Rattler/Firebird Stories
Most, but not all, of these stories have previously appeared in the Association Newsletter. They are indexed here, with links into the newsletter in which they appeared in case you missed any of them.
Note: you can click on a column heading to sort by that column.
| Title | Author(s) | Year(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 15 November 1969 – Death Is Always Near | Ed Gwynn (WO) | 69 |
| 1st Flight, 1st Hit, 1st Shootdown, 1st | Jack Horn (OF) | 66-67 |
| A Chicken In Every Pot | Jim Pfister (EM (POW)) | 67-73 |
| A Day Off From Flying Turns Into Crash | Steve Martin (OF) | 65-66 |
| A Graceful Exit | Bill Irby (WO) | 70-71 |
| A Hot Time At LZ Ross | Jim Jobson (OF) | 67-68 |
| A Plea For Backup | Patrick Boltinghouse (OF) | 66-67 |
| A Wonderful Memory | Mike McGraw (WO) | 67-68 |
| Airbursts | Chuck Carlock (WO) | 67-68 |
| Aircraft Commanders | Larry Smith (EM) | 66-68 |
| Big Guns at LZ Center | “George” Hardeman (EM) | 69 |
| Black Monday | David Harris (EM) | 67-68 |
| Black Monday | Johnnie B. Hitt (OF) | 69-70 |
| Black Monday As Witnessed By Earl Ingram – 174th AHC | Earl Ingram (OF) | 69-70 |
| Black Monday, The Rest of the Story | William “Whiz” Broome (WO) | 69-70 |
| Bravery Under Fire | Ron Seabolt (EM) | 66-67 |
| Changed Lives In A Time Of Change | Steve Israel (WO) | 69-70 |
| Charlie Cotton’s Last Flight | Benny Goodman (WO) | 68-69 |
| Christmas in Viet Nam | Doug Hopkins (OF) | 66-67 |
| Col. Ben Silver’s Hat | Tom Marty (OF) | 70-71 |
| Dog Days | Jim Jobson (OF) | 67-68 |
| Doing The Right Thing | Tom Griffith (OF) | 65-66 |
| Down In Flames | Stuart Froehling (OF) | 70-71 |
| Everybody Got Steamed, Especially The C. | Ron Taylor (EM) | 70-71 |
| Excuse Me, I’ll Take The Next Flight | Ted Shulsen (OF) and Vic Bandini (WO) | 69 |
| Fire Team Leader Kelly McHugh | Robert Combs (WO) | 69-70 |
| Firebird 92 | Mike Friel (WO) | 70-71 |
| For Life | Frank Carson (WO) | 67-68 |
| Friendly Fire | Vic Bandini (WO) | 68-69 |
| From Flight School To Fright School | Col. Whiz Broome (WO) | 69-70 |
| From: Young and Invincible, To: Silver Eagles | Larry (Smitty) Smith (EM) | 66-68 |
| Going To War | Jesse James (OF) | 64-65 |
| Gunships Sink 148 Boats | Walter Mitchell (EM) | 67-68 |
| Hell, I Was There | Don Lynam Charger 16 and Rattler 16 (OF) | 70-71 |
| How My Aunt Mae May Have Saved My Life | Norman ND Pruitt (EM) | 70-71 |
| How to Hover a Semi | R.J. Williams (EM) and Terrance Deemer (EM) | 66-67 |
| I Dotted His Eye | Duane Ginter (OF) | 64-65 |
| I’m Burning Alive | Joe Bruce (EM) | 66-69 |
| Instrument Flight Rules | Wally Honda (WO) | 69-70 |
| It Wasn’t Us, Sir | Don Kleiber (OF) | 65-66 |
| It’s Only Paper | Jesse James (OF) | 64-65 |
| It’s Wet Out Here | Bill Keller (OF) | 66-67 |
| Just A Swinging | R.J. Williams (EM) | 66-68 |
| Just One More Flight | Ray Foley (EM) | 67-68 |
| Just Trying To Help A Buddy | Ray Foley (EM) | 67-68 |
| Lefty Frizzell Volunteered To Fly For Me | Don Kleiber (OF) | 65-66 |
| Lil’ Mac Was One Cool Dude | Bill Irby (WO) | 70-71 |
| Major For A Night | R.J. Williams (EM) | 66-68 |
| May 17, 1970 – Heip Duc Valley, RVN | Mike Beaumont (OF) | 69-70 |
| Memories Of LZ West | Tom Pratt (OF) | 69-70 |
| Merry Christmas – 1964 | Roy Lowery (WO) | 64-65 |
