INTRUDER WEBMASTER

In August of 1968, the 281st AHC was called upon to rescue an entire Montagnard village near My Loc, northwest of Nha Trang. Read the story (provided by Bandit Paul Greiner) reported in the Green Beret Magazine in 1968, and see the pictures below provided by then 1LT Tom Ross, a Special Forces officer involved in the operation. Tom is cited in the GB Mag article, and has generously provided copies of the pictures he took of some of the aircrews involved in the operation. Feel free to contact Tom at trjc@mindspring.com with any information you may have about the Intruders in the photos, and information about the operation. Reports indicate that all three 281st AHC platoons, Rat pack, Bandits, and WolfPack were involved in the rescue.

[NOTE: The 7 pictures are large and require some time to download, so I have placed only one picture per page.]

Thanks for the info on Joe.

I thought we had spoken about A-502 . . . it must have been the Rat Pack guys. I was the S2/S3 Officer at A-502 for most of 1968. The 281st flew many many support missions for us. I'm building an entire mini-site for the 281st on the A-502.com site.

Go to A-502.com, then to the Support Units page, then to the 281st page . . . I hope you will be pleased and amused. It is still under construction.

One of the most important missions you all flew for us was a rescue mission the lasted for three days and rescued an entire Montagnard village. I don't know if any of your folks know it, but CBS TV and several print media covered the mission. The story aired on The Evening News with Walter Cronkite in August of 1968. What a great story to be reminded of on the 4th of July!!

On the last day of the mission, after everyone else had been returned to Trung Dung, weather closed in and I became stranded out in the middle on nowhere with only a squad size unit . . . and it was getting dark. In spite of the heavy rain, two of your slicks with one of the Wolf Pack ships took off from Nha Trang. They followed the river west and found us . . . you guys are my heroes. This story is just one that I tell in my book Privileges of War.

With combat patrol insertions and observation missions I flew so many hours with you guys that I was given an Air Medal. So, "Yes" you worked with A-502. Check the maps on A-502.com and I'm sure you'll remember more.

Warm regards from Atlanta,

Tom