After action report by Ken Strawn

Relayed t me from Ken Strawn. HMM-263 '66-'67. I enjoyed the read and hope that you do also.

S/F Gary

Hi, Everyone:

I thought I'd give you a report on the ceremony dedicating Mike Clausen's
CH-46 held at the Carolin's Aviation Museum here in Charlotte.
First of all, I thought it was a one time event staged by Popasmoke but it is
an annual event at the Aviation Museum. I do remember the Confederate Air Force
being there a few years ago with a B-17 that they flew in. This meant a lot of
non-Marines attended. I even saw a scoutmaster in uniform who brought his scout
troop.
The bad news is I did not get any pictures. I carried my camera out to the
Museum, thinking I could buy film there. They didn't have any available, and I
should know that because I used to be a member of the museum association.
In attendance were the three surviving member of the flight crew, many members
of the 1970 HMM-263, and 4 members of the platoon that Mike Clausen rescued that
day. Mike Clausen's widow attended and was sat on the stage where she was
given flowers. Of the flight crew that day, the most interesting was the door
gunner, that day a lance corporal but now a retired Sergeant-Major. He showed up
for the ceremony in his dress blues (amazingly he could still get in them). I
have to admit I felt quite a bit of pride to see those combat air crew wings
sitting atop six or seven rows of ribbons. I did not encounter any members of
the 1966-67 HMM 263 but I did meet one fellow who khad been a crew chief with
263 in 65-66. I’m sorry I can't remember his name now, I should have written
it down.
The ceremony began with a Marine color guard presenting the colors and a guy
whose name I did not get sang the national anthem. The Charlotte Mayor (a local
major league RINO) spoke first and he did good for a politician: I only spotted
one major lie.
The major speaker was retired Lieutenant Colonel Walt Ledbetter who piloted the
missioon that day. He also introduced the members of the Platoon present
(calling them heroes) and the other members of the flight crew that day.
There was an Osprey flown in from New River Air Station and their crew was
brought to our attention. A second Colonel, whose name I did not get either (he
had been the final commanding officer of 263 before it left Nam for good), asked
the rhetorical question, referring the crew of Clausen's helicopter and the
platoon he rescued,
'Where will we find heroes like these in todays
world"? Then he said "There they are" and pointed to the Osprey crew, at
the rear of the crowd (we were seated in a hangar), standing at parade rest in
flight suits. They got a standing ovation, of course. So had the members of
Clausen's crew and the infantry platoon when they had been introduced.
Colonel Ledbetter described the mission, telling how he gave orders that no one
was to leave the plane. We're not going to add to the problem they have
here. He said when Clausen lowered the rear ramp, saw what was going on and,
in Ledbetters words, "He did what needed to be done". He disobeyed
orders.
A martial arts friend of mine, retired gunnery Sergeant Bill Holt (6 time
All-Marine Corps Judo champion--as well as retired school teacher and
lawyer--making him about the most educated old country boy I've ever met),
said that's the way most of those things are won. And usually
posthumous.
I did tour the Osprey and, as long as everything works right, it's an
impressive plane. Only bad thing is that it cannot autorotate. I asked the crew
chief about that. He said it had been tried but not successfully. I asked if the
crew survived and he said yes. They also have the one seat prototype of the
first tilt rotor plane and a number of other helicopters marked Marines. However
I know the UH-34 was marked ARMY when it arrived. It now reads Marines. These
choppers are arranged in a circular walkway off to one side of the museum. At
the start of the walkway is a granite obelisk, about six feet tall, with Mike
Clausen's picture burned into it and an explanation of his Medal of Honor
actions.
Saturday afternoon, the USO hosted a fund raiser at Steamers, a local bar that
had once been the center of a big controversy in Charlotte. The owner is a real
gung ho military supporter, with a flagpole in front of his bar. He was flying
an enormous flag from some really large ship and a bunch of smaller flags around
his establishment. The city council had passed an ordinance, aimed at used car
lots, that allowed each establishment only one banner. They would not make an
exception in his case. Charlotte is a blue country in an otherwise red state.
Anyway, they now fly a more moderate sized flag (I think the ordinance specified
how large a banner you could have). If you are ever in Charlotte, give this guy
your business. He deserves it.
I sat at the end of a table with guys who were members of the platoon that
Clausen saved. Art Trujillo (a really nice guy from San Antonio), Bruce
Cruikshank (A pilot who was operating as a forward artillery spotter with the
infantry sweep), and their wives. At the other end of the table was Ed West, who
had been Cruikshank's radio operator that day. Ed was the first person Clausen
carried back to the plane and lost both his legs in the action. I kidded him
that I was one up on him. Bruce was on crutches with two bad legs. I don't
know if that came from the same day but he showed me pictures of small planes
that he has recently built from kits and flown. Art was the first one to step on
a mine and alert the others that they were in a minefield. He doesn't like to
fly because he is carrying enough shrapnel in him to set off the metal scanners
at the airport.
Another ceremony was held by the flagpole (actually at the corner of the
building). Involved this time were a group of guys on Harleys called "Patriot
Points" (I'm not sure of the second word, I was kind of lubricated by this
time) Walt Ledbetter started the talk and introduced Ed West. In turn Ed
introduced a lady from his hometown (some small place in Virginia) whose son had
been in Ed's scout troop, became a Marine, and was killed in Iraq last year.
She gave a very moving and stirring talk. Eds talk was very stirring as well,
even though he got choked up at one point and had to stop for a moment. He said
he was sorry Mike wasn't there because he wanted to give him a hard time for
being the only person there ranked lower than Ed. I got a suspicion that that
day wasn't the first time Mike Clausen disobeyed orders. They also introduced
the owners of Steamers and told everyone of their flag problems.
I think everyone got back to their hotels safely (there was a considerable
amount of lubrication going on). I did not attend the dinners but I am sure they
were full of stirring speeches and toasts.
While in their presence I tried to represent the UH-34 contingent of HMM-263 as
best I could. I look forward to seeing you guys at Washington next August.
Sempter Fi.

