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00:00For seven years, American forces have bombed the North Vietnamese supply lines, known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail.
00:15However, enemy weapons and supplies continue the march south.
00:20In an attempt to shut down the trail, American and South Vietnamese troops launch a joint operation,
00:27codename Lam San 719.
00:33Attacking the trail requires boots on the ground.
00:37The 48th Assault Helicopter Company, known as the Blue Stars, will fly South Vietnamese troops deep into enemy-held territory.
00:48For the Blue Stars, Lam San 719 is where the war will begin.
00:53He got us all in a company formation, and he told us to get some affairs in order because we are going to go to war.
01:05The 48th Assault Helicopter Company, known as the Blue Stars, is where the war will begin.
01:35In 1971, the men of the 48th Assault Helicopter Company, the Blue Stars, are based at Ninhua, a secluded coastal town 200 miles north of Saigon.
01:55Our unit always was in an isolated place, so we really didn't have anywhere else to go.
02:01We spent 24-7 with each other.
02:03When we lived in Ninhua, all we had was ourselves.
02:15When there was no flying to be done, we developed our relationships.
02:19We chewed the fat, we had drinks, we played combat volleyball.
02:26It's family.
02:29Within the Blue Stars, there is a friendly and robust rivalry between the guys who fly troop carriers, called slicks, and the gunship crews, known as the Jokers.
02:39The Jokers, in the eyes of many, are never bashful about how skilled they are.
02:48It was the culture of the group.
02:50It was the culture of the people leading the group.
02:54Rick Lester was a nucleus for that.
02:56They all bought into it because it was the right thing to do.
03:03Rick Lester is the senior gun pilot with the Jokers.
03:09It took a little different metal, as far as character, to go do what we did.
03:13I said, I don't care if you're out of ammunition.
03:17You stay between the enemy and those lift ships and draw fire.
03:22Yeah, that's your job.
03:23Roger, I put about eight rockets on you.
03:25I think I got you.
03:27When the Blue Stars fly on combat sorties, the slicks carry troops and supplies.
03:33The Jokers gunships escort the slicks into LZs, or landing zones, protecting them from enemy fire with their guns and rockets.
03:48Their creed, protect the lift, stay with the lift.
03:51It didn't matter how hot the LZ was, how terrible and horrific the activity is going on.
03:59You look out the left, you look out the right, and there's a joker on your right, there's a joker on your left.
04:06I think there was a certain degree of confidence that they didn't hesitate to display, but you saw that in all the gun platoons in country.
04:17They were very confident in their abilities, and they proved that on a day-to-day basis.
04:24They walked the walk and talked the talk, both.
04:29I think one of the reasons that the Jokers were as good as they were is you had to pass their muster to be accepted into the gun platoon.
04:42So they took the cream of the crop of the company, and they were very, how shall I say, tight within that gun platoon.
04:50Ed Bilbrey flies guns with Rick Lester and Steve Knowles.
04:57They're a tight trio.
05:00Bilbrey had only been married three months when he shipped out to Vietnam.
05:04In January of 1971, he is scheduled for two weeks of R&R with his young bride, Karen, when rumors of a major operation begin to sweep through the Blue Star unit.
05:17When Bilbrey hears that the 48th may be headed to a major battle near the border with North Vietnam, he cancels his leave.
05:29Knowing that Bilbrey has had very little time at home with his wife, the Jokers change his orders to have his leave reinstated.
05:37His best friend Rick Lester surprises him with the news that he's going home after all.
05:45He said, I don't believe this, man.
05:46I want to go up north.
05:47I said, you will.
05:48You know, go take your two weeks and get to know your wife, and we'll see you.
05:53Just come back ready to fight.
05:54And he shook his head, gathered up his stuff, and shook my hand and stepped away from the aircraft and stepped back up and put his foot on the toe of the skid, put his arm around my neck and said, hey, thanks.
06:04I love you, man.
06:09Karen Bilbrey is happy to have Ed home, though his thoughts are with the war he left behind.
06:16He was very different.
06:18He watched TV all the time.
06:20I expected him to be saying, oh, I don't want to go back.
06:27I wish I didn't have to go back.
06:29I want to stay here with you.
06:31And I didn't understand why he didn't feel like that.
06:34I just thought, why does he want to go back?
06:37Why would you want to go back there?
06:41This is boat six.
06:42I'm in an orbit here about a half a mile east of Longfane.
06:44We're just orbiting around here until we get the rest of those birds off, and now we're ready to go into the L.C.
06:50He told me, he said, Karen, if anybody ever comes and tells you I'm missing an action, I want you to know I'm dead.
06:57One Charlie, one Charlie, that's one problem on Victor.
07:01I will never be missing an action.
07:04Trevor wants to say anything about recovering those bodies.
07:08All right, this is 6-5.
07:09He hasn't at this time.
07:10However, he's standing by a mystic 6-5.
07:12While Bilbrey is back home, his buddy Rick Lester flies reconnaissance missions in advance of the upcoming operation.
07:27What he sees concerns him.
07:29Okay, don't shoot.
07:30We've got birds flying right underneath us.
