Sammy Jerry Ellerbee's interview for the Veterans History Project at Atlanta History Center

this is joe galloway conducting an oral history interview with mr. sam Ellerbe on Wednesday March 25th at 10:30 hours we are located in the Atlanta History Center in Atlanta Georgia served before we talk about your experiences in Vietnam I'd like to get a little biographic information about you how old were you when you went to Vietnam I was 21 years old who were your family members I had my mother was still living and I had two brothers who had previously joined the Army and served in the army and I have a sister younger than me and you you were single I was single first to her well it was her hometown it was Thomaston Georgia what was your sense of the Vietnam War before you entered the military I was active in Junior ROTC in high school I was a member of the rifle team we had an outstanding rifle team coach sergeant briefs in fact he was he was Regular Army and was coaching our Junior ROTC team and out of the nine years that I was familiar with we want a national championship for seven of those nine years so he had a fantastic record in fact he was Regular Army he had 17 years at a duty station in Thomaston Georgia at a high school well he must have had some political pool they will be able to pull that off but I was interested in military there was on the military staff and Junior ROTC and I wanted to attend West Point and thank the the first year out of high school I had a a first alternates appointment but the principal went so I was trying again the second year and was up against a really strong competitor and I conduct congressional district so the congressman rather than pointing at principal an a first alternate he gave a congressional appointment so we were both had all of our information sent to the Academy and then they selected the the the number one candidate there and I didn't go to that year I kind of gave up on my aspirations of being an officer graduating from West Point and I had started to school at Georgia State and was was working working during the day and going school taking evening classes and I had continued that for about a year so after high school and then I was about to get my draft notice so I decided I would investigate joining to see if I could get into OCS and found out that that you had you could not get into OCS you could not be assured of getting in DOS to yes until you had joined and to join was a three-year obligation if you were drafted it was a two-year obligation except for this one program they had they warned off the flight training program and you in this program you could join for two years and attend flight school if for some reason you must out of flight school you had only a two-year commitment but they were offering the candidates since they had already qualified for this morning off the candidate program they had already qualified for OCS so they gave them I think at the time I was going through their option of going to OCS are going to MP school for the remain of the two years so that was the only only two-year voluntarily entering the army proposition I could come up with and and you chose the right so the one off the flight training program where did you do your training I went to basic in Fort Polk Louisiana and they rushed us through training there to meet the next class that was going in and that class was at Fort Walter's Texas that's what we did our primary training in flight school flight school and then the Fort Rucker then went to Fort Rucker for the advanced training tactics and instrument training at Fort Rucker but what date did you go to Vietnam and I left first tour in October 1966 what were your first impressions on landing in Vietnam it was hot it was hot that was that was probably the biggest shock that was only walked off the the plane the humidity and the temperature was was so great there mm-hmm they probably the additional sites that that stuck with me was we loaded a bus and they had you know the grade barricades along the windows for and when you were told what the reason for that it kind of kind of kind of made you a little nervous the grenade shield yes a grenade shield where were you assigned I would sign the first Infantry Division and in the first Infantry Division was assigned to a calf unit the the first quadrant of 4th the United States cavalry 1st Infantry Division quarter cam quarter horse what were your initial duties had the octave indoctrination for a country there and then you know the vacancies came available and I was I was put into the platoon of Slick's which was the uh-1 troop carriers and so I was with the flying the troops but our unit there once I was a little different than most aviation companies in that we had three troops of armor and one troop of air and our mission was to support them the armored troops and also we were in a kind of a unique position that organization that I hadn't seen before we had a platoon what we called arcs a RPS Aero rifle platoon and they were were we had a five men too and they were organic to the aircraft we had a a platoon of lurks long-range recon patrol and they were organic to our company so we had we had the opportunity areas the slicks a platoon of the Scouts the Oh H 13s at that time and the platoon of guns gunships they were the in the Huey model also so we had like five platoons and the six platoons in the company there but we did have the the arcs that were often aircraft and there were rifle platoon members if the if the they had an aircraft that went down we were always on standby so we would take our team of arts and we would go out we'd secure the aircraft we would circle the aircraft without aerial security for them and when it was time to pick them up we picked up the same men that we dropped off so we we always picked up the same team with dropped off were the daily routines if there was I