BRUCE BAILEY HASKELL
BIRTH: 25
MAY 1948 • Ft. Benning Georgia
DEATH: 27
MAR 1988 • Annapolis, Anne Arundel Co., Maryland
Education:
1966 • Annapolis, Anne Arundel Co., Maryland. Member of
the 1966 graduating class of Annapolis Senior High School.
Military:
1969 • Camp Evans, Vietnam. Helicopter Pilot with the Company B
Lancers
Burial:
31 Mar 1988 • Holy Face Cemetery, Great Mills, St. Mary's Co.,
Maryland
You have in your
possession the jacket of one of the Lancer legends. Please treat it with
your utmost respect. Here is my story about Mr. Bruce Haskill.
I
arrived in South Vietnam in March of 1970, a few weeks after Bill Walker. I was
still a newbie when Mr. Haskill was ready to go home, but even though I never
flew with him I have a great story about him which Bill Walker may possibly be
able to verify. First let me say that he seemed to be a fun guy and a true
Lancer who was anxiously looking forward to going home in a week or two.
In those days Lancer pilots were allowed to stop flying when they had about 2
weeks to go. it was an unwritten tradition. They had done their part and
the Lancers were going to make sure they made it home.
Bruce was down to a week or two to go
when he apparently asked someone (I don't know who) why they were still flying
him. This person told him that they planned on flying him until his last
day. This seemed to irritate Bruce.
I don't
know who the Division Commander was at the time, but he had quite recently
(within a day or 2 of Bruce hearing of their plans for him) issued a directive
to all 101st pilots concerning their flying styles. He wanted no
unnecessary low-level flying, no fancy take offs or
landings, and basically wanted stateside flying from that moment on. At
that time, the Division Commander was the only person in the division with
"nose art" on his helicopter. It was a painting or poster of the
great and famous 101st Airborne Screaming Eagle. It could be spotted from quite
a distance if it was coming towards you. Well, as luck or fate would have it,
Bruce found himself flying south down Highway 1 {almost all air traffic treated
this as if we were driving cars, sticking to the right side of the road) when
he spotted the 101st eagle heading north on the other side of the road.
Bruce saw his opportunity and could not resist the temptation. He made a
descending left turn from approximately 1500 feet to only a few feet above the
rice paddies and headed east toward the ocean which was only a few miles
away. The chase was on.
Mr.
Haskill asked his door gunner and crew chief if the general was following
them. They assured him that the general was indeed following them.
With this welcome news Mr. Haskill apparently gave him a low-level tour of the
area and then headed home to our base, the Round Table. When Mr. Haskill called
Evans Tower for landing instructions, he was greeted on the radio by Eagle 6,
the 101st Division Commander. He told Mr. Haskill that after he landed that he
wanted the company commander (Major Green) to be standing in the middle of the
helipad with Mr. Haskill. Well, a few minutes later and they all
were on the pad together. The General told Major Green "This man is
grounded until I say otherwise."
The rest is history.
The general never called back (I suspect after he checked out his stellar
record) and Bruce went home.
Sincerely.
Keith
W. Boyd
Lancer 19 (Mar70-Mar71)
MY TRIBUTE TO WARRANT OFFICER BRUCE HASKELL
(DECEASED
AT THE YOUNG AGE OF 39)
When I arrived at B Company Lancers, I
was immediately assigned to Warrant Officer Bruce Haskell for my orientation
flight. Bruce was to show me our area of operation. I flew right seat with him
on two orientation flights. What I hope to do is shed a little light on what
kind of person Bruce was.
Bruce was soft-spoken, about 5-foot 10
or so inches tall with blonde hair. He was heavy set, but not over weight. In the Lancer 1970-year book his picture is right next to mine. I didn’t
realize it at the time, but that was a good thing because every time I look at
that book, he is always there. He is always by my side. Bruce has never left my
memory since that day in 2003 when I opened up the Lancer year book, although I remember him for many reasons since I
dusted off that old dark blue year book. What made it extra special was that
when I found out in 2003 that he was deceased, I was taken back at how young he
died. It truly saddened me.
Most of all I admired his cheerful
attitude and coolness under pressure which I was about to find out on this very
first orientation flight. The monsoon season was just ending, so we had some
low clouds (not enough to keep us on the ground, but not a lot of flying going
on). There was a drizzle in the air, but we got around just fine, and I was
able to observe one or two LZ’s (their names escape my memory today).
