Sunday, June 4, 1972
Pilot's Report: A Hot War In The Delta
By Spec. 4 Jim Smith
CAN THO, Vietnam --In the cozy safety of Charlie Troop's club the other day 1st Lt. Michael King, 22, a "scout" pilot, drank cold soda with his left hand. His right arm was in a sling.The 16th Air Cav. officer was hit in the forearm by fragments from a Communist AK47 rifle round while assessing the results of a B52 strike in his little OH6 light observation helicopter."It's just like all over the rest of the country," King asserted. "There's as much activity down here as anywhere."Charlie Troop is the last American chopper unit still flying combat missions in the Delta. There are about 2,500 Americans left in the southernmost military region in South Vietnam and most of them are at Can Tho Army airfield where C Troop is based.King was hurt just southeast of Can Tho in Chuong Thien Province, one of the hottest areas in the delta of late."It was the first time in two weeks any of our birds has taken a hit," the Hartsville, S.C., native said. "We know there's a war going on down here, if nobody else in the delta does. Our scout (LOH choppers) have been taking heavy fire for over a month."King said there had been several B52 strikes in Chuong Thien province in the last few days. "The delta's supposed to be pacified," he said, "but only from 2,000 feet. I went down on a DBA (bomb damage assessment) and took fire from 100 directions.The AK round hit King in the armored vest that all chopper pilots wear, and fragments lodged in his forearm. Another bullet tore through the floor and left through the top of the chopper.Elsewhere, chopper pilots reported .51 caliber and .37mm anti-aircraft fire has been aimed at their birds since the communist offensive began."Pilot's Report: A Hot War in the Delta", by Spec. 4 Jim Smith", published in the Pacific Stars and Stripes Sunday, June 4, 1972 and reprinted from European and Pacific Stars and Stripes, a Department of Defense publication copyright, 2002 European and Pacific Stars and Stripes.