"Land the Landing Force!"
by First Lieutenant Terrence D. "Terry" Arndt
Foxtrot Company, BLT 2/26
"As we are the first assault wave into the zone, the VC/NVA start to practice their marksmanship on us.
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"We can hear some of the rounds hitting the fuselage. 'Jesus Christ, please get me out of the helicopter in one piece!'"
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1stLt Terrence D. Arndt
Foxtrot Company, Battalion Landing Team 2/26
The Waiting Is Over
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"Land the Landing Force -- USS Okinawa", on the ship’s loudspeaker the order comes, “Land the Landing Force!”
And it begins. A collective shiver goes up everyone’s spine.
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War is a dangerous game. Landing a landing force off an LPH [Landing Platform Helicopter ship] in the early morning hours is a very dangerous game.
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These are my fond memories about going into a hot LZ in an H-34, an Ugly Angel.
Quiet time before the op. One deck below the flight deck, Marines and corpsmen of BLT 2/26 wait for the order to board the helicopters. Everyone about to fly into certain danger had moments of reflection like this. Photo by Alan Green.
Ugly Angels
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Whirling helicopter blades, ammunition, fuel and a pitching flight deck has everyone’s attention.
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We start up the gangways, stumbling as we go, our minds racing and our thoughts with our families.
The Ugly Angels that will carry BLT 2/26 into harm's way are lined up aboard the USS Princeton for loading. Photo by Kent Wonders.
Once on deck, each helo-team is directed to a waiting helicopter.
BLT 2/26 helo-team boarding a UH-34 aboard the USS Princeton. Five Marines, their combat gear and boxes of 81mm mortar ammo are loaded onto the chopper. Photo by Kent Wonders.
