Three days before Christmas 1962 the 8th Trans participated in an operation that I recall was back from the coast, west of Tuy Hoa. Our sister company from Plei Ku joined us for the party, and it proved to be a memorable one. Some of the details are jumbled now, of course, but not the story behind this photograph of a blood-soaked cockpit. CWO Holloway was, as I heard it, showing CWO Daniel Gressang, a new pilot on his first combat mission, how things were done. Somewhere along the line, a very lucky VC put a bullet into the cockpit and that bullet hit Mr. Holloway in the head. Mr. Gressang was suddenly on his own and how he got the aircraft back to the dirt strip at Tuy Hoa I cannot tell. The body had already been removed by the time we landed.

The fuel cell had taken some hits, too. Fuel had gushed from the holes -- those were the days before self-sealing fuel cells -- and the crew chief had the presence of mind to rip up his leather flight gloves and jam the pieces into each little hole. The hot exhaust stack was just outside the door and raw fuel must have poured on it for a few moments before the leaks were plugged.

SP5 Hiawatha Oaks, also along on the mission, tells me that crew chief was SP6 Mooney, and he surely deserved a Bronze Star or better for his quick action. Oaks recalls that Mooney's flight suit had three bullet holes in it -- all in the crotch area -- and none made holes in Mooney.

Mr. Gressang deserved something too -- free drinks at his unit's O-club come to mind -- and he was awarded the DFC for the way he managed the disaster. I wondered then and now how he coped with the surprise of it, how he managed the aircraft with his mentor's body suddenly slumped over the controls. Was that something the flight instructors at Fort Rucker taught new pilots -- how to cope with chaos in the cockpit and an aircraft full of holes? And who got into that seat and flew the helicopter back to Plei Ku, and who cleaned up the mess? If the enlisted soldier who had to clean off the blood that covered the right side of the aircraft and that puddled in the cockpit ever reads this -- I salute you, buddy!

Once in a while somebody who wasn't with us will tell me what it was like in those easy days and they lightly disparage our missions and our missionaries, and when they do I pull out the photos and let them take a look at Holloway's blood two inches deep, his flight glasses where they fell. I remember CWO Holloway of course, but I never look at this photograph without thinking also of the SP6 Mooney and his gloves, CWO Gressang suddenly on his own, and the solder who did the cleanup -- they are all heroes, with and without decorations.

CWO Gressang (who made a career of the Army and died at age 71 in 2006) was later decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross. Here is the citation to his award:

"For heroism while participating in aerial flight: Warrant Officer Gressang distinguished himself by heroic action on 22 December 1962 while serving as a co-pilot of a CH-21C helicopter at Van Hoa, Republic of Vietnam. Warrant Officer Gressang, who was flying his aircraft in support of a Republic of Vietnam Army assault force, was informed by radio prior to landing in the attack area that it was under direct hostile small arms fire. However, he continued the landing operation since he realized that his load of Vietnamese soldiers were an important part of the assault. After Warrant Officer Gressang successfully unloaded his troops, his aircraft came under direct fire from the front and side during take-off. As a result of this hostile fire, the pilot was fatally wounded and Warrant Officer Gressang became the aircraft commander. Although the helicopter had sustained eleven hits and was seriously damaged, he successfully flew the aircraft to safety. Warrant Officer Gressang's leadership and heroic action under fire reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Army and are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service."