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From: Francis Hamit
Date: 9/12/2004
Time: 3:13:25 PM
Remote Name: 209.179.56.134
This is one of the things that I recall with some clarity. The aircraft when down because the valve got stuck midway between the tanks. It was a good landing. The VC were coming through the high grass as the crew was rescued by helicopter. The Op had to carry both radios. I don't think there was any gunfire, but the VC certainly didn't pass up a chance to take one of our aircraft out. We had what, six or eight total? I remember the Chinook bringing the damaged craft back, slung under it's belly. I think they had some hopes that the damage was not as bad as it was., which is why it wasn't destroyed in place. It was retrograded back to the States for deopt repair/salvage after that. These were very old aircraft, made in 43 and 44. Parts were hard to come by and the wings and tail would have been worth the trouble just by themselves. The engine was also undamaged. The cockpit, however, was pretty much gone.