What They Don’t Tell You About Being a Door Gunner in Vietnam

In this episode of Ask A Vet, we sit down with Vietnam Veteran Ernest, whose two back-to-back tours as a Huey door gunner took him from avoiding the draft… to becoming the man everyone in his unit depended on.

Ernest shares unbelievable stories: being shot down four times, falling 100 feet from a helicopter into a rice paddy, saving his pilot’s life, living 50 yards from the South China Sea, water-skiing in a war zone, and fighting in some of the most chaotic conditions imaginable.

Ernest’s perspective on service, survival, friendship, and finally being honored decades later on an Honor Flight is something every American needs to hear. If this episode impacted you, please subscribe and help us continue documenting the stories of the heroes who served.

Chapters:

01:10 – Background & Avoiding the Draft

06:30 – Basic Training at Fort Jackson

10:05 – Arriving in Vietnam

12:00 – MOS Changed Overnight After Base Attack

13:35 – Becoming a Door Gunner

16:15 – Building a Hooch by the Sea

18:00 – Water-Skiing in a War Zone

20:25 – Shot Down Multiple Times

23:40 – Saving His Pilot’s Life

27:50 – Missions Across Vietnam

31:00 – Falling Out of a Helicopter

34:45 – First Combat Mission & Melting the Gun

38:00 – Daily Life

45:00 – Re-upping & Serving a Second Tour

48:30 – Coming Home to Hostility

50:20 – The Honor Flight That Finally Healed Something

54:40 – Life After the War & Reflections