Vietnam Helicopter Crews Reunite at Forgotten Veterans Museum

The troops came home to the Forgotten Veterans Vietnam Museum here 41 years after the war on June 13.
It was a reunion of helicopter pilots and gunners from 121st Assault Helicopter Company known as the Soc Trang Tigers.

The unit gets together yearly alternating between Ft. Rucker, Alabama and other locations. It was the first time the men saw the completed Forgotten Veterans Museum which features helicopters, trucks, uniforms, medals and photos. Participants came from as far away as California.

The mission of the 121st was to provide aerial transportation for the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam. The unit, which began at Da Nang, relocated to Soc Trang, in September 1962 and by so doing became the first Army helicopter company in the Mekong Delta.

Their tie to the museum is its founder Tom Collins who was a helicopter door gunner in the unit from 1967 to 1968.
“We never got a welcome home,” he said. “This is sort of like a welcome home.”

An electronic traffic sign welcomed members driving to the museum with the words “Welcome Home Soc Trang Tigers.”

A 60-foot by 20-foot mural painted on a wall of a storage building was unveiled depicting the work of the 121st. Dick King, who created the artwork with Dorsey Kern, said the mural represented about eight months of work.

“The detail and the numbers on the helicopters are duplicates of equipment they used in Vietnam at that time,” he said.

The mural shows sandbagged dugouts with “grunts” surrounded by Elephant Grass with Huey Helicopters in the air. King said he used photographs to assure accuracy.
Collins is depicted in the mural flying in a chopper.

John Kennedy, 121st Commander from March to August 1967, said reunions started in 2001 with an event for the entire Delta Battalion. Since then, the 121st Association of Tigers incorporated as a non-profit organization.
Kennedy said the museum brought make many memories. He said it was honor to command the Tigers.

“The trouble I had with them was trying to hold them back to keep them from doing something reckless overly hazardous while we were conducting air combat operations,” he said.

He said about 300 members of the 121st have been located. The group has a Web site: www.121avn.org

The 121st gained an outstanding reputation as it helped develop helicopter assault techniques, supply methods, and medical evacuation operations.
Two members looked at the helicopters and remarked they still remembered how to start the aircraft.
The group also toured Naval Air Station Wildwood and shared a meal.

View video interview : http://www.capemaycountyherald.com/article/51079-vietnam+helicopter+crews+reunite+forgotten+veterans+museum

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