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Those personal
recollections that have been collected to date, and a summary of the combat mission after action
report during which Donald Bruce McCoig gave his life,
follows:
From: Norman Kaufman
"Bandit 24" 1/68-1/69
PO Box 104
New Florence, PA 15944
Tel: 724-235-2894
E-mail: nkmmk@cs.com
"The company area was deserted when I reported in to the 281st in January
1968, because most of the company was on a Delta at the Oasis. Don McCoig
was the first pilot that I met that day. I had no idea what the mission of
the 281st was, and I was probably really scared at 19 years of age but was
too proud to admit it. Don was a really friendly guy and there was none of
that new guy/old guy routine with him. He showed me around, helped me find a
place to sleep, and generally helped me get squared away as well as a new
kid could at the time. I flew with him on several occasions after my
in-country check ride with Harry Skaar, but then I was assigned to the
second platoon and we didn't fly together because he was in first platoon.
I'm not sure why we both ended up at Hue/Phu Bai on a Delta together but we
did. He and I were flying together the morning he was killed. It was the
Bomb Damage Assessment insertion, and we were using the craters from an
Arclight for an LZ. On the second lift in, Don told me to take the controls.
He said it was fairly easy and that I needed to start learning the ropes. We
were landing two ships in the LZ at one time. On short final at about 15
feet the lead ship made a go-around and just as I keyed the mic to ask Mac
why, pieces of plexiglass and metal began flying through our cockpit. A
round came through the floor, the right pedal and struck me in the right
foot knocking my foot from the pedal. The nose of the aircraft yawed wildly
to the left and Mac grabbed the controls, corrected the yaw and landed the
aircraft. The engine was not running, so we exited the aircraft and ran to a
bomb crater where I told Mac that I had been hit. When we were picked up by
the next ship in the LZ, Mac insisted I be flown to the dispensary to be
checked out. It was a superficial wound and we returned to the FOB. I
assured him that I had seen the needles split and that the engine had quit
causing the aircraft to yaw. He insisted that the yaw was caused by my foot
being shot off the right pedal. I'm sure that we did not shut the aircraft
down, and the rotor blades stopped turning almost immediately. Mac insisted
on going back out that afternoon with Robin Hicks because he told me he
wasn't sure we should have left the ship in the LZ, but flown it out
instead."
From: John "The Kid" Galkiewicz
"Bandit" 11/67-8/68
115 Nevils St, POB-20,
Harrogate, TN 37752-0020
Tel: 423-869-8138
E-mail: galkie@hotmail.com
"I'm glad he had a hand in teaching me how to "really" fly. He was the
one that nicknamed me ‘The Kid.’ I sure hope his kin visit the 281st
website. I remember he could have been a double for Steve McQueen (the
actor). I also remember that he had a prized "Cobra" sports car that he
liked to race."
From: Joseph Baldwin
"Intruder Maintenance" 9/67-3/68
1746 Palmland Drive
Boynton Beach, FL 33436
Tel: 561-737-7319
E-mail:
Joseph.Baldwin@BethesdaHealthcare.com
"I flew with Mr. Mac many times and he was a gentleman and a kind
man...Every time I needed some one to start up a chopper to test out an
engine or track blades he was more than willing to work with us on the
ground....Some times our maintenance officer was busy with something, Mr.
Mac would test fly the chopper for us...I think of him always..I visited the
wall and found his name on it...I cried when I touched his name....I will
always remember him and all the other men of the 281st...They where and are
a great bunch of men.....Lets keep the rotors turning"....
From: Donald Ruskauff, 281st AHC Commander
"Intruder 6" 2/68-7/68
483rd Maint. Det.
"Wrenchbender 6" 7/67-2/68
1039 Bench Ct
Anchorage, AK 99504
Tel: 907-333-0815
Email: PaMaBrs@aol.com
"The 281st Executive Officer, Maj. Sinclair had taken an advanced party
to the operational area and started a series of operations while I completed
some support details at home base. The very first insertion of friendly
forces met with fierce resistance. My recollection is that on the day of his
death WO McCoig was piloting an aircraft that was badly shot up in the first
stages of the operation and could not continue. Before Maj. Sinclair could
release him from flight duty that day, he voluntarily took command of
another flight into the area because he believed he could execute a landing
more safely in the landing zone because he was more familiar with it. It was
on this flight that he met his death. I joined the advanced party just as
the downed crewmen and the ground force were being recovered. They had to
fight their way out of the combat zone to another pick up area and carried
WO McCoig's body with them. Late that night Maj. Sinclair and I officially
identified his body. Men who can elaborate on the difficulties and stress of
these couple of days are Robin Hicks, Wendell Allen, Ken Smith, John Wehr
and John Galkiewicz. WO McCoig was held in high regard as a person, and as
one of our best and coolest aviators under fire. I am proud of having served
with him."
