WO Fred Thompson, Shark 7

CPT John Bishop Rescued

This is one of the most joyous pictures I ever got to take in my life. John Bishop had just arrived at Quang Tri after getting off a helicopter from Khe Sahn, and was headed to the shower after three days of running from the NVA in Laos... I made him pause for this elated shot and he never saw it until we got together in Atlanta a few years back. Later he would be interviewed by NBC camermen . . .

John was the XO of the 174th during Lam Son 719. He'd been flying as part of a combat assault and landed to smoke at an LZ; however, the NVA had thrown the smoke, NOT the South Vietnamese. When the NVA opened up on John's Dolphin, the helicopter took hits and caught fire. John's gunner Gary Padilla was struck and killed. The Crewchief Larry Rhodes and Bishop teamed up and Escaped and Evaded (E&E'd) the enemy for three days. 1Lt Carl Flemmer, who became separated from the rest of the crew, virtually ran back to Khe Sahn and was recovered that night. He reported that the last time he had seen Bishop is when Bishop went back to the aircraft to get his handgun. Padilla's remains were recovered days later. This picture was taken after John and Larry had come across an ARVN (South Vietnamese) patrol and they called for a dust off. John had just returned to Quang Tri and was enroute for a shower when I took this picture. I'd just gotten out of the hospital from my head-shot a couple of days before. The Witchdoctor crew that was shot down would be recovered the following day.