rotorwash
15-06-07, 15:39
In the fall of 67 we got a new officer in the unit, Lt Campbell, average height, slightly overweight, a very engaging conversationalist. But there was something strange about him. When we would all sit around and talk about home, our hopes and dreams, our girls (imagined, of course), wives, houses and cars, he would join in. But when I talked about my 66 Charger in my dad’s garage, he would talk about his hand made Rolls Royce. When someone else talked about their bass boat he talked about his 60 foot yacht. This was a real conversation stopper. But he was so sincere and unassuming we did not know whether to take him seriously or not.
We ended up flying together quite a bit and on one occasion we were supporting the 1/327 west of Chu Lai. The bn hq was on a tall ridgeback that was exposed on all sides with the companies operating on the valley floor around the CP. After a long morning of carrying supplies to each of the companies, the usual ash and trash missions, they asked us to shut down on the resupply pad. The pilots went off to talk to the S-3 and we wandered around stretching our legs. It was chow time and guys were lined up at intervals.
As I walked along, one guy hollered at me, “Hey! I think I know you!” I looked at him, but he didn’t seem familiar until he smiled, then I recognized him as the guy in the next bunk when I was in the hospital. He was still missing teeth.
The pilots returned and Lt Campbell said that they had asked us to sling load a rubber raft to one of the companies so they could cross a river. Campbell had said flat no. Then they asked us to drop off supplies to the Tiger Platoon. Compared to carting a rubber raft, this sounded normal. We loaded up with ammo and floated down the side of the ridge to Tiger’s location, they were within sight of the CP. We had to hover and kick the ammo out, but things went along without a hitch, then we climbed back up to the CP. Once more we landed and shut down, this time there was a reception committee that was carefully looking over the aircraft, although they were trying very hard not to look like they were looking over the aircraft. I cornered my old bunkmate and asked him what was going on and he told me that we were the first aircraft in several days that had not been driven off by gunfire. They were taking bets whether or not we would make it. That night Tiger Platoon was overran.
Lt Campbell was outraged and would not let it rest. He put us all in for the DFC. That got someone’s attention. Then I heard, and this is hearsay, that someone contacted someone because Lt Campbell never cashed his paychecks. We got paid in cash so I am suspicious about this. I don’t know if officers had the option of getting paid by check or not. At any rate, people discovered that Lt Campbell was somebody. His granddaddy invented Campbell Soup. He really did have a Rolls and a yacht. And probably a lot more.
Someone must have figured a rich guy with connections would not make a good crispy critter if he ever went down in an aircraft, so he was whisked away to Americal HQ and put in charge of the CG’s messhall. I guess the general remembered how to suck up.
Everytime we went to Chu Lai we would look up Cpt Campbell (that was fast) and he would take care of us. He would loan us his jeep for PX runs, we could eat in the back part of the general’s messhall and peek at the front. He still remained a regular down to earth type of guy, he, who had so much to be uppity about was far less arrogant then many officers whose only claim to fame was that it took an act of Congress to make them gentlemen.
Rotorwash
We ended up flying together quite a bit and on one occasion we were supporting the 1/327 west of Chu Lai. The bn hq was on a tall ridgeback that was exposed on all sides with the companies operating on the valley floor around the CP. After a long morning of carrying supplies to each of the companies, the usual ash and trash missions, they asked us to shut down on the resupply pad. The pilots went off to talk to the S-3 and we wandered around stretching our legs. It was chow time and guys were lined up at intervals.
As I walked along, one guy hollered at me, “Hey! I think I know you!” I looked at him, but he didn’t seem familiar until he smiled, then I recognized him as the guy in the next bunk when I was in the hospital. He was still missing teeth.
The pilots returned and Lt Campbell said that they had asked us to sling load a rubber raft to one of the companies so they could cross a river. Campbell had said flat no. Then they asked us to drop off supplies to the Tiger Platoon. Compared to carting a rubber raft, this sounded normal. We loaded up with ammo and floated down the side of the ridge to Tiger’s location, they were within sight of the CP. We had to hover and kick the ammo out, but things went along without a hitch, then we climbed back up to the CP. Once more we landed and shut down, this time there was a reception committee that was carefully looking over the aircraft, although they were trying very hard not to look like they were looking over the aircraft. I cornered my old bunkmate and asked him what was going on and he told me that we were the first aircraft in several days that had not been driven off by gunfire. They were taking bets whether or not we would make it. That night Tiger Platoon was overran.
Lt Campbell was outraged and would not let it rest. He put us all in for the DFC. That got someone’s attention. Then I heard, and this is hearsay, that someone contacted someone because Lt Campbell never cashed his paychecks. We got paid in cash so I am suspicious about this. I don’t know if officers had the option of getting paid by check or not. At any rate, people discovered that Lt Campbell was somebody. His granddaddy invented Campbell Soup. He really did have a Rolls and a yacht. And probably a lot more.
Someone must have figured a rich guy with connections would not make a good crispy critter if he ever went down in an aircraft, so he was whisked away to Americal HQ and put in charge of the CG’s messhall. I guess the general remembered how to suck up.
Everytime we went to Chu Lai we would look up Cpt Campbell (that was fast) and he would take care of us. He would loan us his jeep for PX runs, we could eat in the back part of the general’s messhall and peek at the front. He still remained a regular down to earth type of guy, he, who had so much to be uppity about was far less arrogant then many officers whose only claim to fame was that it took an act of Congress to make them gentlemen.
Rotorwash