Cobra Pilot

[1CAVCCO15MED]

Some of you may remember a story that Tom Breau and I were telling about a Cobra pilot that landed at Charlie Med with his leg shot off. We recalled it as being a one seater and have been told many times that there was no such thing. Well, there wasn't. They way we know this is today I got a call from the pilot. His name is Bob Hunter and he told me he was the one in the front seat. The guy in the back seat had gone inside to get help. Listen, I am so awed by getting a call from this guy please excuse me if this post is a little disjointed. I wasn't in the treatment bunker when the Cobra landed and so I missed the other pilot. I was off duty and just came over to see why a cobra had landed at the Medevac helipad. What I remember is this guy in this Cobra grinning and waving at me to come over. When I got there he had his right leg practically amputated by a 51 cal AA gun. Tom came out of the bunker with the guys on duty at the time, including one of our surgeons. Bob told them he needed blood now but the surgeon finished amputating the leg in the chopper. It was just a bit of skin holding it on. Bob said he got ten units of blood when we got him inside and so he must have been about out. I told him yea but that was not too unusual for us. I can remember giving twenty units trying to keep up with the blood loss. Tom had Bob put his arm around his neck and lifted him out of the seat and onto a litter. The doc told Bob the leg couldn't be saved and Bob said he didn't care, just give him some morphine. We did. We had lots. He thanked Tom and me for saving his life. He had went on and was an airline pilot and actually flew out of my local airport for a while. Later he went back to college and got a degree in electrical engineering and worked for Honeywell. He lives in Keith's home town, Willison Washington. I don't know if I spelled it right. He told me he was going to try to call you, Keith. I kid you not, my hair stood on end the whole time I was talking to him. I have been so blessed to make contact with so many people that have always meant so much to me all these years. I have now made contact with five guys from my company, including my closest friend over there. God has been so good to me.