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Fellow soldiers recall friendly, gentle comrade
By MATTHEW WAITE, Times Staff Writer
Will Robertson looks at Harry Thain's name every day, every time he walks into his living room, where a rubbing of Thain's name from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial rests on his mantle. "I've never been able to go to the wall myself," said Robertson, himself a veteran. He and Thain were in the same helicopter pilot training class, spending months with each other at Fort Walters in Texas and Fort Rucker in Alabama. Thain, of Zephyrhills, died May 24, 1972, at the age of 27 at Thua Thien in Vietnam. His friends heard secondhand that Thain's helicopter -- a Chinook CH-47 called the Big Windy -- was hit by a rocket. Many in Thain's flight class remember him fondly and keep his memory close. Several have posted memorials to Thain on Internet virtual Vietnam walls. From when the men were first divided into classes, Robertson, Thain and several others started getting together to study and socialize. "Friendly fellow," Robertson said. Most of the time, guys in the U.S. Army get to know each other so they can tell if that person is someone they can trust in combat. Robertson said every one knew Thain was "a guy you could count on." Thain was thin, not very tall, with chiseled features. His friends remember him having a wry sense of humor, though he was much quieter than his pilot comrades. "Harry was a gentle man," said Tom Keating, a pilot training classmate of Thain's. "There was no bravado about Harry. He did not beat his chest." Thain was also one of the few who had already been to Vietnam. After a year in Vietnam in the Army, Thain went back to the United States to become a pilot. "Harry did not have to go back to Vietnam," Keating said. "He chose to go back. He did have a deep feeling for the cause." Most in the group were married -- several had small children -- and during their training at Fort Rucker, they all lived in the same mobile home park in Enterprise, Ala. Harry was the lone bachelor, and the wives adopted him. "All the ladies liked to mother Harry," Robertson said. "He was at someone's trailer for dinner every night." Emily Robertson remembers when Thain came over after she had given birth to the Robertson's son, David. She was playing with the baby when Thain said something she'll never forget. "You know, Willie (Robertson) has everything to live for," Emily Robertson recalled Thain saying. "He has you, and he has David. If I could, I would take his place." Will Robertson believes in some respects that Thain did die in his stead. About the same time Thain died, Robertson said he had his own close call. Flying an unarmed helicopter, Robertson came across some soldiers in trouble. They were being attacked and needed quick evacuation. Robertson knew if he went in there to get those soldiers, chances are he wasn't coming back. But he started to go anyway. Before he could get there, another gunship came in the area, went in and got the men out. Robertson came home, Thain didn't. And Robertson will never forget Thain. "The freedom that we have is not something that comes without a price," Robertson said. "There is a price for being free. "Harry is now a part of that league of men and women who have bought a period of freedom." -- Matthew Waite can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6247, or toll free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6247. His e-mail address is waite@sptimes.com .
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