Ken Strawn

Thank You POPASMOKE!

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Steve Fresina
Date: Oct 28, 2007 8:28 PM
Subject: Dedication of CH-46 153389 Carolinas Aviation Museum
To: JD Barber , notamboard , webmaster@popasmoke.com

I would like to thank Pop A Smoke for their support of the restoration of CH-46 153389. For the past two years the members of PoP A Smoke have helped with POC's, parts, pictures and guidance. The dedication of the helicopter is complete. Please come and visit BST when you're in the Charlotte area. Without the help of Pop A Smoke and the volunteers at the Carolinas Aviation Museum this would still be a dream. The restoration crew from Carolinas Aviation Museum consisted of Cyrus Sumner, Dennis Craycraft, Dwane Batey, Matt Oste, and Reggie Mathis. Also Dean Demery Curator and Shawn Dorsch VP Carolinas Aviation Museum were very supportive of our restoration. I hope this will be a beginning of a relationship that will grow between PoP A Smoke, the United States Marine Corps and the Carolinas Aviation Museum.

If there are any questions please contact Steve Fresina 704-576-0118.

Semper Fi,

Steven M Fresina
GySgt USMC Ret.

others who helped

Not to take away from the goodness of all the support provided by Popasmoke brothers, but there are a number of others who I'm aware of and who some of us know that contributed: Mike Starn, Paul Ottey, Hector Saenz and Col John Reed (Ret) all at/from NADEP and folks at DLA Richmond who chased parts; Frenchy Lafountain who made a road trip to haul back blades and a head: Art Sifuentes from MCAA who authorized a sizeable monetary donation; and a number of others who supported in various ways. A real all hands effort.
Lastly, Steve Fresina “chief coordinator” who took this on as a labor of love.

I mentioned in a previous post the museum runs on donations. If so inclined to assist in perpetual care for this Marine Corps treasure donations can be sent to:

Carolinas Aviation Museum
4108 Airport Dr.
Charlotte, NC 28208

Put on Check “for CH-46 only.

The museum will also gladly accept donations to their general fund.

Sent to me by former CO of HMM-263

Freedom earned with ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears’
Oct. 30, 2007; Submitted on: 10/30/2007 08:00:19 AM ; Story ID#: 200710308019
By Cpl. Jeffrey A. Cosola, MCAS New River
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/B5BD305430DBD7C785257384004770CF?opendocument

Sgt. Maj. Morton S. Landy, a crew member of ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears,” watches as the restored CH-46 ‘Sea Knight’ is unveiled during a ceremony at the Carolinas Aviation Museum, Oct. 20. The CH-46 was dedicated to the memory of Pfc. Mike Clausen who earned the Medal of Honor during a Jan. 31, 1970 mission to rescue members of 3rd platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Division who were pinned down in a mine field. Landy earned a Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions as the starboard gunner during the mission.

The collective of ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears,’ is part of a restored CH-46 ‘Sea Knight’ that was unveiled during a dedication ceremony at the Carolinas Aviation Museum, Oct. 20. The CH-46 was dedicated to the memory of Pfc. Mike Clausen who earned the Medal of Honor during a Jan. 31, 1970 mission to rescue members of 3rd platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Division who were pinned down in a mine field.

The panel art on the side of ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears,’ a restored CH-46 ‘Sea Knight,’ is displayed during a ceremony at the Carolinas Aviation Museum, Oct. 20. The CH-46 was dedicated to the memory of Pfc. Mike Clausen who earned the Medal of Honor during a Jan. 31, 1970 mission to rescue members of 3rd platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Division who were pinned down in a mine field.

