Show notes
Dick Van Allen dreamed of flying from the moment a B-24 roared over his small Ohio town when he was seven years old. What followed was a lifetime of aviation: from propeller trainers in Georgia to jet fighters in Alabama, from combat rescue helicopters over Vietnam to a dam disaster in Idaho. In this episode, Dick takes us through it all: the engine failures in training, arriving in Vietnam to discover he was the only pilot on his base, flying 300+ days of combat, nearly being hit by falling flare parachutes while hovering over a crash in the dark, and the civilian rescues that gave him just as much satisfaction as the military ones.Dick served in the United States Air Force, flying multiple tours in Vietnam with the 20th Special Operations Squadron — the Green Hornets — and later as a combat rescue pilot flying on three-minute alert. He logged over 6,500 hours in the Huey alone and performed roughly 75 civilian rescues after his military career, including responding to the collapse of Teton Dam.If this episode moved you, please subscribe, leave a comment, and share it with someone who should hear this story.CHAPTERS:0:01:30 – Growing Up in Willard, Ohio: A Seven-Year-Old Decides to Fly0:11:00 – Propeller Training, the T-28, and Engine Failures Over the Okefenokee0:17:00 – First Jet Flight — Five Minutes of Pure Chaos0:22:00 – Formation Flying, G-Force Blackouts, and Close Calls0:29:00 – Choosing Helicopters Over the B-47 Back Seat0:36:00 – Helicopter School: Igor Sikorsky Said We Were Crazy0:41:00 – The Huey, SAC, and Moving Seven Times in Seven Years0:44:00 – Volunteering for Vietnam: The 20th SOS Green Hornets (1966)0:47:00 – Jungle Survival School and Arriving at Cam Ranh Bay0:53:00 – General Ryan and the Island Assignment0:57:00 – First Mission: Finding a Downed F-4 by a Dead Tree1:03:00 – Arriving at Takhli: The Only Pilot on the Base1:08:00 – Drying the Softball Field and Other Unusual Missions1:12:00 – Supporting President Johnson in Bangkok1:17:00 – Back to Shepherd: Training the F Troop Gunship Crews1:20:00 – Second Tour: Return to Thailand, Evacuation Planning That Never Started1:24:00 – The Scariest Night: C-141 Crash, Hovering in Jet Fuel and Falling Flares1:29:00 – Flying Asleep: Eight Scrambles in One Night1:35:00 – Combat Rescues, Hot LZs, and Fake Beacons1:41:00 – MAST Unit at Hill AFB and the Teton Dam Disaster1:50:00 – 19 Years of Helicopter Flying: What It All Meant1:53:00 – Closing Thoughts & Reflections ────────────────────────────🎙️ Ask A Vet is dedicated to documenting and preserving veterans' stories in their own words, on their own terms, before their stories are gone forever.🤝 Ask A Vet is proud to partner with Utah Honor Flight — part of the National Honor Flight Network — giving veterans a free trip to Washington D.C. to visit the memorials built in their honor. Learn more or donate: utahonorflight.org📋 Not getting the VA benefits you've earned? Click the link below — we've partnered with experts who help veterans build stronger claims and get the benefits they deserve. Free consultation: https://crm.zoho.com/bookings/YourFreeConsultationwithAskaVetMedGroup?rid=e9b38e78cb91065c1fe320a7ded78fbd8bba8f49d0461551777fc2994529c25a57fa5b8c5b5a0967c3c2b0d295b2b223gid8b25e599eed0bfe92c1438b980632c02b6ed9488ec5e11f8c6677be7ffc43cecDisclosure: This is a referral partnership with American Medical Experts. We may receive compensation if you book through our link.📲 Subscribe | Like | Comment | Share — Your support helps us preserve the voices of those who served.#AskAVet #VietnamVeteran #MilitaryPodcast #CombatRescue #HelicopterPilot #VietnamWar #VeteranStories #HonorFlight #UtahHonorFlight
