EP 40: What They Don't Tell You About Being a Vietnam Helicopter Pilot

What does it take to fly the Army's heaviest helicopter, a 72-foot rotor-span Skycrane, into one of the most dangerous combat missions of the Vietnam War? Jim Oliphant knows firsthand. Jim grew up in San Diego, got drafted four times while studying architecture, and ended up becoming one of the Army's elite CH-54 Flying Crane pilots. In this episode, he takes us from boot camp at Fort Bliss to flight school in Texas, all the way to a classified mission on a mountain pinnacle overlooking the Ho Chi Minh Trail- a mission they never even told him the real purpose of until it was over. Jim shares the near-disasters, the ingenuity under pressure, and the surprising moments of humor and humanity that made his year in Vietnam unforgettable, including a hamburger stand on a Vietnamese island, barbecue with steak and lobster, and what it felt like to command the Joint Chiefs of Staff during a NATO exercise on his last day in the Army. 🎙️ Ask A Vet is a podcast dedicated to honoring the stories of Veterans — told in their own words. 🔔 Subscribe so you never miss an episode. 👍 Like and share if this story moved you. 💬 Drop a comment — let Jim know you heard him. EPISODE CHAPTERS: 00:30 — Growing Up in San Diego & Military Legacy 04:30 — Getting Drafted Three Times in College 10:00 — Fort Bliss 15:30 — AIT: Helicopter Mechanic on the H-21 "Banana" at Fort Rucker 17:30 — OCS & Artillery School at Fort Sill 21:00 — Applying for Flight School 22:30 — Fort Walters, TX: Busiest Airport in the World 30:30 — Tic-Tac-Toe Hovering Practice 31:30 — Advanced Training at Fort Rucker: Graduating to Hueys 33:30 — The Night Insertion: Almost Flying Into the Ground at 80 Knots 36:00 — Refusing to Fly the Graduation Formation 38:00 — Graduating Honor Graduate 39:30 — Choosing the CH-54 Flying Crane & Joining the 355th 48:30 — Arriving in Vietnam 55:00 — Daily Missions: Moving 155mm Howitzers, Fuel Bladders & Recovered Aircraft 01:08:00 — Operations Officer: Coordinating Nine Cranes, 25 Pilots 01:10:00 — The Oil Blowout at 50 Feet Over 20,000 lbs of Artillery Ammo 01:17:00 — The Most Tragic Thing He Saw: The School Kids 01:21:30 — R&R in Hawaii 01:23:00 — Returning Home & Artillery Advanced Course 01:30:00 — THE BRONZE STAR MISSION 01:46:00 — RIF'd in 1975 — The Army Retires the CH-54 01:49:00 — Underground at Fort Huachuca: Answering the President's Phone 01:53:00 — Running a NATO Worldwide Exercise on Last Day in the Army 02:02:00 — Airfield Commander, State Aviation Officer & Nuclear Weapons Officer 02:06:00 — Ordered to Convert the Whole State Guard to Artillery 02:10:00 — The Quiet Exit: Flying Home and Never Going Back 02:17:00 — Final Reflections ───────────────────────────────────────── 🎖️ Ask A Vet is dedicated to documenting and preserving veterans' stories in their own words, on their own terms, before their stories are gone forever. If you believe these stories matter, please subscribe, like, comment, and share. Your support helps us preserve the voices of those who served. ✈️ Ask A Vet is proud to partner with Utah Honor Flight — giving veterans a free trip to Washington D.C. to visit the memorials built in their honor. Every flight is free to veterans and made possible by generous donors. Learn more or support the mission at utahonorflight.org or find your local hub at honorflight.org. 💼 If you or someone you know isn't getting the VA benefits you've earned, click the link in our description. We've teamed up with a group of experts that help veterans build stronger VA claims and get the benefits they deserve. Click the link for a free consultation: https://crm.zoho.com/bookings/YourFre... Disclosure: This is a referral partnership with American Medical Experts. We may receive compensation if you book through our link.