There wasn't much on the noses in early 70, but by mid-summer, after Maj Conrad arrived, almost every aircraft, especiall the new ones coming in to the unit, got a painted avionics door, usually the "Gator" shield patch. Of course, they almost immediately began to get personalized. I do not and never have understood the moronic mentality that wants to make such things all nondescript. Maybe for "black ops" but certainly not for what we were doing as normal and routine ops. Anyway, the 317 got a "revitalized" verson after Lively got killed; and became the "Lively Gator". One day at English, some MACV Lt suggested to us, as he was about to board, that our a/c was "out of uniform", as he put it. Chris reported that to me, and I told him to tell the guy he could walk to Qui Nhon. He did not have a pleasant ride; we were all PO'd.

Pickett