07:31I came back at night and sat down with the guys who were there and said, hey, this ain't our neighborhood.
07:38This is a different beast up here.
07:41And I said, if you see a tank in the open, a truck in the open, an anti-aircraft gun in the open, or an NVA soldier stand in the open, leave it alone.
07:48Leave them alone.
07:49Call in the Air Force.
07:50Give out the coordinates.
07:51But your only lot in life is to stay with those slicks.
07:54You know, don't break off to go pursue that target.
07:58And I said, if you see that in the open, it's only because they want you to.
08:02Then, right before the operation kicks off, Lester finds out his second tour is up.
08:08It is time to go home for his next assignment.
08:12It tore my heart out.
08:15I didn't want to leave.
08:16And I can remember talking with some of the guys that's, and I said, man, I'm not going to leave.
08:21And they came up to me and said, hey, it's your time.
08:24We won't hate you for going.
08:25And we know why you want to stay, because that's how tight we were.
08:31We were glad that Rick was going to go home and get married.
08:35We cannot deny that.
08:37But if I were to say that we weren't going to miss him, you know, I'd be lying to you.
08:41Then that role of being the senior gun guy fell on my shoulders.
08:45And that was quite a responsibility that Rick Lester had been maintaining for some time.
08:51Their enemy, the North Vietnamese Army, has also been training to shoot down helicopters.
09:04For many years, we studied the activities of the American helicopters.
09:08They are very mobile, but have vulnerable places.
09:11The American weapons were really excellent.
09:15But the person, the person you're aiming the weapon at, doesn't just stand in one place and take it.
09:21The person runs off to fight back another time.
09:28Tony Tarana is a crew chief on one of the slicks.
09:32He writes letters home often.
09:34Mom and Dad, I've been sitting here trying to think of something cute to say before I tell you what's going on here, but I failed.
09:44So here it is. You better sit down.
09:47The 48th Assault Helicopter Company will return into the field.
09:51The Major said that our company will be going to the real war.
09:55It's going to be hell.
09:56Our country had turned against the war, and we wanted out.
10:04And this was the first step in that direction.
10:07The Nixon administration was handing over control of the war to the Vietnamese and prosecution of the war to the Vietnamese.
10:15Lam San 719 would put South Vietnamese troops, known as the Arvin, right in the heart of the North Vietnamese supply lines.
10:27Their mission, to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which runs through neighboring Laos.
10:33The operation consists of multiple phases.
10:37The first, open up Highway 9 to the border with Laos, to reestablish Khe Sanh as a launch point for the helicopters.
10:45Phase 2, dubbed the attack, take the town of Saipon, deep into Laos.
10:57For the North Vietnamese Army, known as the NVA, protecting supply lines is paramount if their drive to conquer South Vietnam is to succeed.
11:08Red Crown, Electron 504 on guard. How do you read?
11:11Our command level ordered us to stop this invasion flat.
11:20If not, it would be dangerous to our supply route.
11:23Bob Bunting leads the men of the 48th into the second phase of the operation.
11:32His men support South Vietnamese Army units in their operations south of Route 9.
11:37When I look back at the pictures in 1971, well, I was just a child.
11:45Even though I was just a young, 32-year-old major, I was still, you know, one of the older guys around.
11:57Bunting is ordered to report for a top-secret briefing.
12:00I didn't know if we were going up there to beef things up.
12:05Things were pretty rough up in the north and whether we were going to conduct operations in Oshawa Valley,
12:11going into Khe Sanh, because all that area was up there.
12:14And really did not know until the day before the first operation.
12:21He got us all in a company formation.
12:25And he told us, he said, I can't tell you all the details because I don't know all of the details.
12:31But you need to get some affairs in order because we are going to go to war.
12:37He said, we're moving, we're going to go to some place that's going to be very dangerous because not all of you are going to survive.
12:45And then he started to tear up.
12:47And he couldn't talk anymore.
12:50Tony Amanzio has only been a blue star for a few months, having come from another company.
12:56While he may be a newbie at the 48th, he is one of the unit's senior aircraft commanders.
13:01He knows immediately that this operation is going to be rough.
13:05A bunch of us felt, myself included, that, well, this is going to be long and this is going to be hard.
13:11And I can remember for a two-day stretch, a C-130 landed with a full load of grunts every 10 minutes around the clock.
13:21We had never seen a buildup like this down south.
13:24This was going to be huge.
13:30Cliff Whiting writes a letter home to his wife, Beth, nearly every day.
13:34The day after tomorrow, bright and early on Monday, February 8th, I'm flying into Laos.
13:41I know this will upset you and make you worry.
13:44Please don't.
13:46Beth, I love you more than all the human loves in the whole world.
13:51Please don't worry.
13:53I'll be real careful.
13:55I'm a little scared, just like everyone else in the company.
13:58I plan on coming back in three days.
13:59Give Bip a big hug for me.
14:03That was my dog.
14:04I love you very much and miss you very much.
14:07Hugs, kisses, love, club.
14:10This is what we call a bloodshot.
14:26We carried this in our survival jacket when we flew, and it's about a dozen different languages on there.
14:36If we were captured or shot down in enemy territory, we'd hand this to our captors.
