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Series / Tour of Duty

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Tour of Duty was an American drama television series on CBS . It ran for three seasons from 1987 to 1990. It was inspired by the Academy Award winning feature film, Platoon , making stories about The Vietnam War acceptable mainstream entertainment.

The show followed an American infantry platoon on a tour of duty during the Vietnam War. The story focused mainly on Bravo company's second platoon under the command of 2nd Lieutenant (later 1st Lieutenant) Myron Goldman (Stephen Caffrey), and Staff Sergeant (later Sergeant First Class) Zeke Anderson (Terence Knox).

The first season opens in 1967 and follows a standard light infantry platoon. In the second season, the troops found themselves relocated to a base near Saigon while conducting the typical "search and destroy" missions. Female characters were also introduced (in hopes of gaining more female viewership and because of the premiere of the ABC Vietnam Army Nurses drama China Beach which was aimed at a more female audience). In the third season, the remaining female character was killed off and the platoon was transferred to a SOG (Studies and Observation Group) unit under the command of Colonel Brewster ( Carl Weathers ), conducting covert operations in Vietnam and in Cambodia, culminating in the fictional version of the raid on Son Tay Prison. The third season was the show's last.

Tour of Duty contains examples of:

Advertised Extra : Kevin Conroy was a member of the main cast for the first season, but the writers could never figure out how to properly integrate him into the storylines, as his character was a commander who normally stayed on base. Stuck in Hawaii with nothing to do for most of the working week, he set up a small stand on the beach and sold sketch portraits to tourists out of boredom. His character was dramatically killed off before the end of the season.
Anyone Can Die : The series did not shy away from killing off major characters, often without warning, highlighting the arbitrary and unfair nature of combat.
Booby Trap : Practically anytime the squad is out on patrol, you can expect one (or more) to make an appearance. Some are averted, some....not so much.
Horn is introduced as a pacifist and conscientious objector who'd rather play the harmonica than fight what he sees to be an unjust war. His character arc depicts his realizing the necessity of killing to survive in an environment that doesn't care about his philosophical views and his gradual transformation into a stone-cold killer. His final episode shows him suffering a crisis when he realizes what he's become.
Butt-Monkey : Baker. Lampshaded towards the end of the first season: “I try to do everything right…everything wrong happens to me!”
Communications Officer : PFC Roger Horn. Due to his pacifist beliefs and refusal to fight (at first), Anderson makes him the RTO so he can be kept close to him and the LT.
Dies Wide Open : Capt. Wallace
Finally, the last episodes of the series are almost universally depressing. Lt. Goldman is completely disillusioned and has stooped to the same tactics he testified against a friend for. Zeke , with nobody to return to, is given another batch of young idiots to watch die. Taylor, now the last of the old squad , is wounded in a firefight. Pop loses his son and is badly wounded. Griner comes home blind. Hockenbury's pacifism costs the life of a comrade and he is stuck in a care center watching wounded men die. Ruiz and Percell both struggle to adjust to life back home, and McKay is grounded from combat flight, has difficulty getting a job, and when he does he can find no joy in flying in a civilian capacity. The series saved its emotional gut punches for last.
The Dreaded Toilet Duty : One episode features Percell being put on latrine duty as punishment for an infraction. The officer overseeing this delights in making this already horrible task even worse, berating and mocking Percell as he's burning the waste in the drums, and even taking a dump in one of the toilets before Percell's had a chance to put the drum back under the hole. When it's all said and done, Percell walks back into the barracks to get cleaned up and the other soldiers recoil from him due to how bad he smells.
During the War : During The Vietnam War to be precise.
Ensign Newbie : 2nd Lt. Goldman is this at the start of the show. He gains experience and maturity quickly over the course of the first season.
Every Helicopter Is a Huey : Played straight for the most part. Other than a rare cameo of a Chinook in a couple of first season episodes, a crashed Cayuse in the opening credits, and a civilian Jetranger in the series finale, EVERY helicopter shown in the show is the venerable Huey.
Haven't You Seen X Before? : Private Alberto Ruiz: What's the matter? You niggers never seen a spic before?
Honor Before Reason : In Gray-Brown Odyssey , Lt. Goldman and a female VC prisoner, whom he holds at gun point after a prior ambush that also leaves him temporarily blind, come across a wounded communist sympathizer and his starving family. After hearing the VC explaining about the plight of the said family of four, Goldman gives them all his rations and is about to move on. The VC, knowing that Goldman does not understand Vietnamese language, not only tells the family that Goldman has just offered them food but also asks the family to mob the blind Goldman and help her escaping. A girl from the family grabs a knife to free the VC...... only to be prevented from going through with it by her wounded father, who thanks Goldman for the food and allows him to leave with the VC still his prisoner.
Just Plane Wrong : In a "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" moment from the episode "Soldiers", a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter can be seen being towed in the background when Percell, Taylor, and Ruiz are walking to board their plane. The Blackhawk didn't enter into service until 1979 - 12 years after the episode time period was set.
Randy "Doc" Matsuda was Bravo Company's designated medic during the first season, before becoming a victim of Anyone Can Die .
Hockenberry becomes the platoon's new medic in the 3rd season, though his pacifist ways and smartass mouth don't make him very many friends at first.
Of Corpse He's Alive : Some of the characters are forced to do this when one of the new guys gets drunk in town and jumps to his death. They initially plant the body in the jungles with the intention of shooting him in order to make it look like the VC killed him. The platoon sergeant however, finds out, but not before the base is attacked by the enemy. The new guy's corpse startles a VC sapper who fires at the body before being killed. The dead soldier is honored for fighting bravely in the base's defense.
Rank Up : Myron Goldman goes from 2nd lieutenant to 1st lieutenant between first and second seasons, Staff Sergeant Anderson is promoted to Sergeant 1st Class, and Johnson is promoted to Sergeant, both in season 3.

