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 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.
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 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.
copies permitted unless pre-approved by ITSOTB or Sara Beal. Copyright
Protected. Connie Mack Pearson facing me at our reunuion.
