My cousin, Mark, died from multiple cancers 6 years ago (doesn’t seem possible). He played a Farfisa compact organ in a band, just like Domingo Samudio (Sam the Sham). God Bless him, and all who served there.

Just noticed that I posted the wrong version. This one has many images from Vietnam.



Did you ever hear that this song was about a bison? I guess so.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: TMats, January 24, 2025 06:35 PM

Indeed, many thanks!

God bless them and their families.

Thank you so much for this thread. The picture brought back a lot of memories. That H-34 is from HMM-163 and all of their helicopters had the "Evil Eyes" painted on the nose. HMM-163 has the nose/cockpit of a CH-46 in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum with the Evil Eyes. I'm glad you posted this version.

quote:

Originally posted by RETTOP:
Thank you so much for this thread. The picture brought back a lot of memories. That H-34 is from HMM-163 and all of their helicopters had the "Evil Eyes" painted on the nose. HMM-163 has the nose/cockpit of a CH-46 in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum with the Evil Eyes. I'm glad you posted this version.

Thanks, 1SGT, I was not familiar with that helo and few minutes of research revealed a lot about its distinguished time in service both with the USMC and VAF in support of MACV-SOG.

My cousin, Mark was Navy, but he was trained as a helicopter mechanic and was repeatedly sent to crash sites in Indian Country to evaluate the aircraft. If salvageable, he called in another helo to lift it out. If not, he removed classified materials and set demo charges. I expect, unfortunately, that at least some of the crash sites were H-34s from the Ridge Runners. It appears he was in country enough that he was repeatedly exposed to AO.

You did 20, Top, and although, “Thank you for your service,” can sound a bit trite, I’d like to thank you for yours and say, Welcome home!