I was the pilot on 62-1854 the day it took a hit by a 122MM rocket at Quan Loi, 17 November 1969. I helped carry Norm Thomas out of the burning aircraft; a day I shall never forget. Our squadron commander told me his survivors would want to know exactly what happened from someone who was there. Writing those letters to his parents and his wife were probably the most difficult letters I ever wrote. I was aware Norm had a daughter not yet a year old and in fact my daughter was born four days later. Norm was only 21 at the time. Living within an hour of the Vietnam War Memorial, I never miss an opportunity to vist the wall and look at Norm's name.
I was one of the two army OH-6A crew chiefs wounded at the same time by the 122 rocket that hit your C-130. We had just finished closing up our birds and walking away, waving at the load master (whom I now know as Norm Thomas) when the whole world turned upside down. I was blown over the revetments where the Lochs were sitting.
The Patches that I knew
in C-130 Historical
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I was one of the two army OH-6A crew chiefs wounded at the same time by the 122 rocket that hit your C-130. We had just finished closing up our birds and walking away, waving at the load master (whom I now know as Norm Thomas) when the whole world turned upside down. I was blown over the revetments where the Lochs were sitting.