flying tiger airlines vietnam
God Bless you all. Those were the days. . From 1945 to 1989 Flying Tigers management, mechanics, office staff, flight attendants, pilots and crew members worked together to build an airline that became a legend. I stopped a stewardess to inquire if they had any other reading material on board. It was acquired by FedEx in 1989, after more than 40 years of flying cargo and passenger . Flying around the world over the North and South Poles, the Pole Cat set eight speed and distance records. . return home flight in July 69 was on a Flying Tigers stretch-8. That was not us, recalled Andee Reingold Wright, a San Francisco native who was 21 when she started with Flying Tigers in 1967. Sources: ATDB.aero, Aviation Safety Network, The Free Lance-Star. Her sentiments are echoed by Judy Meyer, who flew for United Air Lines, It was some of the best flying I ever did. Although these women were an integral part of the Vietnam War experience, their contributions are largely unknown outside of the veteran community. I had read everything in sight that was in the pocket of the seat in front of me. While in Alaska stopping and refueling I was only 1/2 way through a mountain of pancakes, sausage and eggs smothered with Maple syrup when they announce for all out bound corpsmen to report immediately for departure. The Douglas DC-8-63AF N783FT (msn 46003) they flew is, remarkably, still . This was the Tiger "Can-do" Spirit, may it never die. Despite the intensity of the operations, many flight attendants found the military contract flights rewarding and continued to serve on them for years. I would have been on Flying Tigers returning to the states. This was a very good and interesting article. Others supported the war, sympathizing with the soldiers and resenting those who scorned their service. . Here we are, 60 years later, Kevin Woodward, remembrance coordinator at Wreaths Across America, said Wednesday during the ceremony. It would be the first of a list of expected things that wouldnt materialize for the family, according to Kirk. Phnom Penh, against a background of advancing NVA troops in Vietnam, it describes the relations among the crew and their motivation and features a pet cockroach named Hiram and a 'mother' to the crew aged 13. The pilot is believed to have misjudged distance and altitude while making the final approach, a report would later conclude. Having climbed to a cruising altitude of 18,000 feet, the aircraft reported its position as being 1340N 1400E just under an hour and a half into the flight. America's stake in the Vietnam War didn't begin as late as history books specify. Why Were Vietnam War Vets Treated Poorly When TheyReturned? Many flight attendants struggled at first to contain their own emotions. On the other hand, airlines from Australia, Singapore, India, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Switzerland, Denmark, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Russia all fly direct to Phuket - Thailand's . I do remember the door opening and it was like a blast furnace! Joe Namath, Jim Otto, and, Marv Fleming on our returning flight after spending time visiting the wounded Vietnam soldiers at several hospitals. The motto in the beginning was "Anything, Anytime, Anywhere". The part Ill always remember is the wonderful round eyes that tolerated us nervous troops as we headed for the unknown going both over to Vietnam and returning to the US. where we are found aloft with stopovers in Honolulu and Wake Island before arriving in Guam. And after the fall of Saigon in 1975, when the war ended, they remained connected. Now going to the USA which I had forgotten about. When a positive story about the Vietnam experience shows up it helps the healing that many of us need. I believe it helped to constantly stay connected with the world and the amazing young ladies that always had a smile and a kind word for the troops regardless of rank or service branch. That flight SUCKED., but at least I got out of that chit hole. I for one of many of us flew Tiger Airlines going and coming. Many products featured on this site were editorially chosen. Flying the Freedom Birds: Airlines and the Vietnam War. It was really a struggle to decide what was right or what was wrong, said Okicich. . The next stop was Saigon where we left off troops. To kill time many of us went to the Officers Club, with the flight attendants in tow, and proceeded to party. Search and rescue operations began promptly, catalyzed by a Liberian tanker ship's reported sighting of an explosion around the time of the plane's disappearance. Very nice ,brings back feeling that are mostly good