Russell Warriner and altered history
The Bangor Daily News printed a story told to them by Russell Warriner who served in Vietnam as a helicopter crew chief and left the service in 1975 as a staff sergeant. He served with Battery C, 2d Battalion, 20th Artillery of the 1st Cavalry Division from October 1967 to June 1969. He was awarded the Purple Heart and 14 Air Medals including one Air Medal with a Valor device.
The problem comes with Bangor Daily News article when he describes an incident where his pilot and co-pilot flew another helicopter while he was left to repair his own craft on February 4th, 1968.
In the story, he claims that the co-pilot, Thomas Hooper was killed. According to the National Archives, there was no Thomas Hooper killed in Vietnam;
He also claims that Robert Connelly was captured and imprisoned at the Hanoi Hilton. The historian of NAM POW, Captain Mike McGrath, an actual POW of the Vietnam War, says that there was no Robert Connelly captured and held as a POW or returned in 1973 with Captain McGrath. DPAA agrees;
Doing my due diligence, I searched for more of SSG Warriner’s stories and found a 2012 version of the same article in which he gives the names of the pilot and copilot as Warrant Officers Ronald Fields and Michael O’Connor.
Checking the NARA and DPAA websites confirms that SSG Warriner merely mis-remembered the names of his crew in his telling of the story for the Bangor Daily Times;
Welcome home, SSG Warriner and Warrant Officer O’Connor.
Category: Historical
Memory dims with age. I have to confess that I have completely forgotten the names of the several company and field grade officers I served with on the MNF-I Command Group CIG at Camp Victory 11 years ago…
for me its not the names of the living that i mind forgetting, its the dead. i see their faces but can’t remember the names. when i drank enough before i gave it up i could but now its like looking at an unremembered photo in my mind
Amen, Brother
I can see after 50 years names getting slightly misremembered. Brave gentlemen all. And I’m glad this could be sorted out.
All those low frequency vibes from riding inside helos takes a toll.
WopWopWopWopWopWopWopWopWopWopWopWopWopWopWopWop….
Low Flight
Oh, I’ve slipped the surly bonds of earth
And hovered out of ground effect on semi-rigid blades;
Earthward I’ve auto’ed and met the rising brush of non-paved terrain
And done a thousand things you would never care to
Skidded and dropped and flared
Low in the heat soaked roar.
Confined there, I’ve chased the earthbound traffic
And lost the race to insignificant headwinds;
Forward and up a little in ground effect
I’ve topped the General’s hedge with drooping turns
Where never Viper or even Hornet flew.
Shaking and pulling collective,
I’ve lumbered the low untresspassed halls of victor airways,
Put out my hand and touched a tree.
—Anonymous
Very nice. Have not seen that before.
I used to enjoy those LF vibes, but then I didn’t know any better.
They can’t be appreciated if they haven’t been experienced. For like over 600 flight hours…
Not me. All those “LF vibes” bring back a lot of memories, and all of them are bad.
Russell Warriner is the real deal and, I might, looks like a tough SOB. I’ll just blame the reporter.
David Arenstam wrote both articles six years apart, so yeah, I blame the journalist.
…Gotta admit, it’s good to see one where it was a simple memory lapse or miscommunication instead of intentional fraud.
I’m with you there. Good to see stories where douchery doesn’t abound.
Thank you for your service SSG.
And as for forgetting stuff, the fact that he can remember any names at all is impressive. My memory sucks so bad I forget name of folks I only occasionally work with all the time. But other commenters sound right – sounds like the journalist in any case.
Yes, memories do fade with age. In regards to the portion of the story where the names of the enlisted flight crewmembers were omitted, the VHPA reports it this way:
UH-1C SN 65-09561 C,2/20 ARA 4 Feb 68
Aircraft Commander: WO Fields, Ronald Clark KIA
Pilot: WO Oconnor, Michael Francis WIA/POW
Crew Engineer: SGT Reeves, Harold Ray KIA
Gunner: SFC Adler, Henry KIA
Rest In Peace to my fellow Huey Flight Crew Mates.
Great story but it is the Bangor Daily News.
Not “Times”.
I need some help from my Brothers rotorheads from the Army. what is a Air medal with a V ? I know about single award Air Medals but a Air Medal with a V ? Joe
The Bronze “V” device was authorized for wear on Air Medals awarded for acts of heroism involving conflict with an armed enemy, effective February 29, 1964.
Here’s more: http://ameddregiment.amedd.army.mil/valor.html
Joe, the “V” is a Valor or Combat Distinguishing Device that the Army had been awarding all along for the Bronze Star, Air Medal and Army Commendation Medal.
Now for the Marine Corps (who were doing things a little different while you were in) the “V” Device for Air Medals didn’t start being awarded (1974) to enlisted flight crew members until Vietnam was over.
Hope this short explanation helps.
Claw and 2/17 Air Cav thanks for the infro . As I guessed it was a Army thing. As for the Marine Corps awarding the V for the Air Medal after my time in. Thank you both. Joe
You’re Welcome, Joe.
((Over))
It is good to see that his memory is simply slipping, and nothing more than that.
I suppose it will happen to all of us at some point. My grandmother at some point could remember what I did when I was 5, but couldn’t remember what I said five minutes ago.
My memory is not slipping, whoever you are. New here?
Love you, too, Air Cav. <3 <3 <3
I expect my memory to slip sideways and let me do and say more and more silly things, and get away with it.
Once a man, twice a child.
“Who am I and why am I here”???
I can’t even imagine having to to tell a story like that.
Either way, he knows exactly what he is talking about.
All kidding aside, watching a loved one tell you stories about their childhood without having any idea who you are is not pretty.
This is right, my father in law is a Korean War Vet and he’s in the soldier home in Western Massachusetts….
He remembers me every single time, but forgets his own kids names, and where he is pretty much every day…
The really sad part is he still knows he can’t remember stuff, oftentimes including why he’s there as he can’t take care of himself anymore…and watching him struggle with the knowledge he knows his mind is being taken away slowly it a heart breaker.
Always good to see someone being a straight shooter about his tour, people make mistakes..that’s understandable. Thank you for your service. Doesn’t surprise me though.. He is from Maine, yes’ah.
The important parts of the story remained the same and are true. Misremembering the names? A little embarrassing, perhaps, but not really significant.
One though dude he would have made it with my platoon
Hey, Bunni-Boy.
Where’s that “new” DD214 you’ve been promising to send for the last year or more?
Still don’t have the money for a pre-stamped envelope? I thought you had a thriving shoe shine business going there in Oklahoma.
I thought he was gone, just like bunny fart in the wind.
English, mofo!!! Do you speak it, bunny sniffer??
Still stealing real bull riding champs’ photos and pretending they’re YOU, you useless wart on a feral hog’s snout?
SHUT UP, BUNNY FART!!! Have you ever even been to a real Rodeo? I DOUBT IT, BUNNY FART, because you don’t even have the balls to attend one as a spectator.
Dalton Coldiron says:
October 13, 2017 at 12:36 pm
I requested one from NPRC but it was in the fire that destroyed all the records [sic] I am requesting them but it will be some time.
Jeebus, that Khe Sanh NBA fire sure does get around. Now it’s using black hole time warps to jump over oceans and burn up records 49 years later./smile