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**Ambush Master** · 03-01-2004, 18:06

EYEWITNESS STATEMENT BY SSG JOSEPH B. H., XXX-XX-XXXX, OF EVENTS OF 22 JANUARY 1971.

On 22 Jan 71 at approx 0900 hours, MSG G. came up to our class and asked for volunteers to go out and secure a downed LOH chopper. Captain S., SGT Bennett, SGT Opperman, SGT Celano and myself, SSG H., offered our assistance. The first chopper load consisted of SFC M., Captain S., SGT Bennett, SSG H.. The second chopper had MSG G., SSG Lovelace, SGT Opperman and SGT Celano. The first chopper went into the LZ hovered, dropped the ladders and we went down and set up security. The second chopper came in hovered, dropped the ladders and they didn't reach the ground. Everybody was on the ladder but it was not low enough to get off so it hovered for approx 5 minutes and then took fire from approx 3 AKs. So then I opened up in the direction that the fire came from, then the chopper swerved to the right and it's main rotor struck a tree and that's when I started looking away from the chopper again. After about 2 minutes SFC M. called us in closer for more security and at that time I saw MSG G.. He had jumped off the ladders when the chopper was fired at. We weren't sure where the LOH was. SFC M. got an azimuth from one of the choppers overhead and we started moving. Captain S. started out as point with SGT Bennett behind him, then SFC M., MSG G., and myself. The LOH was about 25 to 30 meters from the LZ, so we started crawling up to within about 10 meters of the LOH which was burning, and saw one of the pilots. He was dead. About 4 meters away we saw one more body. It looked as though the two had been thrown from the aircraft upon impact, due to the fact that the instrument panel and other parts of the chopper were among the wreckage. Captain S. and Bennett upon command from SFC M., proceeded to drag the bodies back to the LZ. When we got them to the LZ we tied them together and were awaiting a dustoff. When the dustoff arrived it hovered about 30 meters from our position and started lowering the rescue seat, we were popping a signal panel when the door gunner saw us, but they didn't come to our position. At this time we were told that the second chopper had gone down, SFC Monrou told us to forget the bodies and move out in the direction of the dustoff. Bennett took up the point position at this time.
When we came upon the bunker that Bennett found, he stopped and asked SFC M. what he should do. He said just go across the top of it, so he took off. We ran across another bunker about 10 to 15 meters from the first and we couldn't cross it the same way. Right after we crossed the second bunker, we broke out of the brush we saw the downed chopper, there was a dustoff medic coming down to it and there were approx 3 people sitting
outside of it wounded. We moved in and when we got up to the chopper I saw SGT Celano still entangled in the ladder, then I went around the chopper to set up security. At this time we found one more bunker but all I was concerned with was security. SFC M. told us to set up the M-60 MG so I did. I was on security off on the left side of the chopper about 15 minutes where M. and Captain S. and Bennett were getting the bodies together. At this time there was an explosion so I hit the ground
and then the second explosion went off in the same area. I thought it was a B-40 and that SFC M. and everyone on the other side of the ship were dead. I didn't hear anyone hollering and could just barely hear anyway. SGT Bennett came up to me and the medic and we lay there thinking that everyone else was dead and there we were without any commo. We were waving at gunships which were flying at about treetop level trying to communicate but it didn't do any good. Finally we decided that we should make our way to the other side of the chopper to retrieve the radio, at about this time we got up even with the nose of the chopper we saw some movement from the bushes and it was SCF M.. We called out to him and he answered. When we got up to SFC M., MSG G. and Captain S., we saw that Captain S. had been injured by the blast. The medic went to work immediately and we moved away from the chopper area to where we had left the two dead LOH Pilots on our LZ. We got dustoff in and MSG G. and Captain S. were evaced. We were there for about five minutes before the reinforcements arrived and when they did we just fell back to the center of the perimeter and proceeded to move all of the bodies to the LZ. SFC M., SGT Bennett, and myself were finally extracted after being on the ground for seven hours.

