I got a call today from Fred Jannsen the crew chief of the company bird in A co. 5th TC BN.101st Abn. Div in 69 and 70. He and I flew it a lot making recoveries,(some got hot), going on maint runs and admin flights, Sick call runs out to the USNHS Repose and assorted other ash and trash. After he joined the VHCMA he saw my name and contacted me last year. We talked a lot and I asked him if he got his bronze star.. he said "Hell I never even got an air medal" and due to some admin screw up he never got any Air medals for his service in Nam. I had flown over 200 hours with him in the aircraft and there were 8 pilots assigned to the company so the ship and him flew about every day. Most of our pilot time was as test pilots or instructors in other units aircraft with other crew chiefs and gunners.
I told him my entire team of the reaction force was supposed to get the Bronze Star for meritorious service for our performance during several ground attacks over that tour.He said he was not aware of it.
Well that got me upset and I contacted the Old XO of the company and asked him if he could help and he too was upset at one of own not getting the awards we knew that he earned. I wrote and notarized statements and provided paper work as one of his aircraft commanders and the XO did the same. I then asked Fred to send the package to his congressman which he did last year. He called me today and said that yesterday at a ceremony at the State Reserve base in Navada, A full colonel presented him his bronze star, 3 Air Medals (we could not prove the CA assault time and DCS time so he got them for Other combat service OCS(100 hours for each award) and we could only prove about 300 hours time, thus 3 air medals. My statements and the XOs statements Got him his Bronze star. He also got some orders for the other Awards the company earned as a unit.
So guys it can be done. it just takes a little work. I laughed when I asked him how he felt about it and he said "well, at least the VFW guys will now know it was not all BS".... We can and do still take care of each other. even after 40 years.
Salute
BT