| Midair | Jesse James (OF) | 64-65 |
| Midnight Chow Run | John Hoss (EM) | 69-70 |
| Mile High Harry | Chris Palmer (EM) | 67-68 |
| Million Dollar Hill | Marlin Johnson (EM) | 67-68 |
| More F Troop Tales | R.J. Williams (EM) | 66-68 |
| Mother’s Day Letdown | Ed Mills (EM) | 67-68 |
| My First Day | Wally Honda (WO) | 69-70 |
| My First Ever War Story | Charley Sparks (EM) | 69-70 |
| My Last Mission | Tom Knapp (EM) | 66-67 |
| My Memory of a War Story | Michael J. Friel (WO) | 70-71 |
| Not My Day To Die | Bob Falk (EM) | 66-67 |
| On Fire And Won’t Let Go! | Vic Bandini (WO) | 68-69 |
| On The Job Training | Bruce Kelly (WO) | 67-68 |
| Pappy Morehouse and His Crew Saved My Butt Too | Ron Seabolt (EM) | 66-67 |
| Pilot Reveals Chopper Crash | Southern Cross – 21 May 1971 | 71 |
| Polar Bears Under Heavy Fire | Southern Cross – 19 June 1970 | 70 |
| Pucker Up | R.P. Taylor (WO) | 67-68 |
| Quit Hitting Me | Phil Wood (EM) | 68-69 |
| Rattler Heroism Recognized After 26 Years | Doug Womack (WO) | 70-71 |
| Reflections | Dick Birnbach (WO) | 65-66 |
| Remembering “Pappy” Morehouse | Bob Mangum (OF) | 66-67 |
| Ride With Recovery Crew At Your Own Risk | David Abel (EM) | 65-66 |
| Riding Shotgun In Vietnam | Gary Parks (EM) | 65-66 |
| Rocket Alarm Clock | Ron Olson (WO) | 69-70 |
| Shotdown | Dennis Wheeler (WO) | 68-69 |
| Snake Doctor Work | J.T. Johnson (EM) | 68-69 |
| Sniffer Missions | Steve Bernard (WO) | 69 |
| Stealing the General’s Jeep | Will Drewry (EM) | 68-71 |
| Stinky TDY | Jesse James (OF) | 64-65 |
| TDY Tay Ninh – December 1966 | Ron Seabolt (EM) | 66-67 |
| Thanks For My Life | Steven E. Hill (WO) | 69-70 |
| The Best Mission I Ever Flew | Archie Pitts (WO) | 65-66 |
| The Bravest Thing I’ve Ever Seen | Marine Colonel | 68 |
| The Day CWO David Jackson Died | Col. Whiz Broome (WO) | 69-70 |
| The Day I Lost My Cherry or The Funniest | Col. Whiz Broome (WO) | 69-70 |
| The Day I Met Major Tommie P. James – December 2, 1969 | Johnnie Hitt (Colonel) | 1969 |
| The Day Our Chow Changed in the 71st | Neal Lang (WO) | 69-70 |
| The Last Check Ride | Dennis Hand (OF) | 66-67 |
| The Night We Hung The Flare | Tom Knapp (EM) | 66-67 |
| The Real Story | Rich Davis (EM) | 66-67 |
| The Rescue of Saber 6 | Johnnie B. Hitt (OF) | 69-70 |
| The Rest of the Story | Hal Bowen (OF) | 67-68 |
| The Rest of the Story | Jesse James (OF) | 64-65 |
| The Sniffer Mission | Will Drewry (EM) | 68-71 |
| The Truth Shall Sit (Set) You Free | Roger Farrell (EM) | 67-68 |
| This is Rattler 2-9, We’re Going Down | Pete Dolbee (EM) | 66-67 |
| This Is Two-Nine Going Down | George Bailey (WO) | 66-67 |
| Vietnam: Blood, Sweat and Tears | Carl Fox (EM) | 66-67 |
| Wait Just A Minute | Bill Patrick (WO) | 67-68 |
| Watch That First Step | Doug Lane (WO) | 71 |
| Welcome To The Firebirds | Steve Hopkins (EM) | 71 |
| Who Are The Bad Guys? | Vic Bandini (WO) | 68-69 |
| Who Would Have Thought | Doug Hopkins (OF) | 66-67 |
| Who’s Side Are We Paying? | Jim Moore (WO) | 65-66 |
| You Can’t Judge A Gunner By His Flakjack | Bill Burgner (WO) | 66-67 |
Be heard! Add your story to this page. Simply go to the Contact Us page, and select “Webmaster” as the recipient, and send your story to us to be considered for addition to this page.
This is Your web site. Help make it the best!