HMH-462 Try Again!!

Bob:

I sent you an e-mail a few weeks ago but did not receive a reply. I was the S-2 Chief of 462 from March 1968 until I was commissioned in May 1969. I went over with the advance party to set up for the squadron's arrival at Phu Bai. I got there on 4 August and the birds and main body got there the last week of August 1968.

There are quite a few guys on this site who were in 462 but most of them were also with other squadrons in country as well. The last reunion I made it to was in P'Cola in 2002 and we shared with the guys from 463.

Duke Dearing
(GySgt S-2 Chief HMH-462 1968-69)

Hmh-462 - Fw

We in HMH-463 have invited members of HMH-462 to join us at our Friday night dinner at the Holiday Inn North.

You can get details of our dinner from the posting on the HMH-463 Squadron thread on this forum.

https://www.popasmoke.com/notam2/showthread.php?t=5475

Mike Amtower
HMH-463 WebMaster

Need a little help

Mike et al
I am the POC for the air show out at Meachem Field on Sat. and we are getting a 53 and other big birds to come in. I need some of you's guys to stand duty at the birds, and make nice to the active duty crews. They will be comming in Fri. and we will feed them at the hangar that night. We are having a flightsuit party under the wings and rotors. When your dinner is dune come on down the road to the hangar and hang out. The Holiday Inn/Radison is about 3mi. from the hangar. Now for dress (green towels and flip flops) or anything else you can dig up. Mike and I are about the only ones left who fit their flightsuits, all others pull hard on the velcro strips and come on down. If you eat another supper it is $20.00 a plate, there will be some hooch but need someone to bring the Carling's Black Lable "Mable". Now think about it, how long has it been, back ramp and a hot Slitz? Bring cameras, ain't nobody going to believe this.
On Sat. we should show up looking like Marines so the public don't get the wrong idea. Fri. night is for us and Sat. is for them.
Sgt. Roy M. (Arm) Pitt
Working the line, Sir.
P/S Pass this around as you see fit.

Went out there on Sat and didn't see any "heavy Hogs" anywheres. What did I miss?

Hooper
7594 A/D :confused:

Hooper
We had a 53 in-bound on Fri. that took a chip light and spent the weekend in Indiana. That is why we had that 80' hole in the middle of the Helo set up. Then as a back-up we thought that putting the 46's and the 47 side by side so you all could show your families the differences would be neat. It was to late in the evening when we got the final word on the 53 so went with what we had. I am so sorry that you didn't like the show without it's center piece.
Had it been an engine chip light they may have risked it, but it was transmission. Also very sorry about the heat, we will do it again next Feb. in Juno, Al. (you up for that?). 😮
The USCG crew told me that their Sqd. was credited with 4700+ rescues during Katarina, we saw some of them on CNN. Now that is a hard working bunch, and had 2 bullet holes in one of their birds. Should they get combat pay? 😉
Roy

Missed the 53

I missed seeing the 53 also Tom.

There was an E model coming from Willough Grove, PA .... but it went down with a maintenance issue enroute.

I really wanted to get aboard one again.

No 53's

They had to cancel on the 53, trans chip light.

HMH-462 Phu Bai

Some of us are still kicking. I remember that deployment well. It was a hot and dusty day when we arrived at Phu Bai the Sea. I remember being shown to my hardback tent, my cot being thrown on the floor and putting it together. Then I sat on the cot and thought, 13 months of this S!!!. I was the NATOPS Officer.

I remember

This is Sam Decker, crew chief on YF-5. Went over on the USS Ogden an LPD 5. 3 weeks on that boat and caught the tail end of a typhoon going in to Okinawa and more bad weather before we hit Veit Nam. I remember Capt. Churchin. I was crewing for him when late one afternoon we got gunned in the west end of the Asha. Hope all is well with both of you and life has treated you well. I'm still in contact with Gunny Dean, SSGT Kotzian, Gary Kobenstetter and Bob Hummel. Best wishes for you both.

Sam Decker
Crew chief YF-5

I recall the incident. What a lucky shot it must have been. Is that the day we had to lift out a downed Huey? I'm doing just fine.

West end of the Asha

Thinking we may have picked up some Hueys out there, but was thinking about going into F/B Erskine (?) maybe Cunningham. Coming in low and slow,on final with 4 pallets of 105 on the hook, late in the afternoon. Don't think we had much more than a 100' when the Gooner came out of a spider hole right under us and opened up with an M-16. Since he was right below us, we couldn't get any of the door guns on him. It crossed my mind for a fraction of a second to cut the load on him and think that might have worked but wasn't sure what it would take to set that 105 off. At the same time you were "POLITELY" telling the guys on the F/B Base they might want to give us some cover.

We took a few hits in the belly but most hit our load. There were wood splinters from the ammo boxs flying everywhere. If that would have set things off we would have definetly been in high orbit.

We dropped the load on site and looking out the ramp on the way out I think the guys on the F/B punched the Gooners ticket. Had a Corpsman, trying to get his 4 Hrs flight time, on the Port gun that day and he was yelling on the ICS that he'd been hit. Went to check on him on the way out and found a round wedged between one of the roller panels on the deck and his boot. Had it come on through it would have caught him in the groin. When he figured that out he turned about 3 shades greener than Fox-5.

When we got back to Phu Bai, I checked out the belly and we had only taken 4 or 5 hits. Guess most of the burst had gone into the load. None made it through the floor panels, which made me glad he wasn't shooting an AK.

Not sure who the Starboard gunner was, but maybe Frank Lee (out of hydtaulics).

Was another good one to slide out of and live to fly another day (think maybe in Feb. or March of 69).

Take Care,

Sam Deker, YF-5

west end of the ashau

Sam Decker you are describing an event that happened 37 years ago that sounds vaguely familiar. I think I was your port side gunner.......As I remember it we were flying West out of Vandergrift with an external of small arms when the HAC, a Lieutenant with a Major (sqdrn XO) as co-pilot received a call that a grunt company on a hilltop called LZ Geronimo was running low on ammo. He came up on the IC and ask us if we were willing to divert. As we were on final the HAC told us to hold our fire as the friendlies were in close combat. As the bird flaired it sounded like someone was hitting the outside with a ballpeen hammer. On the starboard side there was the remnants of an old Huey shot full of holes. Once the pallet was on the ground the Lt. dropped the nose of the bird and put the pedal to the metal. After gaining altitude the CC looking for damage dropped the inspection cover in the ceiling and found two rounds had damaged two of the four control rods running from front to rear. It was decided to return to base as delicately and soon as possible........
Fast forward to the 2000 reunion in San Diego. I thought this event had happened when I was flying with HMM364 and here I was standing in front of a CH46. I quickly found there were no control rods where I remembered them. I went to the '53 and after getting the CC's permission I pulled down the inspection cover cautiously........and there they were. End of story.......
If in fact the two events are one in the same, you might remember me as 'the old guy' who had reenlisted in the Corps as a private and as an 0311 had spent 13 month in the bush and extended to fly. With HMH462 I worked for Gunny Dearing in the Squadron Intelligence office and from Jan '69 to June '69 did many of the morning intelligence briefings while he was working on becoming "an officer and a gentleman"............Semper Fi and best regards to all my brothers who fought that war "long ago and far away"...........

Decker

I still have a photo of you the day you received a purple heart .you are standihg in front of a ch-53,will see if i can find it and send it to you.