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Last updated on 9/17/22

Site established on 3/22/01



An On-line Museum of the Helicopter War in Southeast Asia

 

F/4 Cav flight line at Tan My island, taken in 1972. Unit was TAC E’d up north for the Easter 72 invasion and initially bunked out of Phu Bai, but moved in July of 72 to an abandoned Navy installation just east of Hue to avoid the nightly 122mm rocket attacks. I was a 1LT pilot at the time. Courtesy J. Dan Keirsey (image enhanced by Steve Shepard)

This site is dedicated to the men who fought the war. It is a tribute to those who did not return. It's the hope of all involved that you will find and enjoy information on your unit as well as others. If you are not a veteran of the war we welcome your visit and hope that you will gain a new perspective of what it was like for those who were there. The mission is not to entertain but rather to educate the viewer and provide a glimpse of day to day life for the Pilots and crewman who lived it.

There were 2,197 helicopter pilots and 2,717 non-pilot crewmembers killed in the Vietnam War from all services including Air America.

YOUR INPUT IS NEEDED - Images of the aircraft, markings, art work, unit signs, people, places, souvenirs. insignia and sights of the war are needed to tell the story. If you don't see your unit represented I NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU!


Photo taken November 1970 outside the officer's club at Lai Khe. Sign was constructed using a Cobra Rotor blade and bears the inscription - "Never a Backward Glance Nor a Moments Hesitation - Drive On! - Photo courtesy of Col. Larry G. Brown (ret.)

The Black Horse

I rode the black horse
Into the sun
And his hoof beats were music
And it was fun

Duty, honor, and country
Rang in my ears
And I carried that banner
Throughout the years

So exciting to be
On life’s narrow ledge
To be totally alive
And on the very edge

But the art of war
In any rational mind
Is the insanity, the madness
Of all mankind

To friend and foe
It was sometimes the same
It was the ultimate high
Of the ultimate game

I have no hope
That war will cease
But for you I wish fervently
Only for peace

I sometimes now listen
To the mockingbird's song
And ponder the blurred edges
Of right and wrong

But I rode the black horse
Into the sun
And his hoof beats were music
And it was fun

By the late LTC. Archie Rider, former C.O. 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment. Courtesy of the Rider Family - Copyright protected

      



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