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Diamondhead is Bravo Company, 25th Aviation Battalion, an aerial combat support group that patrols the 25th Division's area of operation.

Diamondhead fire teams have acquired a reputation for immediate, effective and accurate response to commanders' calls for assistance.

Anything from a flare ship for lighting an area, to an escort for a convoy, to a fire team of gunships is available at a moment's notice.

Diamondhead aircraft average a monthly total of almost 1,400 hours in the air. Considering that each hour in the air requires three more spent on the ground for maintenance, Bravo Company runs a full day.

Earlier this year, Diamondhead fire teams were in constant contact during the attacks on Fire Support Base Diamond I, Diamond II and Diamond III. They were constantly in the air over Cu Chi during the post-Tet attacks there, as well as being on station in Dau Tieng and Tay Ninh.

During the June 7th NVA attack on Fire Support Base Crook, Company B, 25th Aviation Battalion, was there in full force. The Diamondhead gunships threw out lead and rockets while their searchlights showed the 1st Brigade troopers on the ground just where the enemy was.

There is no question that a large part of the credit for the overwhelming success experienced there and everywhere belongs to the men of Company B, 25th Battalion.

AWAITING ITS PREY - A Diamondhead Cobra gunship stands on its landing pad waiting for the word to call it into action. Diamondhead light fire teams are available 24 hours a day to support all elements of the 25th Division.

THE COMPLICATED inner workings of a Cobra gunship are laid bare for a facelifting by Diamondhead mechanics of the 25th Aviation Battalion. Three hours of maintenance are required for each hour spent in the air

FIXED-WING as well as rotary-wing aircraft are maintained by the 25th Aviation Battalion. The U-6 Beaver above is often used on supply runs and has recently been fitted with search lights, making it a spotter craft as well.

MIGHTY MINI NEEDS MAINTENANCE - Specialist 4 Lawrence Babinet adjusts one of the miniguns on a Diamondhead gunship. Constant maintenance is kept on all weapons to insure that they'll fire when they're needed.

A COBRA GUNSHIP lifts off its Diamondhead pad for a periodic maintenance test flight. All mechanisms must be in perfect operating condition to insure proper functioning during combat operations.

CU CHI - Wolfhound infantrymen from the 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry, came to the aid of a Vietnamese irregular defense group which had become surrounded by North Vietnamese troops 22 miles southwest of Cu Chi near the Kinh Bo Bo Canal. The Tropic Lightning soldiers routed the enemy force, killing 47.

An additional 20 enemy were killed by gunships of Bravo Company, 25th Aviation Battalion. Fourteen more were killed by the Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG).

The CIDG soldiers had been operating in an area known as the Parrot's Beak when they encountered an unknown number of North Vietnamese soldiers. The irregulars, from the Due Hue area, took heavy casualties early in the battle. Evacuation of dead and wounded was hampered by heavy volumes of fire from fortified enemy positions.

Delta Company, 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry, came into the area on an eagle flight in midafternoon to reinforce the irregulars. Two platoons of Delta Company came under heavy fire while sweeping the eastern side of the Kinh Gay Canal.

“Our 2d and 3d platoons were sweeping up the canal toward the area of contact when our lead element got pinned down by snipers,” said Sergeant Steve Langston of Logansport, Ind., a Delta Company platoon sergeant.

“There were about ten positions very close to the canal. They kept popping up and down, keeping us from moving up to evacuate casualties,” stated Langston.

Lieutenant Colonel Forest Rittgers, Jr., of Manlius, N.Y., Battalion Commander, took personal charge of the Delta troopers when the company commander was hit by enemy fire.

Meanwhile, Charlie Company of the Wolfhounds had been called to assist Delta when it was pinned down by heavy sniper fire. Charlie Company flanked the dug-in enemy positions and fought hard to get the trapped Vietnamese and American soldiers out.

“The NVA would not budge and were well-concealed,” said Private First Class George Diaz of New York City. “We could not see them so we just kept up our volume of fire to the front of us. Finally we drove them out.”

Wolfhound soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry, swept through the area the next day capturing weapons and supplies and confirming the enemy body count.

Included in their finds were two light machineguns, one AK-47 rifle, 18 Chicom hand grenades, seven 60mm mortar rounds, 123 blasting caps, 32 sets of clothing, medical supplies, a pound of enemy documents and various other NVA field equipment.

