Page 25 - Amarillo Senior Link Magazine Fall 2021 - Online Magazine
P. 25
Bob Bell
"I Just Wanted army
to Fly!" vIetNam
position. In fact, I got my Warrant Officer bars and
my ambition was my wings in November 1968, and
to be an Air Force after a 30-day leave, I boarded a
pilot. I became plane for Ft Lewis, WA. A week
friends with some later, I was on a 20-hour flight to
Eastern Airline Tan San Nhut Air Base outside
pilots. One of of Cam Ranh Bay. I was initially
them told me assigned, along with two of my
about the Warrant Flight School classmates, to the
Officer Flight 61st Assault Helicopter Company
Training Program (AHC) at Bong Son on the coast
in the U.S. Army. of the South China Sea (Gun
They explained Platoon).
to me that the Air
Force required I turned 21 while flying a
a college degree gunship under the direction
before they would of my platoon leader, First
send you to Flight Lieutenant Rich Benicewicz. Rich
School. The Army liked having me as his co-pilot
only required because he liked the way I shot.
a high school I could fire the guns for two to
diploma or its three seconds, release the trigger,
equivalent; I had and quickly squeeze it again. The
the equivalent. result was a near-constant rate
t was 1967; I was 19 years old.
The Vietnam War was raging, The next thing I knew, the
Iand it looked very much like Army was flying me to Ft.
we were about to win it. That Polk, Louisiana for basic
was well before the Tet Offensive. training. After that, I was
transferred to Ft. Wolters
I was finished with high school, near Mineral Wells, TX
which is to say that I had where we finally began
dropped out one month into my actual flight training.
senior year and driven to the At one point, nobody
County Seat of Prince George was flying because the
County, Maryland, where I weather was bad. We
passed the GED. The only class I were all pretty bummed
had really enjoyed was German. until one of the Instructor
That talent would stand me in Pilots wrote this on the
good stead years later. chalkboard: “It is better to
I was working for a printing be on the ground wishing
company, National Publishing you were in the air than to
Co., as a jogger, a flyboy – be in the air wishing you
obviously, not a long-term career were on the ground.” Bob Bell's wife, Glenda
Amarillo Senior Link 25
