Forward

This is an attempt to tell the history of Troop C, 3rd Squadron 17th Cavalry Regiment (Charlie Horse) from August 1970 to February 1972. During this time Charley Horse and Light Horse (Troop D, 3rd Squadron 5th Cavalry Regiment)  were redesignated as each other ! (ie: C/3/17 Cav became D.3/5 Cav and vice versa). This was actually a "Transfer" of TO&E, men and equipment.
However, it was all done on paper.
No personnel were moved.
No Equipment or property was relocated.
Each unit even kept their Troop and Platoon call signs.
Only the unit colors (Flags/Guidons) were switched.

Before the change, D Troop 3/5th Cavalry, Troop call sign "Light Horse" and attached to the 7th of the 1st Cav Squadron was stationed at Vinh Long Army Airfield in IV Corps, Vietnam's Delta.
C Troop 3/17 Air Cavalry, Troop call sign "Charlie Horse," part of the 17th Air Cavalry Regiment, was stationed at Quang Tri in I Corps in the Northernmost part of Vietnam.
When the "switch" took place on 1February 1971,
 "Charlie Horse" became D Troop 3/5th Air Cavalry, still at Quang Tri
and
"Light Horse" became C Troop, 3/17th Air Cavalry, still at Vinh Long

Tom Ford’s curiosity and dedication resulted in this document, a VHPA Directory Entry and a correction to the Lam Son 719 Order of Battle with the inclusion of 3/17 è D/3/5 into the Lam Son 719 Order of Battle. His work has led to the recognition and honor that the Troop and it’s men so deserve.  
This document is the result of merging and editing several sources. They are:

• Tom Ford’s document describing the time
• This is the primary document used.
• It was used as the base for the VHPA’s Directory and for correcting the Order of Battle for Lom Son 719
• The VHPA’s Directory
• Recollections from some of those that were there.
• Also referenced were the Light Horse and Charlie Horse Web Sites

This history attempts to bring everything together in some sort of order. Some areas appear to be confusing because while it is basically Tom Ford’s “story” there are also recollections attributed to him. Just remember that unless otherwise indicated that whenever “ I “ is used it is probably from Tom Ford’s  original document. Also while an attempt to define acronyms as they occurred was made this is not always the case (but we’re working on it). We’ve attempted to include a Glossary to help in understanding some of the terms.
The VHPA’s History Committee chairman, Mike Sloniker, stated: “The official Lam Son 719 (LS 719) After Action Report (AAR) was done in quite a hurry for then BG Sidney Berry for the 101st Airborne Division. The order of battle for the Air Cavalry in LS 719 all fell under the operational control of 2/17 Cav Squadron and included: A, B, and C/2/17 Cav, C/7/17 Cav, and B/7/1 Cav. D/3/5 Cav was overlooked in the AAR because keeping Route 9 open was taken for granted and because Charlie Horse had that mission prior to anyone else arriving for LS 719. Ford’s history says in the beginning their mission was from Laos East (meaning where Route 9 enters Laos). That has caused me a lot of grief with LS 719 Air Cav participants saying ‘they were never there’ - meaning those Troops did NOT screen the actual road as a mission because their missions were in the hills to the north and south of the road. This D/3/5 Cav document puts together the TEAM effort it took to do LS 719.” The VHPA is grateful for Tom Ford and his comrades for bringing this history forward.
VHPA Directory Committee members edited Tom’s document for presentation in the VHPA’s Directory with two goals in mind. First, the reader is a VHPAer – meaning they are familiar with helicopter operations in Vietnam and  brevity and nomenclature standardization. For instance Lam Son 719 might be LS 719 and C/3/17 Cav for Troop C, 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry, etc.