Greetings all;
Though my forte is Early Aviation I have some items of interest from my dad that you might find useable for your builds. My dad was a WWII (Iwo Jima) vet. BUT in 1968-1972 he was a "steam fitter" for the Huey corp at the ARADMAC Naval Station in Corpus Christi TX. During his time he did a "tour" in Vietnam as a W4 rating / rank on a repair ship as well.

The first story was of a crashed Huey "gunship" they got back for repair in 1969. My dad noted that a target had been painted on the nose and after dismantling it a portion of a human arm had been found under a seat. Other items were found as well in other machines. Talismen of all types and descriptions. More later.

Under the description of Talismen. My Dad said that some of the things he found in the UH 1D and 1B Hueys that were brought back for repair were quite novel.

Aside from photos of wives, girlfriends, kids and family pets, govt issue undergarments of the female variety were not uncommon. Elephant whisker braclets, Playboys, a pair of 5 inch high heels, psychedelic posters of the day, govt. issued beer, eight track tape players with loud speakers, letters - personal correspondence, govt travel orders, scuba tank, lucky(?) rabbit's feet, a hammock, $10,000 dollars worth of South Vietnamese money in a canvas bag, a map of Reno Nevada and finally a stuffed cobra and a stuffed monkey. Yep stuffed.

Then there were the weapons. Knives, chucks, hand guns, straight razors, baseball bat (with notches cut in the shaft) and a bullwhhip. I am not making this stuff up folks.

Having cleaned out a few helo's in my day, I believe you, please keep posting more if you can

Thank you sir. In 1968 my Dad was stationed on a repair ship off the coast of South Vietnam. There was evidently a Huey 1D down not too far from the ship. Dad said it was about a 20 minute flight and even though he wasn't supposed to he went along on eval trip. They went out to see if there was anything worth retrieving. The crew had been evac-ed the previous day. When my Dad's transport touched down the troops with them set up a perimeter. As the eval crew hustled to the downed bird things got hot. Charlie was sniping at everyone they could. My Dad was under the crashed bird. He being an Iwo Jima veteran was evidently telling himself that he was "too old for this sh*t."

What he didn't know was that a couple of gunships (1B types ) had been in the area and lit up the trees. The Grunts retieved my Dad and the other civilian members of the crew and did a "di di mao" to a land base. Some how my Dad had been clipped in the right forearm and didn't even notice it until a medic pointed to it and said "Sir, your bleeding." Dad was stunned and the lound engine didn't help. But he evidently got the idea.

Within a few days Dad was back home arm in a sling. He spent the next three years at the ARADMAC in Corpus Christi. When asked if he wanted to sign up for another tour his response was, " No, I am too old for that sh*t!"

My Dad related another story to me though this was about a fixed wing Skymaster. It seems this particular day he was at a base dropping off some parts. At a distance the Skymaster made its approach to the field. Several of the "clerks" were watching. One made the statement "he's not going to make it. . . "

My dad asked "why not?"

The reply was that the Skymaster was coming in with its nose level.

At about that time a sniper's shot shattered the cabin window. The Symaster crashed heavily in the middle of the runway. Cobras were on hand that day . They in turn "raked the leaves."

My Dad asked ". . .what should the pilot have done?" The response was "kept his nose up."