A Helicopter Story

In her interview yesterday on Veterans Radio, Donald Matocha's sister Linda Masur said something really important. "There are a lot of heroes in this story," she said, from the Team Dallas Girl Marines who've helped the Matocha family find resolution, to the JPAC teams who recovered their brother, to Nguyen Van Loc, who buried him on Hill 166. But she also pointed out that Ron Gatewood and his helicopter crew were tremendous heroes, because without them, the entire platoon would surely have been lost. And without the survivors, the answers would have been much harder to find.

The helicopter rescue of Team Dallas Girl on 5 April 1968 is recounted in chilling detail in "An Ocean Away," by AC Ron Gatewood and the Marines whose lives he saved that day. But Ron is quick to tell anyone who will listen that he was only one of the men on that ship that took more enemy fire than it should have as they hovered over a very hot zone, hoisting one wounded Marine after another up into the hold. Which got me thinking...

There are three more guys out there who lived through that mission. Three guys who have a platoon of Marines and a grateful family ready to buy them a beer. Can we find them? Seems to me we sure should try. So let's put it out there and let the Shadow Magic do its thing. SEEKING: Crew of HMM-262 5 April 1968 AC Ron Gatewood Extracted Team Dallas Girl Recon patrol via hoist under heavy fire.

Veterans Radio Sunday

Log on and tune in Sunday January 29 at 6:00 ET to Veterans Radio to hear Dale Throneberry's interview with "An Ocean Away" director Patrick Fries and film principals Linda Matocha Masur and Marine Andre Boersma as they discuss the journey that brought USMC LT Donald Matocha home from Vietnam. (Photo: Andre Boersma, by Michael Hanneman for Arrowhead Films.)

Cam On Nhieu Lam..."An Ocean Away" credits

"An Ocean Away" brings the story of many heroes to national television February 9 at 8:00 ET on The Military Channel, thanks to:

Film Principals:

Sisters of Donald Matocha:
LINDA MATOCHA MASUR
LORETTA MATOCHA EIBEN

Combat veterans of the United States Marine Corps:
ANDRE BOERSMA, Team Dallas Girl Radio Operator
NICKIE SMITH, Team Dallas Girl Assistant Patrol Leader
LESLIE GOEBEL, Team Dallas Girl Rear Security
MICHAEL KORNEZOS, Team Dallas Girl Rifleman
CHARLES SUCHOCKI, Team Dallas Girl Rifleman
COL. (RET) RON GATEWOOD, H-46 Helicopter Aircraft Commander

Combat veteran of the United States Navy:
STAN SELLERS, Team Dallas Girl Corpsman

Combat veteran of the North Vietnamese Army:
NGUYEN VAN LOC

For Arrowhead Film & Video

Produced & Directed By
PATRICK FRIES

Co-Produced By
MITA HERNANDEZ

Edited & Written By
PATRICK FRIES
HERBERT BENNETT

Assistant Editors
PAUL DUMAS
JESSICA MARTINEZ

Cinematography
PATRICK FRIES
RICHARD GAYLORD
MICHAEL HANNEMAN
JOHN LARSEN

Location Sound
MICHAEL HILL

Production Office Administrator
JULIE WEBER

Graphic Design
PAUL DUMAS
BRIAN BURROWS

Production Assistants
JESSICA MARTINEZ
SARAH BEAL
KRISTA UMSCHEID

Sound Mixer
BRADFORD ENGLEKING

Colorist
COLOR CAFE
MIKE CURTIS
OMAR GODINEZ

Still Photography
SARAH BEAL
MICHAEL HANNEMAN
JOHN LARSEN

Legal
KJEHL RASMUSSEN

Publicity and promotion
CHERYL FRIES

Website
CHRISTY HONEA

Music Composed BY
GEORGE OLDZIEY

Additional Music
"WILL I SEE YOU IN HEAVEN"
WRITTEN BY MARC PERLMAN
WARNER CHAPPELL MUSIC

“WILL I SEE YOU IN HEAVEN”
PERFORMED BY THE JAYHAWKS
COURTESY OF
UNIVERSAL MUSIC PUBLISHING GROUP

Acquired Footage & Stills Courtesy Of
MATOCHA FAMILY
TEAM DALLAS GIRL, USMC
COL. RONALD GATEWOOD, USMC (RET)
BOB O’BRYAN
CAROLYN A. BENDER
COL. WILLIAM D. KENT, USMC (RET)
TIMOTHY M. BASTYR
RAYMOND A. FELLE
CAPT. ROBERT L. ACKLEN, JR (DEC)
DWIGHT WILLIAMS
STEVEN BRAVARD

International Air Travel
KOREAN AIR
K.J. PARK & DON ARMSTRONG

Production Coordinator, DCI
CAMILLE R. HALLIWELL

Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
DINH HOANG LINH
NGUYEN HOANG DUONG

