Glen C. Davis

Major, Retired

Box 237

Paden, OK 74860

8-5-93

Dear Dave:

Received your letter of the 31st of July with the roster of 21st RAC members and also the list of dead members.

Although I had heard somewhere that Lt Shortall might have been killed (don’t know where I could have heard it since he was not killed until 12 Feb 69 and I had left Viet Nam in late Jan 69) The confirmation of his death has hit me hard. He was a particular favorite of mine. Very young (I believe he was only about 20) and just a great kid all around. I flew 27 hours with him but it seems like more. I have a picture of him taken by me from the back seat of the OIG on 24 Aug 68 “West of LZ Buff”. On the back of the picture I made a notation “KIA Feb 69”? Still don’t know where I learned of this must have been at Fort Sill later in 1969 from some returning aerial observor. The all called him “Shorty Baby”. What a waste of a nice young man.

My flight log is too old and brittle to zerox, but I have gone thru it and extracted the names of all the pilots 21st RAC, and otherrs I flew with along with the names of my aerial observors. Sorry, I don’t have their first names, only last name and rank. Many you already have on the roster, but I have lots more that you don’t. I have seperated the 21st RAC pilots from the others when I knew for sure they were 21st RAC. I have also sent the names of others just in case you want to contact them. Some of them flew many, many hours in 21st planes even though they belonged to other units.

Sorry I don’t have any personal information on them. I lived up on the hill @ Chu Lai and only was them when we flew. Did have lots of hair-raising experiences with them in the air, but in most cases I can not connect the pilot with a particular experience. ... Like I said I didn’t live sleep and eat with the pilots but I flew over 50 hours with Conway and he was a cracker jack pilot. as far as I’m concerned. He ... was all business in the air. He and I flew a mission up north of Chu Lai in early spring of 68. Units on the ground had heavy contact and we had trouble getting artillery for them, because of the direction we needed them to fire. Any way we some how got in touch with a navy rocket launching ship (don’t ask me how) just off the coast and we fired them for nearly 3 hours. Now you know what the air time is on an OIG because of fuel. Some fly 3 hours, some more some less, most pilots would have broken offwhen we approached 3 hours and headed for home, but Conway stayed with it until we completed the mission. We landed at Chu Lai running on fumes. This was on 21 Mar 68 and my log shows us flying 3 hours and 45 minutes.

List of pilots and aerial observors who flew with 21st RAC

*Cpt Parcells

*Cpt Hein

*Cpt Welch

*Maj Moses

*Cpt Jorday

*Lt/Cpt Conway

*Cpt Tyson

*Lt Shortall (Shorty baby)

*Cpt McFarland

*Lt Millison

*denotes pilots already on your list

Cpt Hibbs

Maj Jacobson

Cpt Henderson

W/O Anderson

Lt Woodcox

Cpt Wyner

Lt/Cpt Humphry

Lt Simmons

CWO Chatterdon

Cpt Hardasty

Cpt McClusky

Lt Shedd or Sheyda

Lt Levenmeir (maybe spelled wrong)

Lt Le Grand

Cpt Frazier

Cpt Goodman (Could have been Toodrum)

Lt Lan bu ber (can’t make out)

The above should all be 21st RAC pilots.

Other Pilots who flew 21st RAC planes

Lt (later Cpt) Lail, 3/18 Arty (I flew over 60 hours with this guy)

Maj Voekel Americal Div Arty Avn

Cpt Fulton “ “ “ “

Names of Div Arty AOs

Lt Laprarie late 67 early 68

Lt Ownes late 67 early 68

Lt McCloud (formerly FO) 68

Lt Salazar, Frank 68

Lt/Cpt Scabelli (This is not correct spelling of name) 68

**Sfc Johnson “Eagle Eyes” 68

**Either Johnson had the best eyes or the best imagination or any air observer I ever knew. He saw things from the air no one else seemed to see, but we never did prove him wrong and his pilots allways backed him up. The pilots loved to fly with Johnson because he always found the action.

His plane was shot down one time way over near Laos and they managed to make it to Dak Pek (I believe). His pilot was a Cpt Flores from Florida. I do not find that name on your list nor is it in my log. He may have been from Americal G-2 Air. I never heard of this Cpt Flores before or since.

Please feel free to give my address to other members. If you learn of any more about either Shortall’s death or Lt(Cpt) Conway let me know.

Glen C. Davis