Info Sheet - Thomas M. "Sam" Dooling
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I was a Cobra Pilot & Scout pilot, Jan 69 End: Aug 70. Started out in the Guns (Centaur 52) then moved to the Scouts (Centaur 13) in early 70 (I actually extended to be a Scout pilot – how do you spell stupid).
Started out as a Peter pilot, then Aircraft Commander then Team Leader to IP to SIP in Cobras. Plain old pilot in Scouts.
Radio Call Sign: Centaur 52 while in Guns, Centaur 13 in Scouts (Eric "Goat" Brethen and I traded call signs when he switched to Guns)
My Nickname in the Troop was Silent Sam (then just Sam – after I started talking, nobody could shut me up.)
General Comments About My Time In The Troop: Came into the Troop on 9 Jan 69 after flight school and Cobra transition in the States. Starting out, I flew front seat in Cobras 3-4 days per week and on my off days, I’d fly door gunner for one of the Scouts (usually Tom Smith or Tom Grossi). We were still transitioning from Charlie Models to Cobras in early 69 and we were fairly “fat” on Gun pilots, so I didn’t get to fly as much as I would have liked. Finally made AC around March. I was sent to Cobra IP School in Vung Tau in May timeframe.
We lost lots of our Cobra pilots in the Spring to rotation & casualties, so CPT William E. Malinovsky, (the Gun Platoon Leader for a good part of 69) and I ended up being the only two Gun Team Leaders for 4-5 months – We switched off being 1st up at Tay Ninh and Cu Chi every other day. I remember the only time I actually saw him was when we’d change locations – we’d pass in the air along Route 1.
Later in 69 I went back to Vung Tau for Cobra SIP School – had a hard time convincing them I was there for SIP school since I was the only WO1 in the group. Made me feel real good when the Commander of the school gave me an evaluation ride on my third flight and signed me off first in the class. I spent the rest of the 2 weeks being an instructor in their IP class.
Did the Cobra thing until early 70 and seemed to end-up in the wrong place at the wrong time way too often (hence my 2 Silver Stars and 3 DFCs), so I switched over to Scouts (seemed safer). Crashed a couple, but never really hurt anyone too bad (except for some VC/NVA who were foolish enough to shoot at us). Flew the "Luv Bug" (Eric Brethen’s old bird) most of the time. Had some great crew members whose names have since escaped from my memory.
Rotated back to the States on 7 Aug 70 – as a 1st LT – one of the post card field commissions they were doing then. Flew my last Scout mission on 3 August.
Lots of other memories of the Troop and the people – but better left for another time. There were four of us who hung together from mid-69 until I left – Eric Brethen, Michael B. Wilson and Rocky Reed – thanks to Eric we all finally got hooked back up and correspond regularly.
General Comments About My Life After The Troop: I was assigned to Hunter AAF from Aug 70 to Apr 72, where I was an Aerial Gunnery Range Officer and Flight Ops Officer. Because I was a RLO with an ETS (instead of Indefinite), I was not eligible to attend any schools (like IP school for Cobras). I foolishly did not want to be Indefinite – I liked knowing when I was going to get out – another dumb move since if I would have gone indefinite, I would have spent 18-24 months as a Cobra IP and then the Army would have thrown me out with a departing gift of $30,000.
I departed Savannah with my GI Bill and a new wife in April 70. Returned to Sacramento (from whence I came) and started college the next fall. Finished an under graduate degree and realized I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, so I went to Law School instead of getting a job. In 1976 my wife and I decided to take separate paths. The same year I got recruited into the California Army National Guard as a Medevac pilot. Spent the next 20 years in the Guard (Part-timer) (Calif. [Medevac], then Hawaii [Cav Troop & Attack Batt.] then New Mexico [Medevac]) until I retired in 1996.
After Law School, I took a year “off” and moved to Hawaii to fly tour helicopters (Hughes 500s). Great way to spend a year – I also imported my then girlfriend (Linda) from California to Hawaii and we were married in 1980. Best move I ever made (the wife, not Hawaii).
We returned to California, where I worked for a couple of years as a contracts manager. Missed Hawaii, so we moved back in 1984, where I worked as a Contracting Officer for the USAF and my wife taught school. Got “Island Fever” around 1990 (actually, my wife did), so we returned to the mainland with a job for Honeywell Aerospace in Albuquerque, NM. In 1992, Linda presented me with our first child (in my 44th year) – 2nd best thing that ever happened to me – actually, tied for second, because in 1997, we were blessed with a second daughter.
In 1996, we moved to Phoenix for a different job with Honeywell. Still in PHX. Retired from Honeywell in 2016 – took a year off to completely remodel our house – then got recruited back to Honeywell as a consultant, which I continued until my wife retired in 2019. I finally retired in April 2020 – just in time for COVID.
I’ve been blessed in many ways during the past 50 plus years of “borrowed time.” My family, my health, my jobs (including being in the best flying club imaginable for 20+ years). I’ve been able to travel virtually all over the world (unfortunately, it was mostly work related) and generally had a pretty good life. Reconnected with several folks from VN – had some good visits and told some tall tales.
I’ve visited the Wall a number of times and wept for those friends whose names adorn the granite. I also visited the memorial at Punch Bowl in Hawaii where Andy Elliott (Elli-goat) is memorialized. Thanks to “Dinky”, Bruce and friends for putting this group together and maintaining such a well-thought-out webpage. Brought back lots of memories. My contact information is : tmdooling@gmail.com or 623-878-5715.