Thomas Evans "Tom" Fleming
click on any title to go to that piece
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Transition Year 1966 to 1967
As the mass departure of first year Centaurs began, the Troop went through some big changes. The second year of the Centaurs had begun.
The Way it Was - 1967
A description of the organizational, personal and equipment status of the troop and the tactical activities engaged in by the ¾ Cav Squadron and D Troop.
Operational Level Timeline (Video) - 1967
A Troop Commanders overview of the operations of D Troop in 1967.
Audio Tapes to Home - 1967
Eight reel to reel audio tapes sent home describing events of the day in D Troop.
Filght Operations Audio Tape - 1967
Audio tape recording of the radio traffic in Centaur Flight Operations one evening.
OH-23 Ground Recovery - 1967
Driving a jeep to recover an aircraft instead of flying in with Stable Boy.
B57 Canberra Bomber Crash - 1967 - Stable Boy brings Air Force personnel to B57 Bomber crash site in Hobo
Stable Boy Rescues LRRPs - 1967
When the extraction ships can make it to a hot LRRP LZ, Stable Boy gets riddled with enemy fire filling for them.
Battle of Soui Tre (LZ Gold) - March 21 1967
A Description of the battle which resulted in 647 enemy dead, 38 US KIA and 187 US WIA – the largest battle of the war to date. Describes the participation of several D Troop elements and personalities involved in the medical evacuation and downed air crew recovery during the battle.
The Engineer - KIA - 15 August 1967
Engineer Captain Bujalski was killed in an OH-23G Scout Aircraft during a Dawn Patrol mission.
KIA MedEvac - May 1967
A description of the troop Maintenance and Recovery crew’s (Stable Boy) effort perform a MedEvac in the midst of a fire fight only to discoverer that the real reason they were called upon was to evacuate a dead soldier for morale purposes.
War Zone C LRRP Rescue - May 1967
A description of a successful rescue of a LRRP involving all elements of the troop standing by on high alert for over many hours. The successful rescue was in doubt from the moment the LRRP was compromised deep in War Zone C.
The Suicide - 6 June 1967
A description of the tragic loss of a soldier at his own hands and an attempt to account for one more Centaur on the VM Wall. The description is made from the perspective of several players as the tense situation unfolded in a tent at Go Da Hau fire base while standing by for a LRRP mission, culminating in this soldier taking his life and his evacuation to graves registration.
Divisional Air Cav - October 1967
An operational example of how the Air Cav Troop of the 25th ID division's Armored Cav Squadron performed an integrated reconnaissance and offensive combat mission. This example describes an actual mission performed.
Stuck Throttle - October 1967
A description of unfortunate circumstances that came very close to ending with disastrous conclusions for a young aviator and his passengers. Some pilots, newly graduated individuals from flight school, were not cut out for duty as an Aero Scout.
Dropping Flares - 1967
Dropping illumination flares from Stable Boy for night operations.
Flight Operations (Audio) - November 1967
An audio tape of an actual mission involving a shot down Aero Scout and the subsequent scramble of the troop in response to the downed aircraft and the engagement of enemy elements in the vicinity of downed helicopter and crew. The audio has background noise from the VRC-24 UHF radio in Flight Operations and at times the transmissions are difficult to clearly hear. An explanatory document describes the mission and players.
LRRP Extraction Charcoal Kiln - December 1967
A description of a LRRP mission out of Dau Tieng in which a newly assigned Team Leader with a barely trained team made a mistake and compromised his mission. The LRRP Team is successfully rescued.
Kit Carson Scout (Video) - December 1967
The troop was assigned its first Kit Carson Scout, a young man from a nearby village who while operating with a Viet Cong element was wounded by a Centaur gunship, Chou Hoi, volunteered to be trained as a Kit Carson Scout and requested assignment to the unit that wounded him. He proved to be a loyal brave soldier who acquired the respect and confidence of the soldiers and leaders he served with.
Prek Klok - December 1967
A LRRP team that was compromised in War Zone C NE of Tay Ninh and SE of the SF Camp at Prek Klok in Dec 1967.
Second Year of the Centaurs - Mar 1967 to Mar 1968
A Troop Commanders summary of D Troop during the second year of combat and how it changed from the first year.
Move to the new area - Dec 1967 (Reunion video interview 2018)
Details of how the new Centaur area and hangar came about
Digging the New Well - 1968
D Troop had recently closed on a new home on the South East side of the main runway and was in the process of adding to the constructed facilities already in place. A new well for the water source for the officer’s shower was called for. The operation turned out well after some difficulty digging the well.
Mission at Dau Tieng - January 1968
A description of a rear area security mission in attachment to the 3d Bde and the ensuing actions which include, prisoner snatch, enemy base camp search, LRRPs, B-52 Arch light and a two division Division Artillery” time on target” that nearly wiped out D Troop.
Surviving the Artillery Barrage - January 1968
The story of the Centaurs survival of an artillery barrage while supporting the 3rd Brigade near Dau Tieng.
Battle for Saigon Book Input - January 1968
Notes given to Keith Nolan for his research in writing the book The Battle for Saigon - TET 1968.
Battle of the Hobo Woods 29 January 1968 Discussion page.
Battle of the Ho Bo Woods (Video part one) - 29 January 1968
Part one of two videos describing the operational situation, planning for the mission and circumstances leading up to the engagement.
Battle of the Ho Bo Woods (Video part two) - 29 January 1968
Part two details my participation in the engagement up to the rescue of the survivors of the Aero Rifle Platoon and my departure from the troop area.
Dau Tieng Memories
This is a Discussion page where all Centaurs can list their memories of missions and times at Dau Tieng.
Coming Home
This is my input to a story line of the experiences encountered with the changed culture in the USA that I and my family encountered as a soldier returning from Vietnam.