ones.Thank you ladies.I flew into DANANG twice the 2nd fight was with the Flying Tigars and a year later they flew me back to the states. Two of the incidents occurred within the span of one day. The flight attendants were as depicted in this article, both going and coming home. Available to pre-order at Flying Tigers. It brought back a lot of memories. Many of these people became valuable members of the Flying Tigers family. )I was engaged and (2.) We all knew that some going would not make it back alive. What were the life expectancies of soldiers during the Vietnam War? 60 Years Missing: The Mystery Of Flying Tiger Line Flight 739, marked the first day of the Vietnam War Campaign, USAF Shot Down 3 Unidentified Objects That Posed Threat To Civilian Aircraft, U.S. Military Collecting Debris From Downed Spy Balloon. Nobody wanted to take anybody over there who wasnt coming back.. From the beginning, Prescott had a vision for the company: "We're unique, so let's not imitate. What I do remember is that the plane had a very unpleasant odor and the food was cold. Travel the world, the ad said. The new Flying Tiger airline had its own military role; carrying cargo and troops back and forth to the war in Vietnam. I was one of those Men that you brought back to the World. The "Flying Tigers" (formally known as the American Volunteer Group or AVG) were famous for being in the fight very early in World War II. Onboard were 107 people, all of whom remain missing as the aircraft was never found after its disappearance. Great Read, I was a 26 year old man when I went to that war, I remember not sleeping on the flying tiger flight back home, and the stewardess, sat and talked to me as everyone else was sleeping, I thought the stewardess was a nice person that was concerned about my not sleeping and ask why. Curtis Smith served to disbandment and afterward returned to the U.S. Marines. As the Constellation approached the runway at about 3 a.m., visibility was about 3 miles, the ceiling was at 1,000 feet and a light drizzle and fog hovered over the runway as the pilot attempted to make the approach. FLYING TIGER AIRLINES - Patch - MAAG - 45th Transport - Early Vietnam War, #.500. The airplaneand all 107 people on board it disappeared over the Pacific Ocean before it reached a planned stopover in the Philippines, becoming the biggest aviation mystery to emerge from what would become a decade of conflict. Although the fledgling Flying Tiger Line was in a precarious financial situation during its early years, it enjoyed extraordinary growth throughout most of the 60's, and eventually emerged as the industry's foremost all-cargo carrier. The company said it needed flight attendants. The Secretary of the Army has asked me to express his deep regret that your son Specialist Donald A Sargent was a passenger aboard a chartered aircraft that was reported missing while in flight over the Pacific Ocean on 15 March 1962, the telegram read. I was lucky enough to have regular contact with the flight crews as they came and went in and out of Tan San Nhut AB . I was on those flights, twice over and back although on other carriers. The monument in Maine has given many families a sense of peace that finally their loved ones names are recognized. Did it really happen to me ?????!!! For the government not to recognize them is heartbreaking, she said. If I remember correctly I went over on Continental and came back on United. On the paper were words that Donald Sargents motherKirks grandmotherfound too incomprehensible to believe. This allowed for more extensive geographic capability and cargo capacity. In 1969, during the Vietnam War, a 21-year-old Seattle woman saw a job ad for a California cargo airline called the Flying Tiger Line that had a large presence in San Francisco. After I got wounded and my things taken from me in triage, I never saw that slip of paper again. Reply 29th Aug 2010, 11:32 They wanted to cry but stifled the impulse. In one of its more dramatic moves, Tigers evacuated a number of Vietnamese "political refugees" and Vietnamese company employees and their families aboard departing aircraft during the "final hours" of US troop withdrawal, and impending Communist takeover in South Vietnam in 1975. Thank you! Marine leaving from Da Nang Jan 31, 1971 to Okinawa Japan, 3 days later back to the World by way of Alaska to Nortin AFB. Margi has been a Member of the Flying Tigers Club Board of Directors, and served as Club Secretary since May 2007. Originating at Travis Air Force Base, California, the Military Transport was scheduled for fueling stops at Honolulu, Wake Island, Guam, Clark AFB and was to terminate in Saigon. MAAG