REPRINTED FROM THE STARS AND STRIPES NEWSPAPER, PACIFIC EDITION, 1965 SIAGON

"Ask any man in my outfit and he will tell you we have the best mission in the Air Force." Speaking a bit too loudly for the size of the room, Air Force Maj. Baylor Haynes, commander of an Air Force rescue helicopter unit, begins to talk about the men who are responsible for rescuing downed pilots in communist North Vietnam.

"Every last one of them, and I mean the support people, clerks, supply men, the lot -as well as the chopper crews will tell you their job is to recover downed aircrew members," he continues in a loud grating voice a result of flying helicopters since the early 1950's. In his fatigue uniform, the burly Texan looks like the character whose name his unit bears - The "Jolly Green Giant"

A veteran of World War II and the Korean War, Haynes typifies the spirit and morale of his men. He is an experienced rescue pilot with over 70 missions in H-5 and H-19 helicopters during the Korean War.

"We are called the Jolly Green Giants," Haynes says "because of the size and coloring of our helicopters and the giant-size job my people are doing."

The rescue crews fly camouflaged HH-3C rescue helicopters, a modified version of the large powerful CH-3C transport chopper.

For rescue work, the helicopter is equipped with armor plating, extra fuel tanks and a powerful winch with a jungle penetrating hook for pick-ups. On rescue missions, the huge green chopper carries a crew of four - two pilots, a flight engineer and a pararescue man.

Haynes says we've got some of the most experienced chopper men in the rescue business. They know their job and work as a team to get it done."

Over the jungles of communist North Vietnam, pilots are often forced to hover at tree-top level or even go into thick undergrowth to pick up a downed pilot. As the pilot lowers into the trees, the other crew members watch for limbs which can wreck the helicopter.

Last November, a crew on its first rescue mission over the communist north actually landed in thick elephant grass to pick up a downed Air Force F-lO5 Thunderchief pilot.

Capt Jerry W. Jennings, 35, was aircraft commander on the flight, and Capt James ("Digger") O'Dell, 31, was co-pilot. As the rescue crew neared the downed pilot, it received heavy flak. Jennings called for an Air Force A-1E Skyraider pilot to attack the enemy gun positions.

Firing over the heads of the downed pilot, the Skyraider pilot silenced the communist guns, but the rescue crew's problems weren't over.

When they went in to pick up the pilot, they discovered the hoist for their 380 foot cable would not work. It had worked during preflight and in another test just before the helicopter reached the pilot.

The rescue crew made two passes over the pilot and picked up more ground fire each time.

They called for more help from the A-IE pilots flying air cover. After the Skyraider pilots again strafed the area, Jennings dropped the big rescue chopper into the brush next to the trapped pilot. The flight engineer and the pararescue man pulled the pilot to safety, and Jennings took off; clipping the deep brush with his rotor blades and barely missing a hill.

"Although it takes team work to do the job," says Haynes, "the individual heroism of my men never ceases to amaze me. I've got one man (SSGT Berkley E. Naugle, 32, a flight engineer) flying over north Vietnam right now who spent seven hours up there scrambling through the bushes last November."

Naugle bailed out of a burning CH-3C when it was shot down about 40 miles southwest of Hanoi, Nov. 6, He suffered severe burns, but was rescued at night by another helicopter crew.

Flying over Naugle's position, the rescue helicopter pilot asked him if he had anything to pinpoint his location. Naugle had lost his survival gear during bailout, but he lit his cigarette lighter as a last hope. The rescue crew spotted the dim flickering light through the jungle canopy and made the rescue.

The pararescue boys are some of the damnedest characters you've ever met. Haynes says, "They'll go anywhere and do anything, and they act like they're spring loaded to go down the line (eager to descend on the hoist) to aid a downed pilot."

Recently, one of the pararescue men did "go down the line" to find a Navy A-4 pilot. Hovering directly over the pilot's position, the rescue crew could hear his beeper and voice radio, but they could not locate him in the thick jungle cover.

The pararescue man rode the cable into the trees and walked around until he located the Navy airman. He then directed the HH-3C to their position and a safe rescue was made.

Like other rescue crew members, pararescue medics are among the best trained men in the Air Force. Each is a qualified parachutist, SCUBA diver and medical corpsman.

All rescue crew members are trained in escape and evasion and in jungle, desert and water survival, as well as rescue techniques. Most are trained at Stead Air Force Base, Nevada.

Haynes' rescue crews were formed and trained at Stead AFB and came to southwest Asia to replace a temporary unit in October, 1965.