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Post by kiwirob on Feb 28, 2018 6:45:12 GMT 12
Frankly, this is yours and your mates opportunity to make the dinner list. You can even order the lobster! Lobster are called crayfish in NZ. The don't have the large pincers either.
Good luck with your enquiry, it makes interesting reading.
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Post by McFly on Mar 15, 2018 16:30:30 GMT 12
I've been talking to a mate who was SF in the 1980s. He recalls a C-5 delivering two or three Blackhawks and a pair of 500s. There were several short exercises and remembers hearing there was a hard landing. He was on a course with the parachuter training support unit at the time and did some free fall jumps from one of the Blackhawks. He's got some photos of the choppers somewhere he's trying to find. The PTSU may also still have records of the jumps and aircraft tail numbers. I'll keep digging. A good lead knowing that some para jumps were done from the Blackhawks and the Parachute Jump Instructors (PJIs) at the time should/would have recorded the tail numbers for their logbooks etc. I can pop down to the Parachute Training Support Unit (PTSU) tomorrow and hopefully take a look through their archives and see what eventuates. Additionally, there are a few of the 'older' PJIs still around that could be canvassed for their logbooks :-). PTSU had a 50th reunion back in March 2015 so there should be plenty of good contacts from that available who would have been around during the time of the 'Blackhawks'...! Hey Nightstalker, I managed to get down to the Air Force ‘Parachute Training & Support Unit’ (PTSU), and they kindly let me view their ‘Unit Histories’ including the set from 1984. Well low-and-behold - the following entries for April 19 through 22 1984 not only confirm the existence of the UH-60 Blackhawks in NZ and operating with our SF folk for Exercise Cayuse Run, but also the fact they Para Jumped from them as well.! It also included (albeit and bit grainy on this copy but the originals are very clear) two photographs of the jumpers exiting the Blackhawks taken from inside the cabin…!. I've highlighted the relevant entries for clarity. Helpful…?       |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 15, 2018 19:37:23 GMT 12
I wonder if the video recording from Sgt Rodgers' helmet camera has survived and been kept by anyone?
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Post by lesterpk on Mar 15, 2018 21:51:24 GMT 12
If you can find and contact some of the PJI's from then, their logbooks might show tail numbers, pretty sure in my jump logbook I recorded tail numbers of the Hercs and Andovers I jumped from.
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Post by nightstalker84 on Oct 3, 2023 13:38:42 GMT 12
It has been a long time since I posted about my appeal. It has had many twists and turns - and delays! I have had to resubmit it several times due to filing errors. The pandemic added another two years to the process. But now we near the end. I have finally presented all my evidence to an Appeal Hearing Officer. They have allowed me two more weeks to add to the evidence. I think I have a pretty strong circumstantial case. If anyone has any thing more to add - this is the time. One of our forum members, 'Frankly', posted that he had had a mate who recalls hearing something about a 'hard' landing when we (The American Special Ops group) were here. If anyone had/has heard of something like this happening, a signed declaration to even such a vague recollection would be gold. So, can anyone add to this story? I will post on November 11 (U.S. Veteran's Day) the results of the appeal and thus give true closure to this thread.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 3, 2023 19:25:47 GMT 12
Several people medically treated us after the incident. Who were you treated by? Was it RNZAF Base Auckland Medical staff? NZ Army Medics? Or St John Ambulance and a civilian hospital? |
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Post by nightstalker84 on Oct 4, 2023 16:02:42 GMT 12
>>Who were you treated by? Was it RNZAF Base Auckland Medical staff? NZ Army Medics? Or St John Ambulance and a civilian >>hospital?
It seemed like we were trucked to some sort of clinic that was staffed by military personnel. The facility had at least one x-ray technician, as they took a series of pictures.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 6, 2023 18:26:15 GMT 12
That was most likely RNZAF Base Whenuapai's hospital. I am told they had an x-ray machine there.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 7, 2023 8:48:56 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 7, 2023 14:33:47 GMT 12
This one was posted there by Terry Healy, who says, "Photo taken on cross runway opposite Fire station early Whenuapai 1984. still looking for further slides. You can share to the forum."  |
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Post by McFly on Oct 7, 2023 15:09:42 GMT 12
It has been a long time since I posted about my appeal. It has had many twists and turns - and delays! I have had to resubmit it several times due to filing errors. The pandemic added another two years to the process. But now we near the end. I have finally presented all my evidence to an Appeal Hearing Officer. They have allowed me two more weeks to add to the evidence. I think I have a pretty strong circumstantial case. If anyone has anything more to add - this is the time. One of our forum members, 'Frankly', posted that he had had a mate who recalls hearing something about a 'hard' landing when we (The American Special Ops group) were here. If anyone had/has heard of something like this happening, a signed declaration to even such a vague recollection would be gold. So, can anyone add to this story? I will post on November 11 (U.S. Veteran's Day) the results of the appeal and thus give true closure to this thread. Welcome back Norm - that was a long (5 years) lunch break you took..! Was worried you had been paid a visit by a Govt vehicle with men in dark suits (G-Men) wanting to know what your interest in New Zealand was back in 1984, and perhaps sending you away for some reassimilation conditioning..?  And looks like "Black Hawk Down at Whenuapai" Part 2 is spiking some additional interest and information/photos etc.. |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 7, 2023 19:49:20 GMT 12
I have updated my post above with loads more photos from Peter Wilson, 29 in total.