CU CHI - Night hawk missions - a dangerous and deadly accurate means of impeding enemy night movement - has proved highly successful for men of the 2d Brigade operating from Cu Chi base camp.

Night hawk means trouble for Charlie. The UH-1 helicopters supplied by the 25th Aviation battalion are equipped to perform the mission of preventing the enemy from using darkness as an ally.

Carrying a five-man team of aviators, aerial observers and gunners, the Huey helicopter carries a large, highly sensitive starlight scope and a powerful infrared searchlight system to spot the enemy from altitudes as high as 3,000 feet.

Every night from dusk to dawn a night hawk patrols the 2d Brigade area of operations. Men like Sergeant Jim Grusek of Pittsburgh, Pa., peer through the large starlight scope, scanning the countryside searching for enemy.

“If I see anything with the starlight, I put the searchlight on it, and the firepower is ready to take over from there, Grusek explained.

MILK BUILDS STRONG BEARS - Spooky, mascot of A Company, 25th Aviation Battalion, who drinks anything from milk to beer, is seen here in one of her more sober moments. (PHOTO BY SP4 LEN SHAFFER)

CU CHI - If milk does build strong bodies maybe the 25th Aviation Battalion Little Bears have been feeding their mascot. a Malayan honey bear too much milk.

Several times recently the four-foot long, 110-pound “Spooky” escaped from her cyclone fence cage to go on midnight raids of hootches, refrigerators and garbage cans in search of sweets.

Spooky, given to the Little Bears by special forces from Tay Ninh when she was only 14 inches long, also likes beer, coke and, Specialist 5 Ken Creiger says, “She eats almost anything we do. We feed her a large can of fruit twice a day on top of all the hand outs she gets.”

CU CHI - “The magnificent achievements of this battalion in a division that has engaged in some of the toughest and dirtiest fighting in Vietnam's Hau Nghia Province are simply legendary.”

That is what General Bruce Palmer Jr., Army Vice Chief of Staff, said of the 25th Aviation Battalion as it was named the Army's outstanding aviation unit for 1968-69 by the Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA) at ceremonies in Washington, D.C., recently.

Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth J. Burton, the battalion's former commander during the period for which the award was presented, and Command Sergeant Major William H. Bennett, the present battalion sergeant major, were on hand at the ceremonies to accept the trophy on behalf of the battalion.

“THE MOST significant factor bearing on the performance of the battalion was a 70 per cent increase in hours flown in support of division combat operations with a remarkable 28 per cent reduction in the unit accident rate,” stated General Palmer.

During the period for which the award was presented, Mar. 31, 1968, through Mar. 31, 1969, the battalion's Alfa and Bravo Companies logged more than 4000 flying hours per month. The battalion's current commander is Lieutenant Colonel Robert R. Gosney.

The 25th Aviation Battalion flies any mission necessary for support of ground troops. The battalion flies all standard missions including couriers, command-and-control ships, gunships, light observation helicopters, smoky ships and troop movements.

Its activities have made Tropic Lightning's Aviation Battalion more than live up to its motto: “We fly for the troops.”

The 25th Aviation Battalion also pioneered two other projects that were later adopted by other aviation units throughout Vietnam.

The first was the flare rack. The design incorporated an emergency release device which jettisoned all flares in an aircraft into a barrel in case one malfunctions. This holds the possibilities of the aircraft catching fire or the pilot becoming blinded to a minimum.

The other development, the light observation helicopter radio console, offers battalion commanders of ground units a vital link to success - free use of communications. Battalion commanders using light observation helicopters for command-and-control ships previously had to share the craft's one FM radio with the pilot.

THE BATTALION designed a compact console which held three FM radios. This console allows both the pilot and the battalion commander to operate simultaneously with separate radios and on separate channels.

“This is a unit award and a team award,” declared Burton. “I was part of the team, but basically the team consisted of the men that did the work - the mechanics, cooks, bakers, pathfinders - everyone of them is the unsung hero that makes our unit get results.”

Tropic Lightning Commander Major General Harris W. Hollis added: “This award to a division aviation unit, amidst all the glamorous aviation units in the Army, indicates that this unit has truly extended itself.”

