LZ: Florida (photos coming soon)

LZ THE WALL SOUTH

"A symbol of how a group of veterans with just a dream all worked together to build something very positive and very healing."

In tribute to the 58,224 killed in action in Vietnam, In The Shadow of The Blade made its first landing at the Wall South in Pensacola, Florida: a granite 3/4-sized replica of Washington’s memorial built by local veterans Lenny Collins, Nelson Wellborn, Art Giberson, and other veterans who raised the money through bake sales and car washes. To this day, they use no tax dollars to fund the Veterans Memorial Park, which now honors the Korean and World Wars as well.

Even though it is a place where the dead are remembered, Wall South is also a testament to the living—an example of dedication, of hard work, and of something we would see many times: if no one else would pay tribute to Vietnam’s veterans, they would do it themselves.

"It was something I wished could happen every day--that a we could come down here and see another Huey land here again..." -Lenny Collins, one of Wall South's founders.

"From the beginning, 091 became a repository for momentoes, especially unit pins and patches... Thank you for a wonderful experience at The Wall South in Pensacola. A special thanks for allowing me to sit again in the 'Well' and for taking 'Diamondhead' with you on your historic mission." -Bill Osthagen <TheOsthagens@gulftel.com>, Foley, AL USA

Learn more about Vietnam War Killed In Action at The Virtual Wall.

"It's like riding a bicycle..."

The first ITSOTB crew disembarked at Wall South and for the first of many times, the aircraft's left seat was handed from one Vietnam helicopter pilot to the next, from Mike Novosel to Tom Berry to Ben Powell and on and on until well more than 50 men who'd once flown Hueys in battle--and three children whose fathers lost their lives doing so--had taken 091's controls. They were pilots from the army, the navy, the marines. They'd flown slicks, gunships, and medevacs into the jungles and deltas and highlands of Vietnam, charting a new form of troop transport, resupply, and rescue in the proud uniforms of the First Cavalry and the 101st Airborne and new units organized for "The Helicopter War."

During those first days in Florida, as a film crew we were flying by the seat of our pants, so to speak. It was a complicated production involving the nearly constant movement of two helicopters and three vehicles in a way that would keep cameras on the ground and in the air. Scheduling was an intricate logistical equation demanding that vehicles advanced aircraft, that airborne cameras carried adequate tape and batteries, that the Jet Ranger be landed often so its nose-mounted camera lens could be cleared of bugs, that details were communicated to the landing zones and vise versa, that the crew members--or their luggage--hadn't been left behind, and, most of all, that we rolled on everything.

It took a while to figure it all out.

During the production we lost and/or left behind at least two wireless microphones, several camera batteries, a sock or two, and--please forgive us if you had to deal with this--who knows how many dirty clothes. The worst "lost story," though, was on the second day in Florida when Austin got a call from the ground crew reporting "we've lost the Huey." The aircraft was late to the Landing Zone and couldn't be reached via radio or cell phone. During the ten or so minutes it took to find 091, an equal number of years were taken from the life of this producer.

But it didn't take long to understand the power of the mission. At a fuel stop in Cross City, a good part of the town had come out. It wasn't an organized LZ. No filming was done. No press release had been issued. But somehow this town had gotten word that an old Vietnam War helicopter was passing through, and they came out--grandmothers and small children and vets with tears in their eyes, and that first night of the journey would end with an entry by the editor of their paper in the ITSOTB guestbook:

From the Guestbook:

"The good ship "Shadow" landed at the Dixie County, Cross City Airport tonight. For a small group of Americans in this, the second smallest county in Florida, this was a special moment in their lives. The crew warmed their hearts, ignited their spirits and filled their minds with the vision that is "In the Shadow of the Blade." No matter where the crew and this legendary Huey goes over the next several weeks, the impression they make will be no greater than the one left in Dixie County tonight. God bless and God speed to all of you as you take the torch of this great country to those who paid the sacrifice for our freedom. "Let us never forget!"
-Sidney Dosh, Jr. <editor@dcadvocate.net>, Cross City, Florida USA

" We were comrades, we were allies during the Vietnam War..."

American Huey pilots in Vietnam served a one-year tour. But the South Vietnamese Huey pilots who trained in the U.S. to fly UH-1 aircraft were "in it for life." The Florida Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association helped us find one of those men--Ky Nguyen--and got him to Lakeland for a sunrise flight honoring his fellow Army of the Republic of Vietnam helicopter pilots. Now an American citizen, Nguyen still has his flight school certificate and says, "I still love my job."

