POWERGRAMS

6 More than 2.7 million Americans fought during the Vietnam War, the country in Southeast Asia where kids quickly became men, Larry Larry Woodall Woodall said. Military personnel had a "stout routine" for making it through the hazards of flying a Huey helicopter: "Eat, sleep, fly and drink at night to keep your sanity." While studying at UAB, Woodall took a break for two semesters. He'd already paid part of his tuition for senior year, but at 23, joined the U.S. Army on May 31, 1968. Woodall was one of thousands of young soldiers who volunteered to learn to fly helicopters – often not knowing what they were getting themselves into. He was quickly approved for Helicopter School at Fort Wolters, Texas. To fly, the Army had three qualifications: they needed people with excellent reflexes, which usually applied to soldiers between 18 and 26 years old; someone who could "figure their way out of a jam in an instant, somehow complete the mission, and get the aircraft and crew back home"; and fly extended, dangerous missions in all kinds of weather and terrain. Woodall met the criteria. "I was a chief warrant officer and trained for about nine, very trying months," Woodall said. At Fort Wolters, he learned how to hover, take off and land a helicopter. That included keeping the copter right- side up using only instrumentation. Woodall left Fort Wolters with knowledge about his aircraft and military tactics, navigation, first aid and safety, and the rules for calling in artillery fire. As a student pilot, Woodall moved to Fort Rucker in Alabama. His training shifted to flying the Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopter, or Huey, which became a symbol of the Vietnam War. Living the Army life, 9,000 miles from home When Woodall finally made it to Vietnam in June 1970, the Army was working to stifle the North Vietnamese Army and the Viet Cong. He was assigned to the 134th Assault Helicopter Company, 3rd Platoon, which flew more combat missions than any other assault unit during the war. Woodall was stationed at Phu Hiep, a small Army airport, and Tuy Hoa Air Base in South Vietnam, which had 10,000-foot-long runways. Every day dawned with a new mission for the 134th to support U.S. military units. "I flew thousands of hours of combat flying," Woodall said. "The helicopter was like a military taxicab. Almost anything you could put in or sling-load underneath – medical supplies, rations or weapons – were carried by helicopter. A few times, we carried pigs and goats for South Vietnamese farmers." Defying orders and North Vietnamese to save Army Rangers The rainy season added to the miseries of war. During monsoon season, it rains nearly every day, all day. Woodall recalled a time in 1971 when a break in the weather was forecast, with four or five days of clear skies. The 134th Assault Helicopter Company was in Tuy Hoa, with a mission to provide Woodall won wings in Vietnam War, enabling company career to take flight Woodall holds photo of him inside helicopter in Vietnam. PHOTO BY WYNTER BYRD

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