VOP Spring Public 2015

We are honored to share some of the stories from our local veterans, in their words. If you are or know of a local veteran who would like to share a story, email gblummer@orlandpark.org and let us know. “I was at Lx English in the Central Highlands. I was with the 1st Cavalry; we were a landing zone for Huey choppers. Late that afternoon, our Captain came into our bunker and told us to prepare to load into the choppers at dusk. There were three choppers and 18 men. As we departed, no one knew what this mission was about. We flew into a landing zone somewhere in the Highlands and were told “DO NOT ASSAULT.” We then took off again and landed once again. Again we were told, “DO NOT ASSAULT, SO NOT UNLOAD.” We took off again and flew another 15 minutes, then landed. This was for real this time. We all jumped off the choppers and started to ascend a hillside. It was raining and cold. We got to the top of the hill and dug in; it was a listening post. It was dark and we could not see anything. Our job was to watch for enemy troop movement and we were instructed to be quiet. At about midnight, a Huey helicopter flew over our hillside secret location and started playing Christmas music from the loudspeakers that were attached to the skids. They flew around our position for what seemed like hours. We all started laughing. The Army has a great sense of humor.” PFC J. Hill Ret. JAMES HILL A WORD FROM OUR Veterans

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