.com
Web site: http://15thmedassociation.org
Forum:
http://communities.msn.com/15thMEDASSOCIATION/_whats new.msnw
James BELAIR <jbelaire6@aol.com>, Berlin, NJ writes, "I was
with 15th MED June '68-Jan '69, and again 1970. I was a
door gunner '68-'69. I had a little monkey called, 'Jo Jo';
1970, I had a little black bear."
'69-'70 MEDEVAC door gunner Dave PARKS <shootdown@yahoo.com>
sent over the following story from the Stars and Stripes:
"When a MEDEVAC bird lifted out of Tay Ninh, none of her five
man crew could know that it was the last time she would fly.
"Hours later, when the crew arrived back at the 15th Medical
Battalion 114 Station in Tay Ninh, visibly shaken, cut,
bruised, and on another bird, the story of how the MEDEVAC
chopper died unfolded.
"The bird must have passed on whatever luck she had left,
before going down, to Warrant Officer Richard LEONARD and his
crew. The luck turned out to be quite a lot.
"Seldom does a 1st Air Cav MEDEVAC crew refuse to go into a
contact area, even with the shooting still going on, to pick
up the wounded. This was no exception.
"Warrant Officer LEONARD radioed the soldiers on the ground
as he made his final approach: 'We are coming into your
location at this time, so give us everything you've got.'
The enemy 'greeted' the MEDEVAC ship.
"'Well,' said Specialist Five Bill KELLER, with 30 days left
in country, 'those AKs talked to us all the way in, and then
their big brother just flat out told us to leave the
neighborhood.'
"As the MEDEVAC bird moved into the contact area, it started
receiving small arms fire. Just after Mr. LEONARD pulled into
hover, the thick jungle necessitated using the hoist. A BLUE
MAX Cobra pilot flying aerial rocket artillery (ARA) radioed,
'MEDEVAC just got a direct hit with a B-4O!' The B-40 is a
recoilless rifle rocket grenade [North Vietnamese version of
RPG-2] and is what Specialist KELLER termed the 'big
brother.'
"The round hit above and behind the MEDEVAC's crew chief,
Specialist Five Rodney WILLEY, in the transmission housing.
The steel gearbox not only kept most of the shrapnel away
from the crew, but also prevented the fuel cells from
rupturing and igniting. 'I saw the round coming toward me,
but all I had time to do was duck my head, then I was thrown
out of the ship,' recounted Specialist WILLEY.
"Specialist Four Dave PARKS, the ship's door gunner, who
holds the Silver Star, said, 'I just did a lot of praying on
the approach in. We couldn't use the gun because I didn't
know exactly how far out our ground troops were.'
"Once the stricken bird slammed to the ground however, and
the crew got out, Specialist PARKS was manning his machine
gun on the hastily formed perimeter with the infantrymen.
I'm a machine gunner, and just because my gun looks a bit
different from a grunt's M-6O, doesn't mean it won't work
on the ground.'
Specialist KELLER immediately checked out the crew and then
went around to the wounded from the ground company, Company
D, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry, and treated them. 'Bill was
really great,' said Specialist PARKS. 'He never stopped
moving the whole time. He just went from one guy to another,
and talked some of them hack to life. Another MEDEVAC, this
one from Phuoc Vinh, tried to come into the same area, but it
also received heavy enemy gunfire. Mr. LEONARD waived it away
because we were too crowded down there already. The second
MEDEVAC bird took hits on the way out, enough to force it to
land in a nearby clearing. A third MEDEVAC carried out its
crew.'
"By nightfall, a small army had gathered around the MEDEVAC
pad at Tay Ninh, awaiting the outcome of the afternoon's
events. A few hours later, in the pitch darkness of the
jungle, stumbling out into a small clearing, was a MEDEVAC
crew, some wounded infantrymen on stretchers, and an escort
of 14 ground troops. This time, there were no complications
with the MEDEVAC mission.
"Back in Tay Ninh, Specialist KELLER looked at Mr. LEONARD
and said, 'You know something? It took about a week and a
half to get through this one afternoon, but tonight it takes
only a millionth of a second to relive a nightmare.'
"'Yes, we were lucky today,' sighed the commander of the bird
whose tail number added up to 13."
Kevan MYNDERUP <kmynderp@sbcglobal.net> from Hanford, CA
signed the 15th MED Guestbook: "Great site. Brings back
memories. Thanks to the MEDEVAC crew back on Nov. 21, 1968
for braving the gunfire and getting all (8?) of us back to
the aid station at Tay Ninh. I would not be alive today if it
was not for that crew. Honor & Courage, C Company 'DEATH FROM
ABOVE' 1st Bn. 8th Cav, 1968."
Fred DEAKINS <snikaed@comcast.net> posted for those guys at
the Reunion in Reno that expressed an interest in the
Psycovets T-shirts and hats, the Website is <psycovets.com>
"Tell Sid, the manager, you are a friend of mine. He might
give you a discount, but I doubt it. LOL"
Craig ROHRERE <clrstuff@yahoo.com> North Judson, IN signs
in, "Adjutant 1965-'66. I was with the first group sent to
Vietnam."
SP5 Paul TROOP <dorpau@cox.net> asks, "Does anyone remember
the name of the MEDEVAC crew chief KIA out of Tay Ninh
1969? June through December. Need name for research."