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Post by nightstalker84 on Oct 8, 2023 1:01:10 GMT 12
It has been a long time since I posted about my appeal. It has had many twists and turns - and delays! I have had to resubmit it several times due to filing errors. The pandemic added another two years to the process. But now we near the end. I have finally presented all my evidence to an Appeal Hearing Officer. They have allowed me two more weeks to add to the evidence. I think I have a pretty strong circumstantial case. If anyone has anything more to add - this is the time. One of our forum members, 'Frankly', posted that he had had a mate who recalls hearing something about a 'hard' landing when we (The American Special Ops group) were here. If anyone had/has heard of something like this happening, a signed declaration to even such a vague recollection would be gold. So, can anyone add to this story? I will post on November 11 (U.S. Veteran's Day) the results of the appeal and thus give true closure to this thread. Welcome back Norm - that was a long (5 years) lunch break you took..! Was worried you had been paid a visit by a Govt vehicle with men in dark suits (G-Men) wanting to know what your interest in New Zealand was back in 1984, and perhaps sending you away for some reassimilation conditioning..? And looks like "Black Hawk Down at Whenuapai" Part 2 is spiking some additional interest and information/photos etc.. |
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Post by nightstalker84 on Oct 8, 2023 1:02:46 GMT 12
Yes, well of course that also happened - but I am not supposed to speak of it. |
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Post by McFly on Oct 8, 2023 8:55:46 GMT 12
'Night Stalker MH-60M Black Hawk Spotted In Blue Camouflage' While we're working on dissecting the latest batch of photos from Pete Wilson, here's a pic of the latest exotic blue camouflage scheme for the Army’s 160th SOAR Black Hawks. - Norm are you a fan of this..?  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 8, 2023 11:40:25 GMT 12
Thank you Peter and Dave, seeing all those photos made my day! How cool!
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Post by ErrolC on Oct 8, 2023 20:25:32 GMT 12
Thank you Peter and Dave, seeing all those photos made my day! How cool! Hear hear! Brought back memories of seeing the C-5 rise out of the mist. |
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Post by McFly on Oct 9, 2023 11:02:36 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 9, 2023 15:33:12 GMT 12
I hope these are useful to Nighthawk's case.
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Post by nightstalker84 on Dec 8, 2023 10:39:54 GMT 12
So, November 11 came and went. I had told you that I would post the results of the Hearing at that time. I was originally told that I would receive a decision (drop dead) no later than November 1 - so I gave myself some padding. Of course, that was not enough wiggle room. Instead of getting a decision, I got a visit from an 'Advocate'. It turns out that it is not unusual for a claimant, like me, to have a narrative at odds with official military documentation. The 'Advocate' pointed out that that was almost always an easy call for the Veterans Administration Review Board - Denial of Claim. It IS unusual for such a claimant to file evidence contradicting official military documents. Those documents say that Blackhawk 79-23336 crashed in March 1984 in Minnesota, while within the TO&E of the Minnesota National Guard. Though I did not have direct evidence of the crash, the WONZ community was able to convincingly show that 79-23336 was intact in May 1984. Just before my crash. Because the evidence was contradictory, I was given an opportunity to withdraw my claim (lest I be pursued for fraud). I declined to withdraw my (OUR) claim. On the 'Day of Infamy', December 7, I received their decision. My Claims have been granted! I spoke to the 'Advocate' an hour ago. It seems the Board had two options. Firstly, they could grant my claim, or secondly, they could refer the matter to the U.S. Army's Special Forces Liaison. The 'Advocate' said the Board opted for the former, because, "You don't ask questions you don't really want the answers to!"
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. I’ll ask Pete if I can do a high-res scan and see if there’s more/clearer detail from that. 
