Born to Aubrey and Marie Hutcherson in Santa Anna, Texas in 1948, Johnny, the middle son of three, was always the family diplomat. Jim, Johnny and Jack’s father set an excellent example for his sons, having served stateside in the U.S. Army Infantry after being drafted in WWII.

Johnny was drafted in December 1967 in Dumas, Texas and when he joined basic training at Ft. Polk, LA a month later, like the other recruits, he was designated E-1, the lowest possible rank in the U.S. military. Infantry training followed bootcamp, and partway through training at Ft. Polk, Johnny was selected to advance to basic aviation helicopter mechanics school in Ft. Rucker, AL. After completion of the course, with absolutely no hands-on training with any model of helicopter, the newly ranked PFC Hutcherson received overseas combat orders.

PFC Johnny Hutcherson arrived in Tan Son Nhut Air Base in Saigon, South Vietnam along with 150 other Army replacements on June 20, 1968, only six months after being drafted. He was assigned to the 9th Infantry Division, 3rd Squadron of the 5th Air Cavalry Regiment (3/5 Cav), and introduced to four OH-6 Cayuse (nicknamed “Loach” from LOH – Light Observation Helicopter) single-rotor observation helicopters, five Bell UH-1D helicopters known as “Hueys” and four AH-1G Cobra gunships, the world’s first dedicated attack helicopter. The stated mission was reconnaissance for the Infantry Division.

Hutcherson was assigned to a UH-1D Huey, call sign Long Knife Two-One, as a door gunner responsible for an M-60 machine gun that fired 7.62 mm rounds. The four-man Huey crew consisted of a pilot, co-pilot, crew chief and door gunner; they were typically tasked with transporting six infantry soldiers to a “hot zone” to engage the Viet Cong (V.C.), who were farmers by day and guerrilla warfare fighters by night. The Huey crew’s usual assignment was to drop the six infantrymen into a landing zone (L.Z.), then return to the air and circle pending the enemy engagement.

September 26, 1968, which was to become a memorable day, started early for the four-man Huey crew plus two specialized Chemical Corps soldiers as they flew a preliminary “Sniffer Mission,” employing special “People Sniffer” equipment capable of locating humans through biometrics, sampling the air at treetop level. After confirming enemy activity, the Huey crew dropped CS gas (teargas) canisters into the jungle to drive the V.C. into the open. Unfortunately, the enemy was not impacted, as the wind carried the gas to nearby on-the-ground American Infantry personnel. After returning to base to refuel and offload the “Sniffer” operators and their equipment, the Huey returned and circled the deployed U.S. troops.

At 1300 hours, they were ordered into standby mode, which entailed hovering at 500’ above the area known to have a conflict. Their mission was to provide pickup of wounded. Shortly after, the call came in, “Medivac needed!” The Long Knife Two-One pilot responded, “I’ve got it!” The Huey descended and maneuvered to pick up one wounded soldier, then hovered just off the ground, and moved 100 yards east to pick up two more wounded soldiers. After the three wounded men were loaded successfully, the Huey received enemy fire. The pilot was hit in the leg, and Hutcherson was hit, too but thankfully his ballistic vest protected him. The co-pilot took control and as the Huey was flying at high speed at low altitude, an incoming radio communication blared, “Long Knife Two-One, you are ON FIRE!” The nose landing gear of the helicopter hit a rice dike and the aircraft proceeded to cartwheel tail over nose with the rotors striking the ground. Hutcherson was thrown from the still airborne helicopter, and when the copter came to rest, Hutcherson crawled over to help an infantryman with chest gunshot wounds. The pilot and co-pilot both survived, and while under heavy fire, the co-pilot recovered the emergency radio and Hutcherson secured his M-60; together they moved the wounded away from the downed copter.

An airborne troop commander called for an airstrike after Hutcherson and his fellow soldiers had moved to safety. Two U.S. Air Force jets were deployed and showered the enemy occupied area with what is believed to have been two 500 lb Napalm bombs. (Napalm is a flammable jelly, a Vaseline- like material designed to stick and burn its victims). After several attempts, and after dark, a Huey appeared on the horizon; it landed and extracted the three wounded infantrymen and the four Long Knife Two-One crewmembers. With the four Huey crewmembers and the additional seven people they rescued, the aircraft was overweight and low on fuel, however, they were able to make it to a refueling station safely and offload the wounded.

By the end of his tour, Hutcherson’s troop had lost over twenty of his fellow soldiers, five Hueys, seven Loaches and two Cobras due to combat engagements. All of this took place in a very short but dramatic timeframe, June 1968 to July 1969.

Johnny and his wife, Theresa, married before his deployment and they will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in June 2026. They reside in Fredericksburg and attend the Church of Christ. They have four children, Brannon, Dustin, Heather and Johnna.

Story told by Johnny Hutcherson to Randy Briley