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FOX&nb= sp; FAX

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Journal of the 199^th Recon Airplane Company RVN 1967-70 Vol. 5, Issue 3 Mar 08

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Swamp Fox Coordinator 2007-9 &nb= sp; Woody Barnes Fox 35 swampfox35@bellsouth.net=

Swamp Fox Coordinator 2004-6 Bob Woolley - Fox 26 &n= bsp; bjdubu@ao= l.com

Reunion Coordinator C&C &nb= sp; Don Nicholson - Fox ?? &n= bsp; long= trips0@aol.com

Treasurer = &nb= sp; = Dan Aldridge - Fox 56 = ; &n= bsp; Deepsea3= @aol.com

Unit Historian = &nb= sp; Charley Baker - Fox 46 cbkbwdb@starpower.net

Patch and Shirt Project &n= bsp; Gary Simon - Fox 16 GaryLBB@aol.com

Web Master / Commo Chief= &= nbsp; Ray "Doc" Jennings - Fox 032A r.jennings@KTIS.net

IBDA Liaison &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Sam Givhan Fox 31 &= nbsp; s_givhan@hotmail.com

Quad-A Liaison &n= bsp; = ; &n= bsp; Curt Herrick Fox 26 &= nbsp; herrickcurt@verizon.net

Chaplain &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Larry French Fox 35 lawrenceefrench@yahoo.com

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WEB SITE = www .SwampFox199thRAC.co= m

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Goals:=

To find as many of our old friends = as possible and get them talking to each other agai= n.=

To build as complete a history of t= he unit as possible and make it available to all the members.=

To perpetrate reunions.<= /span> The perps this year were Don Nicholson and Sam Givhan

Courtesy of Ken Pepper

Recieved from Joe Swift SF 12

Veterans versus Civilian Friends

No offense is directed toward my 'Civilian' friends, but you haven't lived<= /p>

through the experiences tha= t my fellow Veterans have. So, you cannot be blamed

for your insights or lack t= hereof in comparison to a Veteran.

When a good Veteran leaves the "job" and retires to a better life, many are
jealous, some are pleased and yet others, who may have already retired,
wonder. We wonder if he knows what they are leaving behind, because we alre= ady
know. We know, for example, that after a lifetime of camaraderie that few <= br> experience, it will remain as a longing for those past times. We know in th= e
Military life there is a fellowship which lasts long after the uniforms are hung
up in the back of the closet. We know even if he throws them away, they
will be on him with every step and breath that remains in his life. We also=
know how the very bearing of the man speaks of what he was and in his heart=
still is.

These are the burdens of the job. You will still look at people
suspiciously, still see what others do not see or choose to ignore and alwa= ys will look
at the rest of the Military world with a respect for what they do, only grown
in a lifetime of knowing.

Never think for one moment you are escaping from that life. You are only escaping the "job" and merely being allowed to leave "active" duty.

So what I wish for you is that whenever you ease into retirement, in your <= br> heart you never forget for one moment that "Blessed are the Peacemakers for
they shall be called children of God," and you are still a member of t= he
greatest fraternity the world has ever known.

Civilian Friends vs. Veteran Friends

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Get upset if you're too busy to talk to them for a week.<= br> VETERAN FRIENDS: Are glad to see you after years, and will happily carry on=
the same conversation you were having the last time you met.

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Have never seen you cry.
VETERAN FRIENDS: Have cried with you.

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Borrow your stuff for a few days then give it back.
VETERAN FRIENDS: Keep your stuff so long they forget it's yours.

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Know a few things about you.
VETERAN FRIENDS: Could write a book with direct quotes from you.

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that's what the crowd is doing.<= br> VETERAN FRIENDS: Will kick the crowds' ass that left you behind.

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Are for a while.
VETERAN FRIENDS: Are for life.

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Have shared a few experiences. ..
VETERAN FRIENDS: Have shared a lifetime of experiences no citizen could eve= r
dream of...

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will take your drink away when they think you've had
enough.
VETERAN FRIENDS: Will look at you stumbling all over the place and say, "You
better drink the rest of that before you spill it."
Then carry you home safely and put you to bed...

