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Mitchell Freeman

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Mitchell Freeman speaks fondly of his former Captain, saying, “without him, I wouldn’t be here now.” He managed to keep the ship’s flag with him to remember his time aboard ship. (1:07)

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While working on the dry dock to clean the bottom of the ship , Mitchell Freeman recalls the time when, in broad daylight, Japanese soldiers dropped a bomb under the water level of the dry dock. (1:53)

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En route to the Philippines, Mitchell Freeman recalls the time when his ship dropped anchor and he witnessed, first-hand, the sheer amount of captured Japanese prisoners. (1:49)

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Mitchell Freeman discusses his role on the USS Half Moon (AVP-26) which provided resources for the Black Cat. He also recalls spending most of his time assisting in the office. (2:45)

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Shortly after arriving on Peleliu Island, Mitchell Freeman discusses his assigned duties. He also briefly touches on Peleliu Island and it's role in training pilots. (3:21)

Mo Erkins

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He thought the military was for other folks, but the $27.90 per month for advanced ROTC students was attractive to Mo Erkins at Tuskegee University, so he decided to pursue his childhood dream of flying. He couldn't get in the Air Force program, but the Army gave him a chance to become an aviator. (3:55)

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Out of flight school, helicopter pilot Mo Erkins was assigned to Germany, an assignment which he enjoyed. But his tour was curtailed and he was ordered to Fort Campbell to prepare for deployment to Vietnam. He was willing to go where the President sent him, in fact he was eager because his fellow pilots were there and he wanted to participate. (4:03)

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His first missions in Vietnam were resupply runs, which were used to break in new pilots. Mo Erkins moved on to combat missions and on final approach to one of these, his tail rotor was hit and he was forced down. The maintenance officer wanted to know why he didn't keep flying the aircraft, but after he went to the field to retrieve it, he sought out the pilot to apologize. (3:59)

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After his first Vietnam tour, helicopter pilot Mo Erkins served as an instructor at Fort Rucker. He went back for a second tour, this time moving from Hueys to Chinooks. Assigned as the Executive Officer, he established communication with the parents of avery man under his command and used his university training in counseling to keep professional relationships good. (5:05)

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Helicopter pilot Mo Erkins was ordered to a different Chinook unit in Vietnam because they needed men with different rotation dates to keep it at full strength. He wasn't happy about that and when he reported to his new commander, he was even more dissatisfied. He experienced the only unfair treatment he would see in his entire career and he fixed it immediately. (5:35)