Wil Sanchez

Hi Dutch, great question. I used to sleep on top in the slot up next to the Rudder and Elevator when in VN cause it was so hot. Slept inside on many an occasion especially when doing 3 day shuttles. Never slept underneath though. It is good to hear from you guys again. I've been absent for awhile. Take care and be safe. Wil

Hey Guys, don't know if any of you have seen this pic. I thought it was worth posting. Take care and stay safe. Wil

King001 i will go back through my pics and see if i can repost them. I think when we changed sightd the links quit working on a lot of the posts. Refresh my memory on the DCC and the ACC. Wil

Hi Bob, how are you? I was just wondering about the accounting for the loss of an aircraft. If the plane was a 345th plane and was lost while being operated by a 776st crew wouldn't the 345th still be missing 1 aircraft? Irealize we are dealing with Military logic and counting so maybe my question is what doesn't make sense. On another subject, we will be having a Memorial day celebration here in Grand Prairie so if you haven't got anything to do why don't you come and share with us. They also have a free lunch if you're not afraid of Hot Dogs , Chips Lemonade and Cookies. We also host the Run for the Wall riders on their trip to Washington DC. It is quite a sight to see so many of our fellow Vets cone through here.

Hey Guys, brings back old memories. A little extra info on some of the ABCCC birds. I was assigned to 62-1809 for a trip to Danang in July of 1967. We were attacked by about 40- 45 minutes of rockets on the morning of July 15, 1967. They hit a pair of F-4's parked in a revetment off our left wing. The F-4's exploded and caught the wing on my plane on fire. It burned up to #1 engine. When we got to the flight line around 3:00 AM the wing was laying on the ground. The plane was listing to the right and you could reach up and touch the right wing from the ground. Aircraft #62-1815 which was the backup plane was sitting in the middle of the ramp about 40 yards from us. There was an A model right next to it. One of them was hit and they were both destroyed. Any way hope you enjoy a little history by someone who was there at the time. Take care and stay safe and thank you to all my Herk brothers. Wil Sanchez

Dan, good to hear from you again. Welcome back and hope things are on the right track for you. Wil

Wow great video. Has anyone ever seen a herk doing lazy 8's? I was with a crew in Thailand that was showing off for a couple of F-4's. We did 2 lazy 8's and got a little respect from the fighter jocks. Our beloved Herks can do some amazing things. e are also fortunate to have the best air crews and maintenance guys in the world. I salute all of you. Take care and be safe. Wil

Hey Guys Time to weigh in on the IHD issue. I received a letter last week informing me that my claim was approved and I was awarded 30%. The higher rating of 60% was not approved because I had a stress test in 2008 that showed I was too healthy. For those of you that are thinking of filing, use the fast track process. I didn't and it took 15 months to get a resolution. A friend that filed with the fast track system took 6 months to resolve the issue. i was told the pay would be retroactive to July of 2010 when IHD was approved as an Agent Orange condition. As a side note I have always been in great shape and watch my diet, however I have had Angioplasty's with stents in 2000 and 2007. In a Viet Nam Veterans of America magazine there was an article that has shown that Viet Nam vets are dying at an average age of 65. This is much earlier than any other veteran's group. Good luck to all of you in proving boots on the ground. Take care my brothers and be safe. Wil

Hey Fraulein, I just saw it on the news. Great job by the Spec Ops folks. I'm looking forward to the details. It took long enough but he was well protected. Take care and I hope this gives a little peace to those who have lost loved ones. Wil

We should all give thanks for their effort to bring home our fellow Americans. We should also remember my old plane 62-1809 that gave her life in the effort. Thanks for reading. Wil

Hey Ron, I don't know if it was 1837 or 7837 now. I know it was something 837. I was with 1809 at Da Nang when she was seriously injured. I've got pics if you haven't seen them already. Take care and stay safe. Wil

Hi Pat, how you doing? I was evaluated by the VA for heaing problems. They determined I had some hearing loss attributesd to the Military, however it wasn't bad so they gave me a 0% award. They did however determine I had Tinnitus and awarded me 10% for that. I would think if you need hearing aids then you probably qualify for more than a 0% raing. Good luck with your checkups. Wil

Ronsram, how are you? Good to hear from some of my fellow Warriors stationed at CCK. I know of 2 that haven't been metioned. In 1967 I crewed 62-1809 which was an ABCCC bird. In 1969-70 I crewed 64-0505. I also remember 63-1837 which was a ramp queen on several occasions. Hope you get all the numbers you're looking for. Take care. Wil

Just took the test, scored Support Gunner. You Scored as Support Gunner You're a support gunner. You carry a big gun, and people generally call on you when in trouble. You're a strong person physically and emotionaly. You can take being on the front lines of any problem clearing paths for your buddies. You generally lead the way with your strong personality, hitting the problem with all the tact and finesse of a Chain-Saw Murderer. CLICK, Cha-chink... DAKKA-DAKKA-DAKKA!!! Support Gunner 100% Officer 75% Special Ops 75% Engineer 63% Artillery/Aircraft 63% Medic 56% Combat Infantry/Armor 56% Civilian 0% You Scored as a : Support Gunner Support Gunner 100% Officer 75% Special Ops 75% Engineer 63% Artillery/Aircraft 63% Medic 56% Combat Infantry/Armor 56% Civilian 0% Fun stuff. Take care. Wil

Interesting reading about all the things that happened to other Herk folks. I thought I was the only one who got bit regularly. Along with all the scratches and scrapes the incident that I will never forget. I was at CCK in 1967. I was running the panel on a refuel. After we had loaded fuel on board I pulled the handle to close the manifold valve. When I unlocked the hose it dumped all the fuel that was in the manifold in my face. It seems a piece of the manifold had broken off and wedged the valve open. Anyway I swalowed and inhaled quite a bit of JP-4. I was soaked in Jp-4. Had a real bad rash for several weeks, a cough that lased months and red itchy eyes for quite a while. Take care all and stay safe. Wil