Indian Gal 69 Down

October 16, 1966

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Steve Caple's Account of the Rescue

via email: 7/15/09
 
(O)n the 12-16 October 1966 entry in the Combat SAR page: ...we had ... picked up 6, two at a time on three runs of the jungle penetrator seat.
 
The last two had just got on and were barely clear of the ground when the firing started;  Vicari and the four team members we already had on board were all firing back up the slope of the ridge to our starboard.  I'm not sure the team's (I had thought it was called a "White Rabbit" team) 9mm "Swedish K Rifle" machine pistols were doing much good, but they'd punched out the starboard cabin windows and were merrily blazing away.  About the same time fuel came streaming through the cabin and out past my station on the hoist, and Murphy asked if we were clear to move out.  I gave him an enthusiastic affirmative and we got out of the hover and started over the ridge to the east of us just off our nose before what JP was left in the fuel control ran out.
 
Vic leaned out over the armor plate in the personnel doorway and looked over the #1 engine.  It had an unarmored cover, due to a handling accident during a hangar bay move on Intrepid.  Vic said he found only one hole  -  which the barrel of a ballpoint pen he stuck into it showed was right over the fuel control.  A "golden BB" if ever there was.  So far as I know we were not "riddled" with small arms fire.
 
I'm curious about the name of the frigate that launched the Hukey-Tuke that picked up Vic and me.  I think the side number was 10, and thought it was the USS King, but that's not clear.  It may be noted on source info for the photos of the ditching, since the photographer was on the frigate.  The other ship present, USS Collette (DD-730, or "the Dirty Thirty") launched a whaleboat, which I heard conked out, leaving the rescue to the boat and helo from the frigate.

Updated 10/01/09