By 1967, 2nd Lt. Allen 'Ace' Cozzalio had already made a name for himself within the 5th Cav. He was a renegade and respected helicopter pilot who earned almost every award for valor short of the MOH.
Always on the front lines, he was shot down 6 times in a span of 18 months. It wasn't unusual for him to come to base with his Loach completely damaged by enemy fire to the point that it was no longer flyable. On one mission, he flew back and landed after being shot in the neck.
When not on mission, he usually wore his full 1860s cavalary blues around base since he was extremely proud of the unit's history.
Among his legendary exploits, Cozzalio was flying in support of the 9th ID when he saw a 90-man unit in an open field pinned down by NVA machine gun fire from a reinforced bunker. Due to the small distance between the bunker and friendlies, the type of weapons and lack of maneuverability of the AH-1G, Cozzalio was unable to attack the bunker.
He landed his Cobra, returned in a Loach and landed on top of the bunker, allowing his gunner to get out and throw a grenade inside, the two just lifting off before the explosion.
He then switched back to the Cobra to continue ground support operations against the enemy.
For his actions, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. #balls #stayzero #zerofoxtrot #vietnamwar #pilot