Mike Cook donated these sample 281st
AHC patches that he has been carrying around for over 30 years. Mike's
story was that way back when, the 281st leadership was trying to come up
with the unit patch, so Don McCoig had these designs made up as examples of
possible patches. Obviously, none of these was adopted, but McCoig kept
these designs and apparently Mike ended up with them.
From: Robert W. "Mop" Mitchell, Bandit
Platoon & Project Delta Historian
"Bandit 24" 5/69-5/70
617 Diamond Grove Rd.
Pinson, TN 38366
Tel: 901-424-7276
E-mail: mitchellrw@aol.com
[NOTE: Bob kindly researched the operations AAR that covered the mission for
which Don and Robin Hicks were flying support.] The following are excerpts
from 5th Special Forces Group, DET B-52, Project Delta After Action Report
for Operation 68-2.
Codename: Samurai IV DTG [date time group]: 030468-040468
Tactical Area of Responsibility: A Shau Valley
The first narrative is that of MAJ Charles Allen, Commander Project Delta:
"(4) 29 March 1968. During the support of an infiltration of two Ranger
companies, one UH-1H was shot down, but the crewmembers managed to make a
soft landing on the LZ. The enemy fire wounded the pilot lightly. The next
aircraft into the LZ dropped their passengers off and picked up the crew to
the downed aircraft. A Marine CH-46, attempting to extract recovery
personnel who had been placed in the LZ, was shot down in the LZ. A 281st
UH-1H landed to pick up the Marine crew and was on the way out of the LZ
when it received enemy fire, which killed the aircraft commander and damaged
the aircraft so that it had to land on the same LZ again. One other UH-1H
and another CH-46 were shot down in the vicinity of the LZ."
The following excerpt is from Annex C,
281st AHC Aviation Support, to AAR 68-2 Operation Samurai IV written by
(unsigned, but probably a joint effort between 1LT Carney, S3 Air for
Project Delta, and the 281st AHC Commander):
"bb. 29 Mar 68: DTG: 290615H Mar Project Delta FOB received estimated 12
rounds of 122mm rocket fire. 3 rounds landed inside perimeter. Neg
casualties or damage sustained. 1st lift 91st Abn Ranger Bn (-) and CIDG
Nung BDA Plat inserted into LZ in center of ARCLIGHT strike zone vic coord
YD554037. TAC air prep and gunship placed suppressive fire around LZ prior
to insertion at DTG: 291030H, Bn HQ reported receiving M-79 fire on the LZ.
At DTG: 291032H during second lift one UH-1H A/C [McCoig, Kaufman, Robb
and Schleher] crashed on LZ, crew extracted DTG: 291045H remainder of
second lift inserted into LZ. During insertion SA/AW fire and est B-40 low
ground vic coord YD553040. TAC air and helicopters placed suppressive fire
with negative results. By DTG: 291500H ground fire had subsided with only
sporadic SA fire. 30 additional personnel from 1st Ranger Co, Recon Team 3
and helicopter maintenance personnel were inserted into LZ. A smoke screen
was placed on ridge line to the West of LZ by Delta air elements, while
maintenance personnel rigged UH-1H and CH-46 helicopters for extraction. By
DTG: 291545H Ranger elem. reported they had been receiving sporadic but
steadily increasing to heavy W, M and M-79 fire from the West and North of
the LZ. Gunship and TAC air support was employed. DTG: 291600H 1 CH-46
crashed on LZ, hit by MG and SA fire, at 1603 1 UH-1H A/C shot down in LZ,
at 1606 helicopter which was hit by enemy fire returned to LZ and crashed
[Hicks, McCoig, Embry, Wesley]. Ground fire had increased and fire was
received from the West, Northwest and East of the LZ. TAC air and armed
helicopters placed continuous suppressive fire utilizing both light and
heavy ordnance. One CH-46, with cal sign SPACE 1-5 ceased communications at
DTG: 291610H Mar. DTG: 291749H Sr. Ranger Adv reported continuing heavy
contact and trying to break contact and move to the high ground. Adverse
weather conditions closed over Delta AO causing TAC air support to
terminate. Spooky arr. on station DTG: 291900H to continue support."
