A old Lady makes it home

MBT70 wrote:

A lot of people (especially Liberals) miss the point that our remaining folks evacuated a full two years after the US combat foces left Vietnam.  The enemy did not defeat us.  We forced them to the negotiating table and a peace was signed, then our troops were gone by March of 1973. The clips they love to play over and over of choppers going over the side of a flatop to make room for more are showing VNAF aircraft being discarded.  Note the yellow stripes alongside the roundels.  Our own choppers were simply evacuating the diplomatic corps and Marine security guard, plus specified Vietnamese nationals. That was 1975, after Watergate and after the Democrats cut funding and support to the South Vietnamese at the same time Russia and China both doubled their support for the North.  American forces won the war, but Congress gave it away. Let's hope the old bird is given the honors she is truly due ....

A lot of people (especially Liberals) miss the point that our remaining folks evacuated a full two years after the US combat foces left Vietnam.  The enemy did not defeat us.  We forced them to the negotiating table and a peace was signed, then our troops were gone by March of 1973.

The clips they love to play over and over of choppers going over the side of a flatop to make room for more are showing VNAF aircraft being discarded.  Note the yellow stripes alongside the roundels.  Our own choppers were simply evacuating the diplomatic corps and Marine security guard, plus specified Vietnamese nationals.

That was 1975, after Watergate and after the Democrats cut funding and support to the South Vietnamese at the same time Russia and China both doubled their support for the North.  American forces won the war, but Congress gave it away.

Let's hope the old bird is given the honors she is truly due ....

Glad to hear she'll be going to a museum.  Too many around here just keep flying and no one has any clue about the history they've been a part of.  I shared the field with three UH-1H's today and was in awe of them.  My brand new TH-67A+ (literally 600hrs on the airframe!) seemed insignificant next to those guys.  Watching them do autos was a thing of beauty. 

She's looking good for being over 40. 

I was next to a HMM-162 (now defunked) Phrog in Iraq.  Some crusty old Chief Warrant Officer 5 walked up, read off the bereau number, and said "that's an early one."   The crew chief (a SSgt) replied with "Built in April 1967."  I added with, "This thing was in the Marine Corps before my dad was."  Then I (LCpl New Guy at the time) recieved some dirty looks from a couple of oldtimers. 

I have alot of respect for those old phrogs.  Maintenance records on those birds from Vietnam make for some interesting reading. 

Semper Fi,

Chris 

salbando wrote:

She's still looking good!  Glad to see she's going to represent her breed in a place of honor. Gotta tell ya that I've always liked the Phrog.  Brings me back to when I was a kid in high school outside Kaneohe MCAS back in the late 70's early 80's.  The Phrogs and -53D's would be constantly buzzing around in the distance from my backyard.  They even wore the same Marone Green paint scheme......WHich is surprising.  I would have thought she'd be wearing the standard Marine Grey scheme today, instead of the green....what's up with that?

It was painted back to green, at Cherry Point for the 40th anv of the Phrog. 4th MAW had it done.

She's still looking good!  Glad to see she's going to represent her breed in a place of honor.

Gotta tell ya that I've always liked the Phrog.  Brings me back to when I was a kid in high school outside Kaneohe MCAS back in the late 70's early 80's.  The Phrogs and -53D's would be constantly buzzing around in the distance from my backyard.  They even wore the same Marone Green paint scheme......WHich is surprising.  I would have thought she'd be wearing the standard Marine Grey scheme today, instead of the green....what's up with that?