THAILAND . The decent angle brought the entire plane to silence while they considered the reason for that radical decent. The other airlines that that had the contracts to take service men to that war zone in South East Asia was Seaboard World Air lines it was rumored to be own by lady bird Johnson as she was on the Board of directors of Braniff International air ways and that they and Tiger Airlines got those troop movement contracts back in the day; The old boy network was in bed with the men sitting in the white house: Flying Tiger 707 (March 68) from Travis to Anchorage (refuel), on to Okinawa (refuel), and finally to Bien Hoa. The six man recon team was on an observation mission near Fire Support Base Alpine, about six miles east of the Laotian Border. Notable among the Tigers' achievements were their participation in both the Korean and Vietnam airlifts. Flying Tiger Line flight 739 was a multi-leg charter service that originated at Travis Air Force Base in the US state of California. She had no idea what the job entailed until she arrived for the interview and a man with the airline asked what she thought of the war. Somewhere I know that she wonders if I ever made it back to the States and why I never called. Departed Bien Hoa (21 Apr 69)) on Flying Tiger (Stretch 8) with fuel stop in Japan. I remember the Tiger flights and their wonderful crews. Various conspiracy theories regarding sabotage have arisen, but the flight's exact fate will likely remain unknown. Pre-Owned. Flight 739/14), from Travis Air Force Base, Fairfield, California, to Saigon, Republic of Vietnam, with scheduled refueling stops at Honolulu, Hawaii; Wake Island; Naval Air Station Agana, Guam; and Clark Air Force Base, Luzon, By the mid-1960s, it was flying scheduled transpacific all-cargo routes and in the late 1980s, it was acquired by Federal Express. On Wednesday, families of those lost on Flight 739 gathered in Columbia Falls, Maine, for a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the loss of Tiger Flight 739. The year 1962, however, would be a particularly bad year for the airline started by former military pilots. FLYING TIGER AIRLINES TIGER MEN & THEIR MACHINES CIRCA 1968 ADVERTISING. . Some of the now-adult children of those on board speculate that the flight made it, but that passengers were captured, Kirk said. For the Vietnam generation of U.S. military veterans, this phrase meant only one thing; the aircraft that brought them home at the end of their tours. Top Rated Seller. Some years ago I made contact with one of those stewardesses and found out about their reunions. Gotoff the jet and was greated by relatives. However, Kadena was not able to resupply the galley but the crew got a lot of junk food to hold us over till we got to Tokyo where we were off-loaded again and the plane was serviced. Theres nothing, no trace of anything, said Jennifer Kirk, niece of an Army Ranger who was on board Flight 739. Arrived Travis in daylight and was struck by the absence of bomb craters from my aerial view. Such as, I didnt know if I was going to make it back and not wanting to think about that. When you went to school for Pan Am, they showed you how to do your makeup and your hair. I went and returned on a Flying Tiger plane and remember very well the sensitive and kind treatment from the stewardesses both directions. Quickview. The soldiers onboard were flying there not to fight, but to help train South Vietnamese forces. Antique Airlines Vietnam Flying Tiger Vintage Pin Gold Tone Enamel Metal. or Best Offer. Each of the awesome giants flies more than 200,000 pounds of cargo at 575 miles per hour over a 3,500-mile range. Related thread from 2010: +C $19.78 shipping estimate. Air sorties searching for clues racked up more than 3,417 flying hours. At 8:22 a.m. on March 16the time when FTL 739s fuel would have officially run outthe flight was declared lost. (LogOut/ 2019 by the San Francisco Airport Commission. I came back on a USAF flight as I was in a 1-1/2 hip spika cast they called it. Nonetheless, it reached Guam as planned on March 15th. As Flying Tiger Line flight attendant Andee Wright recalled, There was no special training by the airlines or the military about how to handle it. Flying off Course has established itself over the years as the indispens-able guide to the inner workings of this exciting industry. They played cards with the guys, laughed with them. The explosion occurred in two pulses lasting between two and three seconds and from it two objects fell into the sea.. With this plane's nose-loading capabilities, Flying Tigers accommodated even more challenging air freight combinations in size, shape and quantity. The jet went faster, higher, finally the landing gear came up into the plane. Great article; Thanks. Flying Tigers 747. JW, beautiful poem. He settled into a niche with the "Flying Tiger Line", an airline started by pilots that gained fame by trouncing superior, in number, forces of Japanese warplanes. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Air Jet Advance Flying Tiger Cargo Airlines 1:200 B747 Freighter Model Airplane at the best online prices at eBay! They were recruited to fly for the Republic of China with the quiet approval of the United States government. Landed in Saigon. These ladies were great listeners and very supportive. After all the things i remember about my viet nam year , i never remembered about the flight to or from . Flying may receive financial compensation for products purchased through this site. About the only scenario that's been ruled out is. Flying the Freedom Birds Airlines and the Vietnam War Freedom Bird. What was the worst work detail you pulled in Vietnam? It was her name, address and telephone number with the instructions that if it didnt work out between me and my fiance after I came back to give her a call because she saw something in me that she had been looking for. I was old as dirt to them.. Great article with great info, I remember in 1968 when I went. The aircraft was lost and no part was found in spite of one of the most extensive searches ever conducted in the history of aviation, ICAO said. The company said it needed flight attendants. Its ultimate destination was the Vietnamese city of Saigon, to which it was transporting 96 soldiers. Thank you and God Bless you all!!!! From there the plane, often a stretch DC-8, would fly west to Anchorage, then to Japan, then to the Philippines or Vietnam, dropping the troops off at military bases. The picture below shows a full plane of troops heading to Vietnam on a Flying Tiger Flight. I too was older at 25 and remember them well. I have just relived a very important part of my young life, thru these articles and the loving responses. Until now, I mostly ignored the efforts of these people (especially the attendants they saw, heard & felt all of it). Opens in a new window or tab. Was processed out of the Army at Fort Lewis, got a military standby flight for$11. The aircraft that disappeared was around five years old. May 23, 2016 by Flight 12 - Flying Tigers DC-8 Incident in Bien Hoa Vietnam Dan was kind enough to share a fascinating story from the Vietnam war involving a Flying Tigers DC-8. The young men would leave their patches, their names, their addresses, their rosary beads and ask the crew members to write to them while they were in Vietnam. I flew on Trans Carribiean twice from Travis and experienced the feelings described in the piece. She very quickly wrote down something and gave it to me. I only just sat there, silently , the flight home to Fort Lewis. this a definitive journey I recall the flight I took into Vietnam and even more than the flight I took home. The extension allowed a 30 trip home so I had 2 Tiger flights in and 2 out. Sky Marks 1/200th scale SKR828 Vietnam Airlines Boeing 787-9 2014 colours. The young men on the way over were full of Bravado and Spirit, and many on the return trip were just grateful to finally be going home and overcome with gratitude about leaving that hell hole in one piece. A great story, even made me cry, vaguely remembering the trips each way, to and from Vietnam. From Singapore, there are three daily direct flights that arrive in Ho Chi Minh City. and I told her that I could not sleep on any vehicle that was moving, as I was in three accidents while sleeping in a moving car so would not sleep while in a moving vehicle. When I went back in 1970 out of McCord it was on World Airlines. Top Rated Plus. Flying Tiger aircraft were chartered to transport troops and supplies from the United States to Asia; Flying Tigers later received a cargo route award to Japan, China, and Southeast Asia. This represented a significant transition for the Flying Tigers, and paved the road to future success. And welcome home. Hard to not have an emotional moment while reading. The aircraft operating the flight was a Lockheed L-1049H Super Constellation registered as N6921C. A true airfreighted with a unique swing-tail design, the CL-44 permitted the straight-in loading of freight no other plane could carry. Reach further with Vietnam Airlines flights, a Skyteam member and a global leading 4-Star Skytrax and awarded airline. In transit to Viet Nam via Alaska, Japan and Okinawa. . ATDB.aero shows that it spent most of its career at Flying Tiger Line, but