From: Stephen A. Matthews, 281st AHC
Historian & Webmaster
"Rat Pack 15" 6/68-6/69
E-mail: webmaster@281stAHC.org
[NOTE: Steve kindly researched the unit records and provided the following
information. The full AAR, contributed by Ken Kunke, then Asst. Ops.
Officer, is located at 29MAR68 ] An excerpt from the 281st AHC After Action Report written by
MAJ Bobby Sinclair, 281st AHC Air Mission Commander for Delta Operation
68-2.
".... .... Feeling that an even chance existed to recover the crew of
Space 1-6 [Marine CH-46], I directed Intruder 227 [Hicks, McCoig,
Embry, Wesley], the medical recovery helicopter, into the landing zone to
recover this crew. Intruder 227 landed in the landing zone, reported three
crew members on board and exited to the north. I observed 227 on take off,
received a call saying "We're hit, hit bad!" I immediately queried "Who’s
hit and where are you?" The reply was "This is 227, McCoig is on the
controls, I can't get him off and don't know whether I can control it or
not!" I had been maintaining visual contact with 227, observed him in an
extremely nose high right turn approximately 300 meters north of the landing
zone. I advised 227 to have a crewmember get the Aircraft Commander off the
controls, to continue his turn and try to make it back to the landing zone.
227 reported that he would try to make it but that the engine oil pressure
had dropped to zero. I observed the helicopter return to the landing zone,
land and shut down. ....
Just prior to departing the area to
regroup and organize another extraction attempt of the downed crews and
ground force casualties I received word that Warrant Officer McCoig had been
killed, the other Intruder crewmembers were OK and that one Space 1-6
crewmember was seriously wounded. ....
A recovery flight was organized to
attempt extraction of the wounded and dead, however before it could be
launched the Delta FAC reported that low ceilings had sealed off the area.
He stated that it would be impossible to maintain visual flight into the
area. The decision was rendered to delay further recovery attempts until the
weather improved. Reports received during the night revealed that the enemy
maintained continual pressure on the ground elements; engaged in frequent
probing attacks around their perimeter and gradually reduced their combat
effectiveness as reflected by the casualty figures. ....
The morning of 30 March arrived with
low ceilings and low visibility prevailing. Extraction of the ground force
with its mounting casualties could not be attempted until the weather broke.
Throughout the morning and early afternoon the enemy force maintained
continual pressure on the ground elements. An NVA prisoner was captured by
the ground force during the day and his interrogation revealed that an NVA
Battalion was moving toward the friendly position from the northeast. It
appeared as though total annihilation of the ground forces was a possibility
to be considered....
At approximately mid-afternoon the
weather broke sufficiently for TAC air to strike around the perimeter of the
friendly elements. ....
All available aviation support was
requested to extract the unit, however by 1700 that afternoon all that had
arrived on station were 3 Dust OFF helicopters from the 571st Medical Co
(Air Amb), and two MAG-36 CH-46 helicopters. .... It was decided that
complete extraction of all elements would be attempted with resources then
available.
With this limited support the lift
began at 1820 hours: An hour and three minutes later the landing zone was
cleared. .... Space 1-1 with full knowledge that gunship support was no
longer available, reported he would attempt to extract all remaining
personnel if I could vector him through the smoke to the landing zone. This
was successfully accomplished and the extraction from this area was
completed. ....
Although it is difficult to
distinguish and separate the degrees of heroism displayed by personnel
involved in this action I feel four aviators deserve consideration for award
of the Distinguished Service Cross or its equivalency. These being first of
all Warrant Officer Donald B. McCoig., as Aircraft Commander of Intruder
227, when he, at complete disregard for his own safety, piloted his aircraft
back into a landing zone in which he had previously been downed in an
attempt to recover fellow aircrew members. With full knowledge that at least
four additional helicopters had met a similar fate, he landed, loaded the
crew on board and received fatal wounds while exiting the landing zone.
Secondly, Warrant Officer Robin K.
