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TOP STORY OF THE DAY, brought to you free by WICU: Brazil native turns back the clock to man helicopter he flew in 1966
Combat service is an experience that changes men, and those changes last a lifetime for a soldier even after he comes home.
David Snow always wanted to fly.
After graduation -- with the draft looming -- Snow enlisted in the Army and signed up for flight school while at Purdue University.
In 1966, Snow began the first of two tours in Vietnam as a Bell UH-1 “Huey 049” pilot. He taught others to fly helicopters between his first and second tour before flying area reconnaissance missions as an O-1 “Birddog” pilot.
Retiring from the Army 20 years later as a Major in 1985, Snow took his pilot skills to Continental Airlines, where he retired again a few months after the 911 terrorist attack in 2001. A Brazil class of 59 graduates, Snow began his third career as a firefighter at Dick Johnson Township Volunteer Fire Department.
Snow doesn’t talk much about his wartime experiences, but he did talk about sleeping in his helicopter and being ready to fly his Huey.
While working in Peru, Indiana, near Grissom Air Force Base and Museum, Brian Snow (Dave’s son) noticed an upcoming event at the new “American Huey 369” museum being constructed across the street.
“So, I stopped and asked when their next flying event was going to be,” said Brian. “They gave me a couple of flyers, and I thought it would be very interesting, so I dropped them off for dad to look at.”
The next day, Brian’s phone rang. His dad was VERY interested, but there was more.
“He says, ‘I think that is my helicopter pictured on the front of the flyer,” said Brian, who admitted he asked, “What do you mean?”
A picture in the advertisement showed the last three serial numbers -- #049 -- on the nose cone.
A couple of weeks later, Brian was back in Peru. He stopped at the “American Huey 369” and discovered #049 was one of three helicopters that would provide VIP rides at the event.
“I just wanted to see if we came up if there would be a chance if he could ride it,” said Brian. “They said, ‘Well, if you can prove he actually flew it, we will make better than that. But we had to have some sort of documentation.”
Without telling his father, Brian told his mother, Sheryl Snow. The two worked together to find the necessary documentation. It turned out there were several slide reels of photos, but there wasn’t a slide projector.
“Plan B” involved using a flashlight, a single slide projector viewer, and Brian’s cellphone to go through the pictures.
“We actually found the Huey number on the nose of the aircraft in the enlarged pictures, showing it was the same Huey,” said Sheryl. “There were a lot of mysterious things that happened for all this to come together, for this to happen.”
On the day of the event, Brian and his father headed to the groundbreaking for the new museum to see #049. Dave did not know about the potential of riding in the Huey.
“I didn’t want to get his hopes up. He was happy to go and see it one more time,” said Brian.
The event organizers posted about huge lines of people waiting to take a ride on one of the Huey’s. There was also a long line of VIPs. But they were doing their best to get things set up.
“At that point, I told my dad: ‘Alright, there’s a good chance you’re going to be able to ride a Huey,” said Brian, and Dave said that was great. “But I won’t be able to ride the same Huey.”
After several flight changes, Brian was happy to see his father be able to get a ride.
“This was a once in a lifetime event,” said Brian. “So it’s like okay, we’ll do whatever it takes.”
When it was their turn to fly, Brian got on one helicopter, and Dave was taken to #049. In Huey’s, Dave knew the helicopter’s back was used for troop transport, upfront the aircraft commander/gunner on a gunship sat in the left seat, and the pilot in the right was in charge of aiming and firing the rockets.
Dave was offered the left seat, but not just for a memory’s sake. He was going to fly #049 after 52 years!
“It was like riding a bicycle: You never forget,” said Dave about taking the reins of #049 one more time. “It just all came back. I took off and was flying everyone around. What a thrill.”
Brian didn’t know until after his flight was over.
“I was in a different Huey, and it was great. I’ve never been in one before,” said Brian, who was excited to see his father. “He was grinning ear to ear. You can see that in the photo taken that day.”
“He just lit up like a Christmas tree,” said Sheryl. “He got to fly his #049. It was a gift.”
“I loved it. I mean, it was the greatest thing I’ve done recently in my life,” said Dave, who struggled with his emotions. “I couldn’t help but think about how I used to do this while being shot at.”
Dave shared a memory of how a gunner was killed while on a mission. Another of how pilots would land their Hueys in rivers and use the metal helmets to wash out the blood after going into combat.
Dave admits he saw a lot of action in Vietnam, and all kinds of memories flooded back.
“He buries a lot of what he experienced over there and doesn’t talk about it, never will, and that’s okay,” said Sheryl. “I mean, we weren’t there. We have no idea. I wasn’t even married to him at that time. But I mean that’s something that all families have in common. You can’t fantasize about what they’ve been through. So don’t try; just wait for when they want to talk, and then let them talk while you listen.”
Snow’s experiences in the military carried over into his life afterward. He served his country in wartime, again in peace; through three careers, he continues to serve his community and family.
“He never stopped. He’s a workaholic,” said Sheryl. “You know, he continues to support the local area where he grew up. He just feels that everyone should do something for their home town.”
For those considering military service today, Dave highly recommended it. “I loved it, but I felt that I was doing something important,” Dave said. “It’s a good experience. They take care of you. At least they did me.”