Four Seasons Travel, Austin, Texas
GARY DRYER
VALERIE FREMIN

Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii
JOINT POW/MIA ACCOUNTING COMMAND
JOHNIE WEBB
DICKIE HITES
MAJOR RUMI NEILSON-GREEN
MAJOR JAY RUTTER


Texas Tech University
THE VIETNAM CENTER & ARCHIVE
DR. NGUYEN THI THANH PHUONG
DR. STEVE MAXNER

Continental Airlines
FIRST OFFICER JIM MORRICAL

Special Thanks To:
DANNY MASUR
MICHAEL CAPPA
BRUCE AND CHIN MCCARTNEY
COL. WARD B. NICKISCH, USA (RET)
GARY FLANAGAN
DALE LEWIS
DONNA ELLIOTT
DANNY O’KEEFE
JOSEPH BEAL
COL. ERNEST SYLVESTER, USA (RET)
CHIEF BRUCE MILLS, AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT
U.S. MARINE CORPS HONOR GUARD, AUSTIN, TEXAS
MAJOR STACEY EIBEN, USMC
POPASMOKE
JUDY WHITWORTH
DON DORSEY
JAMES HART
THOMAS MELVILLE
TOM ANDREWS
CHET CRUMP
THE PEOPLE OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM – HANOI, HUE, DONG HA, SAIGON
OUR IN THE SHADOW OF THE BLADE FAMILY

Remembering GARY MEYERS, USMC, TEAM DALLAS GIRL, KIA, RVN, 5-13-68

And most of all,
THE FAMILY OF USMC LT. DONALD MATOCHA, KIA, RVN, 4-5-68

For Military Channel

Director of Production
SUE NORTON

Production Manager
SELMA EDELMAN

Production Assistant
KATIE BORMAN

Executive Producer
BILL HOWARD

Publicity
BARBARA CVRKEL

PRODUCED BY ARROWHEAD FILMS
FOR MILITARY CHANNEL
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS, INC. ©MMVI

They Were Soldiers Once...

And they are again! Recognize these ITSOTBers in the latest AO?

AOA in the news...

....Sellers was 20 at the time of the mission and was among the list of injured. He watched as Matocha was shot and is one of several Marines interviewed in “An Ocean Away.” He was not able to join the sisters on their trip to Vietnam because of health problems he has had ever since the war.

“I'm very glad for the family to see that they finally get closure,” Sellers said. “They had suffered quite a bit with him being killed and his remains being left over there. For the longest time they weren't really sure what happened because nobody was really answering any questions they had.”

Sellers said he and the other marines were leery of doing the documentary at first....

Read more of the San Marcos Daily Record article here.

Save the date.

A journey of healing to "An Ocean Away...." Premiere air date: Thursday, Feb 9, 8:00 p.m. ET, The Military Channel. Click to watch the trailer. (Photos courtesy Mickey Batsell, Sarah Beal, John Larsen.)

01-05-05

Hooked 'em!

How did we know this...

would happen? So, we're watching the news over the holidays and we see that the Secretary of Defense is visiting Mosul, and we say to each other--I bet Larry Castagneto is there--and, whadyaknow....(that's Larry on the right).

The Day It Snowed in Vietnam

"Christmas carols played in the mess hall, but it didn't feel like Christmas Eve...." Here's a great Christmas-in-Vietnam story by Huey pilot Jim "Polecat" Shueckler, a fine man and founder of The Virtual Wall. The Donut Dollies in this photo are wearing "special holiday uniforms" instead of their usual powder blue as they joined Jim and his crew on a journey to deliver a touch of the holiday to the troops. Enjoy the story--and post your own in the comments.

Happy Holidays

We're gonna take some time "off" for a few days to enjoy Christmas but we'll come back soon with a little retrospective and a lot of looking ahead. In the meantime, here's a scene from this year's work...a shot by our cinematographer Michael Hanneman of the Emporer's Lookout near Hue, Vietnam. In our upcoming documentary An Ocean Away, Nguyen Van Loc, the "American War" veteran who helped bring Donald Matocha home to his family said something that seems appropriate for this time of year: "Long Live Peace."

Tillman Update

Talked to ITSOTBer Perry Tillman (LZ Rio Ranch0, "this is a healing experience...it really is") and his wife Diane over the weekend. They were on the way to a place they've rented about 30 miles from New Orleans, so they will be based, at least, close to their primary AO. Perry and Diane lost their home and everything in it to Katrina. As Diane said, "everything is wet and gone." But they did have flood insurance and they have their lives--and they've got lots of love coming at 'em.

What's a nice girl like this...

doing in Vietnam?

So, let's make sure we understand...young women just out of college dressed in powder blue skirts got on helicopters (jeeps) and went out to the firebases to play Bingo with the soldiers?