14:40And basically it says, I am a citizen of the United States of America.
14:44I do not speak your language.
14:45A misfortune forces me to seek your assistance in obtaining food, shelter, and protection.
14:51Please take me to someone who will provide for my safety and see that I am returned to my people.
14:56My government will reward you.
14:58So we carried this with us, thinking that this would be our saving grace if we got shot down.
15:03But in Laos, I don't think it would have done me much good.
15:05February 8th, day one of Lamsan 719.
15:12The Blue Stars are sent to a landing zone, or LZ, known as Hotel.
15:18Mom and Dad, tomorrow we will start to fly combat assaults into Laos.
15:22So this will be the last letter for at least three days.
15:25It will be about that long before I can get back to Dongha.
15:29This whole thing is going to be a very large operation, and is also expected to be very costly.
15:35The anxiety prior to going on a mission was, I get a nervous stomach.
15:42My stomach just seems like it's just churning and churning, and dry mouth.
15:49And you feel like you just got to drink a lot of water.
15:53Fear is a great motivator.
15:56Makes you want to survive, I think.
15:57We went into the first LZ, and it was cold, as we say, stone cold.
16:11Not a shot was fired.
16:12Nobody in sight.
16:14We dropped the troops with a great sense of relief.
16:17Came out, and I looked at Keith.
16:20I said, man, I can't believe this.
16:21You know, all this buildup, and this is it.
16:24It was almost, you know, anticlimactic.
16:29But then we went back to the PZ to pick up our next load, to go into the next LZ, and things changed dramatically.
16:39The Blue Stars pay an immediate and fearsome price.
16:43At 10 a.m. sharp, our slicks, plus 10 others from another company, crossed over to Laos, loaded with Arvin troops.
16:52I guess I'm real lucky, because in just our company yesterday, we had two aircraft shot down, and four more were shot up.
16:58That's where the war started.
17:20You know, when we made our approach into there, all of a sudden, small arms fired everywhere, and mortar arms were impacting where we were supposed to land on.
17:29And this is already, like, way over anything that we did in Vietnam.
17:38So we're approaching the LZ, and we can hear the gunships, the jokers, talking.
17:51Roger, contact the jokers on Victor and the crossbows.
17:55What they were telling us, and the word we got back, was, okay, you guys got a hold.
18:00You can't come into the area.
18:02There's a Russian tank in the LZ.
18:05And we all looked at each other and said, what?
18:10Bob Bunting is in the first ship to cross the border.
18:13He is the first Blue Star shot down.
18:17After two tours in Vietnam, I guess my luck ran out.
18:20And I did take some combat damage, got shot down, but my men were there to pick me up.
18:29And we went back and got another one and did it again.
18:33During LAMSAN 719, the battle was so intense that for Army aviators, being shot down did not necessarily mean your day was done.
18:52We would come in at night and go over to their club to have a drink.
18:57And the guy standing next to you at the bar might have been shot down, lost two helicopters that day.
19:12And they would pull him out and he would go back.
19:15And as quick as he could get him another helicopter, he was on his way back out there.
19:20And there would be two or three people that you might have had a drink with the night before who were gone.
19:26One, two, three!
19:33This is the kind of courage that they displayed day in and day out.
19:40I had a report from an English-speaking person that came from Hanoi.
19:47And she said, you surprised us today, but tomorrow we'll be ready for you.
19:54And they were.
19:55They certainly were.
19:57And that's when we started losing, you know, aircraft every day.
20:00By February 11th, armored columns and airborne assaults have ferried 16,000 ARVN troops into Laos.
20:12Mom and Dad, every day somebody gets shot down or wounded and you start to wonder when will it be your turn.
20:20Right now, I live from day to day.
20:24Remember, if you don't get any mail from me for a while, don't worry.
20:27If anything happens, you will be notified even before you get this letter.
20:31Like they say, no news is good news.
20:34The North Vietnamese initially, I think, thought that perhaps we could be going invading into North Vietnam right across the DMZ.
20:43But when it became apparent that the intention was really to interdict the Ho Chi Minh Trail,
20:49they started rotating their divisions that they had across the DMZ into Laos.
20:55And so the anti-aircraft fire became more intense.
20:58So they knew they were coming and they marshaled their forces and they brought in these radar-controlled 37-millimeter anti-aircraft guns.
21:07Well, if you flew around in South Vietnam, you might get shot at by a .30-caliber machine gun
21:13or maybe one of those .51-caliber Chinese anti-aircraft machine guns.
21:18Those things just depended on the human eye.
21:21Once you've got radar guns working in those narrow valleys up in the mountains,
21:28you didn't have a chance.
21:36The American pilots were skilled, but we tracked them and their system,
21:41and we hit them when they circled back.
21:45The firepower was 14.5 and 12.7 millimeter,
21:49and it was deployed on the flanks of the mountains in those narrow valleys.
21:54When you went up high, we went high.
21:57When you went low, we went low.
22:04I would get to the point where I was walking to the aircraft with all my gear,
22:07and I would feel like I was going to lose my breakfast.
22:12It flutters in your stomach.
