Table Of ContentRATTLER
ONE – SEVEN
RATTLER
ONE – SEVEN
A Vietnam Helicopter Pilot’s War Story
CHUCK GROSS
Number 1 in the North Texas Military Biography and
Memoir Series
Ronald E. Marcello, series editor
©2004 Chuck Gross
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Permissions:
University of North Texas Press
P.O. Box 311336
Denton, TX 76203-1336
The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, z39.48.1984. Binding materials have been chosen for durability.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gross, Chuck, 1950-
Rattler one-seven : a Vietnam helicopter pilot's war story / Chuck Gross.
p. cm. — (North Texas military biography and memoir series ; no. 1)
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-57441-178-0 (alk. paper)
1. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975—Personal narratives, American. 2. Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975—Aerial operations,
American. 3. Military helicopters—Vietnam. 4. Gross, Chuck, 1950- I. Title: Vietnam helicopter pilot's war story. II. Title. III.
Series.
DS559.5.G76 2004
959.704'348'092—dc22
2004003457
Rattler One-Seven: A Vietnam Helicopter Pilot’s War Story is Number 1 in the North
Texas Military Biography and Memoir Series.
Text design by Eric Sawyer of Rose Design
The electronic edition of this book was made possible by the support of the Vick Family Foundation.
I dedicate this book to
Mary, Pam, Jennifer,
Molly and Eva.
Whoever battles with monsters had better see that it does not turn him into a monster. And if
you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.
—Friedrich Nietzsche
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Preface
Prologue—18 Days
CHAPTER ONE—First Assignment
CHAPTER TWO—Company Checkout
CHAPTER THREE—Newbie
CHAPTER FOUR—My Cherry
CHAPTER FIVE—Special Operations
CHAPTER SIX—Goodbye Friend
CHAPTER SEVEN—Laughing and Crying
CHAPTER EIGHT—The Holidays
CHAPTER NINE—Quang Tri
CHAPTER TEN—Rank
CHAPTER ELEVEN—Lam Son 719
CHAPTER TWELVE—LZ Lolo
CHAPTER THIRTEEN—Landing Zone Delta
CHAPTER FOURTEEN—Realization
CHAPTER FIFTEEN—Chu Lai
CHAPTER SIXTEEN—R&R
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN—Homeward Bound
Epilogue
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
LIST OF MAPS AND
ILLUSTRATIONS
Pilot Chuck Gross in left seat
1. Beech Eighteen
2. Steve Israel
3. Preparing for Battle
4. Map of South Vietnam
5. Little Mac
6. Kham Duc Airstrip
7. C-123
8. Behind the Hootch
9. Author’s Bird
10. O’club
11. Firebird Pilots
12. Skull
13. Widow Makers
14. The Green Lizard
15. The Rockpile
16. Map of Quang Tri and Khe Sanh
17. Parking at Quang Tri
18. Doug Womack
19. Riley and Freeman
20. The Fastest Gun in Vietnam
21. Fat Rat
22. Sling Load
23. Pat Callahan
24. Down Time
25. Hard Landing
26. Days Off
27.Then
28.Now
PREFACE
I slowly lowered the collective (pitch control) as we began our descent into Landing Zone
Delta. All hell was breaking loose. The Firebird gunships were laying down cover as they
screamed along side us. Their miniguns were puffing smoke, singing their loud, but familiar
sound. Their rockets were yelling out loud, screaming sounds as they flew past. I told my crew,
“Go hot.” My crew chief and gunner unlocked their weapons and opened fire. The noise was
deafening. Our helicopter felt as if it was coming alive from the shuddering and shaking from
her guns. Tracers were flying in all directions. Fear and terror saturated the air.
We continued our descent down into the hell below. We already had two ships shot down
and four more damaged by fire, but we continued. My crew chief yelled, “Taking fire at ten
o'clock!” Then my gunner yelled, “Taking fire at one o'clock, no three o'clock. Hell, it’s
coming from everywhere!” We were now only three hundred yards from the landing zone and
just about in, when I heard a loud explosion and felt the bird whine as a shell slammed through
the transmission. The Huey reacted with a violent jolt, and then wham, another shell found its
mark. I instantly pushed the cyclic forward and pulled up on the collective control, thinking to
myself, “We’re out of here.” Fire was coming from everywhere and there was no place to hide.
Time slowed to eternity as we slowly climbed out. Foot by foot, we distanced ourselves from
the enemy and madness below.
We had taken a direct hit into the transmission, but thank God we were still flying. We could
not set the bird down, it was too dangerous. We had to make it back, a little closer to the
friendlies. Suddenly my crew chief yelled, “Mr. G, she’s leaking bad, it doesn't look good.” I
took a quick look back over my right shoulder in the direction of the transmission. There was
fluid running everywhere. It was time to make a decision.
Looking back on it, those moments of terror stand out in my mind for what it was like to be a
combat helicopter pilot. Rattler One-Seven is a book about my tour in Vietnam. When I left for
Vietnam, I was a nineteen-year-old Army helicopter pilot. I spent my entire Vietnam tour flying
choppers. My tour started on May 15, 1970, and lasted through May 14, 1971. In the 1970s, I
wrote down most of the high points of my adventures, when my memory was still clear with the
facts and events.
I have written Rattler One-Seven as I experienced it, using my old letters written home to
help keep the mindset I had when I was in Vietnam. I have included excerpts from some of the
letters to reveal my feelings at the time about what I was experiencing. The grammar and
spelling in the excerpts have been left as written. With age, you find out that your ideas and
