I joined Charlie Horse within a day or two of when Steve Peck died. I had been through OH-58 transition in the States, so I pretty much figured I’d be flying Scouts somewhere. Brian Roth and Marty Gronborg were my mentors. Oh, did I do some dumb stuff! At the end of a mission, I had a red smoke in my hand without a pin. I couldn’t insert the retaining pin. I was nervous and dropped it into the chin bubble near the pedals. I took off  my glove and, of course, couldn’t reach it because of my restraining harness! Brian is NOT pleased! The Cobra is yelling on the radios because he sees smoke streaming from the cockpit. Finally, I burned my figures but got the thing out the door. Eventually, I started flying as a Scout AC. Of course, the first day I get WHACKED pretty good! I flew Scouts until my last month or so when I flew Hueys again.

However, I was the Troop Movement Officer ~ so that is what I want included in this history. Gradually the Troop moved south ~ making three stops along with way. First, we left Quang Tri for Camp Evans. I’d guess this was late Sep or early Oct. We packed everything into conexs, loaded onto flat bed trailers and road convoyed to our new home. I’d guess we stayed there about six to eight weeks. Our missions didn’t change all that much. We even went back to Recon near the DMZ. Our second move was from Camp Evans to Camp Eagle near Phu Bai. This was definitely prior to Christmas. It was truly spooky especially in the AO! Even the MACV-SOG ‘eyes on the ground’ guys had stood-down and to my recollection there were no Ranger LRRPS, no radio chatter, and no ground vehicle movement except for the NVA. I remember once we found the NVA working on a road with big yellow American made Caterpillar. ‘US Aid’ was painted on the side. Naturally we bombed and shot up what we could. CPT Tom Ford often mentions that the Troop was ‘Alone and Unsupported.’ When you were ‘out West’  especially near Khe Sanh – you certainly had that spooky feeling about you! “Alone and Unsupported”.  That is a short statement I started thinking of soon after my arrival to Charlie Horse.  There was no support given to this Troop short of the heroic effort made by the “Rattlers and the Firebirds” of the 71st AFC 14th CAB on 24 March at the direction of BG Hill in the support of the Troop in the Ross shoot down.  The A 2/17th AIR CAV 101st Troop that was billeted across the troop street at QT was responsible for the northern sector of the A Shau Valley. Their B, C and D Troops were available in support in the event they became in contact with a troublesome situation, but C 3/17 or in its later designation as D 3/5 had no one reliable to call on in the event of a disaster  The Troop was on its own.
There was reportedly a 101st Stand-by AHC at Evens in the last half of 71.  I had requested their assistance as the Operations Officer and for one reason or another had been denied.  Weather…aircraft availability…whatever…they never came.  The withdrawal of American forces from the northern I CORP sector that Charlie Horse patrolled and performed visual armed recon became vacant of any friendly forces.  There was no one there.  Even when that AO was occupied, the Troop was unsupported.  Now with the American withdrawal, the stark reality of no back-up, or even the illusion of a backup, wasn’t there and that became glaringly apparent.  The Troop flew over an American ghost town