Flying with Bill & Norm to Nam

Travel with Angels


I just read that Bill Hawkins had passed away (flown West). Bill was one of my favorite people, a big, somewhat husky fellow who always had a big smile and a story to tell.

I first met Bill on one of my first flights as a flight engineer. I was a 33 year old Navy jet jockey and Bill was a 26 year old pilot from South Carolina who had gained his experience as a general aviation pilot. We both developed a sort of mutual admiration society and enjoyed hearing the stories each of us would tell about our piloting experiences.

We were assigned to a MAC charter that the airline flew for the government flying the troops to Viet Nam. We were with a salty ole dog, WW II veteran, Captain Norm Portman. Anyway Norm did things his way. He had logged thousands of hours and he seemed to have no use for two young pilots just hired on by the airline. Pilots are taught to use check lists, Before Starting Engines, After Starting Engines, Taxi, Before Take-off and so on. Well Norm was not having any of this. He would go through his checks and then look out the window. Bill and I would read the check list to each other out loud which irked him to the point that he totally ignored us on the first leg from Travis Air Force base to Oahu , Hawaii where we would layover. The first layover was in San Francisco. We had deadheaded from New York to San Fran and then the next day we started our trip to Viet Nam.

So Norm barely said two words to us for the first two days. On layover he would disappear and not be seen again until the next day pickup at the hotel. So our third leg of our trip was an all night cargo flight departing at 1700 from Oahu and flying all night to Wake Island and then on to Okinawa. A long, long night and Norm was still keeping to himself and not saying much while Bill and I did the check lists and told our stories.

A long haul over the Pacific Ocean to Wake and we were all tiring. After unloading some cargo and taking on more fuel we headed for Okinawa. On taxi out Norm turned to Bill and in an almost inaudible low voice said "You fly us to Okinawa". Bill was a little taken aback but eagerly took his turn and did an admirable job piloting the 707-373C (even if he was a young pilot). So after five and a half hours enroute we touched down at Kadena, AFB, Okinawa, read the check lists, signed the log book and headed for the hotel.

Layover Okinawa

We were staying in a brand new hotel that had been build to handle all of the airline crews that were flying MATS charters and laying over in Kadena. So we checked in, got our room keys and headed up to our rooms. As we headed for the elevator Norm turned to the lady manager and asked, "Do you have a restaurant?" She replied quite shyly "yes, Captain" "Is `it open?", "No, Captain san". “Well open it". “Yes, Captain san”, she said bowing and a bit upset but showing true Japanese courtesy and subservience to a power figure. Norm turned to Bill and me and said, "You fellas gotta beer drinking shirt in your bag?" “Yes sir”, we replied almost in unison. "Well, get it on and I will see you down here in the restaurant in fifteen minutes". And as good pilots responsive to the Captains wishes we showed up as ordered.

So we started debriefing while consuming a fair amount of Orion beer. (I learned my first Japanese, how to order three beers, "san Orion"). The more we consumed and talked the more brazen Bill and I became. Norm was an excellent pilot but I, the lowly flight engineer, announced that I could fly that 707 as good as he could and probably even better. As Flight Engineers we did have to demonstrate our piloting abilities, after all we were not expected nor did we want to stay flight engineers forever. I did have a natural ability and could upon occasion touchdown so lightly upon landing that you didn’t know you were on the ground. So Norm took me up on the dare and said, “OK, you're flying us to Saigon.". I thought now I had done it. He was calling my bluff and I was going to have to put up or shut up. Of course this was against the rules but Norm was very convincing. So as we all laughed at the prospect of me flying the plane to Bien Hoa Airbase in Saigon the next day. So with a can you top this dare I turned to Norm and asked, “Hey Norm, you ever had a hotsy bath?” “Hell no, that’s for sissies” he roared, "Well you don’t have a hair on your ass if you don’t go with Bill and I and get a "hotsy" bath Bill looked at me quizzically and said “Yeah, Not a hair” . And so we settled up and off we went to the bath house which was just a block down the road from the hotel.

Bill and I tipped the "mamasan" who ran the bath house and told her to make sure our long lanky friend got the full treatment. So I went up for my steam and massage with my masseuse. After 10 minutes in the steam bath I was taken by my masseuse and dunked in a huge tub of hot water and she scrubbed me from head to toe. After toweling me off I was told to get on the table for my massage. What a relaxing, soothing time it was. She even walked down my back pigeon toed and with her big toes cracked each of my vertebrae. Then she sat me up and from the back she held my head between her hands and slowly massaged my temples. As my head began to sag she gave it one firm jerk to the right and I could hear the snap of the neck vertebrae. And then it was as though a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I was totally relaxed, walking on air and ready for a nap. I tipped my attendant, thanked her profusely and went down to the lobby. Bill was waiting with a smile and a satisfied look on his face. I said, "Where is Norm?" "Don't know", he said. "Maybe he finished early and went on back to the hotel. I'm whipped, let's head on back" I agreed and as we started out the door here comes Norm down the stairs, a big smile on his face, happy as a lark and thanking me for introducing him to the "Horsy" bath. I have to say if you have a grumpy ole Captain, take him for a steam bath and massage and he will be a changed man.

