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00:00The United States lost thousands of aircraft in combat during the Vietnam War.
00:08Hundreds of airmen were killed, captured, or never found.
00:14Remarkably though, nearly 3,900 lives were saved,
00:19thanks to the courage, determination, and teamwork
00:22of a unique chopper unit known as the Jolly Greens.
00:27Their objective? To locate and recover downed airmen behind enemy lines.
00:37This is the story of their incredible missions.
00:57Few things could be more terrifying for a strike pilot than being shot down over enemy territory.
01:07Especially over the jungles of North Vietnam in the late 1960s.
01:17Mayday, mayday, mayday.
01:19My train, uh, 505, uh, down on target.
01:23Presently up to, uh, 65, uh, 47 miles, uh, channel 40.
01:27Ejecting gun now.
01:28The ejection itself is violent, but instantaneous.
01:37It is the thought of what lies ahead that is almost paralyzing.
01:47It is the thought of what lies ahead that is almost paralyzing.
01:50Nothing ever prepares you for something like this.
01:54You're down on the ground and you know the bad guys are out there, and, um, you're helpless.
02:00nothing ever prepares you for something like this you're down on the ground and you know the bad
02:09guys are out there and you're helpless you do whatever you can to try and survive but until
02:18somebody comes to help you then you just try and keep calm and don't panic
02:23fortunately for hundreds of downed airmen a highly specialized search and rescue force was developed
02:31in vietnam that was dedicated to one thing bringing the survivor back alive their motto
02:39that others may live their aircraft the jolly greens time was a crucial element these people
02:48were shot down in a usually in a very heavily defended area there were a lot of people on
02:54the ground generally speaking and so every moment that went by people were closing in on the survivor
02:59on the ground which which complicated the difficulty of the rescue
03:02essentially what we were trying to do was prove that we could survive zero knots in an environment
03:30where the individual we were trying to rescue had been unable to survive at 350 to 500 knots
03:36you think about what you need to do and what you're going to do if things don't happen the way you
03:49expect them to happen and then you just go do it
04:00in may of 1964 the united states resumed flying covert reconnaissance missions over laos to monitor
04:10communist troop movements throughout the region
04:18the missions were launched from carriers off the coast of north vietnam and by air force jets stationed in
04:24the south
04:30following the gulf of tonkin incident the scope of u.s air operations throughout southeast asia began to steadily expand
04:41initially limited retaliatory strikes were launched against strategic facilities in the north
04:47when these strikes failed to halt further communist aggression in south vietnam the air assault intensified
05:04in march of 65 the u.s initiated rolling thunder a massive bombing campaign intended to send a clear
05:11message to hanoi that further communist aggression would not be tolerated under the campaign u.s airmen drove
05:19progressively deeper into north vietnam and laos
05:25as the number of missions increased concern mounted over the fate of americans downed in hostile territory
05:33downings are an inevitable part of any large-scale air combat operation but with enemy defenses improving
05:39and no effective means for recovering airmen the price was becoming too great
05:52prior to 1964 the recovery of downed airmen throughout southeast asia was a relatively unstructured and
05:59dicey proposition a five-man team of rescue coordinators stationed near saigon marshalled any
06:06available forces near an airman's location to attempt recovery dozens of pilots were saved but if a
06:12rescue party wasn't available or if the pilot was located in an extremely remote or hostile area
06:19recovery was often impossible
06:27this all began to change dramatically in june of 64
06:30when the u.s deployed its first pair of kaman h-43 huskies to knock on phnom royal thai airbase
06:40strategically located on the southern border of laos the mission of husky crews was to extract
06:45airmen downed in laos before they could be captured or killed thus averting international controversy
06:51over the covert nature of their missions however the huskies also known by their call sign pedro
06:58were not well equipped for the hazardous long-range rescue role their primary use was in local base
07:04rescue equipped with twin counter-rotating blades this unusual helicopter was highly effective at
07:12suppressing crash site fires and in picking up airmen who bailed out close to base with limited fuel
