HISTORY
361st Aviation
Company (Escort)
The purpose
of this document is to record sequence of events involving the activation of the 361st
Aviation Company (Escort) based on my memory and
personal records.
During the
summer of 1967, I was assigned as the S1 of the 55th Aviation Battalion, Fort Hood, Texas. The
battalion was station at Grey Army Airfield. The
battalion headquarters had deployed to Harlingen, Texas to support a Task Force formed to
provide flood relief to south Texas. I
had a personal call from a Major Bahnman who identified himself as an Action Officer in
the office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Forces, Headquarters Department of the
Army, Pentagon. Major Bahnman informed me that I was selected to be the Commanding Officer
of a soon to be activated helicopter company. The
company was to be organized under a Modified Table of Organization and Equipment (MTOE)
with 12 UH-1C helicopters. The company was
being formed for a specific classified mission. He
informed me that an Air Force Major or Lieutenant Colonel would visit me within the next
two weeks at Fort Hood and described the mission. I asked who else at Fort Hood knew about this activation and mission
and was informed that no one had this knowledge. I
informed the Battalion Commander and waited till the Air Force contacted me. An Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, Squadron Commander
of CH-3E helicopters, did visit me and explained the mission for the 361st and
its ultimate assignment. I briefed the
Battalion CO and he and I briefed the III Corps G-3. (This
was an unusual way for this type of information to be disseminated from the Pentagon.) Headquarters, III Corps Special Order 265, dated 1 November 1967 activated the 361st
Aviation Company (Escort) and assigned Larry Aicken as
the Commanding Officer and James Rodgers as the Executive Officer. We had a planned deployment date for April 1968
with the Advance Party deploying in March 1968. This
gave us four months to organize, equip, and train for our mission that could not be
divulged. We received new UH-1C helicopters
equipped with mini-guns. The high priority for
the 361st enables the company to receive its equipment from all over the United States in a very short period of time. We recruited NCOs from Fort Hood with the opportunity for promotion. The officers, Warrant officers, and enlisted
personnel not recruited were assigned by DA. The
Platoon Leaders and pilots were assigned directly from Flight School except for the CO,
XO, Operations Officer, Maintenance Detachment Commander and five CW2 (Chief Warrant
Officers). The 361st had a Maintenance Detachment and an Avionics Detachment
assigned in direct support. During the
training phase, four aircraft and crews deployed to Shaw Air Force Base and developed a
technique for escorting CH-3E helicopters. While
at Shaw, two crews put on a successful rocket firing demonstration for the Air Force
crews. The company completed the training
phase, unit testing and an IG inspection by mid March.
The Advance Party flew to Viet Nam, which was to be our intermediate
destination for country training and to implement the infusion program. Upon arrival at MACV Headquarters, no one appeared
to be expecting us and finally they found the 361st listed in a Contingent
Plan. The company was assigned to the 25th
Aviation Battalion at Cu Chi and was to be stationed at Ziang. The company personnel and aircraft were airlifted
in April 1968 to Viet Nam along with the necessary tools and
equipment required to reassemble the aircraft when they were offloaded from the C-141
transports. The company was to receive 30 days
of country training while flying missions with crews from other aviation companies in the
25th Aviation Battalion. The
company was declared "operational" on 1 May 1968 when the 2nd Tet Offense
commenced. The company redeployed to the 52nd
Aviation Battalion in Pleiku in the May –
June 68 time frame. The aircrews flew to the
new location and the remaining personnel and equipment were airlifted via C-130s and
C-124s. The company started transitioning into
AH-1Gs in July 1968. A New Equipment Team
(NET) provided the pilot transition training in country.
The company
did not experience the normal infusion program to adjust DROS (date to return from
overseas) because the pilots volunteered to extend their tour of duty to adjust their DROS
from 30 to 90 days. All of the pilots that
deployed with the company stayed with the exception of three, one infused, the Operations
Officer left to command a company and I left to become the Operations Officer for the 52nd
Aviation Battalion. Jim Rogers became the 361st
Commander. The men of the 361st
were extraordinary as demonstrated by their pride and professionalism. We lost no aircraft due to accidents during the
training and in country during the period that I can account for. The radio call sign “Pink Panther” was
established while at Fort
Hood, Texas, to compliment the aircraft art that
was painter on the nose of each of the 361st helicopters.
The “Pink Panther” was adopted at the suggestion of one of the men
of the company.
Prepared by
Larry B. Aicken
