|

JCook-105.JPGWhy we called them "Shit-Hooks"A CH-47 was called a "Chinook". They were powerful utility helicopters. A cloud of dust and a heigh-ho Silver...away....away...away with everything that wasn't tied down. Don't mess with a Chinook; you can't win. The downdraft of the blades has to be seen to appreciate the power. It was not uncommon to run away when you saw a Chinook coming in.
|
|

JCook-132.JPGNo homeowners insuranceNote the "hooch" that appears just below the belly of the Chinook. After the Chinook lifts off, there is no more "hooch".
|
|

JCook-136.JPGA cloud of dustLooking through the dust cloud, you can find the source....yep....it's a Chinook.
|
|

JCook27.JPG"Base Camp" HaircutGetting a haircut while part of my wash (see the green fatigues?) is hanging in the background. Note the 2/9th insignia on the barber's cap.
|
|

JCook40.JPGFeb 1966 High Angle FireHowitzer ready for high angle fire. Note the tents in the foreground.
|
|

JCook39.JPGFeb 1966Joe notes: "Protecting Route 19 - Field Problem". Yep, fer shure. And Hwy 19 remained a "field problem years later, too.
|
|

JCook32.JPGAlong Route 14I am thinking this picture is early and probably is an "EARLY" attempt at building fox holes. We never had any training in Hawaii on foxhole digging. But we had to dig the BC's hole and the XO's in Hawaii. Lack of training shows here - I think we put it up for show and not survival. Again this early in Nam and might even be among the FIRST hole ever dug.
|
|

JCook33.JPGGuarding Route 19This was "B" Battery's emplacement along Route (Hwy) 19.
|
|

JCook37.JPGMakeshift HoochWillie's and my hootch. It was built off the front of our truck with a foxhole in front.
|
|

JCook34.JPGMarch, 1966Gun Section emplacement, March 1966. Note the very neat circle of sandbags. You can tell this howitzer passed a "stateside" inspection before being shipped to Nam. Note the "shield" is still on the right side.
|
|

JCook35.JPGWater Buffalo HerdThis photo taken near Route 19 (later known as Hwy 19) reveals a herd of water buffalo in the distance.
|
|

JCook36.JPGFresh HaircutPhoto taken at Bien Ho, a lake near our base camp at Pleiku. This is the lake where we did laundry alongside the Vietnamese.
Sgt Joe Cook poses with two Vietnamese children. The boy next to Joe spoke English; his name is "Co" and he is wearing Joe's hat (backwards, naturally). The boy in the white shirt is Con Tin. Picture taken before our 'B" Battery ever went to the field to stay. Date, approximately January 1966. Joe is sporting a new haircut from a Vietnamese barber.
|
|
141 files on 12 page(s) |
 |
 |
 |
5 |  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|