114th AvnCo Assoc. - Archive - Air Crew Tribute

    Without the Mekong rice bowl, North Vietnam can only remain poor. And so it is that in the heat of mid-afternoon, in the Delta city of Vinh Long, a band of brave and duty-conscious warriors put an end to a brief respite of slumber and prepare to keep a guardian vigil throughout the night - securing the repulsion of a desperate and possibly starving enemy.

    These men are the proud crews of the 114th Aviation Company (Assault Helicopter). As the days in Vietnam draw to a close for many, the men of the 114th just begin to churn. Since the first of February, they have traded the welcoming sunshine of daytime for the bleak obscurity of the dark hours.

    From their headquarters in Vinh Long, the ships' foursomes spread out to various beleaguered outposts scattered over the Delta. Once aloft, one sees below a myriad of canals stretching out to the distant horizon.

    Fires dot the land as the farmers perform their seasonal burning of what is left of the rice crops in their fields.

(Continued here)