Edward L. Rownv
Didn't you later get
when
hurt
you
parachuted with the
Vietnamese?
Yes. The Vietnamese
A:
paratroopers
were
good soldiers but their
morale w a s l o w .
Unlike t h e U . S .
airborne units, their
officers did not jump
into combat with
them.
To set an example, I
decided to jump with
the
Vietnamese
paratroopers. t h e y
jumped first into the
jungle area and set up
a perimeter, after
which I jumped into
the center. However,
just as I was about to
Brigadier General Edward L. Rown y before making a jump
in Vietnam, early
hit the ground, a gust
of wind blew up.
I tried to break my fall with my arm and as a result dislocated my shoulder. I was
in a great deal of pain and couldn't straighten out my right arm. The Vietnamese
paratroopers thought I was saluting them and it took a bit of talking to convince
them that my shoulder was really dislocated.
They sent up a purple smoke flare, which was the signal that helicopter evacuation
was required.
In about five minutes a chopper landed, but it was not configured as an ambulance.
The pilot, Colonel Ivan Slavich, put me in the co-pilot seat and began to transport
me to the hospital in Saigon. However, Slavich spotted some Viet Cong along the
way, and for the next ten minutes chased after them. He wanted to show me how
effective an armed helicopter could be. However, I was more interested in getting
back to the hospital. Besides, Slavich had put the Vietnamese gunner in the back
seat and had to be content in trying to scare the Viet Cong rather than shoot them.
Previous Page
