The Mighty Ninth

Strive To Reach The Summit


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JCook64.JPGDon't Do ThisYou were supposed to learn in Boy Scouts not to do this: pitch your tent on low ground. We had to move, obviously!
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JCook65.JPGA Wet MessWhat your position looks like when it floods.
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JCook-111.JPGWater Water EverywherePFC Larry J. Dodd seems to be taking it all in stride. It'll be awhile before the battery stands for inspection again.
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JCook-129.JPGMucky-StuckyThe Huey lost its hydraulics and the skids collapsed.
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JCook-137.JPGWhere is the drain plug?Lousy RSOP. We moved into this LZ the night before and it rained. Here's what we were greeted with the next morning. The gun spade of the base piece got stuck in the mud and we couldn't fire. We moved out of here.
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JCook-138.JPGWet LZGuess no one looked at the elevation of the LZ or how rainwater was supposed to drain off.
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JCook23.JPG"Base Camp" - Jan 1966 Armed & ReadyHere I am with my trusty.....M-14? Well, that's what we had, anyway. Note that the starch is still in the fatigue pants and my boots still have that "stateside" shine.
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JCook24.jpgPacking UpCSMO - Close Station, March Order. Close the trails, stick the load on top and wait for the CH-47.
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JCook25.jpgDonut Dolly?Well...not quite. But somebody had to hook the "donut" to the Chinook.
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JCook12.jpgTriple-DippleHere is a CH-47 lifting a water buffalo and three (not two) brass casing Packs. We had a miscommunication -- and the pilot thought he had two casing Packs. So he dragged the bottom pack through our Battery and we lucky no damage to us or to him.
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JCook26.jpgLZ OasisLanding our gear at LZ Oasis.
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