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Show "I was worried sick about my husband's heart attack... How We Rescue Our Downed Airmen in Vietnam It takes teamwork , ,m "- - - ,. .- ' - ' . , ,- W i-- . 3 n. '" HI r -- I 17 and training to snatch a pilot from certain death or capture-b- ut mostly it takes courage By JACK RYAN n Para-rescuema- Goodlett, Jr., Dover, crouched in the door of Fla., his helicopter, ready to jump into the choppy seas off eastern South Vietnam. until I read the first issue of that monthly magazine, HEART-O-GRAM.- " filk a long-fe- ll need. It it magazine for heart patients, edited by doctor and written in a layman' language. con-taiPublished monthly, Heart-O-Gra- m Heart-O-Gra- a monthly "Do'i and Don't's" for heart patients, menus and recipes, diet information, tip on dairy living work habits hobbies activities Human interest stories about other heart patients. assembles all the current and important information about the in medical and heart d one monthly journal. 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State- - 2- Donald - Below bobbed two downed F-- 4 jet pilots, helplessly entangled in their parachutes. It was a tough assignment for Goodlett, who'd already saved 10 U.S. airmen in the Vietnam war. Then the Air Force chopper's radio crackled with a report from another hovering helicopter: "Tell your paraman sharks are headed toward him." In previous flights, Goodlett had seen sharks, as many as 10 in one day. "They were on my mind, all right, when I jumped," he said later. Nevertheless, Goodlett cut the shrouds from one pilot; both were lifted aboard the rescue craft, which then flew 200 yards to the second lost airman. He appeared seriously entangled in his lines and drowning. Goodlett jumped immediately. It took anxious minutes to cut the airman free. Choppers skimmed the waters, trying to scare off the sighted sharks. Finally, Goodlett gave a signal to be hoisted aboard with the pilot safely. Goodlett won an Airman's Medal for that rescue ("I didn't have time to look for sharks and didn't want to see them, anyway."), one of thousands which have saved our flyers from certain capture or death after they crashed in Vietnamese waters or jungles. From 1964 through July 14, 1969, there have been 1,847 saves made in hostile areas 340 this year alone. Another 845 airmen have been rescued in noncombat areas of Southeast Asia in 5 years. This case is not an unusual one of bravery and selflessness. An Army helicopter, assigned to rescue an entrapped patrol, was shot down in a canopied jungle canyon; its four- - DacouW corporate troupe available oa raqueet. 10 Family Weekly, August U, 1969 man crew was severely injured. Holding on to a jungle-penetrathoist, Air Force Sergeants Michael Fish, Lake Oswego, Ore., and Norman Reeves, Anderson, Ind., crashed through a jungle canopy to reach the men. They gave first aid to three and saw them safely off in litters. But the Army pilot's leg was trapped or in the wreckage of his helicopter. As they tried to chop him free, enemy gunners opened fire about 200 yards off. Hovering U.F. gunships tried to suppress the fire. An enemy ratrol moved within 150 yards, however, before the gunships killed at least four in a clearing and sent the VC for cover. The rescuemen could not free the pilot, so Reeves, a firefighter, returned to a helicopter. Rescueman Fish remained through the eerie night with the sedated pilot and four members of the beleaguered patrol. Flare ships lighted the rescue area the entire night. But Fish recalls, "We could hear the enemy moving about in a creek 30 yards away. At one time we heard close sounds and fired k into the jungle." The next morning the sky was crowded with gunships, which engaged in a fierce firefight with an enemy group trying to close in on the Americans. Two Army rescue-me- n with special equipment were lowered to help free the pilot; then all the embattled men were hoisted to safety. As they soared off, they could see enemy figures scurrying through the rescue area. As much organization as courage goes into the rescues. Reports of downed planes come from the disabled pilot or accompanying comrades, who give approximate locations. The messages are received by a turboprop aircraft, circling certain regions on duty periods. This flying command post relays the distress call to a ground-rescu- e center which, in turn, alerts the nearest helicopter teams. The teams point-blan- radio-laden- ed 12-ho- ur 1 1 S : t take off with an escort of jet fighters for overhead cover plus helicopter gunships and antiquated prop planes the latter for suppressing ground fire. Rescue personnel have been trained as a highly coordinated team and are dedicated to the job of saving lives. For example, Airman 1st Joel Talley, Farmland, Ind., jumped into a known Vietcong trap, baited with a badly wounded American flyer. Four previous rescue attempts had failed. Talley hacked through jungle undergrowth, often being pinned down by enemy fire. He found the helpless pilot, strapped him on a litter, and signaled for the hoist to be lifted. The enemy zeroed in on the pair at this moment, jr,d Talley grabbed s the litter hoist, too. The fire became so intense that the helicopter pilot was forced to move off at maximum speed with Talley and the pilot dangling below, Talley's boots brushing through the trees. Afterward, Talley remarked, "I didn't think about what was happening it's such a tremendous thing to help somebody." clow-movi-ng small-arm- |