07:20capacity however the huskies were restricted to a relatively small operational area as a result
07:27aircraft damaged over northern laos often had to be flown at least 50 miles south toward nakon panam
07:34if the airmen couldn't make it he had to rely on covert forces operating in the area beyond that his fate
07:41grew bleak to extend their range some husky crews carried a 50 gallon drum of fuel and a hand pump in
07:49the cargo bay allowing them to refuel while in flight homing in on an emergency tracking beacon carried
07:57by all pilots the four-man husky crew scoured the terrain for the survivor
08:05armed with nothing more than m16s for protective cover and no armor shielding it was vital for the
08:11vulnerable crew to get in and out as fast as possible
08:18if the pilot was uninjured a sling was lowered on a cargo hoist so that the airman could be brought
08:23aboard quickly if he was injured a crewman was lowered to the ground to help the pilot aboard
08:29by late 1964 the u.s was publicly committed to the war effort 13 husky units were operating from six bases
08:45in vietnam and thailand
08:53rescue efforts were gaining momentum but it was clear that a more capable recovery aircraft
08:58was badly needed
09:07between 1965 and 67 the u.s air war in southeast asia escalated rapidly on multiple fronts
09:14air force and navy jets ventured deep into north vietnam and northern laos
09:31under operations rolling thunder and barrel roll
09:45in southern laos a wide variety of aircraft were involved in a massive interdiction campaign
09:50to sever the ho chi minh trail the north vietnamese supply line that fueled the communist campaign in
09:55south vietnam at the same time north vietnamese anti-aircraft defenses were becoming increasingly potent
10:05u.s pilots no longer had the luxury of owning the skies above 17 000 feet
10:10bolstered by larger caliber anti-aircraft guns arriving from china areas in and around hanoi
10:28and the port of haiphong became some of the most heavily defended positions in history
10:41in time poorly trained north vietnamese defense forces developed sophisticated anti-aircraft tracking and firing techniques
10:48the results were deadly
11:05from 1962 through june of 65 71 aircraft were lost to enemy fire
11:11in seven months alone from july of 65 to january of 66 the number increased by more than a hundred
11:23even the most sophisticated and expensive strike aircraft in the world
11:27could not withstand the fierce anti-aircraft barrages over north vietnam
11:31the fate of u.s pilots downed over north vietnam was especially grim
11:42if they weren't killed on ejection or by a rogue gunner as they parachuted to the ground
11:47they were likely to face years of confinement mental abuse and torture
11:51in december of 65 the situation began to improve dramatically with the arrival of the first sikorsky hh3s
12:07otherwise known as jolly green giants
12:12equipped with a powerful winch a thousand pounds of titanium armor a large internal fuel tank and two
12:18external drop tanks these modified transport helicopters were ideally suited for the hazardous long-range rescue roll
12:32the jollies unusual nickname was derived from a popular ad campaign for frozen foods
12:38and from their unusual green and brown camouflage scheme
12:41by the time the first jollies arrived improvised recovery tactics had evolved into the concept of a
12:50well-coordinated search and rescue or SAR task force during airstrikes specially modified lockheed c-130s
12:59orbited at high altitude in close proximity to enemy targets as the strike force approached the crew of
13:06these crown command and control ships monitored each pilot's progress with sophisticated tracking gear
13:13homing in on target pilots continually reported the location and intensity of enemy air defenses
13:19coming off a target at low altitude was the most dangerous point of a strike mission
13:36as the pilot struggled to climb out he jinked back and forth in violent evasive maneuvers in a desperate
13:42attempt to avoid the lethal barrage from below monitoring radio traffic the crew of the command
13:51and control ship anxiously awaited the call that they hoped would never come
13:58when a pilot was going down it was often his wingman who notified the world
14:06receiving the call for help crown control immediately alerted the jolly greens
14:12to get airborne
14:22at the same time four douglas a1 sky raiders known in the SAR task force as sandys also scrambled from
14:29udorn the sandys were responsible for escorting the vulnerable jollies to the survivor and for
14:35suppressing enemy fire once on scene
14:49frequently forward air controllers or fax flying cessna o1 bird dogs were the first to arrive over
14:55pilots down in south vietnam fax routinely patrolled for enemy activity and directed follow-on airstrikes