don't know that there was a daily routine I remember being shaken waking that kind of early morning sleep saying I had an early flight or you know we just did did the supporting the troops the army troops that were in the field and you know if they were all back in base camps we might not have had a lot of activity going on but if they were scattered around throughout our area of operation there we might be pretty busy back and forth securing them with convoy cover command and control flying mail ashen trash missions that we call so what were your living conditions like they were they were quite acceptable we had we had a hooches metal roof and concrete sides on them and had screened wire over the open area so we were we had pretty decent living conditions that first two floors in your couch we had forwards we had concrete floors in that who we were we were in pretty good shape what was the child like I didn't have a problem with a lot of the guys complained about it but I just remember drinking kool-aid for every meal later or overdone coffee but that was a other than that no complaints had a lot of sea rations during the day for two meals a day and at the officer's club we had to had a breakfast serve there what responsibilities consume most of your time when I was first first flying I flew as a a Peter pilot second-in-command or copilot or whatever and it was was basically assigned two different duties it could be that that we were going out to classify a village where we would take five helicopters out and we circle the village the armored troop might be stationed nearby and they would come in with security with their with their tanks and their personnel carriers and then we would have the medical doctors with us and they would would people would come up they would open a medical clinic there and they would you know treat different different ailments and then we at that time we would be providing security for them what were your impressions of the Vietnamese people did you have much interaction would we would do the village specifications it was amazing and really got to got to see some of them the villages that were the villages that they lived in in these villages and it was amazing the the young people the boys and the girls there they're still boys and girls hairy arms and I'd always have sleeves rolled up like this and I've got got pictures of kids running up and you know they're being friendly and dancing same-same monkey saint saint monkey so I enjoyed see and seeing the youngsters there and and I've got a couple of photographs of that that I've had wanted you know what has happened to these to these young men these women you know did they go to become Vietcong or you know are they still alive but often wondered about what had happened to the kids there describe your friendships within your impressions of your fellow troops just Americans it was it was the brother it was a brotherhood and and you know I think really that closer there with with those guys then then then regular blood kin I mean it's it's a different type of kinship did you form friendships with men from different racial and social backgrounds during your time in Vietnam that you might not have had in civilian life the indie the the social group with with different ethnic backgrounds you would you would see them as violence with you know some maybe from from rich rich owners of banks and you know some might be like me that father was a Sol Miller of a farmer and you know was barely scraping by but that interaction was was quite often and and you really didn't know the difference you might find out later that you know their dad was a big company on a corporate owner or something like that but but the interaction was was good there it was real good as far as the racial interaction we had you know team members that were on the aircraft that were that we that we associated with and all but as far as pilots at that particular time there was just they were just just about all Caucasian pilots yeah what did you do for recreation or off-duty if you had any off-duty time it would it would center around the around the officer's club so up there we had a volleyball net set up that we played we played volleyball just about every opportunity we had I think there were so many people that were injured and then volleyball play got so rough that the the troop commander there took down the net but it was it was basically just you know interaction that's the officer's club volleyball net and do you have any specific memories of the popular culture back home music books film from your time in Vietnam nothing that that really sticks with me yeah I mean I've realized what was going on the opposition took Vietnam and and from some of the letters from some of the people but but nothing that I considered significant yeah what area of operations did you serve in was in the 1st Infantry Division first tour was in operation Attleboro Cedar Falls shannond or Junction City one and two those were all big on big operations and we've we participated in all the big operations but our function was I saw a lot of small enemy action we would get in we'd run into something a lot bigger than our platoon could handle and then they would scramble out a battalion or whatever from the infantry division we'd pull our people back out yeah so we never saw any real big action but a lot of small stuff what were your emotions at the time I was I was was glad to be able to fly I felt I was participating and then doing something and accomplishing something and that that uh you know I was doing something that was worthwhile you know the emotions from from fear to loneliness - you know frustration they're all ranked and after I'm in there what's your most vivid memory of your two tours in Vietnam I saw some deaths up close I had a door gunner that they died in the horns were on the ground those memories I