Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
5:19 | Gary Llewellyn recalls his check ride and first missions. It took some getting used to. Flying with him was a Ranger who had an itch to fly despite the cold shoulder from the other Rangers. How dare he leave!
Keywords : Gary Llewellyn helicopter (chopper) pilot Vietnam check ride Ron Pruitt Nui Ba Den Black Virgin Mountain Lloyd Pittman Ranger long range reconnaissance patrol (LRRP) scramble
Just before his college graduation, Gary Llewellyn had a wild idea. The news was running stories about the new air mobile concept using helicopters in Vietnam. He wanted to fly and the Army had a Warrant Officer program so off he went.
Anybody interested in Scouts? Newly arrived helicopter pilot Gary Llewellyn was the only one who raised his hand. Yes, that sounds good after I learn the AO. But when he got to his squadron at Tay Ninh, the commander made him a scout pilot right away, flying the small Loach chopper.
The Area of Operations was jungle and defoliated jungle. There were NVA and VC both active there and there were plenty of tunnels and bunkers. As one of the new guys, Gary LLewellyn's initial job was as an observer, flying with an experienced pilot and marking ground fire positions with smoke grenades.
It was mostly NVA in that area coming off the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Scout pilot Gary Llewellyn flew bomb damage assessments after B-52 strikes, coming in at treetop level. That was fun flying. He also supported extractions and Medevacs.
During down time helicopter pilot Gary Llewellyn read a lot of Agatha Christie and then, of course, there was the incredibly cheap booze at the club. You needed it for your nerves. it was incredibly dangerous in the sky above Vietnam.
Four months into his tour, Scout pilot Gary Llewellyn went to the aid of another flight that had taken fire. They requested artillery and an air strike to disperse the enemy but the extra firepower had come and gone too soon and the bad guys had reset. As he came in to help, a machine gun round tore through his body. Part 1 of 2.
He was hit. A machine gun bullet had ripped through Loach pilot Gary Llewellyn as he was flying in to help a downed crew. He yelled for the observer pilot to take control but the pedals were not working. Together they tried to get the ship to a safe LZ. Part 2 of 2.
It was a long recovery. Gary Llewellyn nearly lost the use of an arm but after many surgeries, he had recovered pretty well. Then it was on to a lousy homecoming. Anti-war sentiment was everywhere and jobs were scarce.
Watch out for politicians. That's the advice from Gary Llewellyn who was wounded as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. He voted for a president whom he thought was a supporter of the military but then he felt like he had been conned.