15:03they knew their areas of operation in great detail
15:08equipped with a radio and with marking rockets fact pilots provided valuable reassurance and advice to
15:13downed airmen and critical information to the task force on enemy threats and the pilot's position and
15:19condition
15:23monitoring all of the activity from high above crown control continued to direct the rescue force in on the
15:29airmen's position
15:33if scrambled separately the jollies and their faster sandy escorts would join up somewhere en route to
15:39the crash site when time permitted a tentative rescue strategy was worked out based on any preliminary
15:46reconnaissance information
15:47one of our most basic tactics was to go in only in pairs a low helicopter primary recovery helicopter
15:56and a high burn as we called it and we learned that the hard way by losing a jolly green in november
16:02on the 9th of november 65 sent in alone on that mission we lost at least two and i believe three sandys
16:09and one jolly green crew that was a tough one
16:16as the rescue force approached crown control briefed them one last time on conditions in the area
16:23once over the airman's position the crown commander designated the lead sandy pilot or sandy one on scene
16:30commander breaking off from the jollies and sandy's three and four sandy's one and two dove in on the
16:37approximate location of the downed pilot
16:44the rugged hard-hitting a1 was ideally suited for the sandy roll it had a 7 000 pound bomb load four
16:5120 millimeter cannons heavy armor plating and excellent loiter capability coming in low the pilots began to
17:00control for enemy fire
17:11as we were operating at low altitude looking for the person on the ground and trying to determine where
17:16he was specifically pinpointing him hopefully finding the parachute and being able to visually
17:21see exactly where he was we also of course were exposing ourselves in this process and trying to
17:26determine what the ground fire looked like if it was tracer fire or if there was flack that was
17:31breaking it was easy to tell if it was a small arms fire it could be very intense but if it wasn't
17:37if there weren't tracers in the air of course we couldn't see it unless we could see muzzle flashes
17:40which were very hard to see the survivor on the ground oftentimes helped in that because he could hear
17:45and he could direct from the direction from from where he was where the ground fire was coming from
17:50in repeated passes the low sandys fired on potential enemy positions until they were
17:57confident that the vulnerable jolly crew could survive in the area ultimately the sandy on-scene
18:03commander would have to make the difficult decision to call off the rescue if the threat remained too great
18:10the sandy low lead would have control up to the point of commitment for the pickup it was a joint
18:17decision between the sandy leader and the jolly green low aircraft commander as to whether or not
18:23the rescue was feasible we would defer to the sandys because they were in on top of the survivor
18:28typically we'd be standing back aways the sandy low lead would make the decision to commit he'd run that
18:33by the the jolly green aircraft commander at that point when the jolly green uh decided to commit
18:40then he in effect was running the show with the sandys in close support while the second jolly
18:47crew orbited nearby in case the first crew was shot down the low bird rapidly descended over the downed
18:53airmen critical to many rescue attempts were para rescue men also known as para jumpers or pjs
19:02if an airman was hurt or not responding the pj would leave the relative security of the jolly green
19:08and take to the ground on a steel forest penetrator
19:15the pj was essentially a one-man army prepared to do anything to get the airmen out alive
19:26once on the penetrator the flight engineer quickly hoisted the pj and survivor to safety
19:31with the pilot aboard the commander broke from his hover and rapidly sped from the area
19:41when the aircraft was relatively free from enemy threats the pj tended to the airmen treating any
19:47life-threatening injuries immediately
19:53the pj's mission was filled with uncertainty each time the crew approached a downed airman the pj had to
20:00mentally prepare for the worst the life of the pilot and indeed the entire jolly crew
20:07often depended on him alone the first time i was put on the ground i was in the hybrid the low bird man
20:15had gone in already and a radio call came from him please send me down so we lined up they put me down
20:23and i couldn't figure out what was going on and i got down there and i said what's wrong and he says
20:31i am scared and i says that makes two of us now what the hell are we going to do about that
