Every Seat on a Huey — and What It Cost the Men Who Sat There

The Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association counts almost seven thousand Hueys in the war. In them, 1,151 pilots were killed — and 1,231 crewmen who were not pilots. More men from the back of the aircraft than from the front. This episode climbs inside a slick, seat by seat, from the most armor to the least: the aircraft commander, the peter pilot, the crew chief who owned the aircraft, the door gunner, the infantry on the bare metal floor with their boots on the skids — and the seat that was always filled again. The ride into a landing zone in the spring of 1968, and the crew chief's night on the flight line, are composites drawn from many accounts. Every other story is attributed to the man who told it or the record that holds it. Which seat was yours? The right seat, the left seat, the gun well or the floor? Unit, aircraft and year if you want. One line is enough. Chapters 0:00 Every seat on a Huey 0:24 A ride into a landing zone, 1968 1:12 Seat one: the aircraft commander 4:38 Seat two: the peter pilot 7:07 Seat three: the crew chief 8:52 You, on the flight line at night 11:17 Seat four: the door gunner 14:35 Seat five: the men on the floor 17:12 Seat six: the empty seat 20:20 Back to the landing zone 21:12 Your turn Sources Gary Roush, "Helicopter Losses During the Vietnam War," Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association (updated 31 Dec 2018); VHPA aircraft and casualty records U.S. Army Natick Laboratories: TR 69-43-CE "Body Armor for Aircrewmen" (1969); TR 69-79-PR "Evaluation of Army Aircrew Protective Armor in Vietnam" (1969); TR 67-28-PR (1966) USAAVLABS TR 66-23 (1966) — UH-1 aircrew armor systems; ACTIV "Aircrew Protective Armor," final report, USARV endorsement 13 Feb 1968 FM 57-35 Airmobile Operations (1967); TM 9-1005-262-14 (M23 armament subsystem); U.S. Army Land Warfare Laboratory TR 74-13 "UH-1 Door Gunner Protection" Lt. Gen. John J. Tolson, Airmobility 1961–1971 (Vietnam Studies, U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1973) John M. Carland, Stemming the Tide (U.S. Army Center of Military History) — Operation Gibraltar, September 1965 Medal of Honor citations: CWO Frederick E. Ferguson (Hue, 31 Jan 1968); PFC Gary G. Wetzel (Ap Dong An, 8 Jan 1968) First-person accounts: Eric Bray and Bob Shine (162nd AHC "Vultures"); James C. Harton Jr. (173rd AHC "Robin Hoods"); Mike Vaughn (D Troop, 3/4 Cav); Thomas A. Pienta (187th AHC), HistoryNet; John Bagosy (68th AHC) Oral histories: William Rettenmund, Wisconsin Veterans Museum; Joseph Mastriani, Rutgers Oral History Archives; Robin Bartlett (1/5 Cav) 37 U.S.C. §301 (flight pay) and §310 (hostile fire pay); Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund — The Wall Archival photographs and film: U.S. National Archives (NARA) and U.S. Department of Defense (The Big Picture: "Shotgun Rider," "The Airmobile Division"; Army film of the 1st Cavalry and 3/17th Air Cavalry), public domain; copies via Wikimedia Commons and the Internet Archive. A companion channel to Grunt's Field Notes.