22:15But once you pull that trigger and start that engine, it went away very quickly.
22:22February 18th, the day they all knew was coming.
22:26Joe Marshall is killed, the first Blue Star, the first Joker, to die in this fight.
22:31Joe was the first person we lost.
22:35And he was the first person I met at the 48th,
22:38and he was the first friend I made there.
22:41It was a terrible shock.
22:44It was like, why Joe?
22:46Of all people, why Joe?
22:49But that was the first realization that,
22:52okay, it's not just a lot of smoke in the air and traces coming up.
22:55You know, this is the real effect of war, and we're in a real war, boys.
23:00I remember staying up and working on the eulogy.
23:05That's hard to do.
23:07You're first casually, and then you know that the very next day
23:11that it's not going to be any different.
23:14Those men that just lost one of their close friends,
23:19and you're going to have to go back out on the battlefield.
23:22And I did.
23:25As a matter of fact, I saved the eulogy and have it today.
23:30And it still brings tears to my eyes.
23:41Many of the guys write letters home.
23:44Now back in Vietnam, Ed Bilbrey sends audio cassettes,
23:48though he omits the grim details.
23:50We sent cassette tapes back and forth.
23:55It was kind of fun and different from a letter,
23:57although Edmund, I think, hated it.
24:01Hi, Karen.
24:02I guess I've put this off long enough.
24:04I just got this tape recorder,
24:06and it seems that I'm having a real hard time talking about it.
24:13But you're going to get it.
24:15It's going to be kind of like my letters.
24:17It's not very good, but you're going to get it anyway.
24:19But as you can see by this tape,
24:23it's the one that I got with it.
24:25I hope it's not too long.
24:26I haven't timed it yet.
24:28Looks like it might be about 15 minutes long on each side,
24:31which is going to be plenty for me, I'll tell you.
24:33It seems like a real nice little tape recorder.
24:42And it'll be nice to have whenever I get home.
24:46We can use it if we have to go back to school or anything like that.
24:50The pace started then and continued and actually increased in severity,
25:07particularly through the month of March.
25:08We had more aircraft shot down in the month of March, more battle damage.
25:13That looked like radar.
25:14Pilots hear chilling radio traffic as their fellow aviators are attacked.
25:27One time I heard a guy call over that that cobra just blew up in the sky.
25:32You hear all sorts of things like that.
25:37It wasn't over.
25:39Two on tonight.
25:39Roger, it was a cobra.
25:41Time run over there.
25:42He exploded in air.
25:44But if you're going to go do your mission, you really just, you can't hold that in.
25:48You've just got to concentrate on your mission.
25:50As we got deeper and deeper into Laos, they became more and more formidable.
25:56It just had a mind of its own, and it was going to happen.
26:01We just didn't know it.
26:02The NBA knew it.
26:03We just kept walking further and further into the trap.
26:06Roger, three o'clock.
26:07We're circling where the helicopter went in.
26:09There's a burning smoke.
26:11We go down and see if anybody's alive.
26:13You feared fear.
26:15The guys in the unit, you know, who was going to go down today,
26:18and how were we going to be able to get in and get them.
26:21You feared for those who were shot down and those we couldn't get,
26:25at least that day or at that time,
26:27and, you know, would we be able to get them later in the day or the next day.
26:33You didn't really fear about dying.
26:36You know, that would be too easy.
26:39That's too quick.
26:42February 20th.
26:44A stunning loss for the 48.
26:46A joker bird goes down in flames.
26:51The NBA guns are too close to attempt a rescue.
26:54You know, the crew had signed in there.
26:58Okay, if you look right in the center,
27:01in the very center of all that,
27:03there's a bird down in the high trees here.
27:05I'll be making a low pass over it right now.
27:09Mark, mark.
27:10That's where the chopper is.
27:13Okay, mark.
27:13After we got to location,
27:17we still don't see the chopper.
27:18This is out of here, however.
27:20Okay, there's not a whole lot left of us to hear.
27:23There's only one chance that the guys got out of them before it burned,
27:25because it's almost all burned.
27:29Jake Reed,
27:31Dave May,
27:34Randy Johnson,
27:35and Bobby Acolato
27:37are listed as missing in action.
27:41Yeah, these aren't easy to read.
27:46Dad and Mom,
27:47today is a very sad night for me.
27:49Yesterday evening,
27:50we had a memorial service
27:52for Lieutenant Marshall,
27:53who was killed the day before.
27:55Today, we had a gunship go down in flames.
27:58Every day we go out there,
27:59and every day somebody gets shot down
28:01or wounded or killed.
28:03Then we come back here
28:05and get mortared and rocketed.
28:07Get my insurance policy changed over
28:08into your names, okay?
28:11We used to get an intelligence briefing weekly,
28:13and they told us
28:16that the North Vietnamese
28:17were reinforcing
28:18their troops that were in Laos
28:21to protect the Ho Chi Minh trail,
28:23and it was verified
28:24in the month of March.
28:25The battle-hardened army
28:28of North Vietnam
28:29is deeply entrenched in Laos
28:32and was well aware
28:34of the plans for the invasion.
28:41We walked to the battlefield
28:43two days and nights.