Norm ordered that we were to meet in the lobby at 7 and go out and get some good Japanese food at a nearby restaurant. Bill and I were somewhat tardy and reported in the lobby at about the same time. Norm was not there. We both agreed that he specified that he would be there and we would all go to dinner. So, at about 7:15 we decided to ring his room. No answer. So another ten minutes went by and up we decided to go up to his room. Bill knocked softly at first and then louder and we waited for a response but no answer. “Oh well”, I said, "he probably left without us". After all having been together for almost four days, except for the breakfast debrief, he had not socialized with us. So off we went for a bite to eat and then to bed. I was dog tired and I thought our captain surely must have been fatigued. The next morning Bill and I met for breakfast at around ten. As we were ordering breakfast Norm walked in rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and joined us. "Where were you guys, why didn't you call me for dinner last night?” We told him we had tried but oh well it was obvious the "horty" bath had taken its' toll.

A Day Off

We had a forty-eight hour layover which meant we had an extra day to spend in Kadena. The senior flight attendant organized a picnic and let us know the cockpit was invited. Norm opted to stay at the hotel and Bill and I joined the cabin crew and it was off to Ichikaway (sic) beach. This was a beach used for R and R by the US forces and since the airline was under military contract we were invited to use it. We took picnic lunches and swim suits and enjoyed the day water skiing and body surfing. Later in the afternoon we organized a volleyball game and us boys with our coed flight attendant crew played several games. As we were into our second game three big carryall camo green trucks rolled in loaded with marines just back from the battlefront in Nam. When they saw our bikini clad ladies a very loud cheer and roar of enthusiasm went up. These guys had not seen a round eyed lady in many moons. The roar and cheering was a bit scary and our female volley ballers scurried off to the bath house. Thank God the trucks did not stop.


Off to Saigon

The next day at o' dark thirty our crew gathered in the lobby for pickup to go to the airport. As we were waiting, sipping a coffee and munching on a Danish the head Geisha from the Play Boy bar downstairs arrived in the lobby a bit tipsy having just closed the bar. She spied Bill and I and exclaimed loudly, "Where were you guys last night, we missed you?" We were both red in the face for having been singled out in front of our crew. Old Norm cocked an eye toward us and with a tsk, tsk stated, "You boys were in bed by 10 weren't you?" The FA's snickered.

The big Boeing 707-331BAH roared down the runway at Kadena with Captain Norm at the helm with 186 soldiers destined for Saigon. We were at 31,000ft. all the way until about 100 miles out. Norm let us know that this approach would be a steep one, staying as high as we could for as long as we could to avoid small arms fire. So at 15 miles out, 6000 ft. from the runway end and at 140 knots, Norm called "Gear Down, Flaps 40" and he dove for the runway end. And Norm squeaked her on 1500 ft. down the runway slowed to taxi speed and turned off with lots of runway to spare. Yes sir this ole guy could fly the 707.

So we unloaded the troops, Norm and Bill went in to get the paper work for the return trip to Okinawa. I was doing post and pre-flight duties when the senior flight attendant informed me that three soldiers were not going to leave the aircraft... I summoned the MP's standing on the tarmac and we three went to the aft cabin area. There they were sitting in a row all shaking their heads negatively and repeating, "No Sir, I ain't gonna go". "You gonna go?" the one in the middle asked the one to his left. "No sir, I am definitely not getting off this plane". Well the MPs were two big, hulking guys who could have played tackle on any NFL team. They stood over the three mumbling GI's and ordered them "Up........on your feet” and they sheepishly obeyed and left the plane.

Back to Kadena

Norm and Bill came back with the flight plan, paper work and military release so we were ready to return to Kadena with a planeload of GI's. At Kadena there would be a crew change. As we were reading the check list, (Norm finally had decided to go along with Bill and I), there was the secret two knocks on the cockpit door. The senior FA announced that one of the soldiers was in shock and being administered to by two other FA's. One of the lady FA's was a nurse. So Norm announced that the distressed soldier must be removed so we could go. The medical corpsmen came on and managed to resuscitate the young soldier just enough to declare him fit to travel. So again we were dispatched by the local military authority. The doors were closed, engines started and we taxied out for takeoff.

