Being in the 1st Cav in Vietnam meant you flew most everywhere you went. Being in the Army meant that whatever it was you were formally trained to do, in my case 13A10 (my MOS “Military Occupational Specialty” or “job” in civilian speak) artillery, was most likely not what you would do.
I spent some time in the battery but most all of that was in Exec Post checking fire mission data. Later I was near the helicopter units and as a result was able to volunteer to fly as a door gunner on Hueys. Mostly “dust off” (medivac) and mortar patrol stuff (fly on station waiting for a mission.) So, trained artillery but able to fly as a door gunner without training. Go figure.
These pictures are taken in the Quang Tri area where I did all my flying. That’s Camp Evans at the bottom. Notice all the helicopters. The rest are taken in the I Corp area and show how beautiful the country is, even more so today now that much of the cratering has filled in.
The shot showing my boots with the ground below gives a good idea of the spectacular vantage point the gunners have on a gunship.
