Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
6:21 | After he finally graduated and got his commission, Ron Dillard headed for Fort Benning for his basic course and then received flight training in helicopters. He received additional training in aviation safety and left for Vietnam. Assigned to the 1st Cavalry Air Mobile, he was put on the battalion staff as safety officer.
Keywords : Ron Dillard pilot helicopter Vietnam Western Kentucky University Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) flight training Fort Wolters Bell UH-1 Iroquois (Huey) safety Tan Son Nhut Phuc Bien safety officer S2
His father was a pilot and flight instructor, so flying was a lifelong dream for Ron Dillard. He wanted to get Uncle Sam to pay for his training, so he entered Western Kentucky University and the ROTC program and joined the Pershing Rifles.
Flying was his lifelong dream but new helicopter pilot Ron Dillard got stuck in a desk job when he got to Vietnam. Not only that, he was the safety officer, which meant that the other pilots thought he was monitoring them. He was over five months in before he managed to get out of headquarters and fly actual missions.
Ron Dillard recalls several interesting events from his days as a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, including his first formation flight with a cocky young pilot. Once, he was alone in a small aircraft when two Marine Corps jet pilots tried to scare him. Another hairy experience was landing in triple canopy jungle.
Helicopter pilot Ron Dillard never encountered any serious anti-aircraft batteries in Vietnam, but he did take a single round to his Huey, which caused him to return to base. He had more trouble with leeches while he was on the ground.
Ron Dillard describes some of the details of life in the air mobile cavalry in Vietnam. He was isolated from the civilian population and during his only visit to Saigon, he raised some eyebrows at the officers club. Correspondece with his wife provided some distraction, as did building a basketball court.
When he got home from Vietnam, Ron Dillard jumped the first time he heard a car backfire, but he had no real problems adjusting to life at home. The worst thing was, the Army put him in another desk job.
