Wild Bill Wilder takes a look at the role of Air Cavalry in the Vietnam War. Upon arriving in Vietnam in the fall of 1965, the proud young sky troopers of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) took a lot of ribbing from the grunts. They ridiculed their “cruising†around in the sky, enjoying a soft army life. In angry defense, a young private, embarrassed, yet intensely proud of his unit and his accomplishments, retorted, “Go to hell! We’re still cavalry!†And they were. It is true that their arrival on the battlefields of Southeast Asia was not heralded by a...
