Experience in Vietnam
My name is Tom Lynch. I am currently living in Indio, originally from New York. I served in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969 as a helicopter pilot.
Did your view of war change after being involved in it?
Oh sure. Well, the way that it was being played up in the news was very different than the reality of it. And I’m sure its very much the same thing today. I was never under the misapprehension that I was fighting to save the country. Unfortunately, in war, usually the biggest interests are business (whether you will be able to generate money for yourself) and I saw that first hand. Because of the nature of my job, I did a lot of special operations. I came to find that the government, probably 75% of the time, was lying about what was going on. The war was extremely unpopular at home so you virtually had no support from people at home…other than family. Those are the only people you depend on. Like in all wars, you weren’t fighting for the sake of people at home and the politicians and the rest of it. You were fighting for the guy standing right next to you. And that’s kind of what got me into it in the first place. I had a very dear friend who went to the Marines during Vietnam, and I just felt hopeless. I wanted to do something. I picked something where I thought I would be helpful. And so I started flying a gunship.
They were to support the slicks and to support the infantry if there was any other trouble on the ground, we had five different types of radios and we could actually speak to the guys on the ground when they were in trouble. We would go in and support them. Because of the way helicopters fly, you could get really close to them. You know, close air support…you really have to be right on top of the ground. And you can do that with a helicopter so we did a lot of that.
So was your job mostly shooting?
When I was flying gunships, yes, I shot everyday. We flew UH1s. In fact, that’s the only type of helicopter they had then. They have since been fine tuned and specialized. But they had a pilot, a co-pilot, a crew chief, and a gunner.
How did you get accustomed to having a gun in your hand everyday? How did that become normal?
If you’re in the military or the police or anything like that, you’re trained on how to use those things…the difference being that when you have an aircraft that’s armed, it’s bristling with armor. There are a lot of guns. It’s there for a reason. I don’t think you really get it in your head that you have a lot of power. You do…it’s suppressive power. As were most guys that fought the Vietnam War, it was mostly fought by very young guys. I turned 21 when I was in Vietnam. And I had the authority on some missions… I could call in B-52’s from Guam based on my decision.
When would you choose for that to happen?
One of the missions that we had that was extremely dangerous, but it was across the border, it was in Laos and Cambodia. You were going into…it was bad enough that you were actually happy to be back in Vietnam. Because at least there were a lot of Americans on the ground. Over there, we flew without nametags and dog-tags. If you got shot down, they would just blow up the aircraft. So, that’s kind of scary. But because there was such a preponderance of enemy soldiers on the ground, you would need fighters and bombers and all this kind of stuff to be in there.
I guess if I was to describe a best experience, it would be the camaraderie that you develop with the other people that you’re with because you’re sort of all in that thing together. Its not like you’re at a party and having a great time but you get close to people…the guys that I went to Vietnam with, I’m still very close to today. It was a bond like no other.
Do you have any particular stories that really helped shape you or shatter you?
You know, while I was there, it was very straightforward. It was simple in a way. I mean, I used to think of the words of George Patton, “Compared to war, all other forms of human endeavor shrink into insignificance.” Because, you know, it’s cut and dry. There were no nuances and no gray areas. It was either this or that.
That kind of helped me focus. One thing I will say is that it gave me great appreciation for life. That sounds all good, that can get a little complicated too. If you live everyday like it’s your last, it’s great when you’re a young guy, but once you get a family, that goes away…there better be a tomorrow, you know. That becomes an adjustment.
Overall, particular stories, I mean, jeez, one ran into the other. I got shot up. I had people in my crew shot up and killed. Bullets come through the floor. Everyday, I would…Not everyday but… One of the worst jobs that we had when we would fly back to base (cause we were supporting infantry guys and artillery fire bases and stuff like that). At the end of every day, the last helicopter that was done would have to stop by the bases and pick up the dead…the guys that were killed.
You know, in war, people don’t die clean deaths. Sometimes, there would be very little of what’s left of them. I’d fly them back to what’s called grave registration. And I would fly at a trim sideways so the air would whistle through the cockpit and stuff because otherwise, my crew would all be sick in the back.