pulled the pilot that was shot down out of the jungle and he was in the jungle at a clearing that there was no place to land but I took the helicopter down and then and kind of used it like a lawnmower but had to go down low enough that we could pull him in and had to replace our float for rotor blades but we made it out you know those are those are memories that let's stick with me you know so many memories that come up that he can be driving down the road and see something out to them at the window and it did bring back a memory but you know the memories are always always there just just beneath the surface describe for me the best day you had during your Vietnam tours I thought about what would I consider my best day and you know the saving the guy's life or something like that that was probably but I think that the best day was was when I was getting on the aircraft to go home you know grab though grab the duffel bag and headed out into the aircraft that was taking me over the long Ben and and you know but I I think that turned out to be though the worst day of my life also in that when I when I started that to the aircraft the the truth that fall they pass and review something and this was no officers just dog owners and cookies and so they they lined up and tied board again craft stepping a lot what to me that they did that good day describe for me the worst day you had during your tour I kind of think that was both I think that was both the first part of the day was the best part the worst part was was knowing that I was leaving and and they were not leaving and that I felt like I was was leaving leaving them with a job unfinished and I still remember that that may been the best and the worst yeah how much contact did you have with our allies by that I mean the Filipinos the Aussies the Koreans the Thais we in in flying our aero rifle platoon and our long-range recon patrol we also were involved with a group that we call the Kit Carson Scouts and and these were were defecting from the north vietnamese army that had transferred to the south vietnamese army and that they they they were forming a team or long-range reconnaissance patrol and when we we loaded those on the aircraft they were all armed with you know m1 carbines ak-47 you know wearing hats sandals and black pajamas and you really kind of scared you when they were coming out and the MPS would bring them up and unload them at your ramp there and they would come to the aircraft and there was just a little bit a little bit of intimidation or fear or whatever the word you want to use for it when they were getting on the aircraft then you had instructed your crew chief and door gunner to make sure that they got off with everything that they got on with that they didn't leave a hand grenade with a hat with a pen pulled on the underneath the seat and that once they got off the aircraft and then they were instructed they were instructed to not to look back toward the aircraft once he got off they would head for the bushes for cover and the dog and you instructed the door Gunners that if they look back like they're going to return fire on the aircraft here you go around go ahead and then take them out so we we would drop this team off and we would drop them off at a certain landing zone and the pickup zone maybe downriver we picked them up four days later three days later at noon into the intersection of a river or a hill or something that was easily identifiable they had no radios and to identify the the pickup zone they would have popped three smokes chemical smokes colored smokes and it had been it was to be in sequence maybe purple red and yellow and that was a sequence that we would know that it was safe to come in and pick them up so I was flying pickup and we were circling overhead and at 12 o'clock on the fourth day and we were mmm at that particular pickup and we saw one yellow smoke no goodness you know what what does that mean what are you going to do so that's a that's a decision that young people made that normal civilians can't understand the the enormity of making a decision like that as to whether or not that was a team member there the other two team members were lost of whether that it was a trap that you were being suckered into so luckily we made we made the good a'right a good decision I guess it was a right decision but we went in and we picked up one one of the team members the other 14 members were not present and we picked up the one guy pulled him on board you know he was he was the team member he was he was Vietnamese but he was still part of the team so we we picked him up and brought him back we never heard what happened to the other of the full team movements whether that he turned he shot them all he was going back or of whether he was the only one escaped but we never did know the rest of that story but that's just a decision that that we were faced with how much contact did you have with your family back home once the mail came through it was it was pretty regularly you know I would I would try to write home every other day and then I got letters from family friends every day how much news did you receive about the war from home I had a local newspaper from Thomaston Georgia and the editor there was was Pro Vietnam Pro Vietnam soldiers and the news that we receive locally really supported us in that area the rest of the information just came in through the you know the major networks were you aware of any particular political or social events or movements back home while you were overseas a where but you know just couldn't understand what was going on and why it was going on but you really you know you had no involvement you couldn't get involved in it other than possibly writing to a friend that was was involved in it so you were just you know standing back watching and listening when did you return home I had two tours the first tour was