Month: May 2018

Provided by COL Kirby Lawson. COL Lawson served as Company Commander for C/227 (Ghostrider 6) and also as the Executive Officer for the 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion during his tour (July 1969 – June 1970)

A video recording of a presentation by COL Kirby Lawson and LTC Joe Shaffer.

This video is an overview of Army Aviation operations in Vietnam and the development of the air mobile concept. The later part of this video has voice recordings from the 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion Assault into Cambodia, May 1970. Captions have been added that go along with the audio of the combat assault flight into Cambodia.

The assault flight was made up of 42 UH-1H “Huey” helicopters and 18 AH-1 “Cobra” gun ships.
LTC Johnson flew above vectoring us into and out of the landing zones, from an altitude
3000 to 5,000 feet to stay out of anti-aircraft fire. The flights went in at tree top level to
avoid exposure.

CALL Signs:
11th Group Commander: Terror 29 – Colonel Mertel
227th Battalion Commander: Anchor 29 – Lt. Colonel Johnson
C/227th Company Commander: Hang 29 – (Yellow One) Major Lawson
B/227th Company Commander: Desire 29 – Major Knudson
A/227th Company Commander: Owner 29 – Major Sundstrom
D/227th Company Commander: Welder 29 – Captain Matocha

Our website is beginning the process to shut down over the next few years.
Please use the following link to view this video which is now hosted on our 227th AHB Video Archive on Archive-It.org
Air Mobility in Vietnam, presentation by COL Kirby Lawson and LTC Joe Shaffer
After our archived Video page completes loading – In the yellow banner at the top of the page –
click the small blue play button at the end of the line of text. After clicking that blue play button all the video controls on this video page will work in normal fashion.

The video is provided by COL Kirby Lawson. COL Lawson served as Company Commander for C/227 (Ghostrider 6) and also as the Executive Officer for the 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion during his tour (July 1969 – June 1970).

As the 1st Cavalry Division left Vietnam, the personnel and aircraft of the 227th remained in Vietnam, our 227th companies were then assigned to different commands for the remainder of the Vietnam War.

We have contact with Edward “Ed” Venable, Ghost Rider 22, who was stationed at Phouc Vinh initially – then moved with C/227 as described below.

“We became the 60th Aviation Company, 17th Combat Aviation Battalion, 1st Aviation Brigade.  
Flew out of Ninh Hoa, just north of Nha Trang, for the Ninth R.O.K. White Horse Division.  

Flew all over II Corp, hit III Corp a few times, occasionally into Cambodia, for the Koreans, and the South Vietnamese.  

I was there for the Easter Offensive of 72.  Tanks, hand held heat-seeking surface to air missiles, 250,000 bad guys, and 35,000 of us. President Nixon initiated Operation Linebacker.  We had incredible fast mover air support.  Would be dead had it not been for President Nixon.  

They were still flying Ranch Hand missions then, although the Air Force denied it. Same planes, just changed the markings to VNAF ones.”

Call Sign remained Ghost Rider throughout.

From 1963 to 1965 the 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion developed tactics and operating procedures for the air assault concept as part of the 11th Air Assault Division (Test). This document is an original (marked up) draft copy of the original Tactical Standard Operation Procedures (SOP) for helicopter air assault.

November 1963 Tactical SOP

The document has been generously provided by the family of (then) Major Leo E. Soucek.

Major Soucek was literally the first man to report to the 227th, and as the XO he helped build the unit from the ground up. The 227th trained helicopter pilots in the use of the very first low level, nap-of-the-earth techniques combined with formation and nighttime air-assault tactics. The unofficial unit crest, put together by a battalion mechanic at Leo’s behest, was a pouncing Hawk with feet extended to snatch prey. The crest later became officially recognized by the Army.

Later he would serve four years in Vietnam, implementing the core concepts he helped develop and test with tours as Commander of the 11th CAB, 11th CAG, the 164th CAG, and G-3, 1st AVN Bde. When he commanded the 164th in the Mekong Delta it consisted of over 350 aircraft – the largest number of aircraft commanded by a colonel in combat or peacetime. A proud legacy of the 227th, Leo Soucek retired as a Brigadier General and was inducted posthumously into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame in 2017

The following rosters include all officers and warrant officers assigned to the 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion as of August, 1969, October 1969 and June, 1970.

Provided by COL Kirby Lawson. COL Lawson served as Company Commander for C/227 (Ghostrider 6) and also as the Executive Officer for the 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion during his tour (July 1969 – June 1970).

August 1969 Officers Roster

October 1969 Officers Roster

June 1970 Officers Roster

Beginning May 1, 1970, the 1st Cavalry Division (along with ARVN and other US Units) crossed the border into Cambodia in the area known as the Fishhook. The following write up is a synopsis of major events during that operation, through it’s completion on 24 June, 1970 (Author Unknown).

Cambodia Campaign

Document provided by Kirby Lawson. COL Lawson served as CO of C/227 (Ghostrider 6) and also as the 227th Battalion XO (1969-1970)