Who, exactly, was Hawk?

By Julie Titone

Through the plexiglass door window, I could see the pilot throw back his head and laugh hysterically, delighted with his own aerial acrobatics. Until he took his helmet off—revealing a bald head and his most distinctive features, a long, hawked nose and a white scarf, worn tied around his neck.

“Holy shit, man! Man, we knew you’d be back!” Guys were walking hunched over under the rotating blades to the pilot door, which Hawk had opened, and were giving him the soul fist and patting him on his head. After a brief bit of banter, Hawk squawked, “C’mon, let’s go!”

Grady Myers, aka Hoss, knew many soldiers in Vietnam only by their nicknames. I've often wondered about their real names, most especially that of Hawk, who is featured in Grady's art on the cover of "Boocoo Dinky Dow: My short, crazy Vietnam War." Maybe someone who reads this will know the U.S. Army pilot's identity and drop me a note.

The scene from the memoir that is quoted above takes place in January 1969 as members of Charlie Company are about to be choppered away from Fire Support Base 30. The colorful pilot pops up again on March 9, 1969, when Grady is wounded during an ambush in the Plei Trap Valley of the Central Highlands.

As I waited and listened to the screams of a wounded Vietnamese, a helicopter appeared in the patch of sky that broke through the tall trees above my head. The small, hornet-like Loach chopper, with its mini-guns, was moving in a tight circle.

I was relieved, especially when I saw Hawk’s long scarf dangle as the pilot stuck his head out the window. The cavalry had arrived.

I'd like to give a shout-out to the many brave soldiers who flew in 'Nam, including folks in the Vietnam Helicopter Crew Members Association.  They served in the first conflict that saw wide-scale tactical deployment of helicopters, which served as troop ships, warships and ambulances. Had it not been for the helicopter that whisked him off the battlefield, Grady might not have survived to tell his stories.

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