The crew of ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears’ pose beside their restored aircraft with survivors during a dedication ceremony at the Carolinas Aviation Museum, Oct. 20. The CH-46 was dedicated to the memory of Pfc. Mike Clausen who earned the Medal of Honor during a Jan. 31, 1970 mission to rescue members of 3rd platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Division who were pinned down in a mine field.(From left to right) Marines Bruce Cruikshank, Ed West, Joe Silvoso, Arthur Trujillo, Morton S. Landy, Chris Nick, Wally Gillin, Walt Ledbetter, Paul Parker and museum project manager Steve Fresina.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Oct. 30, 2007) -- They walk tall -- some on prosthetic legs -- a mixture of salt and pepper beards, scars and memories. They’re ghosts; survivors of a forgotten killing field that claimed the lives of nearly all who entered. They’re the Marines of 3rd platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Division and 38 years ago they walked into the valley of the shadow of death and came out alive on the other side.

‘Don’t worry about them, they’re gone’

1st Lt. Bruce Cruikshank, an A-4 “Skyhawk” pilot serving as an air liaison officer and his radio operator, Lance Cpl. Ed West, call sign Delivery Boy 1-4, were pinned down in a mine field near Da Nang. They, along with the rest of 3rd platoon, had been sent as a blocking force to cut-off retreating North Vietnamese soldiers during a mission as part of Operation Kingfisher and had been engaged in a series of running fire fights – one of which led them into the field.

That they were in a dire situation was no secret. West had already seen a Marine disappear in a shower of dirt and shrapnel, a piece of which jutted from his right knee. Still taking fire, Cruikshank and West tried to move to safety but Cruikshank tripped a mine and West found himself cart wheeling forward in “slow motion” before landing in stunned silence. Glancing down, he saw an empty pant leg, dangling in the dirt. His right leg was gone. Next to it was the torn and mangled left, lying at an unnatural angle -- barely attached.

“I pulled my helmet off and tried to puke in it. I couldn’t and realized I was trying to breathe,” said West. “I felt as if I had been hit by a Mack truck and there was a strange numbness accompanied by an intense burning sensation.”

Lying face down in the field, West tried to push himself up but was knocked back to the ground by a Marine who began to tourniquet his legs. West called out, “How are my legs?” to which the Marine replied, “Don’t worry about them – they’re gone.”

‘He was my biggest disciplinary problem’ - Circling overhead was the crew of a CH-46 “Sea Knight” nicknamed “Blood, Sweat and Tears.” The aircraft was piloted by Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 263 Commanding Officer Lt. Col. William R. Ledbetter, joined by squadron Sergeant Major Morton S. Landy, who had volunteered as a gunner on the flight that included Pvt. Raymond “Mike” Clausen – a twice-demoted crew chief.

“I had no use for him as a Marine,” recalled Landy. “He was a good man at heart but liked to beat his own drum. He was my biggest disciplinary problem in the squadron. He had good abilities as a Marine but he liked to disobey orders.”

Ledbetter, Landy and Clausen were joined on the crew by 1st Lt. Paul Parker, co-pilot and port-side gunner Cpl. Steven Marinkovic. Before departing on the flight, Ledbetter briefed them about the situation, telling them that Marines were badly wounded and the ones that weren’t, couldn’t move because of the mines and small-arms fire. The crew knew what they were getting into and removed their flak jackets in order to stand on them, in case shrapnel from a mine penetrated the floor.

They began their descent toward the mine field with Clausen directing the aircraft, guiding Ledbetter to put the gear down in craters caused by exploded ordnance. They would lift-off and repeat this process three different times.

‘We’re going to go get the boys’ - Lance Cpl. Chris Nick was the point man for 3rd platoon and had made it out of the mine field momentarily, but went back in when “Blood, Sweat and Tears” landed. Nick and another Marine helped carry a casualty who had stepped on a mine into the back of the helicopter and once inside, Nick removed his flak jacket and placed it over the body that had been badly mauled by the explosion.

“Ed Sanderson and me just kind of looked at each other after that and said ‘let’s go, we’re going to get the boys,’” said Nick, who crawled on his stomach toward a fallen Marine. “I went out there again and there was still a lot of confusion. On our way back, somebody stepped on a mine. That’s how I got hit. It wiped me out. My face was burned and I was cut real bad in the stomach and in the legs. I remember being on the ground and then someone came and got me.”

That someone was Mike Clausen, who, like always, was in the process of disobeying a direct order, said Ledbetter, who had specifically ordered his Marines to stay in the helicopter because he didn’t want them to get out, get blown-up and become “part of the problem.”

