VILLAGER PAYS TRIBUTE TO FEL
WITH SPECIALIZ
Villager William “Bill” Shawn beams with pride
as he talks about his 13-month-long “obsession”
and “labor of love.”
The retired Army lieutenant colonel, decked out
in a tan flight suit complete with a name tag,
gloves, and helmet, embodies everything a mili-
tary helicopter pilot represents.
And after serving his country for more than 36
years, the retired pilot who served two tours
of duty in Vietnam is now enjoying a different
mission – honoring his fellow veterans with a
golf cart that’s been morphed into an AH-1G
Cobra Gunship.
Shawn said it’s a fitting way to pay tribute to
the more than 40,000 helicopter pilots who
flew in Southeast Asia, as well as the more
than 2,000 aviators and 2,500-plus crewmem-
bers who died serving their country.
“I think once you’ve flown helicopters for 28
years, it’s just a part of you. It’s kind of in your
blood,” the Village of Pine Ridge resident said.
“So I wanted to make something that was pro-
fessional and realistic, in a way to honor the
guys that served and flew.”
Shawn flew a variety of different helicopters in
Vietnam, including Huey transport and gunship
models; two observation helicopters, the OH-
13 and OH-23G, and Cobra Gunships, among
others. But when it came time to transform his
golf cart into a military-style helicopter, Shawn
said there really was only one choice.
20
cart. He said both he and his wife, Lynn – she
worried about him working long hours in his
hot garage – are glad he’s completed the proj-
ect. But he said he thought a lot about his time
in Vietnam and those he served with while
working on the golf cart.
During his first
tour in 1967,
Shawn mostly
flew the OH-
23G observa-
tion helicopter.
He earned two
Purple Hearts
while flying
that helicopter
for the First
Brigade of the
9th Infantry,
one of which
came when
both he and
his observer
were hit by the
same bullet as
they flew over
enemy soldiers
preparing
to ambush
an American
minesweeping
team.
Village of Pine Ridge resident Bill Sh
pilot, went to great lengths to make
was as realistic as possible.
“The Cobra was the gunship that everybody
knew,” he said. “It was the world’s first true
attack helicopter. You could bring a lot of fire-
power on the enemy. I’m sure it struck fear in
the hearts of the (Viet Cong) over there. “They were go-
ing to destroy
that mine-
sweeping team and that’s what we went out to
check on,” he said. “But they decided to open
up on me. And as soon as they opened up, it
sounded like a popcorn machine underneath
me.”
Shawn, 78, estimates he spent between 1,200
and 1,300 hours building his helicopter golf Shawn was hit in the right knee and his pas-
senger in his left knee. But he knows their
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