Chopper (256-320))

Summary:

Stealth Fighter Down in Serbia:

The thing that happened during this story was an F-117 stealth fighter jet was shot down by a surface-to-air missile, in 1999. This was the first stealth fighter to be ever sot down. This was very bad for the Air force. Never before has a stealth aircraft got into the hands of enemy forces. This was especially bad for the Air Force, because this aircraft cost a lot of money, and it was super secret to the Air Force. No one knew anything about it until now. "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. I'm VEGA 31, on the way down" were the words of the pilot. After parachuting down, he was very vulnerable. He had the oldest survival radio in his inventory, but the newest and most advanced fighter jet. He was also in enemy territory. This meant SOMEONE had to go and get him, or at least attempt to.

The pilots name is withheld, at his request. His callsign is VEGA 31, so that is what we will call him. When he was parachuting down, he decided that he would break the rules of his SERE(survival, evade, resistance, and escape) method they had thought him in survival school. He used his mediocre radio to call for help. The radio signal would get farther while he was still in the air. Not only did he have a mediocre radio, he had a parachute that was brightly colored, white and orange. When he landed the first thing he did was go and find a safe place to hide. The first person he had got in contact was a KC-10 Tanker refueling a F-16 over Bosnia. Then, he contacted a rescue team. Two Pavelows and one Pavehawk were called in. it took 7 hours to get him. They were in a 1 mile radius of the downed pilot for about 3 hours, but because of the darkness it made it impossible to see him. Finally, when he lit a road flare, they caw him, and got him outta there.

Quote:

"We pulled off my rescue with a walkie-talkie, a road flare, and a $100 GPS: out success was a testimony to the human spirit-- and a wake-up call" (Dorr 287)

Reaction:

My reaction to this story was very frantic. This try kept me suspended. I could literally not put the book down, because I just had to know if the Pilot was rescued or not. What was amazing was how he got to survive. I was sure that he would be captured, but because of his intelligence and knowledge, he wans't.

Chopper (196-256)

Summary:

"Cobra In The Crosshairs":

A new kind of helicopter joined the Army in Vietnam on September 4th, 1967. This helicopter, or chopper, was called A AH-1G Cobra. It was the first helicopter designed to be an air-to-ground gunship. It's nickname was the HueyCobra. When Chief Warrant Officer Kenneth Whitley climbed into one of these gunships, he said it felt more like a fight jet than an actual helicopter. The speeds the Cobra could reach were astonishing. It could reach 175 mph, and fired 2.5 Inch sidewinder rockers under its little "stub" wings.

What happend during this mission was very scary for the pilot. He was going to an area where there Army called "Song Be", but then he got a call on his handy radio that a MEDEVAC helicopter was going in to retrieve a wounded solider. Whitley as offered the job to cover the helicopter, with his new AH-1G Cobra. He accepted. I mean, why wouldn't you accept. If the soldiers didn't have a MEDEVAC option if one of them got hurt, then they probably wouldn't fight as well. He was going north, toward where the MEDEVAC was supposed to be. Then, all of a sudden he saw .30 caliber bullets flying his way. Then, a BIG explosion shock the cockpit. He was diving. Finally he hit the ground. Suprisingly, both Pilot and Co-Pilot got out alive, and called in for another MEDEVAC for them. Another chopper came and rescued them. Later that day, when he came back to base he found out that the MEDEVAC mission that he was assigned to had gotten the wounded solider out of there without his help.

Quote:

"I'd knew I'd never get out of Vietnam alive". . . And then: "No, I'm immortal. I can live through anything" (Dorr 223).

Reaction:

My reaction to this quote and when I read this in book was emotional. it's amazing how much determination you can have when your life is at stake. it's kind of like that feeling when you're getting chased by someone at night. The adrenaline kicks in andyou start going faster then you ever were before.