The show had an odd tendency of killing off anyone who was 'getting short' (ie: Was about to complete their mandatory one-year Tour and be sent home). Even the main characters weren't always immune to this .
Played with when one character was only grievously wounded when he found out he was 'getting short'. In a much later episode, we find out that said character later recovered in hospital, re-enlisted, got promoted, and returned to combat...only to be Killed Off for Real this time.
Sergeant Rock : Staff Sergeant (later Sergeant First Class) Zeke Anderson, especially in the first few episodes when Goldman was more an Ensign Newbie . He is a grizzled veteran who has the respect of all of the men in The Squad .
Shown Their Work : In the first season, particularly, the show went to great lengths to show accurate weapons, equipment, and tactics as well as creating a fictional yet believable military unit with its own backstory.
Sleeves Are for Wimps : Anderson rarely wears his uniform shirt when out in the field, preferring to wear his equipment harness over a tank top, so his well-muscled arms are on full display.
The Squad : The focus of the series is very much on 2nd platoon Bravo Company, complete with nicknames for almost every platoon member.
Squirrels in My Pants : In the episode "Angel Of Mercy", Baker is suffering from diarrhea and has to go off into the bushes while standing watch to drop his pants. While he does so, a large toad jumps onto his dropped pants. At the same time, he happens to see some Vietcong slipping out of a tunnel to evade the American soldiers. Baker quickly yanks up his pants and Hilarity Ensues .
Temporary Blindness : In "Brown-Gray Odyssey", Lt. Goldman temporarily loses his sight after his Jeep hits a mine, and the fire extinguisher backfires. He has to be guided by a female VC prisoner he is holding at gunpoint.
Tokyo Rose : The series briefly featured a Vietnamese equivalent, note Trịnh Thị Ngọ, better known as Hanoi Hannah with one GI asking another why he listened to that stuff. He replied that the propaganda was annoying, but that the music they played was actually pretty good.
War Is Hell : Like most series about The Vietnam War made after Platoon , Tour of Duty focuses a lot on the horror of combat.
Weapon Tombstone : Captain Wallace has one made for him, and several others, at Firebase Ladybird.
In "Notes From The Underground", Sgt. Anderson and Lt. Goldman are maneuvering through underground tunnels. Anderson spots a snake up above them, and Goldman jumps back in time before it strikes. The LT is terrified of them but gathers enough courage to kill it. He then tells Anderson he's been afraid of snakes ever since he was a kid. Anderson says “you’d be nuts if you weren’t”.
In the season 1 finale “The Hill”, Taylor and the newbie Mitchell take cover from small arms fire. All of a sudden, Mitchell starts screaming, saying a snake bit him. Taylor tries in vain to calm him, but in a matter of seconds Mitchell starts choking and dies. Horn: Dammit...that Pit Viper’s venom kills you faster than the electric chair.
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Helicopters

The Helicopter unit that was flying for the show when it was filmed in Hawaii was the 184th AHC Blacksheep. Don Sandhoff- CW3 Ret was a pilot during this time and has shared a few memories ******

They had the camera on bunged cords from the ceiling for that shot.

