Herbert John Blaha

[DrewBlaha]

I'm going to post this into the 'Looking For' thread, as well as each of the 4 units my father was assigned to:
HMM 165 07/07/68 to 08/28/68
HMM 364 07/17/68 to 12/02/68
HMM 265 11/01/68 to 05/24/69
HMH 462 10/28/68 to 02/28/69

I'm looking for anyone who may remember my father and be able to share any stories with me about him during this time. Or I guess any time really. He was a Lt.Col then. Retired in 1977, and past away in 1989. I just now found this site and was hoping to find out more about him.

Thanks,
Drew Blaha

[dchurchin]

During the 1968-1969 time frame where you have HMH-462, I believe your Dad was the Executive Officer of Marine Air Group 36 at Phu Bai, Viet Nam. At the time I was in HMH-462 and don't recall whether your Dad flew with us, but I'm sure he must have. The next time I ran into him was in 1974 while aboard a helicopter aircraft carrier operating in the Mediteranean Sea. I was the maintenance officer of the embarked helicopter squadron and I believe at the time he was a general visiting various units in the Med.

[Joe Reed]

Drew,
We had a few group "heavies" fly with us from time to time to maintain their ratings, proficiency and to stay up to date on the areas in which we operated. I recall more than one flight where such an officer (usually flew co-pilot as a visitor) came with our unit (HMM-165) and we were flying a lot during 1968, some from Carriers and some from Marble Mountain and earlier in Phu Bai. I wish I could recall specifics, but is nearly 40 years gone by. If he flew with the White Knights of HMM-165, he was a good one!

[Sam Decker]

Can't say that I really knew the Col., but on 12/31/68 I was crewing a bird that got gunned down, running medivacs out of a crappy little place they called An Hoa. We started out and got hit and made it back to the L/Z.

Had been hit, but not too bad and stayed with the bird until an extract arived. Shot our way out and went back to Phu Bai.

Your father made it a point to look me up that evening and see how I was and how the rest the crew was doing. Way beyound what I would have expected from a base CO. Believe he really cared about all of us.

Sam Decker
Crew Chief YF-5

[stephany Kizer Byers]

Drew,
I am so sorry to hear of your fathers passing. I cannot imagine the depth of the sorrow that must bring.

I am the daughter of Lt. Col. James P. Kizer, I believe that we were all in El Toro at the same time. More important, I am the little sister, not so much any more at the age of 42, of Jimmy and Steve. When the three of get together and talk about the old days, stories of Peter come up. We would so love to have some way to contact him.

If you are infact the brother of Peter that went to University High during the later years of the 70's, I think he would have graduated in 79, then please contact me. My father was XO at LTA and did know your father.

Stephany Kizer-Byers
kizerbyers@aol.com