20:36and we went on and done what we were supposed to do
20:43throughout the war pj's won more decorations for their heroic actions than any other group of men in the air
20:49force on more than one occasion it was the downed airmen who made it out safely while it was the pj who
20:58had to be left behind returning to udorn injured airmen received prompt medical treatment
21:09for many elated survivors it was almost impossible to express the amount of gratitude and respect felt for
21:16the brave crews of the sandys and jolly greens
21:31on february 19th 1966 captain bob green witnessed firsthand the incredible courage and determination
21:39of the sar task force returning from a strike mission deep in north vietnam captain green broke off from
21:53his flight of f-105s to search for targets of opportunity along south vietnam's border with laos
21:59i found a hole in the clouds and went down and went down into magia pass now magia pass is where
22:11the majority of supplies for the vietcong and the south pass through i went there every day
22:18after the mission if i could possibly get there i go go down in magia pass and this day i went down and
22:23there was something there that i hadn't seen the day before so i started to circle around and i got
22:30too low on my airspeed and i was about 500 feet in the air and underneath the clouds and the thing
22:36that i saw was any aircraft in place and he saw me too and saw nothing but a wall of traces coming up
22:44happening and he hit me from my radome right back to my afterburner so i ejected there in magia pass
22:50the burn was going i was increasing the airspeed and i when i ejected of course my chute popped right
22:58away and blew out a couple of panels which was pretty neat because then i could use the blown panels
23:05to steer my chute and so i steered it away from the road and back up against the hill landing right
23:15next to a large north vietnamese convoy in one of the most heavily defended exit points for the
23:20notorious ho chi minh trail captain green almost certainly faced capture or death
23:28though his wingman could not exactly see where he landed or communicate with him he immediately
23:33alerted crown control that captain green was alive and down in the past
24:03within minutes a pair of jolly greens and a pair of sandys lifted off from nakon panam and headed for the pass
24:15to the west a second pair of sandys took off and raced to join up with the rescue force
24:33crossing the mekong river the rescue team entered a deck of clouds that steadily climbed with the rising
24:44terrain by the time they reached the pass the crews were just above the clouds at more than 12 000 feet
24:53the lead sandy pilot lieutenant colonel elmer nelson knew the area well
24:58just four days earlier his flight commander was killed inside the pass
25:04i knew the tops of the ridge lines were around 3 500 feet in that area and as we started getting
25:09down towards 3 500 feet we got a little bit ginger in terms of whether we were going to break out over
25:14the valley or whether we were going to run into some rocks that were on the edges of the ridges
25:18and fortunately we we had a little crack in the clouds and i saw we were over a valley and i basically
25:25just told the wingman to hang on and we rolled up and rolled it over into uh more than 90 degrees
25:29of bank and sliced down through and and broke out underneath immediately uh in the area that bob
25:36happened to be i happened to be in an orbit that uh just swinging back to the east as they broke
25:41out of the clouds and three and four broke out right on the other side of the helicopter it couldn't
25:45have worked out better we didn't delay we simply pressed and went straight to bob's position
25:52and we began to suppress the ground fire that was coming up in the immediate area
26:07each time we approached his position we would pick up very intense tracer fire and at times the tracer
26:15fire was so intense that i couldn't believe the fact that the the airplane wasn't being sieved it was
26:20very very intense at that point uh sandy lead contacted us and gave us the uh the survivor's
26:28actual coordinates which were down inside the pass and the plotted position for the survivor was
26:34immediately south of a very heavy flight concentration marking on my map i looked at it
26:39and i said to myself maybe a one out of three chance of coming out of this one alive
26:43uh we started then down over the pass buried at an extremely tight turn uh a tactical approach one of
26:50the first uh he didn't hesitate there was no doubt that if we were going to do this it had to be done
26:54very quickly as we slowed down uh you could begin to feel the aircraft shake and shudder from from the
27:02hit of small arms i wasn't terribly worried about them my main concern was the 37 millimeter to the south
