Okeene veteran pilot saddles up one more time in ‘Huey’
Bob Ford, vice president of Shawnee Milling and manager of Okeene Milling, is shown in his Okeene office holding a replica of the helicopter he flew in Vietnam. PHOTO BY BRYAN PAINTER, THE OKLAHOMAN
OKEENE — All hell wasn’t fixin’ to break loose.
It had already been unleashed and U.S. Army 1st Lt. Bob Ford was flying the "Huey” helicopter into its fiery teeth on Jan. 21, 1968, in the northern regions of South Vietnam.Multimedia
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BACKGROUND
How reunion happened
A dozen years ago, Craig LaMountain picked a "Huey” helicopter out at a National Guard base on Long Island. Today, it sits in the Vietnam Remembered Museum of which he is he curator. David A. Maurer, a feature writer for the Daily Progress in Charlottesville, Va., wrote about visiting the museum and his memories of "Huey” helicopters. In January, Bob Ford received a copy from his daughter’s mother-in-law, who knew only that Ford had flown helicopters in Vietnam. She thought he might enjoy reading Maurer’s article. When Ford saw the helicopter was from the 282nd Assault Helicopter unit, he made calls. Ford contacted LaMountain, who gave him the tail number and then he called his unit’s historian. He had a match. In October, he went to Virginia and sat in this particular "Huey” for the first time since 1968.NewsOK Related Articles
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