These two Huey's from E Company, 501st ABC were on the ground to pick up a crew chief who had just turned over his damaged aircraft to D Company. The third Huey (not in the picture) had struck a tree with one of its rotor blades while on a low level flight. The pilot had immediately made an emergency landing after the impact. (Summer of 1981)
D Company was tasked to go get the aircraft late on the afternoon of the incident. We assembled a truck and flatbed trailer, wrecker, jeep, etc., and proceeded from Katterbach, to a field north of Bamberg. We were delayed when we couldn't get the flatbed through a small Germany village. After using the wrecker to slide the flatbed around a sharp corner (which the drunken civilians from the local guesthouse found very entertaining) we arrived at the helicopter near midnight. With no lighting equipment of our own, we then spent the night at another nearby guesthouse. The next morning, after a Continental Breakfast and plenty of coffee, we began dismantling the damaged Huey. By that afternoon we had it taken apart and loaded on the truck. Before night we were back in Katterbach. As it turned out, early the next morning an alert was called. When we reported to our hanger, we were told to reassemble the Huey before we went home. It took most of the day, but by the afternoon we had it up and running, but with new blades.
