The following photograph of LZ Lolo was on the cover of the 1994 edition of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association (VHPA) Membership Directory. Following the first color photo, taken two days after the initial assault, there is an explanation of what is in the photo, followed with an annotated black-and-white reproduction of the photo.
VHPA member Mike Sloniker has spent countless hours searching Cliff
Whiting's pictures of FSB LOLO, which were most likely taken on the afternoon of March 5,
1971. Mike talked to over 20 "LOLO veterans, listened to tapes of radio
transmissions, collected copies of a dozen "LOLO photos, consulted Defense
Intelligence Agency material and the VHPA KIA/MIA database, and read numerous After-Action
reports. The notes on this page summarize the events of March 3rd -- the initial assault
of LZ LOLO.
A -- WO Gary Arne, Rattler 23, 71st AHC, flew UH-1 H #67-17269, the first aircraft shot
down. He was Chalk 2 in the initial assault. The tail rotor was shot out on final, he lost
hydraulics, and the engine quit. The Huey was skewered on a broken tree. The crew was
evacuated that afternoon.
B -- 71st AHC, UH-lH #69-15358, was Chalk 4 in the initial assault and the second aircraft
shot down. The CE was Will Fortenberry but the names of the other crew members are not
known.
C -- WO Robert Morris, Comanchero 39, A/1 01 AHB, flew the third aircraft that was forced
down during the initial assault. The aircraft caught fire after they had dropped off the
ARVN troops. Knowing there were no friendly bases nearby, Morris returned to LOLO. They
were streaming fuel and had other battle damage when they landed but the fire had gone
out. Many believe this Huey was retrieved from LOLO on the 5th or the 6th. The crew was
evacuated that afternoon.
D -- CW2 John Gale, Comanchero 14, A/101 AHB, flew UH-1H #67-17720, the fourth aircraft
shot down. He was Chalk 18 (the 8th Comanchero) in the assault. They took heavy fire,
especially on the right side, during the approach and caught fire. CPT Gerald Crews, the
copilot on this ship, was a former Special Forces officer and helped organize the ARVN,
the artillery, and air strikes around the base. SP4 Boop, the CE, took several photos on
LOLO including a striking series of three showing 720 burning.
E -- WO Manuel Catzoela, a Lancer, B/1 58 AHB, flew the fifth UH-1H downed on LOLO. His
aircraft was hit by an RPG as they started to leave the LZ and burned rather quickly. 1LT
Charles R. Anderson, the copilot, was hit in the head by the main rotor and died on the
spot as he left the aircraft and started running toward the trench. Their CE, possibly SP4
Paul Sgambati, received a serious head wound during the approach. He was unconscious when
they crashed, was evacuated that afternoon, but died soon thereafter. They were the only
LOLO fatalities.
F -- A CH-47 landing to lavender smoke with possibly the sixth 105mm howitzer.
G -- The 174th AHC's gun platoon, the Sharks, lost two UH-I Cs, #66-15094 and #66-15169
during action near LOLO. Most everyone involved believe the gunships crashed on the face
of the escarpment and not on LOLO. The only explanation for this white area is that a bomb
had shattered one of the boulders.