Hicks who regained control of the mortally stricken helicopter after Warrant
Officer McCoig had been hit and returned it to the landing zone through a
withering hail of gunfire. This action allowed the crewmen on board to link
up with friendly elements. …
BOBBY SINCLAIR
Major, Infantry
Executive Officer
From: Robin K. Hicks, Aircraft
Commander Intruder 227
"Bandit " 11/67-11/68
E-mail: rkhicks@micron.net
"I got there mid November of 67 and 10 days later was wounded in an
attack on Nha Trang. I did not get out of the hospital and back on flying
status until 16 Dec 67. This prevented me from getting to know most of the
guys. I flew with Don a few times, but I was kind of shuffled around as the
other 7 guys I had come over with were pretty well linked up with the same
ACs a lot. I did a lot of flying and made AC on 23 Feb 68. Ironically, I was
the first to make it from my group. On 29 March the incident happened. There
has been a lot of talk about this and I am now realizing why after listening
to some of the pilots and researching written data. I was the AC on 227 for
all three lifts, but somehow everyone has made Don the AC and me the
co-pilot. The after action report, which I read for the first time about 3
weeks ago, even indicates this. By the third lift we were getting a little
short on pilots and aircraft both. My copilot Mr. Allen was to be lifted in
with the maintenance crew to help prepare the downed aircraft to get slung
out. I did not have a copilot and McCoig was not injured and did not have an
aircraft. It was decided that he would go with me. The only thing that
happened was that when we started to get in McCoig got all nervous and
looked worried. I asked him what was the matter and he told me that he did
not feel comfortable flying the right seat because he had been in the left
seat for so long. He asked me if he could fly left seat. It made sense to
me, I felt comfortable in both seats because I had almost equal time in
both. We both knew we were probably going to get into a bad situation and
wanted to take advantage of every thing that would be in our favor. I said
yes, let’s do it, and we traded seats.
I do not know what I could say about
McCoig that couldn't be said by every other pilot involved in that
operation. McCoig was flying and on take off we got hit hard. He took a
round right above his left eyebrow and his head swung around and looked
straight at me. Blood was "gushing" out so badly that I thought that his
jugular vein had been hit. He went stiff on the controls pushing in right
angle and the ship was shaking violently and going towards a tree in a nose
high attitude. I was on the controls but could hardly go over them and when
I told the gunner to come forward and pull him off the controls the gunner
responded that he couldn't because he was hit. There were still either 6 or
7 people aboard, including the crew of one of the marine aircraft. I kept
after it and McCoig finally went limp and I could move the controls and
tried to keep from hitting the tree or crashing. I was told to get the
aircraft back into the LZ, like I actually had a chance of doing that, but
tried and actually pulled it off. Every emergency light on the instrument
panel was lit and I found out later that the ship was smoking from
somewhere. I shut it down and things went to hell after that."
From: Robert J. "Mo" Moberg, Delta
Operations Commander and 281st AHC Executive Officer
"Bandit 26, Intruder 5" 67-68
Jusmagthai Box R3183
APO AP 96546
E-mail: rjmo@usa.net
"Robin: Don Ruskauff wrote me about McCoig and you after I left. I sat in
the Infantry Bar and cried. God bless you and Mac."
A tribute to WO Donald Bruce McCoig was conducted at Ft Drum, NY in connection with 10th Combat Aviation Battalion
Memorial & Dedications by the 10th Aviation Brigade. The
unit dedicated five Aviation Brigade buildings (Avn Bde HQ, 2-10 Avn HQ,
2-10 Avn hangar, 1-10 Avn hangar, and 3/17 Cav hangar) to heros from
the 10th CAB. The individual from the 281st AHC that was honored was WO
Donald B. McCoig.
(See memorial ceremony information and pictures at the links below.)
3 May 2000 McCoig Building Dedication Remarks
McCoig Building Dedication Pictures
McCoig E-mail Traffic
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Following the footsteps of his father, who
served as a Chief Warrant Officer in World War II, and his Grandmother, who also served in
World War II as a member of the Women’s Army Corps, Donald entered the Army,
completed basic training and graduated from helicopter pilot training in 1967. He arrived
in Vietnam and was assigned to the 281st Assault Helicopter Company, Nha Trang, RVN on
June 17, 1967. His death came as a result of hostel fire on March 29, 1968. His body was
recovered and returned to his family who, after cremation, scattered his ashes at sea. For
his service with the 281st AHC and to his country, Warrant Officer Donald Bruce McCoig was
awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal for
Valor, and numerous other awards and service medals. He was the only
individual from the 281st AHC to receive this award, the military's second
highest award for heroism.