in October 1967 I went to Germany for a little over a year and I got orders to go back to Vietnam in April of 1969 I had only nine months left in the army and got orders to go to Vietnam but once I once I got there I saw though I saw the need and the reason for that they sent almost our entire flight class and I imagined we had we had the largest flight class up until that time this was a major buildup which was my flight class in 66 15 and 17 out of the hundred and seventy-five people probably on board the aircraft I guess 125 knew each other and had been there before and so it was like a reunion going by what describe your return home from the second tour by then the anti-war stuff had gotten pretty intense it wasn't intense like I said the second tour was not voluntary and it seemed like it was the the it was my worst tour and I was if you listen to me I'll go in and then kind of tell you why and this was with the the 1st Cav I had been there for a year I had had two Purple Hearts from the first to the second tour our our group just descended onto the own to the personnel in the placement department and the clerks they were really astonished that so many of us were coming back to the second tour and you know they said tell stories fill out your dream sheet there and you list your top three choices and we can't guarantee you what we we can get what you want but we'll try to since you've already been here so I was in the area of trying to develop a positive attitude and anyone's saying you know I've know these this area well I I can survive I can make it plus I was married and been married make something makes a big difference there though one of the common sayings well new guy coming in was once a safe outlet to you to fly around here and the standard answer was 1500 feet above ground if you married at a thousand feet and for each child add another five hundred feet so that was a safe family and that was the attitude that was the attitude between single and married I thought but so I was still trying to maintain his positive attitude and I listed the VIP flights on you and you know the areas I knew that was seen fairly secure first tour and I said anything but the first half and they sent us straight to the first day first care so I'm still trying to develop that that a positive attitude well in the first jab and I said you know we gotta we gotta Brigade here at fook then you got one at Quan Loy one here at been warned this area and one that came in I know that area where well so I'm gonna choose either one except the one that tinia sent you to detain I so I got sent to taint in so I was still still trying to maintain a little positive attitude and we were flying in and that was nuit by Dan black virgin mountain and the distance there and it it was like an ice-cream cone turned upside down on a table the land was all flat except that that one mountain there so so I knew it bought in in the distance and I forgot for me with this I've landed there several times I loved all the area around this it's a big it's a big city it's a secure town and the got a good perimeter around it I was still trying to maintain that attitude and then when I got up I looked at the Daleks see all of this and I could see the perimeter and one little Bulls in the perimeter outside the perimeter where they just added some concertina wire around it so that's where I ended up outside the perimeter so that that's what started the the the tay ninh and you know i really did not have that much time left in the army I tried not to develop the closeness to our friendship of the Brotherhood since I only had half a two of there that I did first tour and was flying as a as a co-pilot I had to fly there for several months before you had aircraft orders cut for you was flying as a co-pilot and and we got shot down one day and just we were landing at the secure area and then I went to them to the trick command and said look we pull the duty we have to fly the battalion commander our company has to support the battalion command and his command and control and it was a duty roster that every pilot had to have to get on that list and the fulfil that duty I said I'll fly I'll be the permanent CNC pilot the command and control pilot if you go ahead and cut orders for me so they could order immediately for me to be aircraft commander and so I flew with the lieutenant-colonel as my co-pilot the rest of the tour now I went where he wanted to go but and I told him for sure whether we could get there or not but and Lieutenant Colonel for my co-pilot there and he he didn't want to get shot at either you said you had two Purple Hearts from your first tour first tumor any on the second none on the second tell me about the first two the first two were I had been in country about three weeks and I was flying his copilot and we were doing a village pacification I think it was in operation Attleboro I believe that was the one and what we would take thing the armored vehicles into the village and we would fly security around the village and so we were flying security all around the village and we're looking for anybody going in or coming out or any fighting positions or anything and we saw looked like a plank position so we started to land our five man team to check it out and as we started to land Viet Cong jumped out of the spider hole probably 50 feet away on my side of the aircraft and he he he had an in us m1 carbine and he turned and he aimed it and was shooting at me and I turned around and told the door gunner to take him out and the Vietcong shot at me five times he started my head five times five rounds came through came through the petition they left the door off here and I took metal and plexiglass in the face but I had an advisor down so I was lucky there that was a minor wound but I was I was lucky there that he just missed me the aircraft was still moving fouled a little