Here are the pic's of Mike's bird going through the rehab/rebuilt stages.
Taken 11June05.

04 and 07 was of the work done that day.....
You can post these on with Dean's other photos if you want....

Semper Fi,
Ryan

Joe Jarhead wrote: Military Trader magazine reported that Cpl. Clausen died 5/30/04. I didn't note the cause.

Medal of Honor Winner Mike Clausen Dies

By Adam Bernstein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 10, 2004; Page B06

Mike Clausen Jr., 56, who died in a Dallas hospital May 30 of liver failure, received the Medal of Honor, the highest military award for valor, for rescuing a platoon of Marines trapped in a minefield during the Vietnam War.

In the Marine Corps, Pfc. Clausen liked to disobey authority; he had repeatedly been demoted after every promotion.

"I will come home a live private before coming home as a dead sergeant," he had said.

On Jan. 31, 1970, he seemed to have forgotten his credo.

That day, he was serving with Medium Helicopter Squadron 263. He was part of a mission to extract members of a Marine platoon near Da Nang that had wandered into a minefield while attacking the enemy. They were under heavy fire and frozen in their places, fearing that they would trip a mine.

Mr. Clausen was crew chief of his CH-46 helicopter and guided the pilot to a safe landing in a spot that had been cleared by a mine explosion.

The pilot told him not to leave, but Pfc. Clausen ignored him -- six times, as he repeatedly left the safety of the helicopter to help carry back one dead and 11 wounded Marines to the aircraft.

He then tried to lead the eight remaining Marines to the copter.

On one trip, while he carried a wounded man, a mine went off, killing a corpsman and wounding three other Marines.

"Only when he was certain that all Marines were safely aboard did he signal the pilot to lift the helicopter," read his Medal of Honor citation.

His other decorations included the Purple Heart and the Air Medal.

He once told an interviewer that the Americans pinned down in the minefield mistakenly thought he knew where he was going.

"I ran over there [and] picked up the guys that couldn't walk," Mr. Clausen said. "The ones that could walk were under the assumption I knew where the mines were, obviously, and they followed every footstep I made back to the helicopter."

Raymond Michael Clausen Jr. was born in New Orleans and raised in Hammond, La. After six months of college, he joined the Marine Corps in 1966 and became a jet helicopter mechanic.

He left the service in April 1970 and became an inspector for the Boeing Co. Soon after, he was in a car accident that left him comatose for months, nearly blinded in one eye and without the strength to walk. Back at home, he had all his furniture placed in the center of a room so he could walk the perimeter using the wall for occasional support.

He spent his time speaking to veterans groups and continued to suffer from poor health.

In 1996, Mr. Clausen made news reports for facing a speeding ticket charge in Louisiana. He chose to defend himself and was ready to do so when the state district judge ordered him to take a sobriety test. He refused, claiming all he had had that morning was a nonalcoholic beer. The judge sentenced Mr. Clausen to a night in jail for contempt of court.

In court, he had worn the Medal of Honor "to remind [judges] that people fought and died in wars to defend the Constitution."

At his death, he was awaiting a liver transplant.

Survivors include his wife, Lois Clausen of Ponchatoula, La.; two brothers; and a sister.

Semper Fi Marine RIP
Ryan

Progress on Mike's bird

Thru Sept 22 we have made quite a lot of progress. All of the metal repairs and replacement have been completed except for the lower corner of the window on the left side.
We entered the reassembly mode on Saturday Sept 17 and began to put the parts that we have back on the helicopter. This is extremely important since we need to determine exactly what parts we are missing so we can send an updated want list to Cherry Point so we can try and secure as many of the missing parts as possible for our next trip to the base. If anyone can secure a Boeing/Vertrol CH-46D Parts Manual that we could borrow or copy, it would certainly speed up this process. Heard the Midway just restored one, giving them a call today.
Because of the lack of manpower, critical parts, coastal storms, and the extreme heat, it probably will be the latter part of October before we can schedule our next trip to Cherry Point. We will probably need to dismantle a donor helicopter once we get there, so this will entail an over night multi day visit. Our greatest need is for the right hand stub wing assembly that is needed in order to get it back up on it's landing gear. Then we can move it around.
We have installed the clam shell doors on the front of the tail, and will have the engine air intakes back on tomorrow, Saturday the 24th. We have also begun to build up the front cowling area, but have a couple of problems in this area. The right front panel won't line up with the hinges, so that we can insert the hinge pin. This means we'll need to remove the hinge and redrill the attachment screw holes. Also we are missing the right rear side cowling panel,and also various pats for the work platform support rods and attachment points. So it is really beginning to look like a helicopter If anyone would care to help us work on this project, let me know as my schedule is very flexible. Normal work days are Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Give me a call or e-mail me.
Dean Demmery (Tarheel 53)

Waiting on some film to developed and I will post pics.

Is the plumbing for the ramp different in a Delta than an Echo?

Lastly any pics for HMM-263 Jan 1970 of Mike's bird?

Semper Fi,
Ryan

PS The CHAC has an open house Oct 1st and 2nd.

More work was down this past weekend. Will post photo's when I get them back. Right stub wing is on, done earlier.

FYI - The PIO department at New River is sending a reporter & photograher to Charlotte on 2 December to do a big spread on the helicopter and museum.

Semper Fi,
Ryan

Pictures of Blood Sweat and Tears

Ryan wrote: More work was down this past weekend. Will post photo's when I get them back. Right stub wing is on, done earlier.

FYI - The PIO department at New River is sending a reporter & photograher to Charlotte on 2 December to do a big spread on the helicopter and museum.

Semper Fi,
Ryan

I will be forwarding to Ryan several pictures of Mike and his bird to Ryan in a few days. He may post as he wishes. I lived in the same hootch (Party House) with Mike in 69-70.
I was Crew Cheif on True Grit and had the pleasure of crewing Mike's bird a few times while he was on R&R.

Semper Fi,
Mike

berry3HMM263 wrote: I will be forwarding to Ryan several pictures of Mike and his bird to Ryan in a few days. He may post as he wishes. I lived in the same hootch (Party House) with Mike in 69-70.
I was Crew Cheif on True Grit and had the pleasure of crewing Mike's bird a few times while he was on R&R.

Semper Fi,
Mike

Mike,

Will post when I get them.

Semper Fi and thanks,
Ryan

Additional Pictures

I received these through the never ending email grapevine today. I figured they should be posted here.

MOH bird

Brook,
THANKS! Posting these does good for those of us that wanted to help but are too far away and unable. Bird is really getting there!

CH-46 153389 May 2006 update

Joe Reed wrote: Brook,
THANKS! Posting these does good for those of us that wanted to help but are too far away and unable. Bird is really getting there!

I'm working on finishing Blood Sweat and Tears up. It is comming along great. Any questions contact my email steve@carolinasaviation.org

This I took in May 2006 The armor plates are alomost on and soon we'll have the ram working again. I'Ve got the engines and waiting for the Fwd Rtr Hd, Aft Green PV arm and 6 blades.