by Pat Dougan
This documentary will be available on the evening of Thanksgiving Day. It covers the 4th/9th 25 Infantry Division. Its primary focus was the Nov 27th ambush (the day before Thanksgiving), their worst day in Vietnam for KIA and WIA, and also the worst day for the 187th Assault Helicopter Company; my unit was their primary aviation support. It was a disastrous day that most who participated will never get over. This year, both the day and dates, coincide with 1968 which always makes this a traumatic time of the year for many.
I posted my side of the story in my SubStack article @ https://josephdougan.substack.com/p/my-day-of-infamy-and-why-novembers?r=tzsbi with links to other stories about this mission. A subscription is not necessary. My site and stories are free.
I attended the premier of this documentary as a guest last spring, where I met many of those survivors we supported that day. It is a very well-done documentary and worth the viewing.
https://www.facebook.com/100028608176331/videos/1645110003103322
I was there on January on January 5, 1968 in the hour glass, attempting to extract Manchu’s remaining forces that afternoon flying in lead with Lt. McLaurin. The first lift out was entirely bodies from Manchu’s forces and was completed successfully without receiving fire. We were flying the five remaining flyable slicks of the 187th. On the first lift we delivered the bodies to fire base Burk, where they were stripped of explosives, web gear, and bagged for the trip to the morgue.
The second lift attempt out was not at all like the first. Charlie came for the LZ like ants for sugar. I could see them running for the LZ, shooting as they ran while I was screaming at our crew to shoot them, all the while leaning forward in the seat to look for marking smoke in the LZ to determine our landing point. On that approach, I was hit in the left shoulder and our crew chief was also wounded. We were ordered to abort the approach. Due to the number of hits we received in the flight, we were ordered to go to Katum, shut down, and inspect for damage. Inspection revealed our ‘copter was hit 27 times including one round which shot the nut off which held the main rotor pitch change link to the blade. Only the cotter key remained to hold the bolt in place.
The bullet’s impact was like a baseball bat hitting my left shoulder. The bullet went through my flack vest and hit the top of my chicken plate , spraying fragments of it into my neck. Initially I thought I had been shot in the neck, but when I felt for the hole, none was there, but there was blood.
After shut down at Katum, I went to the medical aid station. They said my wounds were minor and returned me to duty. I continued to fly. They had no X-ray. Years later it was determined my clavicle had been broken.
The Hornets were called in to complete our mission to extract the remaining Manchu forces. They received no fire during the extraction, but all pilots were awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross on the spot
by Black Barron 6. That really pissed me off. We took the beating, but they were instantaneously decorated.