Vietnam combat helicopter pilot Ret. LTC Hugh Mills Part 1

Ret. LTC Hugh Mills arrived in South Vietnam in January 1969 and was assigned to D Troop, 1st, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Division, initially flying UH- Hueys before transitioning to OH-6 Cay. Following his first tour to South Vietnam, Mills served with the 2 Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, rd Infantry Division in West Germany In September 1971 he returned to South Vietnam, flying the AH-1G Cobra gunship with D Tro, 3rd Squadron, th Cavalry Regiment, then flew OH-6As as plato commander of C Troop, th Cavalry Regiment, st Brigade. Mills flew over 2000 combat in OH-6 more than 130 combat hours in the AH-1 in Vietnam. He was shot down 16 times. 15 times in the OH-6. After retiring from the army in 1993, Mills co-wrote the book Low Hell about his experiences as a scout pilot in South Vietnam. Mills' decorations include the Silver Star (3), Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross (4), Bronze Star Medal (3), Purple Heart (3), Air Medal (66), Air Medal with '' Device (6), Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Silver and Palm, Vietnamese Forces Honor Medal First Class, the Vietnamese Civil Actions Medal First Class. In 2011, Mills was inducted into the Army Hall of Fame. In 2013, he was added to the Arkansas Walk of Fame. It was my honor to be able to talk with Hugh about his military service in this first of two interviews. Please look up his book LOW LEVEL HELL on Amazon.