So...

...does it still smell of hydraulic fluid too?

This is the cake for the anniversary.

This is the CO of 164, LT Col Smith

This is Col Watson telling great war stories.

This is the HMM-164 Point of Contact for the event CWO4 JJ Robles

The HMM-164 Color Guard

The HMM 164 Squadron Formation during the event.

This was the last bird in Saigon during operation frequent wind. It is still on active duty almost 30 years later.

...does it still smell of hydraulic fluid too?

No, It smelled mostly of JP, but the ramp was still slick with hydraulic fluid 😀

This is Guest Speaker John Harris, the Boeing rep.

Great Stuff!

Wish I could've been there with you. Didn't know that Pendleton was now an Air Station. How things will change.......
Oohrah Ynakee Tango!
Semper Fi
Joe

Didn't know that Pendleton was now an Air Station.

It was redesignated as MCAS Camp Pendleton on 13 Mar 85. It was MCALF when I was there (75-78) and there were only 4 flying squadrons plus Det H&MS-16.

which one is the "Last Bird" out of Siagon?

I have been looking at several pictures at Popasmoke and have found several pictures of the Last Bird out of Siagon. Pictures No's 921, 922, & 1565 from the archives show Bu No 154803 as the last bird out of Saigon attached to HMM 165. I have always thought HMM 164 had the last bird out, "First in Last out". I can not see the Bu No on the MCAF Pendelton HMM 164 reunion. Does anyone know the answer?

Dennis

154803 from HMM-165 was the aircraft that brought out the Ambassador, but the last helo out was from HMM-164, which brought the ground security force back to the USS Okinawa, over two hours later. 154803 was serving with HMM-764 last year.

Last Helo out of Vietnam

My name is Earl Burks from HMM-164. I wrote the Book:
"The Diary: The Last Combat Mission of the Vietnam War"
There were two helos that headed to the US Embassy to retrieve the last remaining forces that final morning of Operation Frequent Wind. My pilots fell asleep during the briefing and we took of about 5 minutes behind Chris Woods 154803. As we approached Saigon going up river we heard that Chris had gotten everyone out in his chopper and we rendezvous shot him the moon and he went to the Blueridge and then to the Okinawa before returning to the Hancock. We were ordered back to the beaches of Vietnam to look for the Last two Marine pilots to die in Vietnam, Capt. William Nystul & Lt Michael Shea who crashed the night before. Coincidentally they were my pilots for the entire deployment of the evacuations of SE Asia. We did not find anything American in the waters or on the beaches and were ordered back to the Hanncock. The plane at the ceremony was put up front for me as I sent Lt. Col Smith my book and was invited to come to the Anniversary party at MCAS Pendleton. After Lt. col. Smith's research he found out not only was 154812 the last plane to leave Vietnam but was the workhorse of the Marine Corps. 154812 had more hours than any other 46 and even more hours of other planes that had flown in the Marines. She was taken from 164 by mistake and sent to the desert but was suppose to go to the NAS Pensacola Museum to be refurbished for display. There is an effort underway now to rectify the Mistake. My book was self published in the late 1980's and is being re-written now for publication in 2008. Who would of thought that ol number YT-07 was the workhorse of the Marine Corps!
Earl Burks