![]() "We had five or six aircraft but usually only had three or four flying at one time. Rich resided with the Sharks who flew the gunships while the Dolphins were the slicks. Rich said the 174th was split into Sharks and Dolphins. The Web site notes that between 19, 2,197 helicopter pilots were either killed in action or their bodies were never recovered. Rich didn't say it, but history records the fact that being a helicopter pilot in Vietnam was a deadly business. Some he kept in touch with some, died in Vietnam. Yet as he flipped through the photos, he'd stop and note the people in them. The photos could have been taken yesterday there was nothing contemporary to give away a sense of time. Rich talked, he clicked through a series of photos displayed on a screen behind him. "I was 23 when I was in Vietnam, and I was the oldest warrant officer. ![]() ![]() Essentially, it was an airborne truck, he said. For the first four months, he was a "slick" pilot, flying every type of supply imaginable. Rich was assigned to the 174th Assault Helicopter Company in Duc Pho. Army had more planes than the Air Force? We use to say the Army was the biggest Air Force in the world!" Through his pictures and memories, the Airmen saw what service to country meant 35 years ago in Duc Pho, Vietnam, in 1971. Rich discussed his experiences from Vietnam with a group. The 50th Space Wing's warfighter talk on July 20, marked only the fourth time Mr. He pulled out his pictures and began talking about his experiences. He took the medals home, put them on a bookcase and led his life as a school teacher, many mental miles away from what he now calls "another day, another time." While there, he received a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. Jim Rich is a "regular guy" who spent 366 days in the U.S.
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