South end of MMAF runway from the camera in the plane.
South end of MMAF runway from the camera in the plane.
Vietnamese taking goods to the market along the beach near Chulai.
Small compound South of MMAF.
Negative strip from my 35mm camera.
Dec 68.
Low level photo of the Danang bridge from a Mohawk.
Everybod would try to get a picture of us in a Mohawk when we would fly this low over the bridge.
DaNang bridge from the nose camera of the Mohawk.
Before Christmas mom sent me these pictures.
Mom & Duke
My sisters Sue and Barbara.
Grandpa and Grandma Booth
Neighbors “The Fly's”
The Powell's
The guys at the pool room.
The “care package ” from home was great. The pictures of the neighbors made me homesick.
Me with my Christmas tree.
Bill Brewster with Santa (Sgt.Hearn)
Me with Santa Christmas 1968.
Care packages sent from home articles from the Blade.
The whole bottom of the hill is filled with guys waiting to see Bob Hope. Christmas, Freedom Hill (Danang) 1968.
Waiting for Bob Hope's helicopter to arrive.
Bob Hope landing at Freedom Hill Christmas 1968.
Bob Hope's helicopter.
Bob Hope's helicopter landing at Freedom Hill for the Christmas show,
Bob Hope himself center stage, If you look close you can see him leaning on his golf club.
Some of the entertainment with the Bob Hope show.
From the “Stars and Stripes” newspaper. Dec. 28, 1968. Were back to work flying missions.
We were sent out the day after they dropped the 10,000 pound bomb.to take pictures of the crater.
The Blade story about the 10,000 pound bomb
Aerial view of the Med Evac Hospital across the street from MMAF.
Dave on his bunk. Dave's family sent him the “Akron Beacon Journal”. I got the “Deshler Flag” sent to me.
DaNang city and river 1968.
Danang city and river 2006.
Evening of Dec. 31, 1968 at MMAF.
The next group of pictures are from New Years Eve 68/69 at Marble Mountain Air Base.
Just before midnight.
From our flightline looking South.
From our flightline looking North.
Looking back over our barracks.
From the top of our bunker.
Looking over the runway to the East.
Looking over the helicopter company area.
Down the flightline from the 245th.
Midnight
These are some real fireworks.
The flare chutes light up the sky.
Midnight
January 1, 1969. Another day closer to home.
We spent New Years Eve and nite in the bunkers on the flightline in case of V.C. attack.
New Years eve 1968/1969 comes and goes and Pfc. Sparks is still “Missing In Action”.
News from home Jan 1969.
245th Company “Air Medal” award's given to pilots and T.O.'s Capt. Atkins and the T.O.'s get their awards presented by Major Weaver, January 13th 1969.
Air Medal award orders.
I am awaeded my Air Medal by our Company Commander Major Weaver.
My Air Medal Citation. 25 missions in about seven weeks in June and July 1968. We flew nearly every day the weather would allow.
Capt Atkins and Maj. Weaver our company comander. They were both V.R. pilots.
Capt,. Atkins was my pilot a lot of the time.
T.O.s LtoR Azavedo Vandergraff Hearn Booth Aldstadt Fox and Christensen Jan. 13th 1969.
More news from home. January 1969.
In January 1969 I get to take my R.& R. in Sidney Australia.
I make a visit to the Sidney zoo.
When I get there everyone is talking about the new building being built in the Sidney harbour.
Don't know what paper these articles are from.
More of the Sidney Australia zoo.
While I was in Sidney I got to call home. It was the only time the whole year I was in Vietnam and it was fron Australia. It was Jan. 29, 1969 and cost 18.00 dollars. While I was there I bought a kangaroo skin coat that I sent home. (I still have it)
Ed Hearn went with me to Sidney.
The package I sent the Kangaroo skin coat in. Looks like it was lucky to make it.
While I was there I ran out of money and had to have mom send me $100.00 by Western Union to the Mayfair Hotel in Kings Cross , New South Wales Sidney Australia.
The new building everyone was talking about was the new Sidney Opera House.
