WARRIORS OF THE PAST AND PRESENT
As the world watches the war Iraq and Afghanistan unfold on their television sets there is a group of very special people who also watch with great interest, but from a different viewpoint. These are the warriors of the 281st Assault Helicopter Company. This now graying group of very special men watches as the tactics and techniques that they developed thirty years ago in another war, in another place, are employed in what could well be America’s greatest war. It would be wrong if we did not explain that these were truly young men. But then, wars are fought by young men.
THEN
First Delta Operation, (Photo by Jack Green)
L-R, 1st LT Junichi E. Yahiro, UNK, SP/4 George Crossen & CPT Jack Green
6th Aviation Platoon pilots, photo taken at Tan Son Nhut in October or November 1965.
Front Row: Lee Smith,
Unknown (Dobbs?), Chuck Baird, Jon Osgood, John Parziale, Bill Hale, Dale
LeClerc, John Meadows.
Back Row: Clayton Wright, ?, Thompson, Larry Joe Hicks, Dave Gehling, Vic Holmes, Phil Haan, John Hyatt.
281st Group Photo taken at Fort Benning prior to shipping
out for Vietnam. March 1966
CPT Morud
CO 483rd
1SGT McClendon
483rd
MAJ Hackett
CMDR
MAJ Wilson
XO
1SGT Cooley
WOLF PACK
PROJECT DELTA - 1966/67
1st Row L-R: Bill Harris, Richard McMillan, Joe Shipes , Francis
Boisseau, Bob Klarner, Don 'Corky' Corkran
2nd Row: Jessie Hunt, Phil English, Gary Omdahl, Ray Ronchette, Wes
Komulainen, John Hood
3rd Row: Bob Moberg, Al Larson, Eldon Smith, Barkley Boyd, Bill
Brennan, Dennis Petrevich
Note from Rick Galer, WP Pilot
I'm in the upper left hand corner with the Carbine. This picture was used on our Christmas Card that year. I still have one. It reads, "Wolf pack Death on Call wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year." Bain Black is just to my right standing behind the the guy holding the M-60. Now the guy in the center of the cargo door, I believe he had a camera mount made for his helmet and shot film of somemissions. I can't remember his name. Steve Matthews, you'll be interested in knowing the guy with the M-16, third from the right was my co-pilot on the mission tape I sent you. Can't remember his name but his nick name was "Half a Howlie" being one half Hawiian and one half main lander or "Howlie". Somewhere in the picture are Kirchmeyer and Deischer(SP?) also on the mission that day. Bain was flying lead, then someone, then me and the above named in a hog frog. -Rick
THEN
The Nha Trang airfield and 281st AHC complex at sunrise. Picture by Ken Smith in 1968.
NOW
Now, for the most part, the 281st AHC area is deserted. Picture by Marshall Hawkins in 2000
INTRUDER THEN & NOW PHOTOS
1965-1970
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ONCE AN INTRUDER ... ALWAYS AN INTRUDER
Updated: November, 2021