On November 8, 2001 I was reunited with a man I helped save in 1967. Connie Mack Pearson had been shot nine
times, was paralyzed, and dying. Six other men were also wounded in the same fire fight. Our helicopter pilot heard
the call for help and decided we would try to get the wounded out. One helicopter had already been shot down
trying to get in the LZ. We were directed to the North side of the LZ and began taking a lot of enemy fire. We
moved to the South side of the LZ and were able to land. As soon as we landed the wounded began being brought
to our ship. We loaded six men and were running out of room quickly. Connie was still on the ground and told the
men attending him if we left him there, he would die. He had already been passed over twice and was near death.
We got all seven men on board and lifted off to go to the nearest MASH unit.
Often I would think about those men and especially the one wounded nine times and I wondered if he made it and
how many of the others made it. I didn't know any of their names or where they were from but I knew they were
with the 5/7 Cav. One night I got an idea to see if the 5/7 had a web site and sure enough they did. I posted a
message about that night and about the guy shot nine times. Within a week I began getting responses to my
inquiry. They wanted to know more about me and what I knew about that night. They were being careful because
there are so many "WANNABES" and they had to make sure I was on the level. I had an ace in the hole that only
someone there would know. Their Batallion Commander had also been wounded and lodaed on my ship. His leg
had been blown off below the knee. When I told them this, they knew I was who I was saying I was. They wrote to
Connie Mack and told him about me. Soon after I got an e-mail from Connie's wife saying they were the ones I was
looking for and they had been wondering about me too all these years. When I was contacted by the Shadow Of
The Blade producers, I told them I would be interested in participating if they could put myself and Connie
together. They (the producers) got very excited about my story and said this was exactly what they were trying to
convey by reuniting Vietnam vets and families and friends with a Huey flying across America. Huey 091 was loaned
to the casting crew and flown by the owners who themselves were Vietnam veteran pilots. They flew 10,000 miles
across America and recorded over 200 hours of video. It has been condensed to 100 minutes and was recently
shown at the Houston Worldfest Film Festival where it took A gold medal and won a trophy similar to an Oscar for
best picture out of over 400 entries. I am proud to have been involved with the Shadow project, but am most
excited about mine and Connie's reunion after 35 years of questions. Connie and I talk on the phone about twice a
month and plan on getting together again either here or at his home in Illinois. I urge all vets who have been
wondering what happened to someone to try whatever means it takes to get an answer to your questions. It worth
every minute of it. By the way, all seven men survived, thanks to the time that was saved by using the Huey
Helicopter to extract the wounded.
times, was paralyzed, and dying. Six other men were also wounded in the same fire fight. Our helicopter pilot heard
the call for help and decided we would try to get the wounded out. One helicopter had already been shot down
trying to get in the LZ. We were directed to the North side of the LZ and began taking a lot of enemy fire. We
moved to the South side of the LZ and were able to land. As soon as we landed the wounded began being brought
to our ship. We loaded six men and were running out of room quickly. Connie was still on the ground and told the
men attending him if we left him there, he would die. He had already been passed over twice and was near death.
We got all seven men on board and lifted off to go to the nearest MASH unit.
Often I would think about those men and especially the one wounded nine times and I wondered if he made it and
how many of the others made it. I didn't know any of their names or where they were from but I knew they were
with the 5/7 Cav. One night I got an idea to see if the 5/7 had a web site and sure enough they did. I posted a
message about that night and about the guy shot nine times. Within a week I began getting responses to my
inquiry. They wanted to know more about me and what I knew about that night. They were being careful because
there are so many "WANNABES" and they had to make sure I was on the level. I had an ace in the hole that only
someone there would know. Their Batallion Commander had also been wounded and lodaed on my ship. His leg
had been blown off below the knee. When I told them this, they knew I was who I was saying I was. They wrote to
Connie Mack and told him about me. Soon after I got an e-mail from Connie's wife saying they were the ones I was
looking for and they had been wondering about me too all these years. When I was contacted by the Shadow Of
The Blade producers, I told them I would be interested in participating if they could put myself and Connie
together. They (the producers) got very excited about my story and said this was exactly what they were trying to
convey by reuniting Vietnam vets and families and friends with a Huey flying across America. Huey 091 was loaned
to the casting crew and flown by the owners who themselves were Vietnam veteran pilots. They flew 10,000 miles
across America and recorded over 200 hours of video. It has been condensed to 100 minutes and was recently
shown at the Houston Worldfest Film Festival where it took A gold medal and won a trophy similar to an Oscar for
best picture out of over 400 entries. I am proud to have been involved with the Shadow project, but am most
excited about mine and Connie's reunion after 35 years of questions. Connie and I talk on the phone about twice a
month and plan on getting together again either here or at his home in Illinois. I urge all vets who have been
wondering what happened to someone to try whatever means it takes to get an answer to your questions. It worth
every minute of it. By the way, all seven men survived, thanks to the time that was saved by using the Huey
Helicopter to extract the wounded.
My Reunion With Connie Mack Pearson
Photo By Permission Of Photographer Sara Beal. No reproduction or copies permitted
unless pre-approved by ITSOTB or Sara Beal. Copyright Protected. Connie Mack Pearson
facing me at our reunuion.
unless pre-approved by ITSOTB or Sara Beal. Copyright Protected. Connie Mack Pearson
facing me at our reunuion.