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strips with everything from pigs and chickens to ammunition had been overlooked in the press attention to more exotic units. The lumbering Otters flew on and on with little maintenance and little credit.

Another unit which is seldom mentioned in the Vietnam reports (probably because it was so often taken for granted) was the 73d Aviation Company flying the two-place Bird Dog of Korean vintage. That company had arrived in Saigon on 23 May 1962 and its thirty-two aircraft were spread in fifteen separate locations all the way from Hue in the north to Bac Lieu in the south. These O-1's were primarily oriented to the reconnaissance requirement for the Vietnamese advisors but also were utilized for artillery adjustment, target acquisition, command and control, message pickup, medical evacuation, radio relay, and resupply. By 1964 this unit had set up its own school to train the Vietnamese officers and aerial observers and they had recorded over 41,000 hours of flying time in their first fourteen months in Vietnam.

While I was in Saigon in the summer of 1964 I spent some time with Major General Oden, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Support Command in Vietnam. General Oden, who had been my predecessor as Director of Army Aviation, highlighted the increased intensity of combat in Vietnam and the concurrent increased risks being taken by our aviation units. It was apparent at this time that the most important aspect of U.S. support to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam was the capability embodied in our U.S. Army aviation organizations.

From the arrival of the first H-21's in December 1961 up to mid-1965, the U.S. Army had concentrated on developing airmobile operations in support of Army of the Republic of Vietnam forces in an ever-increasing scope. As the Allied tactics and techniques developed, so did the Viet Cong develop counter tactics and techniques. Consequently, there was always a need for innovation. Experience proved that any set pattern for any length of time was extremely dangerous since the Viet Cong were quick to capitalize on these patterns and strike at the weakest point.

Commander, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, on 12 June 1965, indicated his concern of the number of helicopter assaults that had been ambushed by the Viet Cong in recent months and directed Brigadier General John Norton, Deputy Commander of U.S. Army Support Command, Vietnam, to study this problem.