28:45The American aircraft dropped bombs,
28:48but we preserved our forces
28:50before the shooting began.
28:51The last three days
28:56were probably the longest of my life.
28:58Today, I didn't fly.
28:59First time in a long time.
29:01I needed a rest after yesterday.
29:04Yesterday, the Major
29:05and Danny Grossman
29:06were lead,
29:06and I was right behind
29:07him as Chalk 2.
29:10That was a second aircraft.
29:12They got shot down
29:13trying to get into the LZ,
29:14and I went in after them
29:15with my aircraft.
29:17Bunting is shot down again.
29:20Cliff Whiting diverts
29:21to pick him up.
29:23A mortar went off
29:24right beside my door,
29:27and a piece of shrapnel
29:28came through
29:28and got me in the fanny.
29:31But what was worse,
29:33I was okay.
29:34We were shot down,
29:36but what was really bad,
29:37this young fellow
29:38that was a gunner
29:40got shot in the groin,
29:41and he was bleeding
29:43just terrible.
29:44And that was when
29:47Cliff and the ship
29:51behind me came in,
29:53and we went down,
29:55and he came in.
29:56And it was kind of scary.
29:58The MVA were coming
29:59through the jungle after us.
30:01So it was quite a day.
30:05Bunting and his crew
30:06are rescued within minutes.
30:07We were all terrorized
30:12because of what he meant to us.
30:15You know,
30:15a lot of emotions
30:16went through us
30:17every single time
30:18we got news
30:19that one of the blue stars
30:20was down or shot.
30:23But it really hit us hard
30:25when we heard
30:25about Major Bunting.
30:27We trusted so much
30:29in his leadership skills
30:30and his ability
30:31to represent us
30:32and be part of us
30:33that we couldn't imagine
30:34following anybody else.
30:36I don't know how hot
30:37the LZ is,
30:38but it probably will be hot.
30:40But this man,
30:41Major Bunting,
30:41was a very, very special man.
30:44He followed him anywhere.
30:45He was that kind of an officer,
30:46a true officer
30:47and a gentleman.
30:48But he inspired confidence,
30:50and he led you.
30:51He didn't tell you
30:52to go do something.
30:53He led you to do that.
30:54And it was very easy
30:56to be motivated
30:56to follow this man.
30:58I was just as scared
30:59as anybody.
31:02After I was wounded,
31:03the hardest thing
31:03I ever did in my life
31:04was to get back
31:05in that helicopter
31:06and fly across
31:07that border again.
31:12But I felt it was my job
31:14to do the best I could
31:16and to get my soldiers
31:18across that border,
31:20do the job,
31:21and get them back home
31:22every night
31:22as safe as we possibly could.
31:27March 3rd,
31:28the initial assault
31:29into an LZ dubbed Lolo.
31:3111 helicopters go down
31:35at or around Lolo.
31:3835 more sustained combat damage,
31:41including four Blue Star ships.
31:45Four of the five
31:46first aircraft
31:47into that operation
31:48that day
31:48were shot down
31:49in that LZ.
31:51This photo
31:52from Cliff Whiting
31:53shows the ashen remains
31:55of three helicopters
31:56from a different unit
31:57surrounding a fourth
31:59disabled ship.
32:02Some of the missions,
32:03you saw a lot
32:05of the enemy
32:05and up close.
32:07There were so many
32:08of them
32:09that they weren't hard
32:11to pick out
32:12and distinguish.
32:13We did go into some,
32:15like Firebase Lolo,
32:17for instance,
32:18where they were there.
32:20They were in the wire.
32:21They outnumbered
32:22the friendlies
32:22and, you know,
32:23you saw them
32:23close up and personal.
32:27The ability
32:28of the American pilots
32:29was excellent.
32:31But with us,
32:32we also had to change.
32:34We had to adapt.
32:36We had to do something
32:37to hit back
32:37at those American pilots.
32:40Lady, lady, lady,
32:42which doctor fire is down?
32:44March 5th.
32:45Take over the flight.
32:47I'm going down
32:47to look for which doctor fire is down.
32:48Despite the heavy losses,
32:50a string of Arvin firebases
32:52stretches along
32:53the mountain ridges
32:54nearly 20 miles
32:55into Laos.
32:58And Chalk 6
32:58is taking fire.
33:00The stage has been set
33:01for the assault
33:02on their objective,
33:03LZ Hope,
33:04in the Laotian town
33:05of Sapone.
33:06I got a gunner
33:07in the head.
33:08Some of the troops hit.
33:10Some just hit
33:10back into keels here.
33:12The skies burn
33:14with fire.
33:15Get out of that LZ.
33:16Get out of that LZ.
33:17Got two ships down.
33:18The one just crashed.
33:19Yeah.
33:20Christ, that thing went up.
33:21Can we go back
33:22and see if that guy's open?
33:23Who the hell was it?
33:24I don't know.
33:29March 6th.
33:30LZ Hope.
33:32Some 30 miles
33:33into Laos,
33:34the town of Sapone.
33:36A milestone reached
33:37at a bloody cost.
33:40Take it, fire.
33:41Take it, fire.
