Former / Active Duty Military Members Roll Call

Chris said:
You just missed your retirement by 3 years! What happened?
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Had an engine failure at night, over the Atlantic off Jacksonville, FL. Had two trainees with me in the cabin, was trying to make sure one of them was strapped into into his seat when we hit the water. Got bounced around a bit. Aircraft remained upright with one engine still working (superior flying by the pilot), so we water taxied 15 miles to the shore at Ponte Vedra, lowered the landing gear, and pulled it up on the beach. Didn't have any issues right away but within a year I was having serious back problems, turned out to have crushed two vertebrae and blown a disc. They cut me loose with 20% disability at 17 years, needed 30% or 18 years to qualify for medical retirement. C'est la guerre.
 
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Neal said:
Had an engine failure at night, over the Atlantic off Jacksonville, FL. Had two trainees with me in the cabin, was trying to make sure one of them was strapped into into his seat when we hit the water. Got bounced around a bit. Aircraft remained upright with one engine still working (superior flying by the pilot), so we water taxied 15 miles to the shore at Ponte Vedra, lowered the landing gear, and pulled it up on the beach. Didn't have any issues right away but within a year I was having serious back problems, turned out to have crushed two vertebrae and blown a disc. They cut me loose with 20% disability at 17 years, needed 30% or 18 years to qualify for medical retirement. C'est la guerre.
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Wow quite a story, lucky you survived. What kind of aircraft were you in? And can you go back to the VA for more of a disability benefit?
 
I was the crew chief in a Sikorsky SH-3H. If you have to go down over water, the H-3 is absolutely the best aircraft to do it in. Here's a photo of when we used to practice landings in Lower Otay Lake just east of San Diego. Jerry, you might be familiar with the area - there used to be some good wheelin' back up in those mountains. That's my office, inside the open cargo door.
HS-10_Otay_Lakes_1976_021_zpslrcw4xmj.jpg


I did go to the VA after I got out, they bumped me up to 30% due to other injuries incurred over the years. I suppose I could whine about the Navy throwing me away like a broken toy, but the truth is that 25 years later I can still work for a living (if you can call flying helicopters "work") and the check each month from the VA doesn't hurt, either. It ain't retirement, but it'll do for now. Oh, and I don't have to pay for Obamacare...
 
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I would have never guessed it was a helicopter when you said you lost an engine. I am unfamiliar with that aircraft, how many engines does it have or did you have to autorotate it down? I've been in one non-planned hard autorotation landing in a Huey (my last day in Vietnam while catching a ride up to Danang to go home) and it scared the heck out of me.

Yep I know the Otay Lakes area well, I used to live fairly close to them and drove by them quite a bit. Took the TJ up in those hills a few times when it was new.

Well at least the good news is that you're not totally crippled up and fighting to survive.
 
Wow, I love seeing these photos and hearing these stories. I'm a big military buff so this is a great thread!
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
I would have never guessed it was a helicopter when you said you lost an engine. I am unfamiliar with that aircraft, how many engines does it have or did you have to autorotate it down? I've been in one non-planned hard autorotation landing in a Huey (my last day in Vietnam while catching a ride up to Danang to go home) and it scared the heck out of me.

Yep I know the Otay Lakes area well, I used to live fairly close to them and drove by them quite a bit. Took the TJ up in those hills a few times when it was new.

Well at least the good news is that you're not totally crippled up and fighting to survive.
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The H-3 is a twin-engine helicopter, about 1500 HP per engine. Sounds good until you realize that the aircraft weighs in excess of 20,000 pounds. That night we had extra crew and full fuel - when #1 engine failed at an altitude of 80 feet as we were climbing out of a hover there was no way the other engine was going to keep us in the air. We did an autorotation to the water with the #2 engine firewalled. Burned that engine up keeping the rotors turning, and once we were on the water we couldn't get more than 60% power out of it. At that point we became a boat for the duration - which was better than becoming a submarine!

I do feel very fortunate that I can keep working, even though the pain never really goes away. When I go to my appointments at the VA I see a whole bunch of folks who have it a lot worse than I do, so I don't have much cause for complaint.
 
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Neal, at least you know how to crash land a helicopter! I imagine that's something they teach you when you're learning to become a helicopter pilot?
 
Neal said:
Yeah, for some reason the FAA thinks it's a good idea. Of course, among us old, bold pilot types, it's only a crash if you break something after you touch down...
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Pretty cool you got your helicopter pilot's certificate after having been a crew chief! :)
 
Jerry Bransford said:
Pretty cool you got your helicopter pilot's certificate after having been a crew chief! :)
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I had actually gotten my private certificate while I was on active duty (1981) and was working on my commercial ticket in between deployments. I had more flight hours than most of the pilots I flew with, and they thought it was a hoot that the Navy didn't think I was smart enough to be a pilot because I didn't have a college degree. I did end up getting quite a bit of "off the books" stick time on non-tactical flights. When the Navy cut me loose they gave me a severance check that covered most of the cost of finishing up, along with my VA educational benefits. The way I looked at it, if I couldn't work for a living any more, I might as well become a pilot!
 
How cool, what a great story. I have my PP certificate but there's no way I could figure out how to fly a helicopter... let alone how much more it costs to get that rating! :eek:
 
USN...did a tour in Vietnam 69-70 up and down the rivers (Brown Water Navy). After my tour went to San Diego for radio school for 4 months then was sent to the Outback of Australia for 2 years at a communication station at the edge of the Indian ocean. Now being country boy .... being sent to an isolated duty station was no big deal. I was use to entertaining myself and finding things to do. First off I had a brand new Yamaha 250 DT-1 sent from Japan to me. There was so much remote country out there, it was a dirt biker's paradise. I found wild goats, emus and chased kangaroos. On my days off, I would strap on some extra gas and head out. It was 75 miles of dirt road before I hit pavement. 223 miles to the nearest town.
 
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lowranger said:
USN...did a tour in Vietnam 69-70 up and down the rivers (Brown Water Navy).
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Welcome home brother. Hopefully you didn't have to be around Kerry, he was commander of a swift boat there in '69. Kerry lied about what happened to him during one patrol to get an undeserved Purple Heart. Someone in his unit threw a grenade into a cache of rice and Kerry was nicked by a grenade fragment which is not grounds for the award of the PH. Kerry put in for his own PH since he wasn't wounded in action and no one with him would put him in for it. :mad:
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
Welcome home brother. Hopefully you didn't have to be around Kerry, he was commander of a swift boat there in '69. Kerry lied about what happened to him during one patrol to get an undeserved Purple Heart. Someone in his unit threw a grenade into a cache of rice and Kerry was nicked by a grenade fragment which is not grounds for the award of the PH. Kerry put in for his own PH since he wasn't wounded in action and no one with him would put him in for it. :mad:
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Jerry don't get me wrong-- I have no love for him but prove it!
 
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