27:09we were faced west we were in a hover i was looking out to the to the south thinking that when the 37s
27:16opened up perhaps i could vector elmer in on one of these things to take it out before they finished
27:21us off i saw a red flash and i thought yep that's it uh followed by a whole series of additional flashes
27:28and a bunch of dirt and garbage thrown up and a sandy an a1 flew into my peripheral vision and that was a
27:34very uh a very welcome sight i could hear all the ground fire going off the 37 millimeter small iron
27:49fire i didn't know whether they were going to come in and get me or not because of the amount of
27:53ground fire but the chopper showed up and they dropped it it's called a tree penetrator which i'd never
27:59seen before and as it was coming down through the trees the downwash from the uh from the helicopter
28:06opened these things up and i looked at i said boy i got the seat well they drop it down and let it hit
28:11the ground for get rid of static electricity and i went over to get on it and the leaves had collapsed
28:20and gone back up spring-loaded and uh there's a strap that you're supposed to put around you and strap on
28:26well they were taking hits and they wanted to get out of there and i wanted to get out of there too
28:31and so i just stuck the strap my arm to the strap and tried to get the leaf down and they were going
28:37up at this point and i said go let's go and i just wrapped around this and held on for their life and
28:43i remember going up i said if i get hit it's a long drop down there because they were headed up to the
28:48clouds but then decide i had such a death grip on the thing that uh that even if they hit me i wouldn't fall off
28:56and then they pulled me up in the helicopter and the paramedic got me inside and gave me a drink of
29:10bourbon which i didn't particularly care for because i hate bourbon but uh i thought i was extremely
29:19fortunate to uh get out of there i went back and the next morning i got new helmet and new equipment and
29:26i flew the next afternoon as a matter of fact went right back to mcgill pass it's uh just one of
29:32those things that you get thrown off a horse you get back on it just quick as you can
29:40timing and teamwork were critical factors in recovery efforts by late 1966 an airman downed in southeast
29:47asia could count on at least a one in three chance of rescue
29:51the most limiting factor in all rescues was the slow speed of the jollies half of all unsuccessful
30:01missions resulted from crews not being able to make it to the airmen in time to compensate for
30:07their lack of range jolly crews began staging from remote forward bases in laos and south vietnam known
30:14as lima sites throughout the day the crews would remain on alert until the last bombing runs had
30:22ended if a pilot went down the crew could respond from the lima site within minutes during larger bombing
30:30raids jolly crews even began orbiting high above the north vietnamese laotian border returning to their
30:37lima site every couple of hours to refuel by early 1967 10 jolly greens operated throughout southeast asia
30:49under a well-structured aerospace rescue and recovery service while classic recovery tactics remained
30:57essentially the same throughout the duration of the war things did not always go as planned
31:02the rescue force always had to anticipate the worst as they set out on a mission
31:16on one occasion an f-105 pilot was downed while flying cover for a rescue mission already in progress
31:24arriving on scene the jolly crews learned that they now had two airmen down
31:33scanning the terrain below the crew located a parachute in the trees and soon spotted the first survivor
31:39nearby
31:44within minutes the wounded airman was being hoisted to safety
31:49orbiting nearby the crew of the high bird anxiously awaited the outcome of the first rescue attempt
31:57monitoring the progress of the pickup by radio
32:00the crew prepared to go in for the second downed airman as soon as the low bird had the first man
32:05aboard and was out of danger as the pilot was pulled into the low jolly the high bird broke from
32:10its orbit and headed toward the other survivor the second airman had not been able to contact anyone since
32:17he went down his survival radio could have been broken he could have been unconscious or even worse enemy
32:24forces could have captured him and might have been using him to lure the vulnerable jolly into a deadly flak trap
32:34if it was a trap the entire crew could perish if it wasn't a desperate pilot may be left behind
32:43lieutenant colonel john gilmartin the aircraft commander decided to attempt to pick up
32:47the crew we were coming into the area we heard the radio traffic we found a chute harness sandys led us
