Huey pilot, Jack Hawkins, shares stories from his time in Vietnam (Full interview)

My name is Mark Garrison, author of Guts N' Gunships. I was a pilot for the 119th Assault Helicopter Company, along with Jack Hawkins. Jack is the best of the best, both as a pilot and a human being. It was an honor and a privilege to fly with him.

The Task Force Alpha extraction is case in point. The enemy, consisting of several hundred soldiers, had just over a hundred Americans trapped on a small hill. We worked all day to get those guys out, losing several aircraft to enemy fire. I was one of those aircraft. I was flying a gunship and was hit by AK fire along with RPGs that disabled the ship and I had to limp back to base. Jack made several trips that day, extracting troops from danger. When there were only four soldiers left to extract, Jack Hawkins volunteered to go in one more time to rescue them, thinking that he would surely be shot down. Hawkins did it anyway and saved them. This should give you an idea of his heroism and bravery.