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will talk crap to the person who talks crap about you.
VETERAN FRIENDS: Will knock the hell out OF THEM...for using your name in <= br> vain.

CIVILIAN FRIENDS: Will ignore this.
VETERAN FRIENDS: Will forward this.

A Veteran - whether active duty, retired, or reserve - is someone who, at <= br> one point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The Unit= ed States
of America," for an amount of "up to and including my life."=

It is an honor to be a Veteran!

~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
Dreams Do Not Vanish,
So Long As People Do Not Abandon Them.

Larry Massoletti
Ft Worth, Tx

From= : Bob Woolley

VT Fused Rockets for the Delta

On a sunny Sunday morning in the Delta during t= he spring of ’68, an USAF Caribou approached Truc Giang AF (VVTG) in Kien Hoa Prov= ince from the north. It performed several overhead 360s as it loss altitud= e to enter the pattern for landing. After landing, it back-taxied and ente= red the parking area. As the aircraft did a power-up 180 within the ramp area, I walked towards the right side of the aircraft and motioned to the c= rew with a “what’s up” gesture because the crew had not made contact on the airfield’s FM radio frequency. As the cargo door= was coming down, the copilot motioned towards the rear of the aircraft to indic= ate they wanted to off-load cargo.

Expecting the crew to shut down the engines, I indicated OK with a “thumps-up” gesture and began to walk around the wing to the rear of the aircraft. To my surprise, the pilots brou= ght the engines up to power, released the brakes and three pallets rolled off t= he rear ramp. As the last pallet hit the ground, the ramp door closed and the aircraft taxied out to the runway and departed with a left turn northbo= und. This cargo delivery has been “professionally” accomplished with= out having to talk to anyone on the ground?

This commotion had gained the atten= tion of personnel on the ramp and as we inspected the cargo, we noticed that the pallets contained boxes of rockets. Since all our ammo was stored in = an ammo bunker, we began to remove the individual boxes from the wooden pallets. The boxes were marked as being 2.75-rocket HE w/VT fuse.&nbs= p; I opened one of the boxes and found two rockets with longer HE warheads and a plastic covered fuse on the nose.

During preparation for that afternoon’s VR missi= on, I armed my Bird Dog with two of these new rockets. While airborne, I = came across four armed individuals on the coastal beach southeast of Ba Tri. I engaged them with machine-gun fire, a= nd as usual, they headed for cover. Since I had the new ammo onboard, I dec= ided that a trial delivery was merited. I rolled into the rocket run and released one of the rockets, and an airburst occurred over the hiding spot. I circled watching for some movement; seeing none, I went down = for a lower look and found two laying on the ground = with one shaking a fist back at the aircraft, but there was no return fire. = ; I decided that another firing run was in order, and went down for a lower ang= led approach from over the beach. As I began to fire the machine gun into= the target area, two individuals jumped up and started to run further into the vegetation. I reached up and armed the other VT rocket. The roc= ket fired and traveled in a lower than expected path before it exploded short of the target area. The VT fuse had operated correctly with another air burst, but my flight path was not steep enough to prevent a premature burst. Mud from the explosion was splattered over the entire front of= the aircraft. As an artillery aviator, I should have realized that the VT fuse should not be fired from a flat firing angle and would have to be fired with a steeper dive angle than what a PD fused warhead could be fired.

That night, I reported the receipt of the new ammo thr= ough MACV channels. The next day, a Huey, flown by two aviation staff majo= rs, arrived from Can Tho. I related the circumstances and passed on my observations to them. I was chastised = for having fired the rockets without instructions. My response was that outlying sites often did not await instructions because we were required to making due with whatever was available. As it turned out, the Caribou= had delivered the Delta’s initial load of operational VT fused warheads to the wrong airfield; they had mistook Ben Tre’s airfield for Can Tho= 's airfield? The rockets were to be used by the 235^th’s Cobras at Can Tho AF.

The Huey had also brought a cargo net, and I was given instructions that the ammo boxes should be prepared for pick up the next day. On Tuesday, an Innkeeper (CH-47) arrived at VVTG on a return fli= ght to Can Tho from Vung Tau. The sling load of rockets were delivered t= o Can Tho; however, the sling was short a few boxes of 2.75 rockets w/17 # HE warheads with VT fuses. Thanks to the USAF, these n= ew warheads required more ‘testing” by an outlying 0-1 Bird Dog.