33:42Now, don't run
33:43any more in there.
33:43Hold on.
33:44Hold on.
33:45Hold up in over there.
33:45There were a lot of tracers
33:46coming around there.
33:47Every night when operations
33:58receives a list
33:59of flyable aircraft
34:00and the next day's missions,
34:02which is usually
34:03about 1 a.m.,
34:04I have to schedule
34:05people to fly.
34:06That in itself
34:07is a hard job.
34:08Sometimes I can't help
34:09fill,
34:10but I'm signing
34:11people's death warrants.
34:12Be good
34:13and try not to worry.
34:14It doesn't do
34:15any good at all.
34:17I'm sorry
34:18I didn't write yesterday.
34:19I hope this won't
34:20upset you,
34:22but I was shot
34:22down in Laos.
34:24I guess it was
34:25finally my turn.
34:26I crashed
34:26right in the LZ.
34:29We rolled
34:30three or four times
34:30down the side
34:31of a hill
34:31and rested upside down.
34:33I was afraid
34:34I couldn't get out
34:34and it wouldn't burn.
34:36I punched my way
34:37out through the bubble
34:38on the top
34:39of the aircraft
34:39onto the ground.
34:41What an experience.
34:43They were there
34:44and they were
34:45waiting for you.
34:46They knew
34:46where we were going.
34:47They had every LZ
34:48bracketed.
34:49They had most
34:50of the PCs
34:51and base camps
34:52and fire bases
34:53bracketed.
34:55When you went
34:56to an ad hoc location,
34:58they were there too.
34:59They had a way
35:01of finding you.
35:02If you didn't go out
35:03and fly,
35:04then your buddy
35:05would have had to fly.
35:06And I'm reminded
35:10of a letter
35:11that Sherman
35:12wrote to Grant.
35:13It's a pretty famous
35:14letter for Civil War
35:16history buffs.
35:17And on his march
35:18to Atlanta,
35:19Sherman wrote to Grant,
35:20I know I'm in your thoughts
35:23as you are in mine.
35:25If I ever get in trouble
35:27and need your help,
35:28I know you will be there
35:29if alive.
35:31And I think that's the way
35:32we felt within our unit.
35:35March 11th,
35:38another joker is killed.
35:44Mom and Dad,
35:46the other day
35:47I had a very,
35:48very close friend
35:49get killed.
35:50His name was
35:51John Lockhart.
35:57I still can't believe
35:58that he's dead.
36:05The same day,
36:06another blue starship
36:07goes down.
36:08Roger,
36:09I've got three of the crew members out.
36:11The co-pilot's still in there.
36:13Roger.
36:14It's a joker bird.
36:15Roger, get the hell out of there.
36:16Three crewmen are rescued.
36:20Hostile fire prevents the men
36:22from bringing their pilot
36:23back with them.
36:25Another joker is listed
36:26as missing.
36:30His name,
36:32Ed Bilbrey.
36:34It has a helpless feeling
36:35that you have to roll off
36:36an LZ like that.
36:37Know that those guys
36:39are down there.
36:39And I didn't react.
36:47I thought I'd scream and yell
36:48or hit them
36:49or run out the back door.
36:51And I just stood there.
36:52And then I sat out
36:54and they said,
36:54he's missing.
36:56You know,
36:56we regret to form you.
36:58And I went,
37:00no, he's dead.
37:02And they said,
37:02no, he's missing.
37:05And I just remembered
37:07what Edmund told me.
37:08The next morning,
37:10Mrs. Bilbrey's loss
37:12is confirmed.
37:13Army personnel inform her
37:15that Edmund Bilbrey
37:17is dead.
37:19A few hours later,
37:20she receives his last letter
37:22with this picture.
37:24Things were really pretty bad
37:26for a while,
37:27but now it looks like
37:28the worst of the operation
37:29is over.
37:30Your letters sure helped me
37:32when you kept reassuring me
37:33that I would be okay.
37:38Because there were some times
37:40when I really wasn't too sure
37:42if I would ever see you again.
37:46But,
37:46you can breathe
37:48a little easier now
37:49because I think
37:50the real danger is gone.
37:53We lost about
37:54two-thirds of the aircraft
37:55that we came up here with.
37:57I guess our company
37:58took the heaviest losses
38:00of anyone.
38:00And I wouldn't be telling you this
38:03if it wasn't over
38:04so you can believe
38:05what I say.
38:06And you can also say
38:07a little prayer of thanks
38:09because I sure have.
38:10By mid-March,
38:20South Vietnamese commanders
38:21order their troops
38:22out of Laos.
38:24The enemy supply lines
38:26have been hit,
38:27though by no means destroyed.
38:30South Vietnamese forces
38:32have suffered massive casualties.
38:35In numerous LZs and firebases,
38:38the Arvin troops
38:38are surrounded by the enemy.
38:41For thousands of men,
38:43their situation is desperate
38:44and helicopters
38:46are their only hope.
38:48Army aviators,
38:49including the Blue Stars,
38:51are ordered to fly in
38:52and pull them out.
38:55They were so anxious
38:57or basically panicked
38:59to get back out
39:01and the only way they know
39:02they'd get back out
39:03was if they were on
39:03one of our aircraft
39:04to take them back out.
