Hang On! We're Going Down!

I put my duffle bag in the car and my mom drove me to the airport in Evansville, Indiana. My leave was over, and I had to report to Fort Hood, Texas, for my first duty station. I got out of the car grabbed my duffle bag told my mom I loved her and headed to the entrance of the airport. I boarded a Delta airline leaving Evansville and headed to Atlanta. Then caught another plane to Austin, Texas. I caught a bus that took me to Fort Hood about 65 miles North of Austin.
 

I really did not know what to expect when I got to the base. I thought what do people do on a base. People used to ask me that question and at that time I did not know. I was about to find out. I reported to my unit, the First Cavalry Division on September 28, 1978, and checked in. I was led through a warehouse where I was issued all my military gear that I would need.
 

The next morning my real military life started. An alarm went off at 4 a.m. We jumped up, put our fatigues on and lined up outside for physical training. After 30 minutes of push-ups, pull-ups and jumping jacks we were ready for our five-mile run. This was my daily routine while I was stationed at Fort Hood.
 

We also participated in 20-mile marches with our full packs that weighed 110 pounds. In the summer at Fort Hood, temperatures can reach as high as 115 degrees! And we were marching and playing Army in these temperatures. Some men got heat stroke and had to be air lifted to the medical hospital or clinic. Now, this might sound a little extreme, but if you were in combat, the enemy won’t care. So, we always prepared as if we were going to war because that is what the Army does.
 

The Army recruiter never asked me if I wanted to be a computer operator or cook. He told me what was available, and he was honest about it. I chose the infantry because I wanted to test myself physically and mentally.
 

We slept in the field for weeks at a time. We ate our food out of cans called C-rations. I was old school, we did not have MRE’s, meals ready to eat like the Army has today. The Army issued us an old can opener called a P-38. Where they got that name, I do not know. But it worked very well.
 

I discovered I really liked the Army life, but I was getting bored. All the marching and playing Army was getting old to me. We worked in small squads of 10 men. An Army platoon has 40 men. There are 4 squads of 10-men and a platoon sergeant. Each squad has a squad leader. I was third squad leader at 19 years old. I was always mature for my age and the platoon sergeant thought I would make a good squad leader, so he promoted me.

The fun part of playing Army was at night. We moved around in squads attacking other units in war games. During the day, we would load a squad onto a Bell UH-1 Iroquois, a utility helicopter that was commonly known as the "Huey". The Huey is part of the Bell Huey family of helicopters, which includes many civil and military aircraft. The Huey was the first turbine-powered helicopter used by the United States military. It was developed in the 1950s and was used extensively during the Vietnam War. The Huey was used for troop and cargo transport, medical evacuations, and aerial attack. The Huey's nickname comes from the phonetic pronunciation of its original designation, HU-1. 

During the day we would load up in the Huey and they would fly us to one side of the base and land, and we jumped out and would attack other units during war games. This gave us an advantage because we could get somewhere else quickly. One day we were supposed to fly to the West side of Fort Hood and attack another unit. So, we loaded third squad into the Huey and off we went. I remember I was sitting by the door, and it was opened that day. It was a beautiful day and I remember the sky was pure deep blue not a cloud in sight. The sun was shining very bright, and it was hot on my arms even while I was flying. I was holding my M-16 between my legs and just enjoying that flight. I loved the sound of a Huey and that big propeller that just made a lopping sound as it spun.

 Suddenly, I heard a bang, and the pilot yelled "Damn!" I looked toward the front of the helicopter, and I saw a red light on. I knew that could not be good. Something had broken inside the rotor motor and the pilot yelled, “Hang on! We are going down.” As I looked out over Fort Hood, I realized I was not scared and could not figure out why. I remember saying to myself I am 19 years old, and I have been in the Army for four months, and I am going to die today in a helicopter crash at Fort Hood. I thought well, at least it will be an honorable death.

The pilot was able to control the helicopter long enough to get it in an auto rotation downward he saw a big sand pile and headed for it. He landed the helicopter very hard on top of the sand pile and the helicopter jumped about eight feet in the air and landed hard again. The men were being tossed around like rag dolls and I was holding on for dear life! We bounced about five times and the pilot was able to cut the engine.

I lived to play Army another day. However, we were very lucky that day. There have been many helicopter crashes at Fort Hood. There was a mountain there know as Black Mountain because several helicopters had crashed right into the side of it and caught fire so there were black burn marks on the mountain, hence the name, Black Mountain.

People don’t realize how many military people lose their lives just training to fight a war every day. Military people die all the time while training, but it must be done to keep our military in top shape for when the time comes to do the job.