Re: Contrasts-Long

["Richard Tunison" <rtunison@cox.net>]

Ed,

The first recorded helicopter rescue (from the LST-799) was 5 April 1951.
ENS Tuthill was the pilot who ditched at Wonsan. The incident you asked
about must have happened a week or so earlier, so the chopper may have come
from one of the carriers. The 799's choppers were known to pick up two men,
but with a pilot and crew, they simply did not have the lift capacity to
carry much more.

The 799 was the first LST to have a regularly assigned helicopter. Its
mission was mine recon, but the urgency of picking up downed pilots soon
became a priority. During the 799's time working along the Korean East
coast, the ship's helicopters picket up twenty-five pilots and the ship's
boats rescued two more. There are several pictures of these activities in my
book, One Ship, Two Wars.

Although not identified by number in the movie (the ship was referred to as
the Gray Ghost of the Korean Coast), it was featured in The Bridges at
Toko-ri as a helicopter rescue ship that lay off the Korean coast. Mickey
Rooney played the part of an aviation chief pilot who flew the rescue
missions in the film. Actually, at least two rescues were flown by Chief
Aviation Pilot C. W. Buss. So that part of the story certainly wasn't far
fetched.

If you are at all interested in my book, send your name and mailing address
to Great Circle Books, P.O. Box 7703 Edmond OK 73083-7703. You will be
billed $24.00 plus $4.50 S & H when the book is shipped. So, don't send any
money until you receive the book.

Best regards,

Dick Tunison


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ed Evanhoe" <evanhoe1@korean-war.com>
To: <KOREAN-WAR-L@listproc.cc.ku.edu>
Sent: Monday, July 28, 2003 8:05 PM
Subject: Re: Contrasts-Long


> Richard,
>
>  >>At 07:48 PM 7/28/2003 -0500, you wrote:
> >Nice job Lynn. I liked what you wrote. I must admit I've tried hard not
to
> >be touchy about being a forgotten KW vet, but the feeling lay under the
> >surface somewhere until a little over a year ago. That's when I began
> >writing One Ship. Two Wars, the story of the USS Greer County (LST-799).
The
> >799 was my ship, and for an old rust bucket that wasn't supposed to last,
> >she racked up a remarkable record.<<
>
> Wasn't the LST-799 the ship that LtJg John H. Thornton launched from to
> rescue the Virginia One Ranger team from a hot LZ on the morning of March
> 28, 1951, and then was shot down during the rescue attempt?
>
> Ed
>
>