Re: Contrasts-Long

[Ed Evanhoe <evanhoe1@korean-war.com>]

Richard,

> >>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.<<
I was wrong on the date.  It was March 30, 1951. I went back and checked 
Thorton's book, "BELIEVED TO BE ALIVE."  He states he flew onto the LST-799 
in the late afternoon of 29 March from the Japanese-manned Q-007 and took 
off at dawn on the 30th.  In other words, he "staged" from the LST-799 for 
the rescue mission.

For you information, the other 2 helos did retrieve 3 of the 4 Rangers but 
Thornton and the other Ranger had to leave the LZ because the enemy overran 
the LZ before the helos could return.  Just before they did, a bullet 
knocked out their radio so they were unable to tell thecontroller flying 
overhead in a C-47 where they were.  They evaded for almost two weeks 
before being captured just 3 miles short of the front lines.  Both came out 
in Big Switch.

Ed