Info Sheet - Bruce W. Sikkema
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I got there in Dec 69 and left in Jun 71. I was with D Troop and then F Troop the whole time except for the last month. The last month I flew under the "Playboy" call sign and did some long range flights into Cambodia covering ARVN's...memories foggy as I don't recall the unit I was assigned to that last month...then again that whole last month was wierd. We were flying so deep we could only stay on station for 5 minutes before getting relieved by a second gun team that was 5 minutes behind us. F Troop was getting ready for a big move and I was down to my last month so I got hooked up with this group for 30 days...might have been the 334th AHC?
Was assigned Cobra 776 around April of 70. No name on aircraft then. The crew chief was changed at that time. Don't remember the name of the new crew chief or the old crew chief but the old one was black. Dan Coles took over as crew chief at a later date. My memory isn't what it used to be!
Named 776 Betty Boobs. Changed it to Undertaker and extended 6 months.
It was noted somewhere that the pilot of "The Undertaker" aircraft 776 died and the aircraft wrecked when the pilot tried to do a roll. That was my aircraft and it was taken out of service around May of 71 because the engine deck was beginning to separate and come apart. Dan Coles was the Crew Chief. It is on display at Fort Irwin CA.
In the Cobra Wingover story the CW2 in the front seat was CW2 Ray Stanton. (After Stanton got out, he became an aviation safety instructor. He used the photos of the Sikkema’s Cobra wingover as an example of what not to do with a helicopter.)