and he was he was aiming for still be still helicopter well he missed me and lucky he didn't have an 8k mm-hmm that's right the door gunner the go gunner got him and and the weapon I think I'm sorry the second Purple Heart the second Purple Heart came on the day before Junction City one took place our mission we had a lot of special mission that it could you could you can move a company like something like that so our operation was was not in the area of the junction city took place would it was just outside Junction City area that we were we had a free fire zone we made several landings and takeoffs like we were preparing for a major operation in fact that's what that's what the goal was was to make the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong think that we were moving in an operation outside Junction City so we were we were flying there and we were saw a couple of of them North Vietnamese running down the road and so we went down to engage them and and it was they jumped in the foxhole and we realized that we had been suckered into a trap so we took we took several bullet holes I think it was 43 bullet holes through the aircraft we took 150 caliber round the rotor blade we had two people on board wounded the I was flying I was flying copilot that day the aircraft command in the left seat had a piece of plexiglass it was about 14 by 14 over his over his head there that just was was a sunscreen that was like sunglasses then it was had the film over that that was green we called it the green house he had nine bullet holes through that piece of Plexiglas and he did not get a scratch but uh you got a hit I got I got hit in the arm and luckily we were we were five minutes from an aid station lost a lot of blood and had a not been in the aircraft I might not be here today if chances are I wouldn't be here today but but I lost him lost them some vein and nerves in the right arm muscle but we were at an aid station went to like a and then you know they stabilized me then I flew home to to benoît to the third surgical hospital there described coming home from that second tour Swatt 1970 1970 i got it early and early out early discharged to go back to school so i was doing from like nine months to seven months so I was Vietnam one day left for Vietnam landed in California and you know you could not travel in uniform so through my old uniform away and came home civilian clothes I think spent one night at home the next day I stood in line at Georgia State I had pre-register at Georgia State here in Atlanta and was standing in line they were about they had gone through a couple of different different ports there are stations there and was standing in this one long particular line that had three or four different lines tables going to just one table and it worked my way up toward the front and when I got to the front of the line they girl looked up at me so I had hair cut that was a day old and she closed that line down and got up walked away did not serve me service me and you know there I'm standing around with all this intimidation and people looking at me and you know they they know that I am the cause of this and I'm looking behind me and there's 25 or 30 people behind me that's that's waiting on me so I left walked out of the line that didn't go back to school for probably five seven eight years ten years later but it was just and it was there was just no doubt in my mind she when she saw me she realized I was a Vietnam veteran how much contact have you had with fellow veterans over the years I have joined the the Vietnam helicopter pilots Association the National Organization and then the Georgia Vietnam helicopter Pilots Association has a as a small function there that that I that I attend it's it's you may not know anybody that I flew with or was in class with but you know it's easy to talk to because you know they know the same language you know they got the same feelings that that you have had and that you have now and then there's a just a local group with twelve or fourteen guys in town that we call it the pucker factor close somebody where does the factor club I said that's that's when you know you don't get shot at but you don't know if you're gonna get hit or not that's right that's the pucker factor did you have any difficulty readjusting to life as a civilian after the war I had I had at the beginning I had what was later found out to be anxiety attacks and it was panic attacks and it was just that I felt that that something was going on that I didn't know what it was but it involved me and I had no control over it and it would it got to be almost debilitating there then and then I I couldn't figure out what was wrong I had never heard of a panic attack I didn't know anxiety didn't know what that was and then finally I met a of a friend that I tried to explain this funny feeling that I get that to her and she said it's a panic attack and then then once I realized what I was facing I work toward controlling it and I've got it got it pretty much under control you know I noticed now that I'm getting more emotional when I hear taps it just you know there's me up but is there any memory or experience from your time in Vietnam that has stayed with you through the years and has had a lasting influence on your life that would have been that would have been second to her when I was flying command-and-control this was that was the safest job in the company with flying command and controls our commanding officer he believed in tactical takeoffs and approaches we would make a circling takeoff when we would leave tenían we climb up to about 2,000 feet and we'd fly maybe 10 minutes to a little town maybe down to Ain and then we'd make a circling let down and we land over that over that base camp there after I left I heard he got shot down that they the North Vietnamese had seen this guy taking off like this one particular