“What he did that day brought out the Marine Corps in him,” added Landy, who had already served more than 20 years in the Corps before the mission. “He earned the medal that day, there’s no question in my mind. But, Clausen disobeyed the commanding officers orders. We landed and dropped the door and he was out there, back and forth, six times.”

On his last trip out of the helicopter, a mine detonated and knocked Clausen to the ground. According to several witnesses, Clausen got to his feet and continued to carry his wounded man to the aircraft, which had sustained rotor system and fuselage damage during the blast. After recovering all dead, dying and wounded Marines, the “Sea Knight” left the field for the final time.

In all, there were 11 wounded, four dead and four unharmed evacuated from the mine field. But, for the crew of “Blood, Sweat and Tears” there would be three more landings to recover other platoons, bringing their days total to six hours of flying, resulting in a Medal of Honor for Clausen, a Navy Cross for Ledbetter, a Silver Star for Parker and a Distinguished Flying Cross for Landy and Marinkovic – making them one of the most decorated combat flight crews in military aviation history.

‘The currency of freedom’ - In 2004, in his hometown of Ponchatoula, La., Mike Clausen, a true American hero, died at the age of 56. Remembered by his friends and family as “a blunt, fun-loving, hard drinking, two-fisted man who tagged his e-mail with the line ‘Death before Dishonor,’” he flew more than 1,960 combat missions in Vietnam.

Around the same time Clausen was laid to rest, “Blood, Sweat and Tears” was finally decommissioned after suffering a hard landing while serving in Iraq. Heavily damaged after a transportation accident, the aircraft was donated to the Carolinas Aviation Museum where a crew of volunteers worked weekends to preserve the combined legacy of Clausen and the helicopter that brought him and his men home.

The story came full circle Oct. 20, when the restored aircraft flown during the mission – complete with its vintage, Vietnam-era configuration and panel artwork -- was unveiled during a ceremony attended by crew, survivors and family.

“It’s done and it’s been a great experience,” said Steve Fresina, a retired gunnery sergeant who last worked at Marine Corps Air Station New River with Marine Aviation Logistic Squadron 29 as a production control chief and served as project manager for “Blood, Sweat and Tears.” “I’m happy, but I’m also kind of sad because we’ve been working on it for so long. I just hope Mike (Clausen) is looking down on us and smiling.”

Although the aircraft is dedicated to the memory of Clausen, it remains a piece of history for Marines like Ed West, who couldn’t have known what the last day of January, 1970 had in store for him when he sat elbow-to-elbow on the stretched canvas seats of a “Sea Knight” with 3rd platoon as it lifted into the morning mist and rain around Hill 55. He remains one of the few that stepped into the darkness and lived to tell the tale.

“It was an honor to serve with the very best,” said West. “The currency of freedom was and remains paid in blood, sweat and tears.”
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Sgt. Maj. Morton S. Landy, a crew member of ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears,” watches as the restored CH-46 ‘Sea Knight’ is unveiled during a ceremony at the Carolinas Aviation Museum, Oct. 20. The CH-46 was dedicated to the memory of Pfc. Mike Clausen who earned the Medal of Honor during a Jan. 31, 1970 mission to rescue members of 3rd platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Division who were pinned down in a mine field. Landy earned a Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions as the starboard gunner during the mission. Photo by: Cpl. Brandon M. Gale
The collective of ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears,’ is part of a restored CH-46 ‘Sea Knight’ that was unveiled during a dedication ceremony at the Carolinas Aviation Museum, Oct. 20. The CH-46 was dedicated to the memory of Pfc. Mike Clausen who earned the Medal of Honor during a Jan. 31, 1970 mission to rescue members of 3rd platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Division who were pinned down in a mine field. Photo by: Cpl. Brandon M. Gale
The panel art on the side of ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears,’ a restored CH-46 ‘Sea Knight,’ is displayed during a ceremony at the Carolinas Aviation Museum, Oct. 20. The CH-46 was dedicated to the memory of Pfc. Mike Clausen who earned the Medal of Honor during a Jan. 31, 1970 mission to rescue members of 3rd platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Division who were pinned down in a mine field. Photo by: Cpl. Brandon M. Gale
The crew of ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears’ pose beside their restored aircraft with survivors during a dedication ceremony at the Carolinas Aviation Museum, Oct. 20. The CH-46 was dedicated to the memory of Pfc. Mike Clausen who earned the Medal of Honor during a Jan. 31, 1970 mission to rescue members of 3rd platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Division who were pinned down in a mine field.(From left to right) Marines Bruce Cruikshank, Ed West, Joe Silvoso, Arthur Trujillo, Morton S. Landy, Chris Nick, Wally Gillin, Walt Ledbetter, Paul Parker and museum project manager Steve Fresina.