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In April 1968, Associated Press photographer Art Greenspon took a
photograph widely considered to be one of the most telling photos of
the Vietnam War that is now titled “Help From Above.” Embedded with
the Soldiers of Company A, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment,
101st Airborne Division, Greenspon caught the moment after an ambush
where Soldiers from the company were moving casualties to a landing
zone to be evacuated. Among other honors, the image inspired the
poster for the Vietnam War Movie ‘Platoon' and graces the covers
books and front pages of newspapers. For 49 years, few have known
the stories of the Soldiers that Greenspon photographed that day, or
their fates.
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A copy of "Help From Above", which hangs in the headquarters of
2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division(Air
Assault). The photo was donated by Art Greenspon to the 101st when
he was inducted as an honorary member of the 327th Infantry Regiment
in 2014. Greenspon identified the names and positions of the
Soldiers in the photo. Sgt. Maj Watson Baldwin stands with his hands
raised signaling to a helicopter. Spc. 4 Dallas Brown lays on the
ground grimacing in pain. Sgt. Tim Wintenburg, helmetless on the far
right, glances back at the camera. (Original Photo by Art Greenspon,
Associated Press, April, 1968. (U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Daniel
Johnson enhanced by USA Patriotism!)
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“Early that morning, Company A moved forward on a search
and destroy operation,” said retired Col. Tom Sewell, who
was a first lieutenant and platoon leader in Company A at
the time. “As we were moving forward, the platoon behind us
made contact with the enemy; we held our position in order
to care for the wounded Soldiers from the other platoon. In
the process, we set up an LZ and began withdrawing the
injured.”
The subject of the photograph, Sgt. Maj.
Watson Baldwin, who was a staff sergeant at the time and
Sewell’s platoon sergeant,, stands with his arms
outstretched in the air signaling the incoming aircraft. On
the ground lays Spc. 4 Dallas Brown, writhing in pain. In
the far right, a helmetless Soldier, Sgt. Tim Witenburg,
glances back toward the camera as he carries a wounded
comrade. Their company commander at the time, Cpt. Jay Cope
was also identified as the figure standing looking up with
maps on his fatigues. Baldwin passed away in 2005, but in
interviews conducted recently, Winteburg, Brown, and Sewell
spoke about their experiences before, during, and after the
war. This was the first time that all three of the men had
been interviewed.
“I graduated from high school in
1964 and went to work with my father,” said Sewell. “During
the Christmas holidays, 1965, I received a letter from Uncle
Sam stating ‘you have been selected to serve your Country’
and entered the Army in January 1966. As I was in-processing
for basic training, I attended a briefing for Officer
Candidate School [and] decided to apply during basic
training. I arrived in Vietnam late January 1968, the
beginning of the Tet Offensive.”
Dallas Brown, a
Mount Juliet, Tennessee native, was inspired by the famous
ballad of the Green Beret to enlist. He decided he wanted to
be a paratrooper.
“About six of us from my high
school decided we were going to go into the Army.” said
Brown. “Two of us got to go airborne. I attended Fort
Benning for basic training, Fort Gordon for airborne
training. After a short time at Fort Bragg, I was assigned
to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell. At the end
of Expert Infantrymen Badge testing there, they called us
together and told us they had a list of guys who would be
going to get their Combat Infantryman Badge in an
undisclosed location in Southeast Asia. I was the first name
on the list.”
Tim Witenburg was a Los Angeles,
California native who joined the Army partly to stay out of
trouble. An athlete, the physical aspects of the military
drew him in.
“My brother convinced me to go down to
the recruiter’s office,” said Witenburg. “A lot of the jobs
didn’t interest me, but I saw a picture of a paratrooper
behind the recruiter’s desk and he noticed I was big into
football and weight training back then and he said I’d make
good airborne material.”
“My first duty station was
Fort Bragg before Fort Campbell,” said Wintenburg. “It was a
real eye opener because there were a bunch of us what were
called ‘cherries’ – those who had not been to combat. I went
to the first sergeant and told him I wanted to go to
Vietnam. He chuckled and told me we were all going anyway,
so don’t worry about it.”
All three Soldiers ended up
assigned to Company A, 2-327, a battalion in the 1st Brigade
[Separate] of the 101st Airborne Division. The 1st Brigade,
which consisted of 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment;
2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment and 2-327, had
arrived in Vietnam in 1965 before all the other elements of
the division, who arrived in 1967.
In April of 1968
1st Brigade was in the A Shau Valley near the border of
Laos, blocking enemy activity from entering South Vietnam
along the Ho Chi Minh trail. The war was at its height with
the constant contact between U.S., NVA, and VC forces.
Called the “valley of death” by troops fighting there, the
fighting was some of toughest of the war at the time.
Art Greenspon embedded with the unit in late April. On
the day “Help From Above” was taken, Company A was tasked to
assist Company C of the 2-327. As they moved out to
reinforce their fellow Screaming Eagles, they made contact
with the enemy.