Webmaster\Past President 15th MED Assn. 2003-2006 Murray
GIBBS <gunnermadmur@earthlink.net> replied, "Hey Paul, On 9
June, '69, SP4 William Lee BROOKS & SP4 Michael Raymond WICK
were KIA."
I think there were others. '69 PSG Gordon RUSSELL, for one,
should remember.
Murray also mentions that the 15th Forward Support Bn. will
be deploying in Oct. If you want a pen pal, or to show your
support, you can contact Bn. Executive Officer Major Dale
FARRANT <DALE.FARRAND@us.army.mil> for leads.
Murray says, "He e-mailed me a few weeks ago and wants to
make contact with us. I recommended using the MSN Website of
15th MED Assn. Everything is set up for them to start
applying to join. I made sure I captured every screen name
we have, and put a [legal] name and e-mail to it. I also
created the 'Contact' as a discussion board to us to make
contact. Hopefully this will stimulate the discussion boards
again and get some more members of both the 15th MED and 15th
FSB to join."
Fellow C 2-7 Cav and MEDEVAC Medic-twice my replacement-Bill
WALSH sent over a photo stating, "Mike, A pic of myself and
Mikey G in Lansing IL, at counter demonstration, and security
with the Patriot Guard Riders, for the Marine's funeral. A
handful of that scum from Kansas showed up with their
ignorant signs and chants." Bill rides a motorcycle with the
American Knights M/C Illinois, and before retirement, the
Chicago P.D.
Bill later explained, Mikey G is Mike GRAFFIS, a 1st Cav and
Chicago P.D. colleague who retired at the same time. They
ride Harleys together with a club called the American
Knights. They have two chapters; their IL Chapter, and the
mother Chicago chapter. The Website is:
<AMERICANKNIGHTS.COM>, but I found:
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/americanknig hts/>.
Bill says that he and Mike also are members of the Patriot
Guard Riders (PGR), formed in response to that Kansas church
that goes around demonstrating against soldiers at their
funerals and wakes with way out of line signs. It was at one
of those funerals where the photo was taken. It was also the
last one they ever came back to IL for. The following week
Lt. Gov. Pat QUINN had a bill passed banning them from any
wake or funeral of a veteran. The PGR also has a Website
where you can see that Kansas group with them.
Bill also says that they will be riding as a club with all
other IL clubs to the 9/11 ceremony in Springfield, IL next
weekend..."It's impressive; all clubs throw down their
animosity with each other for the weekend...Hells Angels,
Outlaws, 1%ers, police clubs, fireman clubs; all band
together for a most impressive weekend and ride on Sunday
morning."
The photo is at the funeral of Marine Lance Corporal Phillip
MARTINI of Lansing/South Holland, IL, killed in Iraq. Bill
says, "Since PGR follows those church members from KS, and
monitors their Website, we know where they go. They
originally planned on going to Hines in Chicago too, but a
little bird called the district police commander there and
the boys in blue and several plain clothes units were waiting
upon the arrival, and, shall we say...they decided it would
not be a good thing to demonstrate there. As Dorothy said,
'Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore.'"
President 15th MED Assn., Jim CALIBRO is happy to say that
the 2007 Reunion has been finalized. The location is Dayton,
OH. The dates are May 3-6, 2007. Still are working on the
Dinner Banquet. When finalized, the membership will know and
arrangements will be made to send out the Registration Form.
A copy of the Registration Form will be in the Document
section of the MSN Website.
Here is the major detail of the 2007 Reunion in May:
Doubletree Hotel Dayton-Downtown, 11 South Ludlow Dayton, OH
45402 Local: 937-461-4700 Toll Free: 800-222-8733 Rates:
$77.00 a night plus tax Code: 15th MED Bn. The link to view
the hotel: <http://www.doubletree.com/en/dt/hotels
/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=DA YLTDT> Check the Website to avoid
long link typing.
Free shuttle service from hotel to airport 7am-11pm.
Hospitality room to meet in, 2nd largest Air Force aviation
museum nearby, home of the Wright Brothers, first flight.
Discount Car Rental from AVIS $10.00 discount, plus 10%
discount if you belong to Triple AAA, Entertainment, or
AARP. Free delivery to the Hotel because it is 2 blocks away.
Contact is: Tim JOHNSON Phone: 937-222-6705. Make your
reservation in advance of hotel check-in.
Our Reunion Coordinator will be working on discount airline
tickets while still setting up the Dinner Banquet. If the
discount airline tickets are possible it will be posted in an
upcoming newsletter. If any of you have any questions or
concerns feel free to call Reunion Coordinator Gary ANDREWS
at: (937)829-9701.
Randy CAVANAUGH '68-'69 C 15th MED called the other night
from San Diego, where he lives. We discussed things in
general, like next year's 1st Cav Reunion in Riverside, CA,
and service in Nam.
Randy doesn't have or use a computer so all his news comes
from the Saber. That is why I pass along the 15th MED
Newsletter. There are probably other non-cyber vets in the
membership.
Randy mentioned reading in a 1st Cav yearbook about a ground
attack in Quan Loi, circa July '69, after he had left
country. He said the enemy apparently went through the wrong
place in the wire and found themselves battling only Medics
of C 15th MED, whom he says, fought them off. Who knows where
else they got in, etc. Believe half of what you hear/read,
and all of what you see.
If anyone can confirm this story, let me know. I would prefer
someone who saw it.
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
