23 Table of Organization and Equipment, a detailed document that spells out exactly what type and amount of equipment each unit is authorized to have as well as the number of personnel by rank.
24 Sam got out of Vietnam before it fell to the North Vietnamese. As of the author’s last contact with her, she was living in Enterprise, Alabama.
25 Frequently nine was pronounced as niner.
26 The OH-6A was given to US Army National Guard units through the 1970s. Today, it has the designation of MD or MH-6 and is manufactured by Boeing Aircraft Corporation. Although similar in appearance to the OH-6A, the MD/MH-6 aircraft should be considered an OH-6A on steroids. It is only found in special operation aviation units today.
27 The bodies of those flight crews were never recovered and are listed today as missing in action.
28 The South Vietnamese police were referred to as the White Mice due to their all white uniforms. Many were North Vietnamese sympathizers if not current Viet Cong.
29 Stand-to is a common Army term to denote that everyone should be fully equipped and ready for action just prior to sunrise.
30 Dai-uy translates to Captain and is pronounced Di We.
31 SITREP acronym for Situation Report.
32 Mike returned to civilian life and became a Captain on the Sacramento Fire Department.
33 WO1 Roger Reid’s body, along with those of the three US advisors from the 22 MACV Advisor team, were recovered several days later.
34 The AN/PRC 77 radio replaced the AN/PRC25 radio in Vietnam for US forces in 1968.
35 Lieutenant Brian Thacker would remain in the vicinity of Firebase Six for several days, adjusting artillery fire on the overrun firebase. For his actions, he received the Congressional Medal of Honor.
36 Lieutenant Thacker stayed eight days around Firebase Six, hiding from the NVA and adjusting artillery fire.
37 Depending on the source, the number of pilots killed varies as deaths from both Dewey Canyon and Lam Son 719 are sometimes combined. It is sufficient to say that the death toll was much higher than anything that had been experienced in the past.
38 An excellent book that covers the events prior to and during the operation in Lam Son 719 is Invasion of Laos, 1971: Lam Son 719 (University of Oklahoma Press, 2014) by Robert D. Sander.
39 Lieutenant colonels are referred to as colonel, although they are a step below colonel.