After we were finished shooting the pilot show Zev Braun gave us pilots an envelope with $300.00 dollars in it. But because we were on duty, in the Army, to fly the missions, we were not allowed to keep the money.

The thing was he gave it to us on Friday and we went out with the Actors to the Hard Rock Cafe and another bar and eat and drank a lot of it up.Then Monday the Commander told us to give it back by Tuesday.

After that we would still meet the actors at the Hard Rock Cafe on Friday nights. They did not like Hawaii that much because they said it was too expensive and they were living in a hotel. Gotta go... more later. Don.

Tour of Duty

You may be looking for the Man from U.N.C.L.E. zine called "The Tour of Duty Affair" which is the 8th volume in the series: Timeshift .

Tour of Duty was a Vietnam war-era drama series, which aired on CBS beginning in 1987. The plot centered on the officers, noncoms, and enlisted men of 3rd Squad, 2nd Platoon, B ("Bravo") Company, 3/44th Infantry Regiment, 196th Light Infantry Brigade, Americal Division, Firebase Ladybird, I Corps, often addressing the harsh realities of war, drug abuse, racism, fragging [1] , and disillusionment. The first season focused on the platoon in-country, at Firebase Ladybird, while the second saw them forced to abandon the base after being overrun and attached to Tan Son Nhut Army Base near Saigon in order to run Search and Destroy (S & D) missions. The move added additional characters to the cast in order to fill in for those killed in the season finale, including civilians and women. The third and final season saw them attached to a Studies and Observation Group unit (SOG) designated 'Team Viking' in order to conduct covert operations.

For related fandoms, see List of Military Fandoms .

Following the death of Captain Rusty Wallace, in the first season 2nd Platoon Bravo was led by 2nd Lieutenant Myron Goldman and Sergeant Clayton Ezekiel "Zeke" Anderson. The platoon consists of Specialist Randy 'Doc' Matsuda, and Privates Daniel 'Danny' Percell, Alberto Ruiz, Marcus Taylor, Scott Baker, Marvin Johnson, and Roger Horn. By the end of the season, Capt. Wallace and Specialist Matsuda have been killed, Private Horn has been wounded in action and sent home to the States, and Private Baker transferred from the platoon.

Characters introduced in the second season were either civilians, reporters, or military personnel attached to Tan Son Nhut Army base in Saigon. They included 1st Lieutenant John McKay, a helicopter pilot, Dr. Jennifer Seymour, a psychiatrist, and Alex Devlin, a female reporter. The latter two were love interests for Sgt. Anderson and Lt. Goldman, respectively. These characters would recur to varying degrees in the third season, while Corporal (originally a Private) Marcus Johnson would return home, having completed his tour.

The third season added Pfc. Francis 'Doc' Hockenbury, a conscientious objector and combat medic, and Colonel Brewster, a new commanding officer. Privates Percell and Ruiz completed their tours, and returned to the United States. By the end of the series, Team Viking consisted of Lt. Goldman, Sergeant First Class (following a promotion) Anderson, and Marcus Taylor, now acting as Goldman's Team Leader in-country.

Most Tour of Duty fanfiction and fanart is slash, with gen and het works running a very distant and very close second and third. The most popular pairings are Goldman/Anderson and Goldman/McKay. Ruiz/Taylor can be found, as well as Percell/Hockenbury.

The canon couples are Goldman/Devlin, and Anderson/Seymour.