The Sidney Opera House was still under construction in January 1969. I wish I had known how famous it would become, I would have had someone take my picture with it.
Back to Vietnam in early February and back to flying every day.
A picture of Dave in his chair. I don't remember why this picture is like this except that we did a lot of our own developing in the 245th photo lab.
Blade news at the end of Feb.
Diary January to April 69
More rocket and mortar attacks late in the area late February 1969.
MMAF and the Evac hospital.
Lots of enemy activity. We are getting realy “Short” only about 35 days or so left.
Things don't seem to be getting any better.
In the last few weeks of our tour the Battleship New Jersey arrives off the coast of Vietnam near Marble Mountain.
As we fly down the coastline we can see the New Jersey fire shells from about three miles off coast and see the rounds hit inland
We were restricted to low level flights near the coastline because the Jew Jersey was firing its rounds over our aircrafts at its targets.
The New Jersey with the Vietnam coastline in the background.
As we would fly down the coast we could see the New Jersey three or four miles offshore firing over our heads at targets ten to fifteen miles inland. We could look out one window of the Mohawk and see the big guns on board fire their rounds and then look out the other window and see the explosions when the shells hit their targets inland.
The New Jersey always had several smaller escort ships nearby.
THE BATTLESHIP USS NEW JERSEY VIET NAM 1969
More attacks on US.
Only days away from going home.
Our replacements are arriving and we are training them so we can go home.
Easter in Viet Nam 1969.
This is the package that I sent most of these pictures home in. Glad they made it.
The final days and were still being attacked.
At last our flight back to “THE WORLD” Dave and I fly out of Vietnam on the same plane from Danang.
DaNang for the last time April 20 1969 PFC Sparks is still Missing In Action.
Dave and I flew from DaNang to Tokyo to Ancorage Alaska and to Seattle Washington then on to Chicago, Toledo and home.
245th history Feb.& Mar 1969. The 245th flew six hundred fifty seven missions in February and March 1969.
My W-2 form from 1968. I made more than this but I don't think the money I was paid in Vietnam was taxable.
A few pictures and facts about the Army's O.V.-1 Mohawk from Air and Space magazine.
After Vietnam some of the Mohawks make it to Korea.
And the Mohawk Museum at Anoka County Airport in Minnesota.
And to Georgia.
The Mohawk is the pride of the O.V. 1 Mohawk Association.
The Mohawk Association has a reunoin every year.
Information about the Mohawk Association can be found at www.ov-1mohawk.org
The U.S. Army has retired the O.V. 1 Mohawk from service but there sre still a few flying around the country.
I attended a Mohawk reunion in Minnesota and the only other 245th vet there was my C.O. Maj. Weaver. We had a great time talking with each other.
Status sheet of O.V.-1 Mohawks from Grumman as of 12/16/2004. The circled one is aircraft # 61-2688. Captain Hall and P.F.C. Sparks plane shot down in Thau Thien Province North West of Danang in the A Shau Valley on April 24th 1968.
In 1973 the United States and North Vietnam negotiated the release of all American Prisoners of War being held in Hanoi. On April 1st 1973, after four years and eleven months as a P.O.W., PFC. Sparks is on the “Freedom Flight” that brought all of the U.S. Prisoner's of War home from Vietnam.
From “We Came Home” 1996 “John and his wife Lyndie reside in Tennessee.
From my mother's diary. April 1991.
Dave and I both came home and got involved in politics in our own seperate ways.
Dave and I have stayed in touch and visited each other regularly for over thirty years.
Dave Aldstadt became the first Director of the Ohio's “Governors Office of Veterans Affairs” Dave dedicated his entire life to the Veterans of Ohio and the United States.
We had never met before but Dave and I spent every single day of our military careers together .
Dave passed away in January of 2004.
In November of 2004 Dave was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame for his lifetime of dedication to veterans of all American Services around Ohio and the rest of the country.
Every Veteran owes Dave a Debt of Gratitude for his service and dedication to their causes. THANK YOU DAVE