Seen better days for sure -Submitted by: Mike Collier [collier1911@gmail.com] 2011-10-25

Rocco Valluzzi was the pilot and I was the copilot. We were on a medivac mission to the west of Tra Bong (spelling?) sw of Chu Lai to pick up some WIA Nungs (spelling?) operating with Australian advisors. It was a small zone on the top of a ridge line. As we started to flare for landing the engine went to minimum power and we drove the a/c into the ridge short of the zone. The a/c started to slide back down the ridge at which time I decided that it might be a good idea to make an exit. I managed to make it up the hill and into the LZ in what must have been a record for a 100 yd dash. I believe I was the only one hurt (reinjured a compression fracture from a previous bout of stupidity). The a/c was 147126. I had a camera and have additional pictures of the crash site including some of the crew but I don’t know who they were. If I can ever figure out how to do it I’ll e-mail you copies. Another 34 with a gunship escort picked up the wounded and our crew later. Hopefully my r

I received the above post fro Bill Doull. Really good H-34 pilot

From Ken Strawn a Crew Chief with HMM- 263 All: I can add a little bit more to Bill Doull's narrative. I was the crew chief that day and we had started out on my plane, #23. There was something wrong and we switched to #2 to complete the mission. It was probably the throttle which I discovered I had been rigging the wrong way. Phil Hengles got me straightened out on that one night. I don't remember who the crew chief on #2 was but he was ticked at me for not bringing back his plane. I don't remember who the gunner was that day but I don't believe he was a mech. I think he was a metal smith or avionics guy. Other than Bill, none of us were seriously hurt but they gave us all purple hearts. I did have a small cut on my wrist but it was smaller than any of the shrapnel wounds that John Kerry got purple hearts for. I wouldn't have noticed it except the corpsman with us pointed out the blood on my hand to me. Sadly, I don't remember which corpsman it was (