Deadheads

Two deadheads in back of C-130 – 1972. Deadhead was term used for a crewmember hitching a ride, and not part of the crew flying the plane. The guy on left was a flight surgeon, and the other was my friend Dave who was a navigator on another crew. You could always tell crewmembers as they constantly were using their hands to illustrate different positions of aircraft in flight. I suspect this was not a deadhead flight to Vietnam from our R&R duty station at CCK Airbase, Taiwan … those flights were always packed full with deadheads and heaps of cargo on pallets, and there was always competition to find a comfortable spot in back of the C-130 for the very long flight. Best option was to find a spot to lay down on top of some soft cargo … some would even string up a hammock on occasion.