Bob Woolley

Swamp Fox 12

Rece= ived from Woody Barnes

Military citations only tell a part of the story

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There was an excellent article Feb 22 about Navy Lt. Mark Dye, who received a Bro= nze Star in Iraq. However, the award citation cannot do justice for what he and others actual= ly accomplished.

His citation read, in part, "Dye's primary role of installing, mainta= ining and synchronizing the electronic warfare systems ... was instrumental to the success of counterinsurgency operations and survivability of friendly force= s. He tenaciously sought out solutions to defeat the improvised explosive devi= ce threat in the battalion's battle space."

This is standard military lingo that encapsulates what often could take several pages of explanation. I would like to relate a briefing I received abo= ut the accomplishments of some' professional sailors.

As an officer in the Sons of the American Revolution, part of my duties i= s to arrange for speakers at our monthly meetings. Last fall, I met with Lt. Dye= the month before he was to speak to us about his assignment with the army in Iraq. I was very impressed with this dedicated young officer. One week before our meeting, I was in Augusta, Ga., at our annual Signal Corps O= fficer Candidate Alumni Association banquet. The speaker was Col. John Baker, 35th Signal Brigade commander at Fort= Gordon, who had just returned from his sec= ond tour in Iraq.

The first third of his speech was upbeat -and reassuring to our group of 100, w= hich included graduates from World War II (five were present) to Vietnam. He told us our soldi= ers were top-notch, our equipment excellent, "and we were accomplishing our communications mission.

Our proud tradition was being upheld.

The remainder of his speech concerned one of our deadliest fears in Iraq lEDs. He said from his first tour to the beginning of= his second, there was little, if any, improvement on how to combat these deadly devices. We could feel the frustration he and other commanders felt the Army just wasn't prepared for this threat.

He then said they received some critical assistance from a totally unexpected source: "The United States Navy." You could see heads turning and= a low buzz, as this comment took everyone by surprise. He went on to describe= how several Army units received individual sailors trained in electro= nic intercept warfare. The Navy still trains and operates in jamming and disrup= tion in this environment. These sailors did not require any "ramp up" time, no time to "settle in"; they began helping immediately upon= arrival.

The processes varied from one situation to the next, were usually complex = and demanding, and many details are classified. In the simplest of terms, they disrupted electronic signals used to detonate the explosives. This forced t= he terrorists to return to laying wires and exposing themselves to our soldiers.

The incidence of American causalities dropped dramatically, almost immediately.

Baker covered in great detail what these sailors did, and the thousands of Americ= an lives they saved. He just couldn't say enough good things in the time avail= able.

After the speech, several of us were standing in a group to meet him. I introduced myself, and mentioned the SAR and our speaker the following week, Lt. Dye. = He turned away from the group, looked me in the eye and said, "When you introduce the lieutenant, you shake his hand and tell him, from me personal= ly, and every soldier in Iraq, 'Thank you. You guys saved untold lives, and helped change the course of the war."

Military citations must be fairly brief, and they seldom tell the whole story. I hope this article sheds some light on the tremendous impact Lt. Dye and oth= ers like him are having on our mission.

From the soldiers to the sailors:

Thank you.

3D"Created

Woody Bar= nes is a resident of Gulf Breeze. He is a former air traffic controller and retired colonel with the Florida National Guard. He spent seven years on Army active duty, including two years in Vietnam as a fixed-wing and helicopter pilot. .

Oh B= oy, Free Money!

&n= bsp;

From: <= /span>http://www.military.com/F= inance/content/0,15356,162400,00.html?ESRC=3Dfasttrack.nl

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6 T= hings to Do to Qualify for a Stimulus Payment

The= Bush Administration recently signed new legislation — the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 — into law that will give more than 130 million Americans= as much as $152 billion to redistribute back into the economy.<= /p>

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The pa= yment amounts will equal the amount of one’s tax liability on their 2007 tax return ($600). That amount doubles for joint tax filers to $1,200. For taxpayers with little or no tax liability, but $3,000 or more in qualifying income, they may be eligible to receive $300 (for single filers) or $600 (f= or joint filers). And, tax payers with children will receive an additional $300 for each child.