39:06What started as an orderly withdrawal
39:09and became a rout
39:11and then became a panic.
39:13And I don't know
39:14how many they got back.
39:17N-09,
39:17you better get these people
39:18under control.
39:20They're having trouble
39:20with a whole bunch of people
39:21jumping on the aircraft
39:22at six or seven on board.
39:24As low as we're going to be
39:25on the air.
39:27We're going a little far west.
39:30Cliff Whiting is interviewed
39:31between sorties.
39:33They just swarmed the helicopters
39:35and I'd have to have my
39:36door gunner and crew chief
39:37physically
39:38shove some of them off
39:40so I could have
39:41enough power
39:42to get out of some of the
39:43Limassoulas.
39:44The aircraft can only hold
39:45so many people
39:46and the Arvids would swarm them.
39:48And what's sickening about it
39:50is someone would hang on
39:50to the skids
39:51of the aircraft
39:52and we'd pull out.
39:53And the crew chief
39:54and door gunner
39:55might not be able
39:55to get to them.
39:56And some of our pilots
39:58have dropped Arvids,
40:01you know,
40:01at 3,500 feet
40:03in midair
40:04because the Arvids
40:04could no longer hold on.
40:07We actually had to grease
40:08the skids on our aircraft
40:09so they couldn't hold on to them.
40:12The landings on the landing area
40:14that we went into,
40:15all I could see were bodies.
40:17They had compressed
40:18the perimeter of their unit
40:20to such a small area
40:22that it was just a landing zone
40:23and all I,
40:23it was like I was landing
40:24on a heliport of dead,
40:26or a helipad of dead bodies.
40:28It was,
40:28it was horrific.
40:31Uh, Roger,
40:31I think I've lost one man
40:33falling off the skids already
40:34and I think I have three more.
40:35I've got about 15 people
40:37on the aircraft
40:37and some hanging outside.
40:39They're still like animals
40:40down there.
40:41You saw these pictures
40:42of them coming back
40:43across the border
40:44with five, six,
40:45eight
40:46of these guys
40:48hanging onto the skids.
40:51Incredible.
40:54Helicopters swooping in
40:55to rescue the besieged
40:56Arvin soldiers
40:57are easy marks
40:59for North Vietnamese gunners.
41:01The Arvins are really
41:02getting their asses
41:03kicked out there bad.
41:05I was probably more scared
41:06than I will ever be
41:08in my life today.
41:09I sure am glad
41:10that this whole thing
41:12is coming to an end
41:13and I hope no one else
41:14gets killed.
41:15It's not worth it.
41:17Okay, Roger.
41:17Let's don't try to put
41:18the smoke in
41:19until I get this one slick
41:20in to recover that crew.
41:21We're in it.
41:22We're in it.
41:23Oh, it's in.
41:24I'm going up.
41:26Help Mr. Smith out.
41:28Help Mr. Smith out.
41:31Tarana's hopes are dashed
41:32the very next day.
41:34A.C. is hit
41:40but I'll be flying
41:41this thing back
41:42until something quits on me
41:43and I believe
41:45my pilot is seriously wounded
41:46and I'd like to get him
41:47directly to Bravo Med.
41:49We'll get your crew crew
41:50out and first business.
41:54A Joker is down.
41:57We got a Joker down.
41:59A Joker's down?
42:00No, 9-9.
42:01Oh, it looks like
42:03a 51-cow around.
42:08Joker 9-9.
42:11Fred Christman.
42:13John Sparks.
42:16Ricardo Garcia.
42:18Paul Lagenauer.
42:213-7, I want you to
42:22get in there with him
42:23and if you take fire
42:25or drop smoke
42:26then we'll break it off.
42:27Before any ships
42:31can rescue the four men
42:32the commander calls off
42:34the mission
42:34fearing that more aircraft
42:37will fall to NVA guns.
42:39Okay, one time.
42:40Let's break it off.
42:42Take your birds back
42:43to the airborne pad
42:44and park it.
42:46I'll try to get your release.
42:48I'll do it.
42:49The crew of Joker 9-9
42:51is listed as missing.
42:54John Sparks
42:55shared his prophetic fears
42:57hours before he was lost.
43:00He said,
43:00I just have that feeling
43:01that I'm not coming back today.
43:03And I said,
43:03we'll go on sick call
43:04if you feel that strongly
43:06about it.
43:06And he said,
43:08he said,
43:08no, he said,
43:09I'm the last Joker guy
43:10and if I go on sick call
43:11he said,
43:12there won't be anybody
43:13to fly the mission.
43:15And we sat on the revetment
43:17having a cigarette
43:18and that's the last time
43:19I remember seeing Sparky.
43:20And that afternoon
43:23when I had learned
43:23that he had been shot down
43:24it was a pretty tough experience.
43:27I'll show you your gutters
43:29to keep your damn heads
43:30on the swivel
43:31because there's a lot
43:32of traffic out here.
43:33I'll climb it through 30.
43:34March 20th,
43:3610 more helicopters
43:37are shot down on this day
43:38during an extraction
43:40of ARVN troops
43:41at LZ Brown.
