Wally...Check with Mary Hoesch. He's got some action shots he took during his tour with HMM164, both on the trip over (1st 46's in Nam) and during 66-67... Hope that helps. Gotta run...Off to Europe for 3 week vacation. Mike Sullivan

8mm

Wally:

I have 8mm film (about 30 minutes worth) of the cruise I took with HMM-262 in the Caribean in 1970. It shows flight ops from the boat, with a full squadron launch on an exercise in Panama with some low level shots at tree top level and below.

I also have footage of my time in 7th Fleet. There is a sequence showing landing at MMAF and taxi-ing in.

Let me know if any of it is of use.

John I think you are mistaken on he squadron in 1970. HMM 262 has not been back on the main land sice they went to Viet Nam in 1966. Sf

Re: seeking H-46 16mm or 8mm footage

John was it with HMM-261?

Squadron

It was indeed HMM-261, LtCol Wayne Hazelbaker, Commanding.

I'm looking right at the squadron patch as I write, so all I can claim is temporary insanity.

Walt's memory!

Walt is retired and is older now. One thing that hasn't faded one iota is his memory. If he tells ya it wasn't that squadron or that date, BELIEVE IT!! He doesn't forget anything!!
Way to go Walt.
Semper Fi
Joe

Carib 1-70

I was on that cruise and John fought with Boeing to have me awarded with the Boeing Vertol Rescue award for pulling 3 people off a 150 passenger hydrofoil that was taking on water. Wayne Hazelbaker was the HAC on the mission.

Rescue Award

The Boeing Rescue Award was given by Boeing to crew members who rescued people from a situation which put their life in danger. It was usually worn as a lapel pin. It was small but quite distinctive. I concluded that the rescue J.D. made, guiding Col Hazelbaker into position to hoist 3 crew members off a hydrofoil ferry that ran up onto the rocks most certainly qualified. It was night-time, high gusty wind and the ferry was rolling wildly making the approach really dangerous since the mast was still intact. The pilots had to depend completely on JD to keep them out of trouble since they could not see directly below them.

The company agreed but told me that the award had been discontinued and all the available pins had been given out. Sorry but there you are. I believed there were pins around. They are the sort of thing that managers aquire so I sent a message to a secretary I had dated a few times when I was back at the plant. (We were popular with the secretaries, we took them to nice places). She worked for a guy on Mahogany Row. I told her the circumstances and asked her to see what she could find for me.

I received a package from Jack Geier, who headed up the whole of Field Support, with a note that said

"I've been instructed that these awards are to go to you only. I don't know how you did it and I'm not sure I want to know but keep it quiet. There are many people, much senior to you who have been told no and they would not be pleased if they found out."

Best of luck Jack

Ps: Keep out of trouble. Now that's a hopeless wish.

Jack was a lovely man. He did a tour in Vietnam, against the wishes of his superiors, because his guys were there and he believed he should be too. I knew him quite well and I'm sure he protected my back. When I read my company reports today I'm amazed at how outspoken I was. He was critical at first of the amount of flying I did but later agreed that it worked for me.