ARMY'S FINEST - General Bruce Palmer Jr., Army Vice Chief of Staff, (rear) presents a trophy commending the 25th Aviation Battalion as the outstanding aviation unit in the Army during 1968 to Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Burton (left), former battalion commander, and Command Sergeant Major William H. Bennett (right), the current battalion sergeant major, during recent ceremonies in Washington, D.C.

3 Nov 1969 - Mister Fulton came down for some parts and said Tex and Mr. Leech got killed. Mr Vargas and Hanson got messed up. The ship pulled up and

4 Nov 1969 - I was supposed to pull guard duty, but had to fly to Phu Loi, Howard Nishamura had to take my place on guard duty. He couldn't fly the next

CU CHI - The 25th Aviation Battalion runs perhaps the world's most exclusive flight school - you must be a brigadier general or higher to attend.

The school is run in conjunction with the General Officer's Rotary Wing Qualifying Course taught at Fort Rucker, Ala. In the past five months two generals have successfully completed the school. The student is required to complete 200 hours of flight time in order to graduate. That 200 hours is divided between flights with the 25th Aviation Battalion and Fort Rucker.

The school's students thus far have been Major General Ellis W. Williamson, former division commander who is now completing his flying time at Fort Rucker, and Brigadier General T. J. Camp, Jr., current assistant division commander who started his training Sept. 7. Instructor for both generals was Chief Warrant Officer Jack C. Bryan.

BINH THANH - Popular Forces supported by 25th Division gunships and artillery killed 25 enemy soldiers and captured 11 assault rifles recently after the enemy attacked this border hamlet.

An estimated VC/NVA company fired small arms and rocket-propelled grenades into the 84th Popular Force outpost during early morning hours. The popular forces responded with organic weapons, a light fire team from the 25th Aviation Battalion and the artillery.

Two platoons of A Company, 2d Battalion, 27th Infantry Wolfhounds were committed to support the Popular Forces but were not needed, a 3d Brigade spokesman said.

RICH INDEED is the man who finds ornaments such as these on his Christmas tree. These shiny baubles happen to be the Golddiggers-13 young ladies who'll be spending their Christmas with GIs in Vietnam and other locations around the world. The star at the top of the tree is, of course, Bob Hope, not one of the Golddiggers. He'll head up his traditional yuletide sojourn for troops which will feature the Golddiggers and Connie Stevens. (Photo courtesy of NBC-TV)

DEAR B: The ARs, of course, have nothing to say about the matter, but certain SOPs have been established under the title, “Christmas, Merry, Vietnam (1969).” Here are some of the highlights:

(1) Trees, decorated, gaily. C-ration can lids make ideal decorations, and the aluminum foil from the chocolate discs in a B-2A unit make great reflectors. Trees can be made from any substance - pipe cleaners, soda cans, even the all-purpose, legendary wooden ammo box. (You must remember that for a Christmas in Vietnam, more than ever, it's the thought that counts.)

(2) Show, USO, Hope, Bob. Unless you're deaf, blind, dumb, and haven't watched television in the last 25 years, this Christmas SOP needs no explanation.

(3) Gifts, mailed, Aunt Genevieve's. Even though the temperature averages 95 degrees, it is nonetheless SOP for your old-maid aunt to mail you a hand-knitted sweater to “take the chill off the evenings.”

(4) Cake, fruit, home-made, Granny's. That peculiar blend of fruits and nuts which is designed to bring good things from the kitchen into your C-ration-glutted life. Especially good if she remembers to add brandy to the mix.

One final hint: nuoc mam gives a great kick to egg nog. So have a “Christmas, Merry” and a “Year, New, Happy, 1970 (one each) !”

DEAR SARGE: My first sergeant says he has arranged so that it WILL snow on Tay Ninh base camp so that we can have a White Christmas. I think he's putting me on. What's your opinion?

DEAR I: Well, after all, does it make any difference? I mean, does Tay Ninh base camp have any tree tops to glisten or children to listen for sleighbells in the snow? However, if in all your Christmas cards you've written “may your days be merry and bright and may all your Christmases be white,” I suggest you remember that the last time it snowed in Tay Ninh Province, all the water buffaloes went on a rampage and decorated Nui Ba Den with lights and ornaments, thus creating the largest Christmas tree this side of Times Square. Tell your first sergeant that.