Tray 5 of 8 · 35 Slides

Vinh Long, "Lucky Gold"

SP4 WIL SCHAEFER · 45TH MED DET · DATE UNCONFIRMED

A weather-delayed mission — grounded on the flight line by rain, boots stuck in mud, a takeoff abandoned, then finally airborne under clearing skies and a rainbow. On the ground at Vinh Long, a fully legible unit sign for the 73rd Aviation Company, and a wounded ARVN soldier being treated — his own medical work, documented directly. Closes with the same "continued next reel" handoff seen elsewhere in the collection.

#2
"House Modern"

Ground-level: a long, metal-roofed building among palm trees under heavy storm clouds, matching a "modern" construction style compared to traditional thatch.

#3
"Foliage"

Trees against a heavy, clouded sky.

#4
"Palm Tree"

A palm silhouette against building storm clouds.

#5
"Rain coming again"

Dark clouds gathering.

#6
"Rain"

A tree line, hazy with falling rain.

#7
"Rlt Live Rain"

Helicopters parked on the strip, rain coming down — likely "Flight Line" as written.

#8
"Starting to leave"

Shot through the aircraft door, the flight line beyond.

#9
"Couldn't do it"

The same flight line, three UH-1s still grounded — a takeoff attempt abandoned, likely to weather. A yellow flight-line tow tractor sits in the foreground, a soldier at the wheel.

#10
"Ever present mud"

Boots, close up, standing in a muddy puddle.

#11
"Rain on the way back"

Dramatic storm clouds, shot from the air.

#12
"Puddles"

Aerial over wet, waterlogged terrain.

#13
"Grw River"

A river, banks clearly visible on both sides, genuinely blue-green water, matching "Green River" as written.

#14
"Low Clios, River Frm Nowwere"

A CH-21 clearly visible in flight against low, heavy clouds, a second aircraft's rotor just visible at frame edge — a winding river far below. "Low Clouds, River From Nowhere" as best read.

#15
"Paddies starting to fill up"

A striking aerial pattern of flooding rice paddies.

#16
"Grw at Edges"

Aerial over fields, a road cutting through.

uncertain — likely "Green at Edges"
#17
"Last rays glinting frm H2o"

Shot from inside the cabin, door gunner in silhouette against a bright, reflective sky.

#18
"Last rays glinting frm H2o"

A winding river catching the light below.

#19
"Last rays glinting frm H2o roof"

Aerial, light glinting off water and rooftops in the dark terrain below.

#20
"Last one in is a rotton egg"

A Vietnamese village, houses lining a road, not a US base — reads like they're racing each other back over the village en route home.

#21
"Home"

Storm clouds on the way back.

#22
"Still vigilent over base"

Aerial over the base at dusk.

Title card
#86
Title card

Opens the tray: "Vinh Long, 'Lucky Gold.'" Handwritten, pink ground.

#87
"River To Vinh Long"

Aerial over a winding river en route.

#88
"Rain Bow"

A rainbow over the fields — the weather clearing after the earlier rain-delayed departure.

#89
"Landing Washed Air"

Ground level, a muddy road beside a marshy pond, another faint rainbow visible in the sky — same weather clearing as #88.

Conex "73rd"
#90
"Conex "73rd""

A unit sign, fully legible: "73rd AVN CO, Vinh-Long, 1st & 4th Section Platoon, 9th Div." The clearest, most directly confirmable unit identification anywhere in this collection.

#91
"21, Troops, BK UH-B"

His title decodes cleanly against the photo: a CH-21 ("21") lifting off, armed troops ("Troops") sitting on the ground, and a row of UH-1Bs marked "ARMY" parked in the background ("BK UH-B").

#92
"Troops"

A genuinely large formation — several dozen soldiers, silhouetted, weapons visible, standing in a muddy field under a heavy sky.

#93
"57mm Recoiless Rifle"

A recoilless rifle on its tripod mount, soldiers seated around it, helmets set down nearby — a rest stop, weapon close in frame.

#94
"Aid Sec"

Same different-format shape seen elsewhere in the collection, not an irregular print — a Red Cross flag and two helicopters.

#96
"Wonded ARVN"

A wounded ARVN soldier on a stretcher, a triage tag visible on his chest, a splint being applied to his leg. An Air Force first-aid dressing kit sits nearby, Red Cross marked. This is his medical work, documented directly and closely.

#97
"Flowers"

Yellow flowers among green brush.

#98
"Guard Myself +"

Two men at a defensive position along a barbed-wire perimeter fence, one aiming a weapon over a dirt berm — him on the left, matching the "+" for the second man.

#99
"Reeds"

Tall reeds against a clouded sky.

#100
"Cont #3 Reel"

His own note marking the transition to the next physical reel — the same handoff pattern seen at slide 100 in other trays.