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Thread: Hugh Thompspn Jr., Huey pilot at My Lai

  1. #11

    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Posts
    2,575
    Memory and the years can play tricks on us, so I looked up the times lines. I know it was not in '75 since Gerald Ford was in office then.The U S withdrew combat troops from Nam after the Paris Peace Accord in Jan 73, U S planes flew to Hanoi to pick up first POWs in Feb and continued in March. the longest held was 9 years! Last combat troops left March 29, 1973
    Nixon wasn't in office in '75, he resigned in Aug 14, 1974 facing impeachment. Gerald Ford became Pres. Fall of Saigon was April 19,'75
    Glad you made it back safely.

    Years ago I heard a talk with Air Force Academy by a Navy pilot, think F4s, who said he was the longest or one of the longest held POWs, dont recall his name, sort of a heavy set guy. He had a sense of humor, he said that he was the greatest fighter pilot ever when the war started and they were making ground attacks. Then the 3rd day he met the greatest anti aircraft gunner in the world, and then he had 7 1/2 years to think about the lack of wisdom to hit the same target from the same direction and speed and altitude 3 days in a row.
    I was surprised how calm and even tempered the man was, not just angry as I think I would have been, about 1/4 of your life spent as a POW.
    Last edited by Bill Greenwood; 03-26-2018 at 09:38 AM.

  2. #12

    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Location
    NW FL
    Posts
    405
    You are right on the time line, bill. Captains Mike Brown and Marco Cordon were shot down on June 21, 1972 about 20 miles from The Cambodian border. The link I added stinks. I wanted you to see the reprint of the Joe Kline painting "Missile,missile, missile" heading the article. Easier to just go to the VHFCN web site (vhfcn.org) and scroll down to the article. Marco later had a catastrophic engine failure in 1984 in a Sikorsky 76 over the water in sight of Sabine Pass,Tx The turbine had a 125% over speed in a micro second. Took out Tailrotor drive, other engine, hydraulics, and electrical "pallet" were ALL electrics come together. FM says that a 76 is unflyable when both hyd systems are lost. Marco was PIC and somehow pulled off a ditching with a cockpit full of smoke. The fuel tanks were filled mostly with air & kept the ship afloat upside down. Everybody got out w/o injury 10 pax & Marco and his CP. Two amazing survivals within 12 years.

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