FIRST TOUR: BEARCAT
THE VIETNAMESE PEOPLE
The Vietnamese children were fascinated by helicopters. One
time he flew a
Vietnamese or American officer and had to land at a soccer
field. A dozen or more children ran out onto the field and mobbed the
helicopter and crew and wanted to touch and know everything about the chopper.
When it was time to take off, officials had to restrain the kids so the
helicopter could depart safely because the kids were so fascinated they didn’t
want to let it go.
When he wasn’t flying, he sometimes went with the medical
teams among the Vietnamese people on humanitarian missions as they treated and
helped them. In that way Ed was able to see the countryside and the people and
to learn about the country.
WORKING WITH OTHER BRANCHES OF THE SERVICE
Sometimes he escorted navy ships down river, and once he
landed on a helipad on the ship. He communicated with the air traffic control
onboard and they told him to land, and then the navy flagman came and was
signaling to him with flags how to land. He couldn’t understand the flags, so
he just landed anyway. The navy men always wanted to buy souvenirs from you,
and would give you anything for them.
The helicopter pilots often worked with the jet pilots and
sometimes traded flights with them. The jet pilots were fascinated to fly in
helicopters so close to the action, while helicopter pilots loved to fly the
F100s with all their power. Ed was able to fly in the F100 on a few flights
with jet pilots and loved it. 
Once he went to Cam Rhan Bay to get supplies for his unit.
He brought the supplies back by ship, which was manned by Koreans. He was
supposed to have his own food, not Korean food, so he obtained some boxes of
steak and chicken from supply, and he shared that with the Koreans on the ship.
They treated him like a king and gave him his own suite of rooms since they
were so grateful for fresh meat. With the materials he brought back, they were
able to make more buildings and improve the quarters at Bearcat. He escorted
the supplies by truck from Saigon.
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