[SuperScout]

When I got to the 3rd Platoon, Co. B, 2-47 Inf (Mech), my rto was the font of all knowledge, like how many sorties each guy in the platoon already had. Despite the fact that we were mech, we still did more than our share of air assaults, and there wass some competition to see who could get to the required number of one-way flights first. Good ol' Campy, he kept good records! Wound up with 2 AM's, one per tour.

Helicopter story: two days after Tet, Iwas at the TOC getting the next day's order, and saw the Bn Cdr's OH23 (called by some as "Hiller the Killer") take off for a quick flight to Bearcat. At about 500', I heard the engine rev way beyond the normal rpm, saw a puff of smoke, and the the autorotation began. I commandeered the Re-up Sgt's jeep, and bounded over hill and dale to get to the hard landing sight, to find the tail boom broken almost completely off, the pilot still strapped in, and the Old Man trying to get his shoulder straps undone. My evil twin stepped into the picture, and grabbed the Old Man, and flung him out of the left side like a sack of potatoes! LTC John Tower was a 5'5" Bostonian Bantam Rooster, who played bridge, volleyball and war with the same intensity. He was shot down twice during Tet, only to demand another helicopter, so he could command his troops. We had a love/hate relationship, but he was the best commander I ever had - totally tactically sound, with integrity in copious amounts.

He recovered quite quickly from being tossed into the dirt, brushed himself off, and ordered me to take him and his pilot back to the TOC without so much as a thank you! Really think he was pissed at me for the pleasure I received from pitching his little ass in the dirt!