[Vhfcn-l] Thought You would Appreciate this

Sun Aug 20 14:00:36 EDT 2017

As the eldest in our little housing development Jim I get to see 
about all of the newbies that buy homes here and I get what you are 
saying about your firefighter buddies.  Here I have as neighbors a 
couple of guys that train pilots over at the CCNAF.  I also have one 
motorcycle cop and one Capt cop and one lady Lt cop and these are not 
the 10 percenters(%) at all and I am proud to call them my 
friends.  Haven't met any firefighters here but assume that there may 
be one or two.  What JC wrote covers a bunch of professions but then 
again... we all flew above the best... I like to say.

For anyone reading this, today, the 20th of August, happening back in 
1961 was this old SP/4 then and his young brides first full day as 
husband and wife. He was The Bigfoot and years later she became the 
Imposter Wife.
Chris the Bigfoot

At 10:01 AM 8/20/2017, Jim Henthorn wrote:
>When I left the service it took a while but I found the same attitude
>and people in the fire service.  That's why I stayed 33 years...
>
>Thanks for posting this.  Think I'll steal it and reword it for my
>firefighter buddies who will recognize the truth of these words in the
>ways that we lived and worked.
>
>Jim
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Vhfcn-l
>[mailto:vhfcn-l-bounces+jim.henthorn=chancefac.net at vhfcn.org] On Behalf
>Of John Grow
>Sent: Saturday, August 19, 2017 21:57
>To: jim.henthorn at chancefac.net
>Cc: VHFCN1 Pilots and Crew <vhfcn-l at vhfcn.org>
>Subject: [Vhfcn-l] Thought You would Appreciate this
>
>
>
>
>JC is quite the guy and a good friend.  Glad that he wrote this.
>
>
>John
>
>
>
>"A tribute to the Army's first generation of combat helicopter flight
>crews Received this in an Email (Yes, by God, we flew in Vietnam and we
>were winning when I left.) By J.C. Pennington As we get older and we
>experience the loss of old friends, we begin to realize that maybe we
>ten-foot tall, bulletproof Army aviators won't live forever. We aren't
>so bulletproof anymore. We ponder. if I we're gone tomorrow, "Did I say
>what I wanted to my Brothers?" The answer is "No!" Hence, the following
>random thoughts:
>When people ask me if I miss flying, I always say something like, "Yes,
>I miss the flying because when you are flying, you are totally focused
>on the task at hand. It's like nothing else you will ever do (almost). "
>But then I always say, "However, I miss the unit and the guys even more
>than I miss the flying."
>Why, you might ask? They were a bunch of aggressive, wiseass, cocky,
>insulting, sarcastic bastards in smelly flight suits! They drank too
>much, they chased women, they flew when they shouldn't, they laughed too
>loud and thought they owned the sky, the bar, and generally thought they
>could do everything better than the next guy. Nothing was funnier than
>trying to screw with a buddy and see how pissed off they would get. They
>flew helicopters that leaked, that bled RPM, that broke, that couldn't
>hover, that burned fuel too fast, that never had all the radios and
>instruments working, and with systems that were archaic next to today's
>new generation aircraft.
>But a little closer look might show that every guy in the room was
>sneaky smart and damned competent and brutally handsome in his own way!
>They hated to lose or fail to accomplish the mission and seldom did.
>They were the laziest guys on the planet until challenged and then they
>would do anything to win. They would fly with rotor blades overlapped at
>night through the worst weather with only a little position light to
>hold on to, knowing their flight lead would get them on the ground
>safely. They would fight in the air knowing the greatest risk and fear
>was that some NVA anti-aircraft gunner would wait 'til you flew past him
>and open up on your six o'clock with tracers as big as softballs. They
>would fly in harm's way and act nonchalant as if to challenge the grim
>reaper.
>When we flew to another base we proclaimed that we're the best unit on
>the base as soon as we landed. Often we were not invited back. When we
>went into a bar, we owned the bar. We were lucky to be the Best of the
>Best in the military. We knew it and so did others. We found jobs, lost
>jobs, got married, got divorced, moved, went broke, got rich, broke some
>things, and knew the only thing you could count -- really count on --
>was if you needed help, a fellow Army Aviator would have your back.
>I miss the call signs, nicknames and the stories behind them.
>I miss getting lit up in an O' or NCO' Club full of my buddies and
>watching the incredible, unbelievable things that were happening. I miss
>the crew chiefs waiting as you got to your ship for a Zero-Dark:30
>preflight. I miss pulling an armful of pitch, nosing it over and
>climbing into a new dawn. I miss going straight up and straight down. I
>miss the tension of wondering what today's 12 hours of combat flying
>would bring. I miss the craps table in the corner of the O-Club and
>letting it ALL ride because money was meaningless. I miss listening to
>BS stories while drinking and laughing until my eyes watered. I miss
>three man lifts. I miss naps on the platoon hootch porch with a room
>full of aviators working up new tricks to torment the sleeper. I miss
>rolling in hot and watching my rockets hit EXACTLY where I was aiming. I
>miss the beauty and precision of a flight of slicks in formation, rock
>steady even in the face of tracers flying past you from a hot LZ. I miss
>belches that could be heard in neighboring states. I miss showing off
>for the grunts with high-speed, low level passes and abrupt cyclic
>climbs. I even miss passengers in the back puking their guts up.
>Finally, I miss hearing In-Coming! called out at the bar and seeing and
>hearing a room full of men hit the deck with drinks spilling and chairs
>being knocked over as they rolled in the beer and kicked their legs in
>the air-followed closely by a Not Politically Correct Tap Dancing and
>Singing spectacle that couldn't help but make you grin and order another
>round.
>I am a lucky guy and have lived a great life!
>One thing I know is that I was part of a special team of guys doing
>something dangerous and doing it better than most. Flying the most
>beautiful, ugly, noisy, solid helicopters ever built. an aircraft that
>talked to you and warned you before she spanked you! Supported by really
>talented Crew Chiefs and Gunners committed to making sure we came home!
>Being prepared to fly and fight and die for America. Having a clear
>mission, clear vision, and having fun.
>We box out bad memories from various missions and events most of the
>time but never the hallowed memories of our fallen comrades. We are
>often amazed at how good war stories never let truth interfere and how
>they get better with age. We are lucky bastards to be able to walk into
>a reunion or a bar and have men we respect and love shout our names, our
>call signs, and know that this is truly where we belong.
>We are ARMY AVIATORS and CREWMEMBERS. We are Few and we are Proud to
>have been one of the first combat helicopter FLIGHTS CREWS the world
>ever saw.
>I am Privileged and Proud to call you Brothers. Clear Right! Clear Left!
>Pullin' Pitch!
>Huey Driver"
>
>
>
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