32:55to the chute hanging in the tree an empty harness at that point our only cover helicopter was headed headed
33:04south with a wounded survivor on board we had no backup we had about 20 minutes worth of fuel i put my pj on
33:11the ground he the jungle was so thick we knew that the survivor was nearby if he could have helped
33:17himself in any way pop a smoke flare talk to us on the radio we'd have got him that was a that was a
33:24very painful situation we did all we could we went back home we debriefed that night came back up the
33:31next morning the sandys preceded us and there was no sign of life and particularly sad because he had been
33:37instrumental in rescuing the first individual in september of 67 air rescue in southeast asia took a
33:57gigantic leap forward with the arrival of an entirely new generation of aircraft the sikorsky hh-53 super
34:05jolly green giant open number two engine starting two modified from a heavy lift helicopter designed
34:16for the u.s marines the massive super jollies were clearly superior to the earlier h3 or any other
34:22similar aircraft in the world
34:30weighing in at 20 tons the 53s were nearly twice as large as the original jollies
34:35powered by two turbo shaft engines that generated more than 3 000 horsepower the super jollies had
34:47the tremendous lift that the h3s lacked for rescues in mountainous regions where the air was thin
34:57they also had the speed and range needed for rescues deep in northern laos and north vietnam
35:01as additional hh-53s arrived throughout the late 60s the saar task force reached the apex of its capability
35:13forward air controllers operating in fast and nimble north american ov-10 broncos
35:18often helped to pinpoint downed airmen with special laser designators and marking rockets
35:23the vampire 26 here he's up on 243 zero he uh has a banked up flag requiring a pj make sure the
35:32jolly's aware of this all the while the sandys who suffered some of the highest losses of any aircraft
35:39in southeast asia continued to provide rescue escort in their beloved aging sky raiders
35:45right here and the nails in to mark the guns
35:50okay you guys tell me i'm gonna smoke
35:53okay let's uh
35:55the kgs all around in smoke there is a looks like about 14 or something coming out there
36:06despite the addition of sophisticated super jollies to the mix of rescue aircraft overall tactics for
36:12air crew recoveries remained relatively unchanged from the early days of the war
36:18changes that did occur occurred within those tactics in aircraft performance and among the men
36:24who were still committed to the same fundamental goal to bring the pilot back alive the 53s advanced their
36:32operations tremendously it was so different because you had a highly sophisticated gun system
36:38you could walk around in the aircraft you could carry a lot of equipment that you thought you might
36:43need had the speed duration however the rotor wash that it pushed down that you had to come up through
36:52was right at the hurricane force winds but it sure gave you a good feeling to have that big
36:57aircraft just come in there drop it pick you up you knew that you were going out and getting out of there
37:02the 53's powerful lift allowed more titanium armor to be placed around critical engine components
37:13the massive size and power of the chopper also allowed crews to carry another para-rescue man
37:19boosting crew morale tremendously especially for the pjs who were now supported in their lonely missions on
37:26the ground you had help that could be sent down to you in the form of another para-rescue man
37:33if you needed help you just called and he was there you had uh two more on another aircraft that was
37:40flying hybrid for you however the other guys got more sophisticated too they had better ways of locating
37:47you they had better weapons but it was a comforting feeling to know that you had more help to help you
37:53personally if you needed it on the ground the addition of three 7.62 millimeter mini guns each
38:00capable of firing at 4 000 rounds per minute were perhaps the super jolly's greatest asset
38:06with years of experience sandy's developed extremely effective close air support tactics
38:26laying rockets white phosphorus and other ordnance often within meters of rescue crews
38:36even with additional firepower protective armor and crew time spent in a hover especially once a
38:45man was hanging from the hoist line was filled with tension if enemy troops had not brought the
38:51chopper down already now was the time to do it hold your hover hold your hover taking out the slack
38:58hold your hover hold your hover hold your hover slack's out survivors coming up hold your hover baby
39:04hold your hover looking good hold your hover hold your hover
39:07Survivors coming up.
