Sarg

Have the book. Read it and it seems to stray a wee bit too far into fantasy land for me. But it was written about Blindbat at it's earliest and the mission changed quite a bit afterwards. I still have problems with the Nav getting jerked out of the plane cause he caught his "D" ring and deployed his chute. It would seem to me the he would have been slammed against the scope and then the rear jam of the troop door on his way out. Said Nav is then picked up by rescue apparently unharmed. My .02 Sarg

I wish I could report better news but the claims process gets worse every day. Yes, "boots on the ground" is a difficult problem. I was fortunate that my career Air Force Dad told me to keep every scrap of paper they gave me. Came back with a file cabinet drawer full of stuff but didn't need it as I was in country long enough to get the VNSM. Did need it to substantiate a PTSD claim, tho'. O.K., here are the things breaking about Agent Orange...first, some claims have been approved for AO in Oki, as well as Korea and even some areas in the states. I would strongly suggest you go to www.hadit.com for help and news on claims. VA Watchdog.org provides good insight on the inner workings (if you can call it that) of the VA and latest news. They have also awarded a couple of claims for maint. and aircrew that flew C-123s that flew the spraying missions well after Nam. Claim that all the volatiles were still present from AO. Story here:http://articles.dailypress.com/2013-08-08/news/dp-nws-wire-agent-orange-aircraft-20130808_1_agent-orange-related-disability-compensation-vietnam-veterans "Buddy letters" do carry weight, not a lot but some. Many of you served with and remember each other in country. Put together the dates and any detail you can remember and write buddy letters for those struggling right now. They have also approved claims for AO in Oki. Don't know about Korea yet and some places stateside. I'll keep my ear to the ground and check back from time to time. Sarg

Thanks, Mr. Daley, but we were able to fly her out. We didn't crash, it hit the runway once and we were airborne again. We flew all the way back to Cam Rahn with the gear down as they didn't know if we could get them back down again. After that rumors flew and just wondered if any of the Crew Chiefs had heard of it. Thanks again, Sarg

Gentlemen, is there a thread where one can ask what happened to an aircraft only by a very near loss? In explanation, I was once sideways, at high speed in I think an A Model up at Da Lat. All was saved by a Stan Eval Instructor pilot that really knew his stuff. Rumor was it was flown all the way back to Lockeed to check the superstructure. I'm not joking, honest. Sarg

Just for general interest, I was on the "Khe Sahn Survivors Club" site one day and they were discussing this very subject and apparently, on one load the arresting cable snapped and the load skidded all the way off the end of the RW and into a mess tent, killing two Marines. No one's fault, it was a mechanical failure. The fellow talking about it was a loady but I didn't recognize the name. He was on that ship and was apologizing and the Marines were saying "hell no, that was just two of us, if it hadn't been for us, the whole base might have fallen". The Marines really appreciated what we did and not afraid to say so! Sarg

Having spent years of study, my own battle with the VA (still on going) and frequenting Veteran sites, I can offer some advice both for the lady and fellow Aircrew. Best site for preparing for, documenting boots, and vast knowledge....http://www.hadit.com. Another knowledgable group....http://vets.yuku.com. You are your best advocate for your claim. You can have VVA, VFW, ect. but unless you stay on top of it, it will take longer. Get a copy of your C file from the VA so you can read what they are doing. Indeed some Veterans have found someone else"s documents in their folder. Treat every scrap of paper you can find (the ladies on Hadit recommend a three ring binder). As for the lady, Thailand is a wrong end. There has not been substantive evidence of widespread use if AO on base other than the afore mentioned perimeter. There exists rumors that a large number of 55 gal drums buried at the end of Ubon's runway and then the RW paved over but this has not been verified. She should be going through every scrap of paper looking for per deim slips, orders, any possible tie to boots. Peer verification is substantive evidence, so keep asking guys if they remember him. Someone mentioned notifying their congress critter. You can, but they have to pull your file, review it from cover to cover, come to a decision and then run it up the flagpole. Consequence? Delay. This all takes time and it may very well result in your file going to the bottom of the pile. If you have heavy sway, go for it. Those that have been denied recently, may ask for a face to face review with a rating officer. This will give you one more bite at the apple before it going to BVA. BVA turn-arounds are now in years. Someone mentioned that the VA employees are liberals. Past behaviour would suggest far right leanings evidenced with their preoccupation of saving the taxpayers. Google Dr. Norma Perez. I'm tired now Gentlemen, so I'm going to bed. I will come back tomorrow and add more or try to answer questions. Sarg

Thanks for the responses. Will keep looking. Yeah, kept a lot of the stuff. Sarg

Back in 69', someone made a song called the "Black Berets" that was sung to the Ballad of the Green Berets music. If anyone has a copy of that, I'd really like to hear from you. Thanks, Sarg