The ITSOTB that might have been...

When we started ITSOTB in 2000, we met a 101st Airborne Division veteran, Bob Carr, who had restored the Five-0-Deuce, a Huey he'd flown in Vietnam. Our original intent was to take Carr, a crew of "Comancheros" and the Duece on this cross-country journey, but it wasn't meant to be.

In Punta Gorda 091 visited the Five-O-Deuce and her crew. Lovingly restored by her former in-country pilot Comanchero Bob Carr, 502 was now a cannibalized shell. Bob and his fellow Comancheros, once slated to take 502 on this mission, had every reason to be bitter, or at the very least, disconnected. Instead, they put their heartbreak aside for the greater cause and saluted ITSOTB on its way, carrying the blessing of Bob Carr’s vision, if not the man himself. Bob Carr, John Lipski, and Marc Goodell... a class act.

See the Five-O-Deuce in the ITSOTB DVD Extra "A Man and His Huey."

If you watch carefully, you can spot the 502 flying in all her glory in the ITSOTB feature... Here's a hint: it's an over-a-river aerial...

"Where have all the young girls gone?"

They're singing in a Huey--or at least that's true for Linda DeShon and Jeanne Carpenter, aka "The Hilltop Singers," who boarded 091 in Punta Gorda to recall their Vietnam USO tour days with Bob Baird at the controls. "I stood by in Christmas of 1967 for the Bob Hope show," the DUSTOFF pilot recalls. But "holy hell broke loose" and he lost his chance at a USO show experience.

Thirtysomething years later, the Hilltop Singers made it up to him.

The Eternal Optimist

A routine mission in January 1968 took Huey gunship pilot Frank Anton into a five-year journey through hell. Shot down, captured, and held for three years in the hostile jungle of South Vietnam, he was eventually forced on a six-month march north along the Ho Chi Minh trail to Hanoi, where he spent two more years as a Prisoner Of War. You might think someone with that kind of experience wouldn’t want to be in a Huey again—but you’d be wrong.

"To the Team and Crew of-- 091-- What a fabulous thing you are doing with this project. After meeting ALL of you and getting to fly the aircraft yesterday into Daytona I can only be in total awe of the entire experience. I feel the friendship of everyone I met yesterday, and will never forget the entire day. May you all continue this trip with the tribute to the HUEY as it truly deserves... great great great... Vietnam may have been the "worst of times" but the BEST is because of people who knew and flew the UH-1... Frank Anton CW-4 USA (ret.) Ex-POW <fanton@aol.com>, Satellite Beach, Florida USA

An ITSOTB Recommended Read: Why Didn't You Get Me Out? by Frank Anton

A Story We Wish We'd Told...

Blowing and going as fast as we did, we missed a lot, even though we ended up with more than 250 hours of footage. An example is this guestbook entry from someone who came to the LZ but wasn't filmed...

From the Guestbook:

"I would like to thank all those involved in bringing the Huey to the St. Lucie County Florida Airport. It brought back many memories...some good... some not so good. If it were not for a Huey bringing me the the 85th Med Evac in Qui Nhon on June 2nd 1966 I would have died that day. To me it was a memory of LIFE. I was proud to serve with the 1st Cavalry Division, DELTA RECON, 2/7th Cavalry 1965-66. As an AIRBOBILE Cavalry unit we rode the Huey's every day. I hope this will inspire quesstions from the youth that have an oppertunity to see it up close. They need to know the TRUTH about Viet Nam and the men that fought that war. Again thank you for allowing me the oppertunity to reminis about the past and how it has formed my today. In memory of 2/LT Rick Rescorla... WTC... 9/11.. Rest in Peace my Brother... May Your Memory Be Eternal."
-Niko <LRRPUS@AOL.COM>, Jensen Beach, Florida USA

If you know your Vietnam War, you know there are a lot of stories behind this entry, not only for this 1st Cav vet who was saved by a Huey, but for his friend Rick Rescorla, a hero of the Battle of the Ia Drang in Vietnam--and a hero who lost his life as a September 11th hero in the World Trade Center. If you'd like to read biographies that will inspire you with the wonder of what one person can be, ITSOTB recommends Heart of a Soldier.

Next ITSOTB Stop: Georgia.

SEE THE DOCUMENTARY

Host a Screening

Watch on the Military Channel

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

Join Email List

Discussion Forum

Latest News

LANDING ZONES

Alabama

Florida

Georgia

Kentucky

Louisiana

Mississippi

Texas

New Mexico