39:12Hold your hover.
39:13Hold your hover.
39:13Survivors coming up.
39:16Hold your hover.
39:18About 10 foot below the aircraft.
39:1910 foot below the aircraft.
39:21Hold your hover, baby.
39:21Hold your hover.
39:23Hold your hover.
39:26Survivors at the door.
39:29Survivors coming in the door.
39:33Survivors intersecure.
39:34Let's get the hell out of here.
39:35At higher altitudes and in the warm moist jungle climate it was vital for the aircraft commander to gain enough forward speed for the massive chopper to rapidly climb to safety.
40:05With two PJs and plenty of room to work, crews could provide wounded survivors with even more thorough medical treatment during long flights back to base.
40:23The Super Jolly became the finest search and rescue helicopter in the world and eventually became the core of the US Rescue Force.
40:38Working together, the crews of both Jolly Greens contributed immensely to making successful air crew rescue the norm rather than the exception for airmen downed in Southeast Asia.
40:53While the size of the rescue force and improved equipment were important factors in the growing success of air rescue in Southeast Asia, the fundamental strength of the entire concept came down to the crewmen alone.
41:09It was their incredible courage and teamwork that meant the difference between life and death for hundreds of airmen.
41:16On July 1st, 1968, Lieutenant Colonel Jack Modica and his flight of F-105s prepared to interdict a heavily armed North Vietnamese Army Battalion amassed just 18 miles north of the DMZ.
41:32Dropping down to deliver his ordnance, Colonel Modica encountered heavy anti-aircraft and small arms fire.
41:41As he struggled to get back to altitude and away from the intense barrage, his aircraft immediately began to fail.
41:59The entire instrument panel glowed with warning lights as tremendous heat began to build in the cockpit.
42:06Within seconds, he was forced to eject.
42:15Having been unable to fly to a safer ejection point, he descended unconscious and injured into the enemy troop concentration.
42:35Throughout the first day, three rescue attempts were made while dozens of aircraft struck enemy positions in the area.
42:42Colonel Modica would have to remain on the ground for the night.
42:49The following morning, a pair of HH-3s attempted a first light rescue, but it too was aborted almost from the start with news that the enemy threat was still too high.
43:01The crews headed to a forward operating base where they remained on alert, waiting for another opportunity.
43:08By midday, with Colonel Modica's chances for survival rapidly diminishing, the Jolly Greens elected to go in for the rescue.
43:18On board the Low Bird, para-rescue man Joel Talley prepared himself for his very first mission since arriving in Vietnam.
43:25The aircraft commander had briefed that we would make an initial pass over the area to attempt to draw any ground fire.
43:33Once we located the pilot, we would come back over the area and hover, and only at a last resort would I be put out of the aircraft to help the pilot on board.
43:43I spotted smoke out the left of the aircraft and called out to the aircraft commander, and all bets were off at that point, it was just time to go.
43:52I got on the penetrator because the pilot had said he couldn't move, so he would need assistance getting into the helicopter.
44:00I got onto the penetrator and they lowered me to the jungle floor, which probably was about 150 feet below the helicopter at that time.
44:09On the ride down, I was spinning around quite a lot and got disoriented, and the flight engineer who was running the hoist at that time pointed in a direction where we had spotted the smoke and where we expected the downed pilot to be.
