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Geronimo 117 had an engine failure while at a
hover with a 105 howitzer and ammunition piggy-
back. Setting down it was able to avoid the 105,
but not the ammunition. Art Struckman: "We flew
back to Phu Loi single engine, no big deal right?
You don't know how much you can miss the
security of that second engine until it's gone. I
couldn't fly on a Huey."

Tay Ninh East, 1969. Nui Ba Dinh in the background.
Photo by Paul Fretts. Art Struckman: "Note the black trim
on the windshield. While in a fire fight with a flock of VC
ducks, one cracked the chin bubble on Geronimo 116, when
we replaced it there was no OD paint to be found so we
painted it flat black. The Bat. Commander noticed it, liked it,
and ordered 'all trim will be painted black.' It seemed like the
whole world hated me and Sandy Johnson. A second note
on this is you can not kill a duck with a M-60 machine gun."

65-8025 refueling at Di An, 1st ID HQ, 1969.
Note the boiler plate attached inside the lower-half
of the pilot's door. 65-8025 was later refurbished
and used for training at Ft. Rucker. Photo by Paul
Fretts. Art Struckman: "Zero, two five, had a
combiner box freeze up in flight! At 3000 ft. the
rotor RPM just dropped, and so did 025. ... the
pilot pulled both engines to ground idle. When the
torque let go the Xmsn freed up and they auto-
rotated to the ground without a scratch."