Here again the takeoff was at a very steep angle, max angle climb to 6,000 feet to avoid small arms fire. As I recall there is a river that winds around part of the airfield. Was it the Saigon river or maybe the Dong Nam or a tributary? Anyway the Viet Cong would use the river to hide and launch rockets or fire rifles at departing and arriving military flights. Our forces continually patrolled the airfield perimeter in search of the viet cong. While I was waiting for Norm and Bill to return from Flight Ops two F4 Phantoms launched, after burners aglow, climbing to 8,000 feet and then a roll over and a steep dive aiming at a location off the runway end firing their rockets at a group of VC. At least this was what one of the military ground crew told me. He claimed it happened quite often.

So we were on our way back to Okinawa. As Norm assumed standard rate climb out of 6000 feet to cruise altitude the intercom bell dinged and it was announced that the soldier had gone back into shock. Norm ordered max speed cruise, barber pole minus 5 knots, stayed at 22,000 feet and raced to the airfield in Kadena. The control tower was told of our incapacitated soldier and it was agreed an ambulance would meet us after landing. We were not to clear the runway as the passenger steps and ambulance would meet us on the runway. I observed a masterful bit of flying by Norm...as fast as we could go for as long as possible and then a soft landing. The sick soldier was taken to the base hospital and we learned later that evening that he passed.

Another Layover

So we were scheduled for another 36 hour layover. That evening we decided to go to a nice restaurant to unwind and enjoy some local cuisine. Naturally to settle our nerves we decided we should have "happy hour" before dining. Norm waived for the bar maid to come over to our table and he ordered a round. He brusquely asked the young lady, "Do you know how to make a vodka martini? The bar maid replied quickly nodding her head "Yes, Captain" I don't know how she knew he was a Captain but it was common knowledge that flight crews ate at this particular restaurant and of the three gentlemen sitting before her he was obviously the oldest and must be the Captain. So Norm wants to know, "HOW?' She pantomimes pouring the vodka and then pouring the vermouth. Norm says a bit agitated, "that's too much vermouth". As the poor young lady was becoming upset I asked if I could make the martinis. She was eager to let me do this for her so as to please "The captain".

So after happy hour we went into the restaurant for some tasty Japanese cuisine. I can't remember what we ate but it was good and the warm sake was especially good. It was great to unwind this way and I do believe we were all beginning to bond and I know I had more respect for "our salty dog", Captain Norm.

This is not the end of the story. On our way back to the hotel we were all having a good ole time, laughing and joking. Bill had us in stitches with his Carolina wit. A short distance from the hotel Norm was looking back at Bill when he stumbled and fell into a "ben Joe" ditch. For those who don't know the locals pour all of their dirty water and slop pots into this ditch. quite messy and smelly. Bill and I quickly reached down, each grabbing an arm and pulled him to his feet and the somewhat silent night air was filled with the most colorful of all profanity. We helped Norm to his room, threw him in the shower, clothes and all, and turned on the water. We left with Norm sitting in the tub cussing a blue streak. As Bill and I headed to our rooms Bill exclaimed, "Hey Nick, we've got him now. From now on Norm will be known as 'Captain Splash'"

At Last My Leg

The next day all was well and the remainder of the trip back to the states was somewhat uneventful. I do remember our last leg from Hawaii to Travis was at night, an empty cargo flight. Norm informed me that this was definitely my leg. All through the trip I had worked with Bill and helped him to do all the paperwork. I flew almost every flight with my nose up front, occasionally checking the F/E panel. I wanted to pilot a 707 in the worst way.

So this night I did all the planning, plotted the route, determined fuel load, filed the flight plan and of course checked the weather. The forecast weather is a must to know but California weather that time of year was no problem. So it was finally my leg. I was going to get to fly that beautiful 707 to Travis AFB, of course from the right seat with Bill looking over my shoulder. I was a very happy camper.

All planning complete we went to the aircraft. Upon arrival we were met by an FAA check pilot. He was going to give Norm a check ride on the leg to Travis AFB.

Oh well, my day would come when I would pilot the plane, but not this night. I eventually moved up to F/O and got my ATP rating on the 707 in September 1967and in May 1985 became Captain on the Boeing 767 while based in St. Louis. I retired in November of 1992 flying the 767 out of New York Kennedy airport. Many, many memorable flights of which I am now writing.

I flew with some of the best........ good men and great pilots. But out of all of them two of the best were Norm Portman and Bill Hawkins. May they rest in peace............and I bet they are enjoying a "hotsy" bath somewhere out West.

Nick T. Whey, TWA Captain, Ret

The names have been changed to protect the innocent.