This story is not about one person's experiences but about a group of Pilots, Crew Chiefs, and Gunners. Aloha had 4 to 6 OH-23 (Hiller Raven) helicopters at any one time, but our reputation among the infantry troops we supported said it all.

The welcome signs in front of 3rd of the 25th operations tent said "Aloha Airlines - The Friendly Airline".  

Aloha Airlines - Vietnam Branch was the formal designation for HHC (Headquarters) Aviation unit of the 3rd Brigade, as it was assimilated into the 4th Infantry Division in 1967.

In Vietnam,  Aloha worked support and recon solo many ground troop infantry units, but primarily to recon (scout) areas and call in on-location support from the 174^th Aviation, from artillery and airstrikes as situations demanded.   Aloha was small but its impact was far beyond its size.  Each individual in the organization could tell of their experiences and keep a crowd busy for several hours.

The recon missions would be primarily flown at first light and just before dusk each day.  In between the missions inspections were performed on the aircraft if they were required.  The OH-23a’s were usually set up with two (left and right door) M-60’machine guns, each suspended on a bungee cord., an M79 grenade launcher, a case of ammo and an assortment of grenades (usually WP or CS) were the usual armament.

In the early 1960's Aloha was stationed at the Schofield Barracks in Hawaii as part of the 25th Infantry Division.  It was there that the name Aloha Airlines (and a generous supply of Aloha Airlines Decals for our aircraft) was first obtained from the commercial airline Aloha Airlines.

In 1966 Aloha arrived in My Hoa, Vietnam.  From there the Aloha moved to Duc Pho and would remain in that area until January 1968.  In 1968 the unit was located in 8 different LZ’s. We  moved to Chu Lai for a week or two.  The next move was to LZ Baldy (near Da Nang) where Aloha celebrated Tet with the rest of the 3^rd Brigade.  Shortly after that the unit moved to Bong Son.  A month or two later Aloha moved to the north side of Kontum.  The next move was to a base camp on the south side of Kontum (a short distance from the Laos-Vietnam-Cambodia triangle)

Aloha initially arrived in Pleiku in the Vienamese Highlands area.  The members that deployed with the unit from Hawaii were: Major Neal Christensen, CPT Bob Mandap, 1LT William B. Collar, CW4 George T. McKenzie, CW2 Clayton (Les) Coker, SFC David Kawakami, and SFC Petrowski.  WO1 Gary Eddy and WO1 Paul Lancy joined later in country.  

In late July or early August, 1968, the unit moved to a base camp west of Pleiku (called “The Oasis”).  Late August or early September found Aloha operating out of that base camp and out of Pleiku (Camp Earni) at the same time.  Camp Earni was the operations center until the unit was called back to the states in 1970.  It was decommissioned in Fort Louis Washington in 1970.

In 1967 and throughout most of 1968 Aloha flew recon missions in OH-23’s.   In late July or early August of 1968, the OH-6a’s arrived and missions were flown using both until the OH-23’s were no longer safe to fly (parts were not available). 

During all those recon missions Aloha lost no one to enemy fire.  One infantry Gunner was seriously wounded and one Crew Chief lightly wounded..  Aloha did lose an aircraft from time to time. 

A typical mission would start shortly before dawn.  The choppers were inspected; loaded with the ammo needed and the assigned Crew Chiefs, Gunners and Pilots would get on board.  The Crew Chief/Gunners were held into their positions with a lap belt.  The bungee cord also offered some stabilizing support.  One leg was placed on the cross-support attaching the two skids and the other leg was placed on the skid.  This positioning allowed for the crew to have a constant 360 degree view. The flights would take off flying at a couple hundred feet off the ground at best (usually just above the tree tops).  If Charlie was found the action started and would end once the chopper was out of ammo and gunships or artillery were called in.  We didn’t always find Charlie he sometimes found us.  That was not always a positive situation.  Being alert, being accurate shots, and having talented pilots that knew how to get the most out of the choppers were the keys to Aloha’s success.

When in late 1968 the unit returned to the Pleiku region, fewer recon missions were flown and most flights were support missions.  It was during one of those support missions that we had our first casualty. We lost one of our pilots.  WO Casey was running supplies to one of the infantry companies west of Pleiku.  As he took off the fog was rolling in.  Instead of delaying his take off he put his duty before any fears he may have had.  Trying to find his way back in heavy fog WO Casey ran into a tree.  The Army wrote it up as a non-combat operation (which was accurate) but he was still every bit a hero as those who died in combat.  Aloha will never forget Warrant Officer Danny Casey he is our hero.

By the time the unit moved back to Pleiku the missions were almost totally support in nature.  The support missions consisted of, air taxi for officers and other military personnel, re-supplying infantry units, convoy cover, inserting or extracting some LRRP’s, and medavac operations when the larger Huey’s couldn’t land in the area.   During this time period, M-60’s were hung in the doorways of OH-6a’s as defensive measures since the missions were no longer recon.  This did not mean Aloha didn’t see any action.  It was a different type of action.  The OH-23’s and OH-6a’s were small enough to get into tight areas and only needed minimal tree removal for a landing.  The last OH-23 was removed from service in 1969 after parts to keep it flight worthy could not be obtained.

SSG Jim Jernigan helped close Aloha down, turn in the aircraft and was one of the last 30 Americans at Camp Enari.  The division moved to Ah Khe in March/April 70, but the 3^rd Brigade deactivated and retired the colors at Ft Lewis, Washington.  Jim was also in the color guard to help return the colors.  Several articles were written in the Ivy News on Aloha in 1968 and 1969.