Former Newburgh man among 10 Vietnam helicopter pilots in new book

Jan. 6 will mark 50 years since former Newburgh resident Dave Middleton was shot down in Vietnam while piloting a Loach helicopter on a mission to which he wasn't originally assigned.

Shot in both legs, he survived with the help of his crew chief and was later awarded the Purple Heart — a medal that, like Dave, had its origins in Newburgh. Middleton is just one of the many thousands honored on this day, Veterans Day, Nov. 11, each year.

Now he's also had the honor of having his part of time in Vietnam recounted in the latest book by author Colin Cahoon, himself a former Army pilot.

"Mended Wings" tells the tales of 10 Vietnam War helicopter pilots wounded in combat, in chronological order from 1966 to 1972.

Middleton had enlisted in the Army after getting a low draft number, in order to gain some control over the course he would follow. He started in combat engineers, only to regret that choice when he found out it did not involve much engineering design work, but mostly involved carrying the mines and explosives for operations. He jumped at the chance to learn to fly a helicopter when he read about it in the Army Times newspaper.

Middleton doesn't talk a lot about the day he was wounded or the rest of his time in Vietnam, but he has never been able to forget it.

"It doesn't leave you," he said in a Nov. 5 phone interview. "It's this little piece of your life that always stays with you."

On that January day, Middleton was trailing another Loach helicopter on a patrol mission, flying down tree lines between rice paddies, looking for evidence of the presence of Viet Cong soldiers. He got the job because the pilot originally assigned to the trailing position experienced throttle failure.

Well, the enemy was there that day, and the two Loaches immediately came under machine gun fire. They flew out of firing range, then dropped down again, resuming their overlapping circles approach and checked the next tree line, which was cold, meaning no evidence of recent enemy activity.

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But the next tree line exploded with red muzzle flashes, and the other Loach was shot down, landing in a rice paddy.

Middleton's job at that point was to suppress enemy fire, so the downed pilot and his gunner would have a chance to be rescued. Middleton made a hard right turn, firing a minigun mounted on the left side of the aircraft into the trees while his crew chief, Jim Wheeles – who was flying with him for the first time – fired a machine gun.

Halfway into the turn, bullets ripped through the cockpit, striking Middleton in both legs with such force that his knees smacked his face, giving him a bloody nose.

Meanwhile, the helicopter went into an uncontrollable spin and landed hard in the mud of a canal.

Middleton and Wheeles were pondering their options, knowing they had to get out of there or face certain capture by the enemy, when they heard the approach of a Huey helicopter coming to rescue them.

Wheeles, who had only suffered a cut on his chin, ran toward the Huey while Middleton somehow got to his feet. But as he did, the still spinning rotor blades of the Loach – he'd neglected to turn off the engine – struck the back of his helmet. He lost consciousness for a few seconds, and when he came to he saw Wheeles jump aboard the Huey and it began to take off.

Did they think Middleton was dead? Middleton wondered.

But then the Huey settled back down, and Middleton looked up to see Wheeles jump out of it and slog his way across the rice paddy to him. He dragged Middleton out from under the rotor blades, slung him over his shoulder and carried him, fireman-rescue style, across the paddy to the Huey.

Rehab and return home

It took Middleton a lot of time and rehab, but he eventually was able to walk on his own again, although he would have a limp for the rest of his life. His days in the Army were over, though, and he was medically retired from military service in August 1972.

He came home and returned to Orange County Community College, where he had been struggling before his time in the Army began. He got his grades up and graduated. He then graduated from Arizona State University, where he studied construction management – a field in which he went on to have a successful career.

And he has no complaints about his post-Army life.

"If they had let me stay in the Army, I never would have met my wife, never had my kids," he said.

Although his construction work took him all over the country, he eventually settled in Nevada City, California, with his wife, JoAnne, who he first met tending bar in a hotel where he was staying on one of those construction jobs. He has three children and two grandchildren, with a third grandchild on the way.

And he still thinks about those he knew in Vietnam, especially those who didn't make it home.

"I cry more now," he said, "thinking about the guys who died. I eventually joined the Vietnam Veterans of America, because being around others who were there helps. But none of us can shake it.

"But I can't say my life has been bad," he adds. "I'm happy to be alive."

mrandall@th-record.com

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: New book recounts Newburgh man's time as Vietnam helicopter pilot