** Did you guys loose much stuff falling out unintended? **

All the time, Dave. Look:

"24 Feb 1970. While on a resupply mission of LZ Challenge for the 4th Inf Div and its sub-elements Gator 586 was on a short final to the Alfa element with resupplies when they came under heavy fire. SP/4 Aderholt , the door gunner, was hit in the abdomen with a single shot from an AK-47. As the aircraft lifted off the LZ, SP/4 Aderholt fell off landing on his back. Due to the intense fround fire, SP/4 Aderholt told ground handlers to tell the Gator slicks to wait for gunship cover before entering the LZ . Finally evacuated, SP/4 Aderholt was taken to QUIN NHON for emergency surgery. Now in Japan for recovery, SP/4 Aderholt has seen the last of Vietnam."

Also, captured weapons were always falling out, especially grease guns, pistols, and AKs. I dunno what it was, but you put a few captured weapons on the deck of a Huey, it was like they had eyes for the door. A couple of 'em ALWAYS disappeared.

Once in a while, a frag would fall out. If you pulled the pin a l m o s t all the way out, and it happened to fall out of the ship, when it hit the ground the pin would jar the rest of the way out, boom. Good therapy when flying over areas with a history of ground fire at us.

Contrary to every legend you ever heard, captured dinks never fell out. Every one I ever heard of was pushed.

Seriously?

Very little fell out. Especially mail. We treated those mailbags like precious cargo, in and out. Plus, most days I would finish with one blouse pocket full of letters to mail.

I actually did worry a little about getting shot and falling out, matter of fact I was left in an lz by mistake one day and the other three guys thought I'd been shot and fell out... That was Number Three on the Official Crew Chief Worry List, right below (Number Two) being shot in the face, and (Number One) being shot uhh, in the uhh, "nether region."

There were such things as safety tethers (called "monkey straps") but I never saw one used on a slick. I'm sure some guys used them, tho.

Bob