The Outlaw Ramp
A typical scene as the Outlaws began to saddle up
for the day's missions. I was slated to fly
Outlaw 14 on this particular morning and that's my
chest plate on the the panel of 14.
On the evening of 21 May 1967 the Airfield came under
mortar attack. I made the
following notes in my journal:
MAY 21: No flight today.
Vinh Long was mortared this evening. I was in the library when the
first round hit, and had no doubts about what it was. Got outside
to the small ditch that runs along side the building. The showers
are located on the other side of the ditch, and men were jumping in the
ditch from there too. Some were in the shower when the rounds started
failing. Sort of funny to see naked bodies flying through the air
and landing in the wet, muddy ditch. All of the rounds landed out
on the flight line - the Outlaw Ramp to be exact. After it settled
down, we went out to take a look. Charles is an excellent mortarer.
Pretty well wiped out the helicopters. Outlaw 19 took a direct hit.
Total loss. Outlaw 6 was also a total loss. My ship, Outlaw
12, took serious hits from shrapnel - looks like it got all the radios
and flight instruments. Also the engine and rotor system. Will
be down for several days, at least. No one was injured, except WO
Carson Snow. He was up on the flight deck preflighting the rotor
system of his ship when the first round hit. Jumped off, hurt his
back and twisted an ankle. That round hit just a few meters from
him, very lucky he wasn't seriously hurt. Charles sure wiped us out
tonight. I knew he could, and we've often wondered why he never did.
Sure did tonight. We were headed in to the hootch when it dawned
on us. It could have been the living quarters he selected to blow
up.
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OUTLAW 12
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