Seawolf History

By Jim Plona 50 Gunner, Seawolf 312 15 September 1970 I read with great interest the article “Incident at VC Lake”. I was there, but don’t remember much from that day. I was the .50 gunner on 312. I remember a hail of tracers, taking hit after hit, starting to auto rotate, then looking at Joe Ramos, all in about 1 second; things were happening fast. Mr. Pete (the maintenance guy), Seawolf 62, was going through the Mayday routine. Joe and I had pulled back the pilot/co-pilot chicken plates, dropped the rocket pods, and were throwing anything out of the …

by Bill Rutledge Several Seawolves have provided input to prior articles, published and unpublished, about this difficult day in the history of the Seawolves. Those articles do an excellent job outlining the mission and discussing many critical issues the Seawolves faced on that and the following day. I and others would like to add to the previous recorded history of the battle by giving tribute to those who were not identified in those articles, including the the heroic efforts by the Army medevac helicopter Pilot, Copilot and Crew chief, and to clear up some small details. The thoughts below should …

Tribute to Joe and Mr. Pete by Jim Plona aka “Frog” 12 Sept 2013 Subject: 15 Sept 70; Dustoff 86 On Saturday, August 20, Mike Mitchell, crew chief of Dustoff 86 came by my home in Vermilion, Ohio to visit and meet for the first time. Eyes welled, we laughed, we hugged! The memory of VC Lake is still crystal clear with him. Mike arrived in country in August, and extend once for a 18 month tour. To him, the VC Lake battle action was by far the most intense he experienced. Mike has sent me a copy of his …

Allen E. Weseleskey, 9 March 1968 James R. Walker, 15 September 1968 Lloyd T. Williams Jr., 28 April 1969 Robert E. Baratko, 15 September 1970 Norman B. Stayton, 26 March 1971 Allen E. Weseleskey Citation: For extraordinary heroism on 9 March 1968 while serving as an Attack Helicopter Fire Team Leader with Helicopter Attack (Light) Squadron Three in the Mekong Delta Region of the Republic of Vietnam. While attempting to rescue two United States Army Advisors who had been critically wounded when their Vietnamese battalions engaged communist insurgent (Viet Cong) forces, Lieutenant Commander Weseleskey and his helicopter fire team were …

The effects of the TET Offensive were felt in the Delta, where Lieutenant Tom Anzalone was flying UH1B gunships with the Seawolves of HA(L)-3. He recalls his part in the TET Offensive. I was a Navy pilot assigned to HA(L)-3, headquartered in Vung Tau from 14 June 1967 to 5 May 1968. The squadron consisted of approximately 80 pilots and 22 UH1B gunships, along with enlisted support personnel. Our primary mission was to provide air cover for the Navy river patrol boats (PBR’s) that patrolled the rivers, canals and waterways of the Mekong Delta. Two UH1B’s and two PBR’s operated …