After three long years of trying, waiting, hoping and working, Oxford American Legion Post 108 finally got its helicopter Friday afternoon.
‘We were hoping to have it here for Veterans Day,? said Jim Parkhurst, curator of the post’s military museum and past commander. ‘We think this will mean a lot to veterans and their families to be able to come up here and view this.?
Those passing by Post 108 along E. Drahner Rd., just east of M-24, can now get an up close and personal look at an AH-1 HueyCobra attack helicopter that proudly served in the Vietnam War.
‘It’s a got a couple of bullet holes through it that have been patched up,? Parkhurst said.
Between 1967 and 1973, Bell Helicopter built 1,116 Cobras for the U.S. Army. These attack choppers racked up more than a million operational hours in Vietnam from the Tet Offensive in 1968 through the war’s end.
HueyCobras provided fire support for ground forces, escorted transport helicopters and served in aerial rocket artillery battalions.
They also formed ‘hunter killer? teams by pairing with OH-6A scout helicopters. The OH-6A would fly slow and low in search of enemy forces. When it drew fire, the Cobra would strike.
Having this helicopter in front of Post 108 gives the veterans group an outdoor display that ‘spans history,? according to Parkhurst. ‘On one end, we’ve got a Civil War canon sitting over here and on this end, a Cobra helicopter from the Vietnam era.?
Post 108’s Cobra came from the U.S. Army Reserve Center on 11 Mile Rd. near Telegraph in Southfield. The site used to by a Nike Missile Launch facility (D-86) from 1957-63.
The helicopter sat outside on display along with a tank.
‘It’s quite a piece of equipment sitting over there,? said Parkhurst, noting the helicopter is 40-feet long (the length of an average home) and 12-feet high. ‘It’s the only one around that we know of.?
When fully-equipped and combat-ready, a Cobra weighs about 10,000 pounds. However, this one’s been stripped of its engine, transmission, rockets, guns and ammunition, so it weighs about 5,900 pounds and is not capable of flight.
Originally, Post 108 was working with the Vietnam Veterans of America Oakland County Chapter 133 in Pontiac to secure a Bell Helicopter UH-1 Iroquois (better known as a Huey).
However, the deal fell through for various reasons, but that didn’t deter the local veterans from getting a chopper.
‘We don’t give up,? Parkhurst said.
Post 108 is planning a formal dedication ceremony for the Cobra sometime in June 2009, according to Parkhurst.
A host of military officers and other dignitaries are expected as the helicopter will be dedicated to the memory of Delbert Waugh, a 69-year-old retired Army lieutenant colonel, chopper pilot and Purple Heart recipient (twice) who had been shot down multiple times in Vietnam.
Waugh, who worked as an Air Angels medevac helicopter, was transporting a 1-year-old child to Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago when he crashed and died Oct. 15.