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Pictured above are some of the most incredibly courageous and resourceful men that I had the honor of flying in Vietnam. Operating in six man teams, these Long Range Recon Patrols would land far behind enemy lines to gather intelligence and disrupt enemy operations. Always outnumbered, they normally could only depend on stealth, cunning and each other to survive in an area that was completely controlled by very hostile enemy forces. For days they would play cat and mouse against incredible odds and often had to be extracted by helicopters while under heavy fire. Sometimes the only way to get them out was by a "string" extraction when there was no LZ or landing zone. Pictured in the center is David Dolby from Allentown PA. I remember that the man on the left was a Hungarian refugee of the late '50s and spoke with an accent. Perhaps a visitor to this site can supply info on the rest of these fine soldiers. Read more on David Dolby below.
David Dolby loads up ammo and his fellow soldiers check their combat gear in anticipation of insertion into unfriendly terrain by D Troop 2/1 Cav Hueys.
Shortly after these photos were taken one of the members of this Team was killed in action against the NVA.
Enroute to the helicopters for another mission.
This is a "string" extraction. There are actually three men at the bottom of the "string". They had rope "Swiss seats" around their bodies and a quick clip D ring to hook up to the "string". A scary ride to be sure but when compared to the alternative, it must have been pure silk!
DOLBY, DAVID CHARLES Rank and organization: Sergeant (then SP4c.), U.S. Army, Company B, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 8th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) Place and date: Republic of Vietnam, 21 May 1966 Entered service at: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Born: 14 May 1946, Norristown, Pennsylvania Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, when his platoon, while advancing tactically, suddenly came under intense fire from the enemy located on a ridge immediately to the front. 6 members of the platoon were killed instantly and a number were wounded, including the platoon leader. Sgt. Dolby's every move brought fire from the enemy. However, aware that the platoon leader was critically wounded, and that the platoon was in a precarious situation, Sgt. Dolby moved the wounded men to safety and deployed the remainder of the platoon to engage the enemy. Subsequently, his dying platoon leader ordered Sgt. Dolby to withdraw the forward elements to rejoin the platoon. Despite the continuing intense enemy fire and with utter disregard for his own safety, Sgt. Dolby positioned able bodied men to cover the withdrawal of the forward elements, assisted the wounded to the new position, and he, alone, attacked enemy positions until his ammunition was expended. Replenishing his ammunition, he returned to the area of most intense action, single-handedly killed 3 enemy machine gunners and neutralized the enemy fire, thus enabling friendly elements on the flank to advance on the enemy redoubt. He defied the enemy fire to personally carry a seriously wounded soldier to safety where he could be treated and, returning to the forward area, he crawled through withering fire to within 50 meters of the enemy bunkers and threw smoke grenades to mark them for air strikes. Although repeatedly under fire at close range from enemy snipers and automatic weapons, Sgt. Dolby directed artillery fire on the enemy and succeeded in silencing several enemy weapons. He remained in his exposed location until his comrades had displaced to more secure positions. His actions of unsurpassed valor during 4 hours of intense combat were a source of inspiration to his entire company, contributed significantly to the success of the overall assault on the enemy position,and were directly responsible for saving the lives of a number of his fellow soldiers. Sgt. Dolby's heroism was in the highest tradition of the U.S. Army.
Sergeant David Dolby
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Copyright İFred Lohr 1997 |