ship they thought he must be important so they set up on new he bought then once and and shot him down and forced landing there I think so but anyway back to the worst day was flying that aircraft and we had dispersed the aircraft at night to film wheel being more at a couple of times the night then and dispersed the aircraft and I my job was to pick it up and bring it back to the hot spot and to get it ready to go the next day to make sure the maintenance log and everything was up to date on it and and the pre-flight the aircraft and and I picked it up this one particular morning and we had we had the crew chief that was organic to the aircraft and then we had the normal dog on a slot that we saved four door Gunners that were short when they were they were within one or two weeks there they didn't want to go out on any more combat assaults so we would have made that position available to a crew chief so we had two crew chiefs that were cooling the aircraft and this one one particular morning we we flew and landed back and I've usually just got there after I landed the aircraft and and we would just talk to them to the crew chief telling what we had planned today if I knew anything just you know what did you do last night this kind of conversation and stuff and this one particular morning I had gone to the Filipino of the night before I had been at the Filipino officer's club and tiin in and I had probably one too many San Miguel beers there and so I had a headache that morning and so as soon as we set the aircraft down I told the crew chief I said we're not scheduled to fly till noon but if the gear anything for the colonel come get me I'm going back to my bunk and I'm gonna get another I was asleep so I got out of the aircraft blade was still turning I was waiting for them to you know stopped and they were gonna tie the blade down so I went back to the hooch and just as I laid down I heard a rocket coming in and the rocket hit 20 feet 15 feet 10 feet right in front of the the aircraft so I jumped up and ran back outside and I had my crew chief at a broken arm and the the crew chief that was flying is Joe Connor that was short I had seen he had taken some shrapnel and so I was I had him in my hands and was was scraping his teeth out of his mouth because I I thought he was choking on his teeth and then I realized that it had gone all the way through it didn't didn't stop with his mouth and you know that has bothered me in that you know he thought he was getting in the safest position I don't know in the company there and it just it didn't work out for him so that that has bothered me in fact I it's one of the photographs that I brought with me pictures there and you know I think about that every day when I get you sitting on my desk how did your experience in Vietnam affect the way you think about veterans coming home from combat today I am so glad to see the veterans today getting the respect that they deserve at the airport is just amazing to see to see veteran combined and people stand and you know buy a drink and I remember what could fly in civilian clothes I mean we had we couldn't fly in military uniform we had to wear civilian clothes so you know it was like the trying to make you ashamed yeah and I am glad to see the honor that's given the troops today how do you think the Vietnam War is remembered in our society today I have seen I think the general populace that the soldiers weren't the bad guys the war may have had been been bad but the soldiers were not the bad guys did you take away from Vietnam more that was positive and useful than you invested their in blood sweat and tears yes I think so and I think what that is is is the association with veterans good with people like me Georgia Vietnam helicopter pilots the the national chapter you know if I had gone straight to college going to an Ivy League school or something like that I doubt I would would still have those reunions with that college or whatever I think it was that was really my education in the end of what did Vietnam mean to you in your generation I don't think I came up with an answer to that are there any lessons you took from Vietnam you would like to pass on to future generations I think the the biggest lesson I learned was that kids 18 19 year old can make big decisions they made big decisions civilian life I don't think they're I know they're not faced with those decisions unopened my two boys were 18 19 20 21 years old you know I thought it's a big decision for them if they were going to buy a motorcycle motorcycle or a car and you know that would be the major decision in their life I think but but there was some saw some some young people some of the team members in our Aero rifle platoon that uh that they made some some big command decisions and when they came back to the States one went back to work for them I think it was one of the schools as a the janitor and you know he he was much more capable than than being just menial work have you visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC and then a half what are your impressions when you go there I thought I was prepared about just eight of 10 years ago and and we went and and I thought I was prepared but it it took me three running starts to make it all the way through it was it was emotional have you heard about the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War commemoration I've heard different articles I guess different what are your thoughts about that do you think it's good I think it's good I think you I think you fantastic overdue think it's well overdue yeah Thank You mr. eller be welcome to my pleasure

Channel: Atlanta History Center

Views: 4,895

Rating: 4.7560978 out of 5

Keywords: Veteran (Profession), Atlanta History Center (Museum), Library of Congress Veterans History Project

Id: RZkXF2Pb6w0

Length: 49min 6sec (2946 seconds)

Published: Thu May 28 2020