We were no more than 30 minutes into
the flight when a LOH pilot came up on GUARD asking for help. He had been
flying low level checking out a hedge grove / tree line when he came under
fire. His Crew Chief was hit and fell out of the aircraft into the wet tall
grass. Bruce immediately got on the radio and told the LOH pilot that we were
on our way to assist. Most of you know that a LOH is flown by a single pilot,
so all he could do was circle the area in an attempt to keep the
enemy away from, his Crew Chief. That was very risky since he had no idea how
many VC were in the tree line. He could have easily been taken out by an RPG or
ground fire.
We arrived within 5 to 10 minutes due
to our close proximity and Bruce’s knowledge of the area. Bruce never
hesitated, he simply told the crew that we were going in and we would get that
wounded Crew Chief. We arrived in no time, the LOH pilot providing us with
overhead cover as best as he could, and our door gunner was laying down
suppressive fire with his M-60 machine gun. Our Crew Chief was out of the
chopper before we even hit the ground. He ran over ducking as low as he could.
He grabbed his wounded “brother” under his arms and drug him back to our
chopper. We were off the ground and immediately headed to the nearest field
hospital unit. After we took off with Bruce still at the controls, I turned
around to check out the condition of the wounded soldier. His face was ashen
gray, but I was unable to tell how bad his wounds were because he was wearing
those Army rain slickers (as I called them). Our Crew Chief was cradling him in
his arms in an effort to comfort him. He was talking to him, trying
to keep him alert, but I could not hear what he was saying due to the
background noise. But I am certain that he was reassuring that wounded crew
chief that he was going to be okay. I never did find out whether he survived or
not.
I never thought about that medivac much
after that day until many years later. I was too inexperienced to have any fear,
and Bruce never gave me any reason for concern. But it was always there in the
back of my mind. What an orientation flight!
When I think back at all
of the unknowns that must have crossed Bruce Haskell’s mind, I consider
him a hero. That was a heroic act. The crew responded magnificently (did
nothing except observe). The Crew Chief exposed himself to ground fire but did
not hesitate. The crew did their job very well and efficiently. We had no idea
how many VC were in that tree line, nor what their capabilities were. But
between that LOH pilot who would not leave his fallen brother and Bruce Haskell
and his crew, everything went off without a hitch. They were all
heroes with me being along for the ride, and hopefully learning something. I
never heard any discussion about it after that day. It was just another day in
Lancer B Company. I wish that the LOH pilot would have written up Bruce and the
crew for so type of recognition. He may have. But if you come back from that
type of mission without any bullet holes in your aircraft, it doesn’t mean
much. It was just another day in the chronicles of B Company
Lancers.
From that very first flight in B
Company, I never saw a pilot hesitate to take almost any risk to save a
brother. I did not know it at the time, but Bruce was “short”; he had less than
30 days left in country before his tour of duty was up. He was going home in
less than four weeks!
I did get my “official orientation
flight” the following day with none other than Warrant Officer Bruce Haskell. That
was to be his last flight before leaving country. For reasons I won’t talk
about here, Bruce was grounded and left country without flying another mission.
I know that Major Grant S. Green remember Bruce for his efforts and last
mission – I finally got my orientation flight.
Bruce was robbed of a full life dying
so young. It is trajic, and I don’t know how he
died. You see, my motivation for finally writing about this particular flight
is that I hope that those who read it will never forget Bruce Haskell,
the soft spoken guy with the big heart.
I know that many Lancers performed with
great courage during combat assaults and log missions gone wrong. Most of you
guys were only 21 or 22 years old. You grew up quick (so did I). I have always
been very proud to have served with the Lancers – ALL OF YOU.
Postscript:
So many pilots and crew members
suffered and are some still suffer from those horrible memories of combat
assaults, picking up the dead, taking multiple hits, identifying their fallen
brothers, rescuing other pilots and crew members. The longer you stayed the
more you grew to anticipate. Those memories grow on you sometimes for many
years until you finally break. If you are fortunate, you get through life
without much trouble. I was very taken back and saddened when I read
a Lancer publication in 2003, and it suddenly dawned on me that 40 Lancer
pilots and/or crew members had died before they reached the age of 40. So,
remember Bruce and what he stood for as a Lancer Brother.
Respectfully Submitted by
1LT Bob Archer, Lancer 24
158th Aviation Battalion
(AH)
101st Airborne Division
Company B Lancers
Camp Evans