“There was a major trail and we had
to set up a perimeter for security as the company moved
through,” said Brown. “I was sitting on my rucksack eating
while we waited and I noticed a tree moving. I readied my
M16 and NVA regulars began to emerge.”
A firefight
soon ensued between A Company and the NVA and multiple
Soldiers were hit. Brown himself narrowly escaped being shot
in the battle, but suffered an injury to his back which
caused him to be grimacing in pain when “Help From Above”
was taken..
“As I was reloading,” said Brown. “One of
them started to shoot at me. I could see clouds of dirt
jumping as the bullets hit and I barely dove out of the way.
I got up and started moving up the hill towards the command
post.”
As the battle raged, the men of Company A
moved to a hasty LZ they set up in the jungle after the
Soldiers hacked the foliage down so that a basket could be
dropped from the air for the casualties. It was during this
time that Greenspon snapped “Help From Above.”
“I was
in the point platoon and in the ambush a couple of guys
behind me got wounded,” said Witenburg. “That’s who we were
carrying when the photo was taken, and I had lost my helmet
on the way to the landing zone due to all the action going
on. I remember Art Greenspon was on one knee crouching and I
had a strange feeling that something was behind us looking.
As I turned to glance back, he took the photo.”
Sgt.
Maj. Baldwin was signaling to the aircraft where to drop a
basket for the wounded the moment the photo was taken. His
striking pose, along with those of the Soldiers around him,
was soon internationally famous.
“Watson Baldwin was
the finest platoon sergeant I had when I was in the Army,”
said Wintenburg. “He was a lead-by-example type of guy,
always up front leading the way and making sure we were
doing the right thing. Baldwin was also very compassionate.
He did two tours in Vietnam and retired as a sergeant major.
After the war he went into trucking before he passed away.”
The image was soon on the front page of papers worldwide
– an unfiltered image of the conflict. The Soldiers in A Co.
didn’t know about it until a while after it made the news.
“Several weeks later I received a letter from my
parents in Maryland with a newspaper article and picture
enclosed with the caption A Co, 101st Airborne Division,”
said Sewell. “My mother wrote, ‘this is why we worry about
you.’ My written response to her was ‘don't you even
recognize your son?’”
He acquired more copies of the
photo and passed it out to Soldiers in his platoon where
most of them stashed it away for their return to the United
States. The conflict continued, but by 1969 Sewell, Brown,
and Witenburg had completed their tours and returned home.
Sewell would return to Vietnam once more in 1971 as part
of the 101st Airborne Division, serving until the division’s
role in the conflict ended a year. The officer would
continue to serve for 24 more years after the conflict
retiring in 1996 at the rank of Colonel. The retired Soldier
is now head of the Screaming Eagle foundation, which assists
Soldiers and their families from the 101st Airborne
Division.
“Considering that I came from a very small
town in Maryland, I feel my career was very successful and I
am proud to have served our country.” said Sewell. “The most
memorable moments in my Army career came from leading and
serving with the greatest division in the world – the
Screaming Eagles. The Army gave me the opportunity to
explore and serve with the greatest Soldiers in the world,
and that’s why I wanted to continue serving and helping them
after I retired.”
Brown and Witenburg processed out
of the Army soon after their return and soon joined the
civilian workforce. Both men have enjoyed successful careers
and are now retired.
Each of the former Soldiers is
proud of their service and continue to be active with the
101st and the veterans’ community. In 2014, the three
Soldiers and other veterans of the unit visited Fort
Campbell and spoke to current members of the 327th.
“Being in the Army helped give me an excellent work ethic,”
said Wintenburg. “I’m extremely proud of Soldiers today and
how professional they are. I remember seeing footage on the
Military Channel of Soldiers reenlisting in Iraq and
Afghanistan; that’s real patriotism. It brought a tear to my
eye when I saw that. When we spoke to the Soldiers at Fort
Campbell, they basically rolled out the red carpet for us
and told us how honored they were to continue the
tradition.”
“What people didn’t understand back then
but understand more now is that we were Soldiers doing our
jobs,” said Wintenburg. “A lot of things back in the ‘world’
as we called it didn’t matter out there. What mattered was
that it was life and death, and what mattered was keeping
each other alive. The loyalty we had to each other was
profound.”
When asked about the photo and why it
became internationally famous, each Soldier cites the fact
of how it showed the day-to-day lives of Soldiers in
conflict. Brown, who has the photo hanging in his house,
along with the Screaming Eagle flag, explained why it was so
memorable in his eyes.
“The photo signifies what
warfare is all about.” said Brown. “A Soldier’s life in the
field is rough. It’s either kill or be killed. The photo
speaks of the volume of the 101st Airborne Division’s and
U.S. Army’s commitment to anywhere in the world to defend
our liberties and those of others.”
“The 101st will
always be the only unit in my mind.” said Brown. “When boots
are needed to be put on the ground, the 101 is always
called. I love the division and am extremely proud of my
service during the war.”
By U.S. Army 1st Lt. Daniel Johnson
Provided through DVIDS
Copyright 2017
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