JOSEPH B. H.
SSG, XXX-XX-XXXX

03-01-2004, 18:06	#3
Ambush Master Quiet Professional Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: DFW Texas Area Posts: 4,741	Page 3 EYEWITNESS STATEMENT BY SSG JOSEPH B. H., XXX-XX-XXXX, OF EVENTS OF 22 JANUARY 1971. On 22 Jan 71 at approx 0900 hours, MSG G. came up to our class and asked for volunteers to go out and secure a downed LOH chopper. Captain S., SGT Bennett, SGT Opperman, SGT Celano and myself, SSG H., offered our assistance. The first chopper load consisted of SFC M., Captain S., SGT Bennett, SSG H.. The second chopper had MSG G., SSG Lovelace, SGT Opperman and SGT Celano. The first chopper went into the LZ hovered, dropped the ladders and we went down and set up security. The second chopper came in hovered, dropped the ladders and they didn't reach the ground. Everybody was on the ladder but it was not low enough to get off so it hovered for approx 5 minutes and then took fire from approx 3 AKs. So then I opened up in the direction that the fire came from, then the chopper swerved to the right and it's main rotor struck a tree and that's when I started looking away from the chopper again. After about 2 minutes SFC M. called us in closer for more security and at that time I saw MSG G.. He had jumped off the ladders when the chopper was fired at. We weren't sure where the LOH was. SFC M. got an azimuth from one of the choppers overhead and we started moving. Captain S. started out as point with SGT Bennett behind him, then SFC M., MSG G., and myself. The LOH was about 25 to 30 meters from the LZ, so we started crawling up to within about 10 meters of the LOH which was burning, and saw one of the pilots. He was dead. About 4 meters away we saw one more body. It looked as though the two had been thrown from the aircraft upon impact, due to the fact that the instrument panel and other parts of the chopper were among the wreckage. Captain S. and Bennett upon command from SFC M., proceeded to drag the bodies back to the LZ. When we got them to the LZ we tied them together and were awaiting a dustoff. When the dustoff arrived it hovered about 30 meters from our position and started lowering the rescue seat, we were popping a signal panel when the door gunner saw us, but they didn't come to our position. At this time we were told that the second chopper had gone down, SFC Monrou told us to forget the bodies and move out in the direction of the dustoff. Bennett took up the point position at this time. When we came upon the bunker that Bennett found, he stopped and asked SFC M. what he should do. He said just go across the top of it, so he took off. We ran across another bunker about 10 to 15 meters from the first and we couldn't cross it the same way. Right after we crossed the second bunker, we broke out of the brush we saw the downed chopper, there was a dustoff medic coming down to it and there were approx 3 people sitting outside of it wounded. We moved in and when we got up to the chopper I saw SGT Celano still entangled in the ladder, then I went around the chopper to set up security. At this time we found one more bunker but all I was concerned with was security. SFC M. told us to set up the M-60 MG so I did. I was on security off on the left side of the chopper about 15 minutes where M. and Captain S. and Bennett were getting the bodies together. At this time there was an explosion so I hit the ground and then the second explosion went off in the same area. I thought it was a B-40 and that SFC M. and everyone on the other side of the ship were dead. I didn't hear anyone hollering and could just barely hear anyway. SGT Bennett came up to me and the medic and we lay there thinking that everyone else was dead and there we were without any commo. We were waving at gunships which were flying at about treetop level trying to communicate but it didn't do any good. Finally we decided that we should make our way to the other side of the chopper to retrieve the radio, at about this time we got up even with the nose of the chopper we saw some movement from the bushes and it was SCF M.. We called out to him and he answered. When we got up to SFC M., MSG G. and Captain S., we saw that Captain S. had been injured by the blast. The medic went to work immediately and we moved away from the chopper area to where we had left the two dead LOH Pilots on our LZ. We got dustoff in and MSG G. and Captain S. were evaced. We were there for about five minutes before the reinforcements arrived and when they did we just fell back to the center of the perimeter and proceeded to move all of the bodies to the LZ. SFC M., SGT Bennett, and myself were finally extracted after being on the ground for seven hours. JOSEPH B. H. SSG, XXX-XX-XXXX __________________ Martin sends.
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