PELL CITY – It was emotional for many people who watched three Vietnam era helicopters land at the St. Clair County Airport Wednesday afternoon. “I was in Vietnam in 1969 and flew in a lot of these,” Bruce Roberts of Pell City said as he looked at one of the three helicopters to land Wednesday. “It really brings back memories.”
Roberts was one of many veterans who came out to the airport to see Vietnam era helicopters fly in and land.
“That’s a gunship there,” Roberts said, pointing to the helicopter on the large concrete pad. “They look excellent and sounded good. You can tell they put a lot of work and care into the restoration.”
People were allowed to tour the vintage helicopters that were one of the major ways troops were transported during the Vietnam War.
“They put in a lot of hours over there,” said John Trantham of Pell City, who served in the Navy four years, 1963-1967. “I love aviation, choppers and the men who flew them.”
The combat-certified helicopters, owned by Wings & Rotors Air Museum, flew to Washington, D.C., for the annual Memorial Day Weekend program at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, “The Wall.” The group of helicopters stopped in Pell City Wednesday on their trip back to California.
“It’s fun going into places and meeting people,” said Scott Donnell, a volunteer crew member, who flew one of the helicopters into the airport. He said the group left from South Carolina Wednesday morning, made one stop in Georgia and completed their day of flights in St. Clair County.
Donnell said the number of flights they made in a day varied. One day, they only made one flight; they had seven days with three flights and the rest of their flying time was two-flight days.
He said the group of about 30 volunteers had 43 planned stops, but will probably end up with about 60 before reaching California.
J.T. Howard of Pell City brought his three grandsons, Madison and Noah Howard and Reyn Parnell, to see the Vietnam era helicopters — the ones Grandpaw used to train in.
“We trained in these helicopters in 1965,” Howard said.
Howard said he did not go to Vietnam but many of his friends did.
He visited “The Wall” in Washington, D.C., last year. He found many of the names of friends who lost their lives in Vietnam on the Memorial Wall. The helicopters at the airport Wednesday stirred his emotions and thoughts about the past again.
“It breaks my heart when I see this stuff,” Howard said.
The helicopters also brought back memories for St. Clair County Commission Chairman Stan Batemon.
“Hueys have a very unique sound,” he said.
Batemon, a former Marine who served in Vietnam, said it’s been a while since he’s seen a Huey.
“Actually, I saw one about 10 years ago,” Batemon said, “but it was in a museum. This is the first time I’ve seen one on a tarmac, taking off and landing (since Vietnam).”
He also said the helicopters were in impeccable condition.
“These are like new,” he said. “The ones I flew in had patches all over them.”
Patches were used to cover bullet holes.
Pell City Mayor Adam Stocks was also on hand, touring the helicopters with his wife and children.
He served in the Navy.
“I’ve been around a helicopter or two,” Stocks said. “It’s really neat for the kids to actually get into the helicopters and to see some of the guys who served in World War II, Korea and Vietnam and to relive some of the memories.”
Officials said the helicopters will depart from the airport at 10 a.m. Thursday, for those who have never heard or seen a UH-1 Huey helicopter in flight.
“Nothing sounds like a Huey, except a Huey,” Roberts said.
