At age 54, Vietnam hero primed 'to get it over with' if war comes

[JonVet999]

http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/local_n...703625,00.html

Silver Wings

At age 54, Vietnam hero primed 'to get it over with' if war comes

By Laura Coleman Noeth
noeth@gomemphis.com
January 28, 2003

It seemed a safe bet that, after more than 30 years as a soldier, after his chopper was shot up in Vietnam, after he'd received medals for his heroics, David Bledsoe could coast along until he retired from the National Guard in six years.

On Monday, Bledsoe, 54, of Collierville, got his coasting orders: Head to Fort Campbell, Ky. If President Bush declares war on Iraq, he's sure that he'll go.

He is, he says, the oldest "by far" of the 22 pilots in the Tupelo, Miss., Guard unit dispersed to various bases. While others left behind children, he left behind grandchildren as well.

"Who would have ever thought that at age 55 I'd be sending my husband off to war?" said Linda Bledsoe, who married the pilot in June. "It's bad enough that he had to go through one war without having another. Obviously, I'm standing behind him, but I'm scared to death."

Bledsoe, director of industrial training at Northwest Mississippi Community College in Senatobia, is among an elite corps of pilots trained to fly the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior reconnaissance helicopter.

He's among the most experienced such pilots in the Army, having logged more than 5,000 hours on the highly technical, armed aircraft. He trained the other pilots activated with him.

Bledsoe, a chief warrant officer 4, will remain at Fort Benning, Ga., this week, then expects to go to Kentucky over the weekend, he said. From there, he expects to go to Kuwait or somewhere else in the region.

The activated pilots were among 100 or so members of the Tupelo Guard unit, most of whom were not deployed. His group is the 185th Aviation Unit from the Guard's D Company, 159th Battalion.

He said the Army has a shortage of pilots trained on the Kiowa, thus the callup.

Bledsoe was 21 when he went to Vietnam. While there, he was flying a Huey helicopter when it came under heavy fire. He was injured and a passenger on the chopper was killed.

If you really press him, he'll acknowledge that he was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Distinguished Flying Cross for his Vietnam experience.

Like many of his younger colleagues who expect to be heading to war now, Bledsoe said he, too, was charged up for battle all those years ago when he was sent to Vietnam.

"When I went to Vietnam, I was 21 and stupid. I was gung ho. I believed everything I heard, but I pay more attention now," he said.

The younger generation of soldiers, he said, also shows some of the giddiness he did.

"I just tell them to slow down, that it's not as glamorous as they think it will be. I let them know that what they're getting into is real, that it's real dangerous.

"But they're a lot sharper than I was at their age. This aircraft is very technologically advanced and they can handle it. They grew up on video games, and that's what this aircraft is, anyway, it's like a big video game," he said.

While Bledsoe is among the older group of Guardsmen, it's not that uncommon to find men his age still serving, said Sgt. Randy Harris, spokesman for Tennessee National Guard. Guard members can serve until they're 60, Harris said. If they retire before then, they have the option of being available for activation until they reach 60.

Bledsoe expects to remain until he's 60 because he likes flying too much to quit.

The Tupelo armory officials and city leaders gave the pilots a big sendoff Saturday. There were speeches and food, and the families got to get inside Kiowas on display.

Bledsoe's sister, Linda Tacker of Bartlett, was among several family members who accompanied Mrs. Bledsoe to Tupelo to see her husband off.

"It's a real shock that he was called up," Tacker said. "It makes it all really hit home with you. He'd rather not go, but it's what they're trained to do.

"What really touched my heart Saturday was seeing these young wives with children with tears running down their cheeks."

With her husband gone, Linda Bledsoe said she'll try to stay busy, but she knows the weekends, when she and her husband did yard work or went to the movies, will be difficult.

"Oh shoot, we did everything together," she said. "We just did everything together. I know the weekends will be the loneliest."

Tonight, Mrs. Bledsoe will watch President Bush's State of the Union address.


"Nothing is easy. I just livelife day to day and pray he'llstay at (Fort) Campbell. Butthis is a crazy world. In thenext two or three weeks,there could be all-out war."

Her husband acknowledges he expects to go to war, but he doesn't dwell on it, for his own state of mind and his wife's.

"I try to cushion it for her as much as I can, but in her mind I think she knows I'm probably going.

"I just try to stay in the present. Right now I'm safe and sound in Fort Benning."

But he's ready to follow Bush's orders.

"I hope we don't sit around for six months. If we're going to do it, we need to get it over with."

[Andy]

An old friend named Lee was in RVN in '69. We went to high school together, I was graduating when he was a Freshman. After his time in Nam he banged around for several years then joined the Reserves. Lee went to Desert Storm, still as a Jarhead. His comapny was packed into Hummers. Their job was to collect POW's and herd them to some place safe. Well, Lee is an old gunny now and his unit has been activated. He'll be HQ/HQ but it looks like he will be going. God, I wish I was him.

Stay healthy,
Andy