Adventures of a Helicopter Pilot

Flying the H-34 in Vietnam for the United States Marine Corps. By Patty Hutchens. Photo courtesy of Bill Collier.

As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. Sandpoint resident Bill Collier is hoping that the words inspired by the multitude of photos he took in Vietnam will help to tell a story. A story that has been 24 ½ years in the writing.

For 32 years Collier enjoyed a career as a helicopter pilot, flying all over the world and seeing places he never dreamed of as a child growing up in Sonoma, CA. But it is his experiences during his 4 ½ years on active duty as a U.S. Marine, 13 months of that in Vietnam, that he is eager to share. He just completed his first book, Adventures of a Helicopter Pilot, which will be published this month.

While serving in Vietnam during the mid-1960s Collier flew many missions, including battles near the DMZ (demilitarized zone), and estimates that he evacuated approximately 375 wounded Marines. “We never received feedback as to whether they lived or died,” said Collier.

One rescue mission that stands out strongly in Collier’s mind took place during a nighttime medical evacuation. He had been in Vietnam only a month and was co-pilot for a senior officer. From above, all they could see were the enemy green tracers and the Marine’s red tracers as the combatants shot at each other. It was difficult to hover above their target due to 90-foot high trees and the almost total darkness. When his aircraft commander asked Collier to turn on the hover/flood lights, Collier knew his life was over. “I knew that the moment I turned on that light I was going to die, but our creed was, ‘Death before dishonor.’ I was given an order I had to follow it,” said Collier. Miraculously, the fighting stopped for at least 90 seconds while they retrieved the litter basket with the badly wounded Marine and then departed, happy to turn off their lights.

Collier again knew he was headed for danger when he and friends met some women in a bar in the Philippines. “They told us they knew where we were headed next, yet our commanding officer didn’t know,” said Collier. It was a few days later, during a secret briefing in the middle of the ocean on board the aircraft carrier, that they were told the next destination. The women were correct. “Something was not right when these women knew the locale of our next operation.” It was then Collier decided to avoid flying for that operation. He volunteered to fill in as a Forward Air Controller for one that had become ill in the Philippines. “Being on the ground surrounded by a battalion of Marines did not prove to be any safer. I was almost killed 6 times in 13 days,” said Collier.

But what Collier took away from Vietnam affected him for several decades--Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It was the stress of the war that caused him to move 50 times over the course of the following 27 years and to change jobs 80 times. Relationships? Those were difficult as well. “I could not take any type of confrontation, however slight,” said Collier. “Any stress triggered the ‘fight or flight’ syndrome, and I always chose flight.”

In 1994 he met a warm, compassionate woman who had her degree in psychology. She encouraged Bill to get counseling, something he had avoided for years due to the cost. But when he found free counseling available through the Veterans Administration, he began his journey of healing. The woman who changed his life, Carla, has been by his side since.

“I want to share my story (of PTSD) so that maybe I can help another vet,” said Collier. Each year he and two other veterans visit history classes at Sandpoint High School to share their experiences and answer the students’ questions. “We have a lot of fun doing that; it is very satisfying and healing to tell our stories to the students,” he said. But the greatest reward of all comes with knowing he saved many lives. “It was our belief that the best medal was a live Marine’s smile,” said Collier.

Collier’s book, Adventures of a Helicopter Pilot, Flying the H-34 in Vietnam for the United States Marine Corps, is available on Amazon.com as well as through Keokee in Sandpoint. After flying for the Marine Corps in Vietnam, Collier then flew another 30 months in the war in Laos for Air America, the air arm of the CIA. This will be the subject of his next book. Collier is also project manager of the H-34 “Charlie” helicopter restoration project. The old beast will lead the 4th of July Parade again this year.

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