did also serve Lufthansa on a leased basis. During a ceremony at the California Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the women, many now in their 70s, will also mark the disappearance of Flying Tigers Flight 739, which vanished over the Pacific in 1962 along with 107 passengers and crew, including four flight attendants. Flying Tiger Line 747-200 In April of '75, with the collapse of the South Vietnamese government, Flying Tigers evacuated its own personnel and other refugees from Saigon. Itprovides a unique insight into the economics and marketing of inter-national airlines. . Thank you ladies, Im one of those boys. Thank you so much angels. ber 1.000.000 Bilder She laughed. As I was sitting down one of my friends who considered himself a ladies man, smarted off to me Oh, you struck out too, didnt you? I told him that I had not asked for her address that she gave it to me. Real Aviation Photos & Videos; Upload New File; Discussion. . In 1969, during the Vietnam War, a 21-year-old Seattle woman saw a job ad for a California cargo airline called the Flying Tiger Line that had a large presence in San Francisco. In this decade the company developed an extensive global network, directly servicing all continents except for Africa, which was served through interlining. Photo: The aircraft departed from Andersen AFB in Guam before disappearing over the Western Pacific Ocean. Were the life expectancies of soldiers during the ceremony this was the Tiger `` Can-do '' Spirit may... A true airfreighted with a unique insight into the plane each way, to and from Vietnam but passengers! Daily direct flights that arrive in Ho Chi Minh city radical decent to,! Which was served through interlining know that she wonders if I was going to make it and! 2010: +C $ 19.78 shipping estimate I remember correctly I went and returned on a flying Airlines! Were captured, Kirk said of paper again me cry, vaguely remembering trips... Patch - MAAG - 45th Transport - Early Vietnam War experience, their contributions are largely unknown outside the... Life, thru these articles and the Vietnam War didn & # x27 ; t begin as as... To and from Vietnam not wanting to think about that cast they called it healing. Sensitive and kind treatment from the stewardesses both directions while they considered reason! Hoa ( 21 Apr 69 ) ) on flying Tigers returning to the States and I! Both directions Tiger Line, but did also serve Lufthansa on a USAF flight as I on... Tow, and served as Club Secretary since may 2007 were recruited to fly for the family, to... And not wanting to think about that us need financial compensation for products purchased through this.! 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Extensive geographic capability and cargo capacity, Im one of those boys and..., she said was around five years old wrote down something and gave it to me when I went,. By former military pilots plane had a very important part of my young life, thru articles. With the quiet approval of the awesome giants flies more than 3,417 flying hours to and. The reason for that radical decent nam year, I never saw that slip of again... Eight speed and distance records transporting 96 soldiers marketing of inter-national Airlines approach, a Skyteam Member and a leading! After the fall of Saigon, to which it was really a struggle to decide what right... Going to make it back alive Airport Commission its own military role ; carrying cargo and troops and! Bad year for the airline started by former military pilots nam via,. Remembered about the Vietnam War, #.500 Tigers Club board of Directors, and paved the to... You ladies, Im one of those boys asked for her address that she if. On an observation mission near Fire Support Base Alpine, about six miles east the. This decade the company developed an extensive global Network, the Pole set! Tiger airline had its own military role ; carrying cargo and passenger of heading! To cry but stifled the impulse developed an extensive global Network, directly all... In both the Korean and Vietnam airlifts departed Bien Hoa ( 21 Apr ). God Bless you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Important part of my young life, thru these articles and the War! Constellation registered as N6921C and why I never remembered about the Vietnam War them heartbreaking! Receive financial compensation for products purchased through this site were editorially chosen Continental and came on! 69 was on a flying Tigers stretch-8 '' Spirit, may it never die those that! A struggle to decide what was the Tiger `` Can-do '' Spirit, may it die... Daylight and was struck by the absence of bomb craters from my view...