Oh nothing really just wanted to share

I missed them then. LHA-5, Peleliu, didn't carry any when I was on board her. Left there around '86.

 

My question is have the Harrier or Osprey been beneficial. The Osprey in particular does not have what you'd call a stellar record.

 

We'll learn from it. Our first helos were ... horrible.

 

I guess we're still learning. Another 'mishap' with the Osprey.

 

Should get the ones they have in the movies, twice as wide on the inside as the outside.

 

Oorrr, stick with regular helo's or C130's and those guys who like to eject from perfectly good aeroplanes

 

Landed about a mile short of Tan Son Nhut once, suggested the pilot watch the gauges better. Full props for an excellent autogyro. No props for delaying our med evac flight. We kept the boys alive until the crash crew and ambulances got to us.

 

I've mentioned that I got hoisted into a -46 while doing CPR in a Stokes litter? The CO heard that I had got our guy to Saigon while still breathing and told me to hang out there for a week. I fought valiantly against that for 15-20 seconds. But the arrival at Saigon started me thinking that the birds were operating at the far end of their operational radius. This one set down on the tarmac, in the parking lot for the field. Ambulance was tracking us and I just kept going as they stuffed the litter into the back. Won that one, too.

 

Just a Joe doin' a job that needed to be done. HM3 Ho saved more lives than I could. He described himself as 1/2 Chinese/1/2 Japanese/1/2 American/1/2 Hawaiian. (Yeah, he sucked at math.) He died when our fraternal brothers in the black silk pajamas dropped incendiary grenades on his sick call at a friendly 'ville.

 

I'm still curious if the Harrier or Osprey have been used solely on their ability where nothing else would do.

 

Has the Harrier or the Osprey lived up to the hype declaring they were needed to fill in the gap that other platforms could not perform. In other words, has either aircraft be used in any instance because nothing else was capable.