A Shau Valley CA
By Donald F. Gourley
November 12, 2012

Second platoon has the lead on this one. It will not be one of those TV news, rice paddy CAs with lots of choppers simultaneously landing and taking off. This is triple canopy jungle; it only allows for a one or two-ship PZ. But we have enough slicks to carry the 90 or so soldiers of Charlie Company and the slicks will form up for a company strength assault when all the troops are airborne.

High altitude and fuel weight restrict the number of men each Huey can carry. As usual for an A Shau operation, it will be a four-man lift. Waiting beside the PZ we watch the first slick approach and when it touches, we board. The HQ element will go in first: me and my RTO, Jim jump in the left door. In the right door, are the 60 gunner "Hook" and his assistant gunner, "the Jungle Fox." The slick immediately lifts off, leans forward at what seems a 90 degree tilt, picks up speed, climbs and suddenly we're a couple of hundred feet up.

We go higher, circle and wait ...then with the 90-man company airborne, we head for the LZ, a nameless riverbed somewhere in the Valley where higher has decided we might find NVA troops. We're again restricted by terrain to a one-ship LZ. As lead element, you hope that if it's hot, at least a few of slicks following behind will still come in, drop their troops despite the enemy fire and provide you with you some back-up. The 101st pilots are the best and we don't sweat what we can't control in any case. On the way, we sit back in the doorway, our asses in board as much as possible. We've done this before: weapons are loaded and locked, muzzles pointed out the doors, eyes are straight ahead, thoughts are on what we'll find on the ground and how we'll handle it. The rotor blades make a loud clattering noise, the slick lurches and stomachs churn but it's just an air pocket. The pilot adjusts, the blades claw for air and it's quiet again, or as quiet as it can be with open doors and air speed of 100 or so knots.

We circle the LZ then start a long descent. Cobras have prepped the area and the dust and smoke from their rockets, 40mm and 7.62 clearly defines the LZ. We fly down a wide river course between mud banks 30-40 feet high. I notice the banks are pocked with hundreds of holes—must be swallows? The crew chief hits my shoulder and yells the obvious, we're going in now.

Moments later he yells that it's a hot LZ; then laughing, tells me that a couple of rounds hit our ship and one ricocheted off the pilots armored seat and went through the cabin roof. I fail to see the humor but I'm glad he's laughing; can't wait to get on the ground. Now the door gunners have opened fire; the question is at what? The slick heads into the LZ fast, the pilot hauls back, the nose rises and the skids touch ground. Thumbs on safeties, ready for trouble we offload and take cover as the empty slick powers up and away from the LZ.

On the ground now, we're not taking fire. We don't see any hostile targets and we don't take any casualties. The choppers behind us come in and unload the rest of the platoon and company without trouble. We chalk off another one, form up and move out of the bed and into the triple canopy.

Donald F. Gourley (2-6)
1LT, INF
2nd Platoon, C Co, 1st Battalion 501st Infantry
101st Airborne Division 1969

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