Helicopter offers glimpse of Vietnam
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on November 11, 2014 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/ETHAN SMITH
Dr. Sam McLamb locks up a Vietnam-era helicopter. McLamb was shot down three times as a combat medic during the war. The helicopter was on loan from the Army to the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association, of which McLamb is a member.
At one time, the UH-1M helicopter tore across the jungles of Vietnam, landing in combat zones to evacuate the wounded.
But on Monday, the helicopter, now strapped to the back of a trailer, rested quietly in the parking lot of Literacy Connections.
Dr. Sam McLamb, a Vietnam veteran who was shot down three times during his tour of duty as a combat medic, brought the helicopter to educate a class at Literacy Connections about the Vietnam War.
McLamb served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969. The helicopter is on loan from the Army to the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association, of which McLamb is a member.
"Our job was picking up battlefield casualties," McLamb said. "I was shot down three times. The areas were insecure, and even with gunships surrounding us, we still got shot up. Fortunately, two of the three times there were friendlies nearby. But the third time, the radios and the aircraft were shot down and they found us sitting in the middle of the elephant grass."
McLamb said medic helicopters were not allowed to have armaments mounted on them due to regulations set by the Geneva Convention. So, when he and his team went in to extract the wounded, all they were allowed to carry were their personal weapons.
"In our unit, everyone was shot down at least once because we had to actually sit down in the landing zone, which made us sitting ducks," he said. "I look at it as a very rewarding experience because we were helping soldiers."
The Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association has six helicopters that are taken all across the United States to educate people about the Vietnam War.
In order to be a part of the organization, you have to have been a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, McLamb said.
"It's hard to think about Vietnam without thinking about helicopters. Most people have never been up close to a helicopter," McLamb said. "This provides closure for soldiers that were involved in Vietnam, too."
Extracting the wounded was often a harrowing experience, he said.
"We would radio down and ask them to pop a certain color of smoke when the area was secure," he said. "But the Viet Cong would monitor the radios, so if you asked troops to pop red smoke, there would be three or four areas of red smoke on the ground. You could never be sure that the landing zone was actually secure."
On Monday and Thursday, Literacy Connections offers a life skills course for adults with intellectual disabilities, director Pat Yates said. With today being Veterans Day, Mrs. Yates said she viewed the availability of the helicopter as a perfect opportunity to educate the class about the Vietnam War.
"It was an opportunity to teach them some history and connect with the community," Ms. Yates said. "If you live in Wayne County, you're connected to the military."