This message was sent to me by my friend Peter Adams. Peter and wife Sherry became good friends while at Ft. Hood. Peter and Bruce then went to Viet Nam together. This is his heartfelt story..... Army time with Bruce in the 7/1 Air Cav and the 3/17 Air Cav. It seems in one sense so long ago and yet just yesterday. I can remember details of that time almost 50 years ago better than whatever happened last year. Bruce will always be CHALK #1 in the 26 element of Troop C 3/17 Air Cav. The assault helicopter platoon made up of either 5 or 6 UH-1 H models that bore our "Blues" into battle. As they were constantly on "Strip Alert" when our Hunter Killer teams or Pink Teams were in the air his command was always quite fondly referred to as "THE BAGGERS". They slept in the heat, in the shadow of their helicopters with their infantry lying right beside the helicopters I what looked like a disorderly bunch of soldiers . But each group of about 6 or 8 men were assigned to a particular helicopter. These infantry were famous for their hard fighting reputation. Fully assembled they were about 40 men strong and were very heavily armed. They usually carried filled, sawed of shot guns (that looked like old fashioned dueling pistols and M-79 grenade launchers. They were assaulted in to downed aircraft crews or against small enemy formations which were quite NVA REGULARS often twice their numeric size. They were the mainstay of the Cav troops We served in as they were the guarantors of the cav's credo THER WILL BE NO MEN MISSING IN ACTION. We absolutely guaranteed our air crews that we would bring them home dead or alive and we would lose men to make good on that commitment. Bruce and his helicopters and crews were the guys that flew them in and went back to fetch them. NO LZ WAS TOO HOT TO PREVENT THIS. Generally we guys in the Scouts and the Guns got the ink from news reporters and recognition from our commanders for heroics real or imagined but THE LIFT SECTION "the BAGGERS" were the veritable heart and soul of our unit as were the infantrymen they carried. Bruce was the penultimate "BAGGERS", Quiet, UNASSUMING, complaint free .bResolute. No mission ever refused. No mission ever aborted and no mission too hot to handle. No man ever left behind. A real no fuss no muss air cavalry officer. It would be my guess that no one who knew him in later life had any idea of Bruce's manifest cool , competent can do courage and command leadership. Proved over and over in small air assaults into distant LZ's way out front and distant from friendly forces. Five or six helicopters loaded with approximately 40 men landing into the teeth of enemy camps supported by a few gunships and scout helicopter teams. Eagle flights, snatch missions , downed crews and general all around Hell laid on the enemy from out of the blue. We called it " Sky above , mud below" . We/Bruce and his bunch were FIRST IN LAST OUT. . Always landing to the smoke marking the estimated point of landing of the first ship in BRUCE as pilot in command of the lead helicopter and the flight itself. Peter . Peter Boylston Adams