Wow. So what was that like? How did it affect them? Why did they do it?

We're in post-production for a documentary on the Vietnam Red Cross Girls, aka "Donut Dollies," and I'm looking for a few good grunts with a DD story to tell. Did you see those Round Eyes in powder blue drop into the FOB? Willing to tell your story for the doc? Let me know: cfries@arrowheadfilms.com. DD-214 required. (Watch the trailer.)



"Smile. Smile. Smile. Sometimes you had to smile even when it was just ...."

Let's Play

This is "Brasso," aka Joey Welsh. All you Huey pilots and crewmen out there might think you really love the UH-1, but from what I hear, you ain't got nothing on guys like this. Rangers, LRRPs, SF dudes...to say the Huey got a few of them out of a jam is a major understatement. (Once we overheard a Ranger tell a Dustoff pilot that he'd not only buy him a beer; he'd buy him a house.)

Here's Brasso today, with Huey pilot John Adams in New Braunfels.



Lately Brasso's been challenging my foggy memories of Latin 101 (freshman year, Southwestern University) to see if I can translate these phrases:

Sine Pari
Sua Sponte
De Oppresso Liber

(Uh, sorry, Prof, it's been a while.) Can anyone help me out? Got a guess? And can you explain why these phrases are in this post? Leave it here.

Welcome to the Hoods

Cliff Hyatt, John Deer, and John Adams took us by surprise big time at the New Braunfels screening when they inducted us as "Honorary Robinhoods." Those of you who know the 173rd Assault Helicopter Company's history in Vietnam understand what a great honor this is. It sort of feels like a little kid clomping around in her dad's shoes--shoes she can wear, but never fill.

By the way, they even gave me a "call sign." Now I'm also known as "Maid Marian 091." :)

After Action: New Braunfels, Texas

Last month's screening at the Brauntex Theater in New Braunfels was so great: an opportunity to meet new friends and to get the crew and several "old" Texas buddies together. Here are a few photos, and there will be more coming. We met some really cool people there and heard more awesome stories. Also, Patrick and I received a huge honor. I'll tell you about that later. In the meantime, meet our fabulous event coordinator Cliff Hyatt and see if you can recognize any of these other people....

101st Legacy

In September, 2000, ITSOTB took its first flight, on a restored UH-1 called "The Five-O-Deuce" in Punta Gorda, Florida. The Deuce had been restored and was flown by Bob Carr, a Vietnam veteran of the 101st "Comancheros." As we flew over the Florida swamps and down along the river line, the vision of a mission unfolded. We would take 502 and her Vietnam vets on a journey across America, to fly like this and to tell their stories.

Well....it didn't happen as we'd planned, but it did happen. And even though the ship ITSOTB flew wore the Robinhood hat, the Comancheros and the 101st were still ITSOTB VIPs at every landing zone. Although our Huey was tail number"091," we all knew she flew for the Duece.



And that's why this means so much to us. It's a print of a Joe Kline painting titled "A/101st Aviation Legacy," illustrating the helicopters and insignia that served in the Vietnam War. Comanchero friends traveled to Austin recently just to give this to us. And it's no accident that the number of this particular print is....

091.

To all you 101st pilots, crewmembers, and ground pounders: we are so honored to post your colors. We are so honored to know you.

Airborne. All The Way.















Comanchero Santas visit Arrowhead Films. Left to right: Dave O'Quinn, Ed O'Quinn, Patrick Fries, Cheryl Fries, Jerry Turner and Ron Crotty. Jerry coordinated our LZs in Pasadena and Houston, Texas, and flew left seat during the powerful reunion of Keith Bodine and Connie Mac Pearson. Jerry and Ed flew with the "Winged Warriors" in Vietnam, and met for the first time since the war at the Pasadena ITSOTB LZ.

ITSOTB on Veterans Radio

Tune in at 6 p.m CST, 7 EST tonight to Veterans Radio Network to hear Dale Throneberry interview yours truly.

IraqN The Shadow of The Blade

Say hey to ITSOTB LZ Coordinator and interviewee Larry Castagneto, now down range on the Tigris River. Here are some photos he sent of himself on the Tigris River, and doing his part to maintain the morale of the USO. Larry--you boys take good care.

(Send Larry and his troopers holiday greetings at ljc75@hotmail.com.)

Catching Up with the ITSOTBlog

Apologies for the lack of posts lately. In the last couple of weeks, this family has hosted two parties, endured chicken pox and an ice storm, attempted to prepare for the holidays, and put the final touches on "An Ocean Away." Today is catch up day on the posts, so there's a lot coming.

A thought from the Sioux on this day of thanks...

May the Great Mystery make sunrise in your heart.


(Photo by Sarah Beal. Landing Zone Austin, November 2002.)