Daughter seeks deciphering re: 96 year old USMC Pilot

[gobatp]

Dad says his was the first squadron assigned the CH53 ( can’t remember ) they were too large to be based on ships even though he did land them on ships. Later on they would station one on a ship for heavy utility needs.
MediVacs from a gun site - wounded would be carried away from gun site or it would be blown away by the rotors wash.
Carried farm animals to villages- had to be careful about where the cage was opened or the cow would run off the mountainside cliff!
The photo from Vietnam- the earlier reference to small gun fire.
Oh. No guns mounted on the outside of that copter because they were carried inside as needed. Mounted inside and swiveled and shot by hand while standing on a boiler plate.

 

[JTS11]

Dad says his was the first squadron assigned the CH53 ( can’t remember ) they were too large to be based on ships even though he did land them on ships. Later on they would station one on a ship for heavy utility needs.
MediVacs from a gun site - wounded would be carried away from gun site or it would be blown away by the rotors wash.
Carried farm animals to villages- had to be careful about where the cage was opened or the cow would run off the mountainside cliff!
The photo from Vietnam- the earlier reference to small gun fire.
Oh. No guns mounted on the outside of that copter because they were carried inside as needed. Mounted inside and swiveled and shot by hand while standing on a boiler plate.

God bless your Pops! I wish he had an account on here, so we could pick his brain for his experiences.

You're doing God's work, and hopefully many more years of healthy/happy times!

 

[gobatp]

I did make him an account here. I’ll need to sit with him to access the account for him I believe. I do want to share Happy Birthday to all Marines today. Dad and I went to a celebration this afternoon where he was the oldest Marine present. He was given the piece of cake , took his bite and passed it to the youngest Marine present. The youngest had been born in 1997. Dad: they make em this young?! I used to be that young! Cracked the room up. He had a wonderful time talking about serving with other veterans. I’m grateful to have this venue to share his experiences as well as my own. Semper Fi.

 

[JTS11]

I'm not trying to make everyone feel old, but there was likely someone born in 2005-2006 eating a piece of cake this year.

The youngest had been born in 1997.

It's just the natural evolution, but is always a bit shocking...For @gobatp , can we post some questions/things on here, that maybe your dad would be willing to respond to? I understand either way. Thx

 

[gobatp]

Love to! I like your thinking- Send your questions. 👍🏼
Grant me a grain of salt when it comes to the vernacular; I’m eager to improve.

 

[JTS11]

Love to! I like your thinking- Send your questions. 👍🏼
Grant me a grain of salt when it comes to the vernacular; I’m eager to improve.

haha, don't worry about not knowing any lingo. Don't let that inhibit you at all on here.

My first question to your dad (based on some of your previous posts and pics of his records), would be (as I understand it from those posts) is that he had thousands of hours in fixed-wing aircraft, and then transitioned into a relatively new USMC helicopter (CH-53A). Based off of that:

1) How easy was that transition from a pure pilot perspective? (transitions to different aircraft were much more fluid in his times than it is now)

2) Does he have any comments/recollections of the tactics that Marine helos were using during his time in Vietnam? (@Griz882 is the historian on this site, and has previously commented on probably where/when your dad was operating)

Thanks, @gobatp ...maybe, this helps start the flow. Probably others on here will have better questions...

 

[Griz882]

I’d add…

Did he ever fly earlier, piston, helicopters like the CH-34?

 

[JTS11]

I’d add…

Did he ever fly earlier, piston, helicopters like the CH-34?

I got about 20 minutes in a CH-34 while on AD. A quick out/in down the New River from a Vietnam era demo group. I ended up giving up the controls on short final, while the crusty Vietnam vet understood how to work the dual (I believe?) twist grips...and I had zero clue. (thank God for governors)

 

[Griz882]

I got about 20 minutes in a CH-34 while on AD. A quick out/in down the New River from a Vietnam era demo group. I ended up giving up the controls on short final, while the crusty Vietnam vet understood how to work the dual (I believe?) twist grips...and I had zero clue. (thank God for governors)

It’s on my very long bucket list. Doubt it will ever happen but dreaming is free!

 

[JTS11]

It’s on my very long bucket list. Doubt it will ever happen but dreaming is free!

My recollection was that it seemed weird how high the cockpit was. I'm guessing bc of where the engines were located. But,yeah it was a pretty cool experience. I regretfully never got that brief jog put in my logbook.

Edit: upon a quick google, it appears there was just a single piston engine. My bad

 

[ChuckMK23]

It’s on my very long bucket list. Doubt it will ever happen but dreaming is free!

There is a piston H-34 that roams around the midwest doing construction work and also working the cherry orchards in Michigan (drying). Frequently at Lunken. The S-58/H-34 has the most rudimentary analog of stabilization system - and is apparently a bear to fly "stab off". Also heard the RPM control (twist grip) is something that's 'learned' vs 'taught' and "overboost' was pretty easy to get into as well as Nr overspeed.

When men were men!