Photos sent by Keith Harris
That's Tom peeking around Scott Giles who has his back to the camera.
Looks like Tom in Vietnam
War Wagons 1971
Standing, Left to
Right:
Sgt Powell, Sgt James Bishop, Sp-4
Phil Smith, Sgt Butch Cook, WO-1
Bill Wyrick, Cpt Jones, WO-1 Tom Suprock
Kneeling: Sp-4
James Smith, Cpt Bruce Cannon
War Wagon 11’s Last Mission in Vietnam
Narrative of audio taped
mission
Loach taking
hits
This recording is of a mission taped
by Loach pilot WO1 Tom Suprock.
This was a VR (visual reconnaissance) mission in the U Minh
Forest, relatively close to an ARVN CP (command post).
This was a free fire mission meaning they had permission to
fire on anything that looked suspicious.
On their first flight into the area, the scouts found
trails, hooches, bunkers, sleeping bags and fighting
positions.
The scouts dropped a smoke grenade and exited the
area. They
requested the Cobra gunships hit the area with nails.
After the Cobras nailed the area twice, the
Warwagon Scouts entered the area to continue their VR. What follows is
the narrative of that part of the mission.
The radio callsigns are:
Warwagon 11 – WO1 Tom Suprock (lead Loach)
Warwagon 17 – WO1 Sensat (Trail Loach)
Crusader 34 – WO1 Kelly (Cobra Pilot)
Longknife 28
– 1LT Antrim (C&C Huey pilot)
34 - 11, this is 34, can you can go back in?
11 – OK, we will be back in there
(Time lag of several minutes)
11 Gunner – Coming hot?
11 – We are
M-60s firing (door gunners on both Loaches)
11 – There’s a guy in that hooch back there. In that bunker right there, on the left door
M-60s firing
11 - There is stuff everywhere, hooches, bunkers. All fresh trails, stuff everywhere.
M-60s firing
11 – Do it
M-60s firing
11 – OK, I’m going to go over to this hooch
11 Gunner - Shoot for that – God D___
11 – Alright, I am going to drop a smoke on this hooch in the middle of the canal. That’s going to be your center of mass, 34. I want you to hit everything around it.
34 – Roger
11 – This place is unbelievable. Like downtown Hanoi.
11 – We got a sniper.
11 – Taken fire, taken fire, taken fire, left door
M-60s firing
11 – Taken hits, I think we took a hit
Loaches exit the area immediately after taking hits
34 – I’m coming (Cobras commence their gun run)
17 – 11, you have a hit in the cargo compartment
35 – 11 this is 35, from the smoke where did you get all the fire?
11 – From the smoke it was back to the east on the other side of the canal
35 – OK, real fine, I got it baby
11 – Right, beautiful
28 – How you doing there 11?
11 – Roger, I’m up at the canal. It looks like I got hit in the cargo compartment. I thought I would check it out.
28 – You want to set down at the CP?
11 – I sure do.
28 – Go ahead
17 – Go ahead and check yourself out 11 and I then I would like to set down and check myself out
11 – Yeah, Roger that
28 –I’m going up to call Rach Gia to get another set of guns down here.
11 – Roger
11 – 28, this is 11, that place in there is unbelievable.
28 – Looks like it needs to be blown away with Arty (artillery)
11 – Most Affirmative
11 –Good coverage there 17, thank you much. 35, 34, beautiful, beautiful.
17 - 11, I will set down here and let you check me out.
11 – 17, looks like you got one in your tailboom
11 – looks like you got away real clean
28 – We will head back to Rach Gia. Our team is coming out and we got Black Ponies (Navy OV-10 broncos) enroute
11 – Roger
11 – 17, pick up my tail and we’re coming to altitude.
11 – Lord,
that place just scared the dog sh__ out of me. You
believe that area, you believe it, and they put us in there.
After
Lighthorse moved out the target area was hit with artillery,
Black Ponies and Cobra strikes before the Loaches returned
that afternoon.
This was Tom Suprock’s last mission in Vietnam. The following day
he completed his tour and returned stateside.
He was obviously more than a little excited when he
encountered hostile fire and took hits on his last mission.
In recent
years Tom Suprock has used this audiotape to enlighten
students about Vietnam.
Here is Tom’s message to me. “The tape has been
played in about 500 classrooms, from Brown University's
largest seated class "The History of the War in Viet
Nam" with 450 students per class, to Broad Rock Middle
School where some 100 twelve and thirteen year olds were
preparing to go to the Wall in DC. I don't like being
a sort of "Professional Veteran", but if we don't talk to
them, they'll never know what happened. As a matter of
fact I'm writing a teen book on the war to be used in
Middle/High schools at the request of a lot of the History
teachers I've worked with.”
During my
tour with Lighthorse, I recognized Tom Suprock as one of the
most skillful Loach pilots.
When he departed Vietnam he left a legacy for those
who replaced him. Today
Tom leaves a legacy with every student he comes in contact
with.
Rex Gooch
Longknife 23
Tom at the 2004 Reunion in Atlanta