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Howeve= r, not all Americans are eligible to receive the full $600 rebate. For example, if= you make more than $100,000 a year you will not receive a refund.

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If you’re not sure if you’re eligible for the stimulus plan, Jacks= on Hewitt Tax Service has developed six things you can do to qualify for the t= ax rebate.

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1.) File Your 2007 Income Tax Return — Not only may you have a tax refund coming your way, yo= u many also qualify for a stimulus payment check.

2.) File Early —= ; The IRS will send out checks through December, but why wait? Get it in early and you are likely to receive your stimulus payment earlier.

3.) E-file — Give yourself the convenience, speed and assurance that your income tax return is received.

4.) Zero Income, Zero Tax and Zero Payment…Make Sure You File — Certain qualifying individuals, in= cluding seniors, who meet this criteria and may not typically file an income tax return, will need to file, by filing a paper Form 1040A or Form 1040.

5.) Watch Out for Your Two IRS Notices — M= ost taxpayers will receive two notices from the IRS; one explaining the stimulus payment program and another confirming the recipients’ eligibility, t= he amount and the approximate time table for the payment. Save the second noti= ce to help in preparing your 2008 tax return next year.

6.) Vets Must File the Right Form — Veterans’ benefits recipients must file Form 1040X to list non-taxable benefits, if they have already filed a 2007 return and received less than $3,000 in qualifying income; or for those who are normally not required to = file an income tax return, they must report their benefits of $3,000 or more on = Form 1040A or Form 1040, to establish their eligibility.

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Bird= dog Store - www.druid-consulting.com/= bird_dog_model.htm

&n= bsp;

from Corky's - see the Bir= d Dog Store page

Patch a= nd shirts

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If you wan= t to have a shirt or two monogrammed with the SF logo Gary has a few Swamp Fox patches left as well. Contact Gary Simon @ GaryLBB@aol.com for details.= Remember, you have to provide the shirt(s). Turnaround time is about 3 weeks.

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WEB = SITES of INTEREST

http://www.centercomp.com/ILPA/

http://silhouette-texas.us/default.html

see the video page. This is= really good.

=

=

=

EAA = calendar

&n= bsp;

&nbs= p;http://www.eaa.org/events=

http://www.eaa.org/airven= ture/

&n= bsp;

EA= A AirVenture Oshkosh News

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Two new aircraft top t= he list of prizes in EAA’s annual sweepstakes - t= his new Cirrus SR20
and a RotorWay A600 Talon helicopter kit. = Read more about the sweepstakes<= /a>

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=

IBDA=

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NOTE:

Unless someone rea= lly objects I will forward the BowWow as separate e-mail. I do not have a way to filter= out IBDA members from our e-mail list so IBDA members well get an extra one for free. Just delete it. - Cheers, ed. <= /span>

www.ibdaweb.com/merchandise.htm

=

Lots= of new stuff on the IBDA web site.=

=

=

=

www.ibdaweb.com=

FROM: The Bark<= /p>

IBDA has been very supportive of Birddog Unit Reunions and deserves our thanks. We can show it by joining up. Please follow the lead of the above pooch. It's only a few bucks. Well worth it for the magazine alone. - editor (RJ)

&n= bsp;

SWAM= P FOX NETWORK

=

Status quo

=

Note: call sign Fox ?? means I don't have y= our call sign.

    &= nbsp;     Drop me an e-mail and I will fix that.

    &= nbsp;

    &= nbsp;      If you have a change of phone number, address or especially e-mail address.=

    &= nbsp;      Let me know so we don't loose people.

    &= nbsp;

    &= nbsp;      Thanks, editor

<= /b>

Soldier= s Angels

Do check out this web site if you are looking for a ch= arity to support our troops.

www.soldiersangels.com

=

Site= News

&n= bsp;

stat= us quo

=

If you have something to add to the Fox Fax, I need= it before the fifth of the month.

I try to publish the weekend following the fifth. Sometimes I am even on time.

=

NOTE: NEW e-mail address= below

Cheers Y'all - Editor r.jennings@KTIS.net

=

=

(EOM)