MACV-SOG Photos

JACOBS LADDER...Army slick configured for ladder extract. This form of insertion or extrication required the aircraft to hover over a hole in the jungle under less than optimal conditions, often under fire to allow the recon team members to board the ladder. The Pilot in this photo is Barry Schreiber.

Photo Courtesy of Mike Brokovich

KINGBEES Capt. Mike Brokovich and friends in front of H-34's of the KINGBEES.

Pictured are four Army Huey gunship pilots from Battery B, 77th ARA, 101st Airborne Division, standing in front of H-34's from the AFVN 219th squadron "Kingbee". Their call sign on the CCN missions was usually "Dragonfly". Captain Mike Brokovich, (click here to read Mikes story) pictured here would usually "Fly Lead" when he flew these missions, which he did from March 1969 into 1970. The other three pilots from the left are Al Hanson, who is MIA presumed dead, Willy Lawson who retired from the Army as a Lt. Col., and Barry Schreiber.

An Army slick completing a "string" extraction of a recon team in the vicinity of Co Roc Mountain. Co Roc Mountain standing to the west of Khe Sahn in Laos served as an almost impregnable artillery base with caves that sheltered North Vietnamese heavy artillery during the siege of Khe Sahn. It was a prominent terrain feature visible from a great distance in good weather and was sometime referred to as "Prudential Mountain" by Scarface pilots in 1969. It was not uncommon to take occasional air bursts from large caliber antiaircraft weapons in this vicinity.

A Shau Extract View of an Army slick completing a "string" extraction of a recon team from the A Shau valley.

CCN Sign. The Scarface pilot is Frank Cuddy. He'd been a sergeant for several years and then became a 46 pilot with HMM-265. Apparently he got tired of not shooting back so extended his tour for 6 months. He got to go anywhere in the world so picked HML367 and became a gunship pilot.

The photo is taken at the SOG FOB in Quang Tri, MLT-2. From this compound many of Scarface's most demanding missions were flown.

Photo from 1969 Phu Bai Cruise book .

MLT2 Typical Prairie Fire mission package and Aerial view of MLT-2's FOB at Quang Tri. The large four bladed helicopters are Kingbee H34's. Three US Army slicks are seen to the left of the H34's and on the extreme left are 2 Army Cobras. The photograph was taken from one of the two Scarface UH1E gunships that lead the mission package.

B/4/77 Cobras in flight. These Pilots worked with 367 on many missions in support of CCN MACV-SOG in I Corps and Laos. Photo Credit Mike Brokovich

Former Scarface CO & Friend of SOG LtCol. Robinson listening to Country Western at the club. LtCol Robinson was killed in Malaysia in a helicopter crash in 1970. Photo courtesy of Bill Shelton

The Club at FOB Phu Bai. Courtesy LtCol Bill Shelton

Photo Courtesy of Paul Rollins

FOB Phu Bai aerial shot. The club is in the lower left corner. The street behind the indig barracks is where the prior photo is taken. The area near the top is the RVN training center. Photo Courtesy Bill Shelton

Bill Shelton with his STD Counterpart MAJ Tuan at Phu Bai Photo Courtesy Bill Shelton