Douglas R. Noel

July 31, 1967 through my Dad's eyes

I first met Doug when I was stationed at Gray Army Airfield, just outside of Ft. Hood, TX. Eleven of us had just finished jump school at Ft. Benning, GA and received orders for Texas. We arrived in Texas in Feb 1967. We were there to form a Pathfinder Detachment and then deploy to Vietnam. At the time, we really didn't know what a Pathfinder was. During the first few days, our CO, XO and two Sergeants arrived.

I'm not exactly sure when, but one day a PFC, showed up, he was a few years older than all we other Privates were. He had a 1st Calvary combat patch on his right shoulder indicating he had been to Vietnam.He also wore the Pathfinder patch. His name was Douglas R. Noel. I liked him from the start. He was able to tell us what the Pathfinders job was, since he had functioned as one with the 1st Cav in Vietnam. I was surprised he was only a PFC, but found out he had once been a SSGT, E6. He had been busted to PFC, I think more than once.

In March 1967, all of us except Doug left for Ft. Benning to attend Pathfinder School. All of us completed the course except one guy. He ended up being transferred out of our unit. That was OK, because including Doug, we were at full strength.

Once we arrived in Vietnam, Doug disappeared a lot, and would show up again a few days later. I got talking to him one day and he told me he would go on unauthorized missions to scrounge up supplies and equipment. He would put on Captain bars and head out. I remember one time he came back with a jeep mounted with a .50 caliber machinegun. He even got a small refrigerator for me. He would also go out and do some doorgunning on helicopters. I liked Doug; he was a little crazy and seemed to be able to get away with just about anything.

Then one night, 31 Jul 67, we were awaken and told to get our gear and head to the flightline. We loaded aboard two Hueys and took a short flight west of our base at Phu Hiep. We could see two fires on the ground, but at first didn't know what caused them. We landed in the rice paddies close by and were told to set up a defensive perimeter. We discovered that two Hueys had collided and crashed. They had been on a mission flying over the villages west of Phu Hiep. I remember being told the first ship was flying with lights on and trying to draw fire, while the second ship was behind with lights off, and would attack if the first ship was fired on. Some how, the two helicopters lost track of each other and collided in mid-air.

In the morning, we could see how bad the crash really was. We found one of the pilot seats. It looked like the rotor blade from the other ship had come through the cockpit and hit the back of the seat and thrown it out through the windshield. We also found the body of the pilot who had been thrown from the ship. I walked up to the smoldering remains of one ship. I was looking at the upper half of a man, almost completed burnt. The lower portion of his body was part of the charred helicopter. His arms were reaching up as if he was trying to get out of the burning ship. I moved his flack vest and could see part of his nametag on his jungle fatigues. It said "NOEL". I was taken by surprise because I hadn't known Doug was flying this mission. I couldn't believe this was Doug, and he was now dead. Of the 15 guys in our unit, I thought he was the least likely to be killed. Another helicopter arrived with a team who proceeded to collect what they could of the bodies. Most of the 8-crew members were part of the burned helicopters, so there wasn't much left to collect. Next, explosives were set and as we sat on the dike of a nearby rice paddy, we watched the helicopters explode. I have never felt the same since that day. I didn't cry or feel anything after seeing his burnt body.

The next day, the CID (military criminal investigation unit) showed up at our Battalion HQ. They happened to ask me if I knew where Doug Noel was. I told him they were a day late, he was killed yesterday. It's too bad they didn't arrive before the mission, it would have saved Doug's life. The CID took my refrigerator and other equipment Doug had scrounged. A few days later we had a memorial service for the 8-crewmembers in the unfinished mess hall. I remember looking up to the sky through the rafters.

After returning home, I always wondered if I should try to find Doug's family. I never did, and as the years went by I was afraid to contact them, thinking I didn't want to bring up the past and cause more pain. Now I wish I had tried to find them.

Rubbing from the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall
(sorry, I'm having problems making this graphic smaller ...)

The 268th Pathfinder Detachment

My Dad, A Vietnam Vet

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