"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.
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