The author’s connection to Desi Ford goes much deeper than the surname they happen to share. He was — among the hundreds of people Bob Ford aided on medvac missions —the only man he ever carried that he knew personally. Read on for an introduction to the extraordinary Aussie and his integral story.

“On December 18, 1967, I had assigned myself to a mission to take care of a unit that had been in the field for a week. We had already gone to their position twice for resupply. Each time en route, we switched to the frequency that Desi Ford was using.  

He was the senior advisor in an ARVN unit in an operation ten klicks southeast from where we were located. All Aussies were designated Victor Zulu. His call sign was Victor Zulu 1-4. Desi looked tough and weathered, and he moved with the efficient movement of a trained athlete but he was by far the most humorous of all the Aussies. He always remained cool-headed. Desi had become a close pal, and I told him we would monitor his tactical FM radio frequency on a regular basis any time he was on a combat operation just in case he needed us. It was routine for us to call a forward air control in our area after checking on Desi to see if we were needed for any emergency. . . .

It had been over an hour since our last communication. I dialed in his frequency and transmitted, “Victor Zulu 1-4, this is Black Cat 2-1.” There was no answer. The frequency on the FM control panel was confirmed and all was correct, so I repeated my transmission. After a seemingly long pause of ten seconds, Bailey shouted, “Black Cat 2-1, Zulu down, Zulu down!”

Within seconds, we were headed toward their last known position maintaining one thousand feet. Whatever the problem was, Desi needed us.”