44:22I started off in that direction and actually conducted a ground search, and after about 18 minutes on the ground, located the pilot, and he was in fact disabled, laid out on the ground, couldn't move.
44:34I had to carry the pilot about 50 yards to an opening where we could get the force penetrator down to us and get on it and get back to the helicopter.
44:45When we initially got on the penetrator, that's when we initially started running into trouble.
44:51I told the pilot over the radio to take us up, and at that point, the enemy opened fire on the ridge, and I still thank that pilot for doing what he did because he saved our lives down there.
45:05Actually, on the initial ground burst from the people shooting, he took a round right through the center windshield of the H3 helicopter, but held that thing in a hover until he got us high enough in the trees where he could drag us off through the trees without injuring us.
45:21So there we were, about 50 feet below the helicopter, being drug through the trees and climbing out to get out of small arms range.
45:30The sensation was that the ground fire started with just a pop-pop, and then it was like popcorn all over the place.
45:38So we were scurrying to get to altitude and get out of that area.
45:44I would imagine it was about between 2,000 and 3,000 foot before we finally got in the helicopter.
45:49At that time, I just reverted back to my initial training.
45:59It was time to clean up the helicopter, get the limbs out, and get it ready for flight back.
46:03And it was at that time that the flight engineer tapped me on the shoulder and pointed to the back of the helicopter.
46:08Because the doors were closed in the back, there were just beams of sunlight coming in all over, crisscrossing the back of the helicopter from the rounds,
46:17or the ground fire which had penetrated the helicopter.
46:20So we were pretty lucky getting out of there.
46:26In addition to the small arms fire they had taken, the crew later discovered that a rocket round had punctured one of the jolly
46:33Talley's main fuel tanks, but fortunately had not exploded.
46:38For his extraordinary bravery, Joel Talley was awarded the Distinguished Air Force Cross,
46:43one of the highest honors that a U.S. airman can receive.
46:54On February 12, 1973, the first of nearly 600 American prisoners of war were turned over to U.S. officials
47:02at an airport near Hanoi.
47:07A daring attempt to free many of the POWs was conducted two years earlier in a midnight raid on the Sante prison camp just outside of Hanoi.
47:18One Jolly Green and five Super Jolly swarmed into the compound in a virtually flawless rescue attempt.
47:24And while the prisoners had been relocated and none were recovered, the mission succeeded in many less tangible but significant ways.
47:33There was no doubt that it was success in regard to the prisoners themselves.
47:42They had a better life after that.
47:43They were put together.
47:44They were all pulled into Hanoi from all over Vietnam and made to live together and given privileges they hadn't enjoyed in years.
47:53Sadly, many more airmen were killed or lost in action in Southeast Asia and would never make it home.
48:03However, hundreds of airmen did make it back safely thanks to an extraordinary group of men and the special breed of aircraft they flew, the Jolly Greens.
48:13While it is the role of a country's military to produce men who are proficient at taking human lives if necessary, it is rare to find a military that produces a force of men equally proficient and well equipped to save them.
48:29Yet that is exactly what happened during the air war in Vietnam.
48:33There was so much disillusionment by many service people in Southeast Asia by what they had heard at home and all that.
48:43So occasionally a commander's call, I would remind them that it didn't matter why we were over there.
48:49Our job was just to pick these guys up.
48:52And I think most of the guys in my unit understood that and appreciated their mission.
48:58The United States knew no limit as to what they'd do to get a man out.
49:03There were limits to what would be effective, but the Air Force in Southeast Asia from the four-star down in Saigon on down had absolutely no reservations.
49:13And whatever assets we had, we'd throw them in for one man.
49:18The United States gets all the ones that get the man out.
49:25Well, some people like that before we eat, they DO while counting down theilence of desires, but to consider them having issues like this, certain people who need to know the issue.
49:35A man, thanks if he nor call upon the word, his throat is saying that this crewmate has taken three individuals in the field.
49:39Transcription by CastingWords