HISTORY ALPHA TROOP: VIETNAM
Volume 1 Number 5 Di An, Vietnam February 1970
ALPHA GOES DELTA
By warrant Officer Nicholas A. Delmore
Soc
Trang—Four January,
Seventy was a
momentous day
for A Troop 3d
Sqdn 17th
Air Cav for it Marked the move "emeses" from Di An to the temporary
home of Soc Trang down in the land of the "Bad Boogaloo" Delta. The
move came off, virtually “with no problems, whatsoever, despite the near IFR
"weather conditions that "existed, The over all coordination and
success of the operation was attributed to A Troop commander, Major A. Darvaes III, who led
the troop, and , and flight
leader of the separate platoons. Scout platoon leader Captain John Estep, lift
platoon leader Captain John Earwood, the weapons platoon leader Christopher
Pixton maneuvered their respective platoons to a pre-arranged rendezvous point
south of Saigon, and conducted a join up with the troop commander who “spurred
them on. One incident that occurred just prior to a refueling stop at Tra Vinh
served to initiate A Troop in the ways of the war in the in the Delta area.
While in Troop formation at 1500 feet a since derosed Spur 24", ('1 Lt Billy Jo McCalister ), informed
the rest of the troop that they were receiving fire. As brief and inaccurate as
it was, it was considered an ominous event by all.
Since
the spurs were all new to the instillation and the surrounding area it naturally
tool, a period of adjustment for them to such novelties as warm water showers,
saltwater showers, and, believe it or not, no water showers. Perhaps the most
shocking reality that soon manifested itself was the smell of fresh country air
unadulterated by the burning of noxious substances in the morning. Soon
thereafter it was discovered that all the latrines wee equipped with porcelain
receptacles and functional plumbing.
During
the short time A Troop has conducted operations in the delta they have
maintained and are maintaining an impressively high number of KRA
structures
and sampans destroyed. Perhaps more important than statistical results of the
Spurs operation is the theory behind it. The Spurs are working as a true air
cavalry troop is designed to. That is; the Spurs are placed under the
operational control of a ground commander. Then the ground commander can then
use the reconnaissance capabilities of the troop as they are required, thereby
exploiting any situation rapidly, effetely and thoroughly. It is to this end
that the scouts, guns, and slicks are coordinated as a tightly knit team.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
February
1970
A CLOSE SHAVE
Di An,
A-Troop,
3rd Squadron 17th Air Cavalry. CW2 George Carter of
Springfield, Illinois, recently came in contact with a AK-47 round that boomeranged, On January: 28 1970,
CW2 George Carter was flying a LOH reconnaissance mission in the U-Minh forest
approximately 120 miles south of Saigon when his aircraft came under fire. CW2
Carter received what he described as “as a whack on the head with a baseball
bat”. “My ears were ringing and my vision was blurred so I gave the controls
to my observer SGT Craig Farrier to let him fly us out of the area." SGT Farrier of
CW2 Carter's-helmet had been hit by an AK-47 round. The
round hit the helmet, and circled completely around his head, luckily, all CW2
Carters received from this close call was a scar on the back of his head, and
a helmet which is no longer serviceable. The
“Silver Spurs” of Alpha Troop report that CW2 Carter has been wearing a
funny looking hair cut lately, but he is back flying with the scouts.
CW2
Carter’s final comment was “You know, there’s not a hell of a lot of room
inside a helmet for my head and an AK-47 round too”.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
