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162nd Assault Helicopter Company - "Vultures, Copperheads"


Click here to visit the 162nd Assault Helicopter Company

Click here to read a history of the 162nd courtesy of Stan Gause

Click here to view a 162nd AHC tribute video on YouTube

Click here to visit Vulture 22

Click here to watch a video on the 162nd AHC



Patches and insignia of the 162nd AHC
Images courtesy of Eric Bray

Vietmade company patch with addition of pilot call-sign. STS sttod for ' Slicker than Sh*t
Image courtesy of John Jones

Beercan Version of standard company patch
Image courtesy of John Jones

Beercan Version of Gun Platoon Patch.
Image courtesy of John Jones

Warrant officer Roy. A. Leston, VULTURE 29
Image courtesy of John Jones


Image courtesy of John Jones

Vulture 29 W01 Jim Ewart
Image courtesy of Jim Ewart, 162 AHC. Vulture 29, Can Tho 69-70, WORWAC 69-21-Red Hats

Short final to Can Tho ( North Swamp)
Image courtesy of Jim Ewart

Vulture living quarters (Can Tho)
Image courtesy of Jim Ewart

Look inside one of the tents.
Image courtesy of Jim Ewart

2nd. Platoon pilots
Image courtesy of Jim Ewart

WO's Rigney, Ewart, Good
Image courtesy of Jim Ewart

Swift Boats at Seafloat ( Nam Can)
Image courtesy of Jim Ewart

Leaving Nam Can with Navy personnel
Image courtesy of Jim Ewart

WOs Rigney & Good
Image courtesy of Jim Ewart

Vultures departing Ca Mau on C.A.
Image courtesy of Jim Ewart

Nam Can ( I believe)
Image courtesy of Jim Ewart

Cement Factory
Image courtesy of Jim Ewart

Good Night Can Tho
Image courtesy of Jim Ewart

The Ash & Trash Flight Line Unschedueled Maint. Team from l to r standing: Richard (Chino) Thompson, Wayne E. Thomas, David Holt,Larry Cox, top l to r: Charlie Hott, James Warren.
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

Lt. Larry Tabert (Maint.Officer) coming out of Operations.
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

Wayne Thomas working out with his concrete buckets.
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

Co. Area Entrance at Can Tho, Operations in back ground.
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

Ship that crashed just outside the Berm, It was the first Flight for Maint. Team Leader Greg Price when he went to Flight Platoon, he came back to Maint. Also this will be the same ship through out these Images.
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

David Holt
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

Charlie Hott
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

David Holt
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

Harry Oranje
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

James Warren
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

Jerry Dean
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

Jim Bishop
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

WO William Jimmis
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

SP5 George Small
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

PFC Joe Harbison
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

WO Paul Fretts
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

SP4 Russel Scheaffer
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

WO Eric Bray
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

SP4 Gary Wingarten
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

CPT William Howell
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

WO Dennis Bankson
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

WO Leroy Dike
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

SP4 Bill Clark
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

Newspaper article
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

WO1 Laurence - KIA
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

WO1 O'Connor - KIA
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

WO1 Spence - KIA
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

SP5 Dillon - KIA
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

SP4 Larry Dietz - KIA
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

This is the Australian Vietnam War Memorial with engraving of a flight of 162nd Helicopters picking up troops from the Australian army in 1967.
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

Early 162nd AHC Gunship (Copperheads) Nose Art '67-'68.
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

KIA ? WO1 Robert Colatruglio
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

KIA - SP4 Brian Murray
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

Example of a Copperhead Plaque given to ACs as they reached their DEROS and stopped flying.
Image courtesy of Eric Bray


Image courtesy of Eric Bray


Image courtesy of Eric Bray


Image courtesy of Eric Bray


Image courtesy of Eric Bray


Image courtesy of Eric Bray


Image courtesy of Eric Bray


Image courtesy of Eric Bray


Image courtesy of Eric Bray


Image courtesy of Eric Bray

Sandoz, Melville, Bennet, Taylor, Grote, & Hammonds
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

Last Copperhead Gunship Pilots at unit stand down 4/72
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

Multiple exposure time lapse photography!
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

A really important supply mission - You notice the door gunner is ?guarding? the supplies with his trusty M-60!
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

Setting sun in background by Montgomery
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

Morning Sun Rising by Stan Gause
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

Morning Mist by Pilkinton
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

WO1 James Bruhn - KIA
Image courtesy of Eric Bray

Remember in the summer of 1970 and command allowed us to name our aircraft again? Remember when the "names" could only be a certain size and only written on the forward bulkhead walls? Well I named my aircraft "The Stormy Petrel II" after my college mascot! Here is a photograph where you can see the name painted on the side of my aircraft! You can see the name just above Jim Ewarts head! The reason why I names it "The Stormy Petrel II" is because the ORIGINAL "Stormy Petrel" was a B-29 flown by another alumnus from our college during World War II; this photograph tells his story! I don't think any alumni kept the tradition going in either Iraq or Afghanistan!
Image courtesy of CW2 Eric W. Bray; Flight Class 69-37, 162nd AHC 12/69-12/70

CW2 Ronald D. Freer

1967 - WO1 Ronald Freer and WO1 William Vance had an engine failure over dense jungle with no place to land but managed to auto-rotate beautifully into a lone bomb crater with little damage.

Died after his tour in Vietnam on 03/13/1970 at the age of 23 from Car accident
Popular Bluff, MO
Flight Class 66-21
Date of Birth 07/27/1946
Served in the U.S. Army
Served in Vietnam with 162 AHC in 66-68

Image courtesy of CW2 Eric W. Bray; Flight Class 69-37, 162nd AHC 12/69-12/70


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