It would be 52 years between visits with Doug Schultz, Captain, United State Army, and former Firebird platoon member. Not until May 20, 2021, would we meet for the first time since October 8, 1969, when Doug signed off on my flight records as I was departing Vietnam on the Freedom Bird and Home.

Doug was my co-pilot on many Firebird attack missions flying out of LZ Baldy supporting ground units of the 196th Light Infantry Brigade (LIB). He was my co-pilot on September 4, 1969, when I took my last ‘hit’ from an NVA .51 caliber gun while covering and escorting a Dust-Off medical evacuation flight into an obviously ‘hot’ area.

May 20, 2021, at the Rattler-Firebird Association Reunion in Mobile, AL, we immediately recognized each other. We spent time catching up on the past 50 years, bringing each other up to date on the years following the Firebirds and Vietnam. Doug became totally deaf in 2019 and luckily the VA provided an inner cochlear aid for him. All sounds are digital noises, but at least he can hear again.

As the assistant platoon leader in the Firebirds around Spring 1969, Doug’s mannerism was quiet and somewhat laid back – almost the opposite of Firebirds gun crews. Because of his reserved nature against the rambunctiousness of the ‘Birds, I always believed he was to attempt control of the Firebirds for the company commander. Mission Impossible!

As my co-pilot on many ‘hot’ missions, Doug seemed to attract lots of ground fire. So much so that he became known as a ‘magnet ass’ for his attraction abilities. One harrowing incident occurred when a small arms round (AK-47) penetrated the helicopter floor where he was sitting – the round took off the large cuff button of his fatigue jacket, continued upward creasing his helmet visor in half, then grazed his helmet visor cover. As close a call as ever!

Friday night Reunion tradition is the Firebirds dinner – all the guys and wives, and others in our Summer ’69 group attend. Sitting with Doug and former platoon leader Terry Igoe, Doug asked me if I remembered June 27, 1969. How could I forget? I wasn’t surprised that Doug remembered our encounter with what we believed was a Soviet ZSU 23-4 anti-aircraft gun. The ZSU 23-4 sports four quad mounted cannons each firing 23 mm projectiles. There were never any anti-aircraft weapons of this kind reported anywhere in the AO. Big news for us!

We received a call out to assist an infantry unit fighting to advance up a steep hill near LZ East. When we arrived on station the infantry ground commander informed me his unit was ‘pinned down’ from small arms enemy fire on the hillside above. Marking his position with a smoke grenade he gave me distance and direction to the target area. As I was engaging the hillside target area with rockets, the 23-4 began firing with a stream of green tracers. We were literally flying through the middle of a four-stream barrage – two streams on both sides of the helicopter.

Concentrating through the rocket sight I could see Doug out of the corner of my eye squirming in his seat. Too scared to talk, he kept pointing outside the helicopter. Looking up and seeing the green streaking tracers I immediately dove into a fast-descending right turn calling for my wingman to cover me in the break from target – which he did, pouring a salvo of rockets underneath my flight path.

Thanks to my wingman Mike Callahan, Firebird 95, we all survived with no injuries or aircraft damage. How we escaped that barrage of fire is beyond imagination. Flying inside those four streams of 23mm projectiles without being hit can only be described as a true miracle.

We later learned that a flight of two F-4 Phantom jets had been turned away by the same 23-4 gun – and the O-6 Colonel ground commander called in the Firebirds to finish the job. Wasn’t going to happen that day. Thanks for the memories, Doug.

(c) Copyright – 2023 Vic Bandini