43:43ARVN forces
43:43are being repeatedly ambushed
43:46at great cost.
43:47The last few days were bad.
43:49I was shot down again
43:50two days ago.
43:52We also had three killed,
43:53four wounded
43:54and one missing
43:55on other ships
43:56the last few days.
43:58We now have
43:59four flyable aircraft
44:00out of 30.
44:02As it worked out
44:02we did sustain
44:03almost 50% casualties.
44:06A lot of my good friends
44:07are now dead
44:08because of this operation.
44:10When I get home
44:11I will tell you all about it.
44:12As Lam San 719
44:18draws to a close
44:20the Blue Stars
44:21get word
44:22that one of their
44:22missing brothers
44:23Paul Lagenauer
44:24is alive.
44:30He spent 13 days
44:32with ARVN troops
44:33walking from Laos
44:34to Vietnam.
44:36It is the only good news
44:38for the Jokers
44:38from this battle.
44:41Ten of their brothers
44:42are either dead
44:43or missing in action.
44:49In this battle
44:51that lasted just 45 days
44:53Vietnamese troops
44:55from the North
44:56and South
44:57died by the thousands.
44:59For the Americans
45:00there are 79 aviators killed,
45:04hundreds more wounded
45:05and at least 40
45:07are listed as missing.
45:11The North Vietnamese
45:12only walked away
45:14from a fight
45:14when they were done.
45:17You know,
45:18there was no quit
45:19in those people.
45:24I still believe
45:25we were right.
45:26There were many things
45:27that we were able
45:28to overcome.
45:29It wasn't always
45:30having our backs
45:31against the wall
45:32that we fought like that.
45:33Our intention
45:35at the time
45:35was to secure victory.
45:40More than 30 years
45:42after Edmund Bilbrey
45:43was killed,
45:44his widow visits
45:45the Vietnam Memorial
45:46for the first time.
45:49Two blue stars,
45:50one on the left,
45:52one on the right,
45:54just as they trained
45:55so many years ago.
45:58Right before we turned
45:59to go down
46:00that walkway,
46:01I was telling her,
46:02I said,
46:02hey, this shouldn't
46:03be a traumatic thing.
46:04It should be something
46:05I think Ed
46:06and all those guys
46:07on the wall
46:07that we knew
46:08and served with
46:08would be expecting.
46:13You don't ever
46:14really say goodbye
46:16to someone
46:16that you love
46:17in that way.
46:18You have to let them go.
46:23You know,
46:24we're all part
46:24of the experiences
46:25that we have,
46:26and my 10 months
46:28with him
46:28is part of who I am.
46:34You don't want
46:35to forget that.
46:39You know,
46:40our motto
46:40at the Blue Stars
46:41was skill,
46:42not luck.
46:44But over time,
46:45I've learned
46:46that you never trade
46:48luck for skill.
46:49when I look back
46:53at my experiences
46:54with the 48th,
46:56I consider myself
46:59one of the luckiest
47:00guys on the face
47:01of the earth.
47:04They flew into
47:06immensely dangerous
47:07situations
47:08in those birds,
47:10and they seemed
47:11to me to be
47:12almost without fear.
47:15If you needed them,
47:16they would come.
47:20At the time,
47:21I was young.
47:22I was a lieutenant
47:22in the Army.
47:23I was just following
47:23orders,
47:23doing the best job
47:24I could,
47:25day to day.
47:28I thought about
47:29many times,
47:29am I going to make
47:30it through the day?
47:32It's on your mind.
47:33Just to hope
47:34that it's not your day
47:34that you get shot down.
47:40I'm proud
47:41of everything
47:42that my soldiers
47:43did,
47:44and what the
47:45Blue Stars did,
47:46and the Jokers,
47:48and they were just
47:49the greatest
47:51soldiers that a man
47:53could ever ask
47:54to serve with.
47:57They lived
47:59by that creed,
48:00and we lived
48:01because of that,
48:03and a lot of us
48:04still live today
48:05because of
48:07the Joker creed.
48:08to those blue stars
48:11who flew in the
48:12battle of
48:12Lam-Son 719,
48:14the dead
48:15are more than
48:16names etched
48:17into memorials.
48:21How could you not
48:22remember those guys?
48:25I think about
48:26those guys every day.
48:27when we were
48:33all kind of young.
48:34I was 22.
48:35Steve was 22.
48:38One of our oldest
48:39lift pods
48:39may have been
48:40like 25.
48:43You build that
48:44kind of a relationship
48:45in combat
48:46where you learn
48:47the fragility
48:48of life,
48:49it becomes
48:50more intense.
48:51I consider
48:54the people
48:54I flew with
48:55the best friends
48:56I'll ever have.
49:01Bonds
49:02that I don't think
49:02ever will be broken.
49:21Have a great job.
49:34What do you want?
49:36You want to help?
49:38Oh my God.
49:38Oh my God.
49:39Oh my God.
49:39Oh my God.
49:40Oh.
49:42Oh my God.
49:44Oh my God.
49:48Oh my God.
49:49Oh my God.
49:49Oh my God.
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