Online Presence

Notes From the Underground is a comprehensive fansite with character bios, an episode guide, picture galleries, production notes, and historical information created by members of the TOD listserv. The aim is to provide in-depth data for writers and fans of the show.
Tour of Duty Gen, Slash, and Het stories archived at Archive of Our Own .
Tour of Duty Gen, Slash, and Het stories archived at Fanfiction.net

gen, multimedia:

Everything But the Kitchen Sink
Remote Control Goes to War
Scorpion Files
Special Circumstances

mixed gen and slash:

Business Associates
Notes from the Underground (on CD, Tour of Duty only)
^ [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragging
Live-action Television

TERENCE KNOX IN 'TOUR OF DUTY'

Television's war comes back to television.

The Vietnam War, which infiltrated American households by seizing control of television in a way no other war had before, will try to capture the medium again this fall.

This assault, which begins Sept. 24, comes in the form of the first dramatic series centered on the war to be developed for network television. The war that was so much a part of newscasts of the '60s and '70s, will now be the center of a weekly hour on Thursday nights.

The series, "Tour of Duty," launched by CBS, will attack the prime-time schedule at its strongest point -- the 8 p.m. slot occupied on NBC by "The Cosby Show," arguably the strongest show ever to dominate a prime-time slot.

Point man for the show is Terence Knox, who plays Sgt. Zeke Anderson, first among equals in an ensemble cast.

And a suitable choice he is to head the cast of a show that almost certainly will sustain criticism. When it comes to word games, he is no one's noncombatant.

At a press conference in Los Angeles, a reporter challenged the presence of the Vietnam Veterans of America at a CBS press conference to discuss the show.

Knox's response to the suggestion of impropriety was immediate: "Yo' momma!" he said.

Terence Knox is a happy man. After being killed off in one television series ("St. Elsewhere") and having another series killed off "I'm in a real good spot right now," he said.

For several months that spot will be the non-tourist areas of Hawaii, where "Tour" is filmed. Amid the paradise of the islands, the "Tour" crew will work seven-day weeks turning out the series of one-hour shows.

"There are different stories to be told about Vietnam," he said, "depending on when you were there and where you were. Ours is a jungle setting in '67. There is still a lot of cameraderie and good faith. The troops still get along."

The two-hour pilot is an impressive piece of work, especially given the fact that it was filmed in just three weeks. The production expense is clearly on the screen, with a lot of explosions and swarms of helicopters filling the footage.

It won't be that way every week. "There will be helicopters and we have access to Army film footage," said Knox. "But you'll get to know the characters and there'll be fewer explosions -- they take a lot of time to set up." And besides, special effects are expensive.

But the continuing element of the show will be a cast of characters the audience will have a full season to get acquainted with -- if a sniper doesn't get them first -- and a certain underlying tension and uncertainty.

And there will no doubt be sniping from the viewing audience. The pilot episode played well in screenings before the Vietnam Veterans of America this summer, but the sensitivity of the show's subject matter, coupled with its early-evening timeslot, have raised other questions about the series: Will it be too violent for young viewers watching at 8? If the show is toned down for airing at 8, will it then project a sanitized view of warfare? And is the Defense Department exercising any control over the production?

At a press conference in Los Angeles, Zev Braun, the show's executive producer, acknowledged that he was shocked when CBS chose to air the show at 8 p.m. -- early in the evening for a show that might logically play at 10 with more adult fare; and, of course, it's opposite the awesome "Cosby Show."

"I thought it was a joke" when they said 8 p.m., said Braun. But nobody laughed, and ultimately Braun accepted the CBS logic that all the 10 p.m. slots were committed to other shows and that the grim tension of "Tour" would contrast nicely with the lighter "Cosby."

And, he said, the early timeslot, normally a place for young viewers' fare, isn't necessarily a curse. "There are young people who don't know about Vietnam. I take it as a challenge. I think it's important for young people to know that war's not like Rambo."

Braun acknowledged that the Department of Defense had been very helpful -- where else do you get all the uniforms, guns, and helicopters plus advice on how to use them? -- but said he didn't feel he had traded control of the show for munitions.

But the Defense Department did get a bit touchy, he said, when it came to depicting drug use and racism among the GIs.

"They didn't want grunts to be portrayed as dopers," said Braun. "I'm not sure it's important to actually see someone smoking a joint {on-screen}. But it is important to see racial conflict. It's important to know that drugs were an important part of the war. If we can't show racial conflict, we can't show racial healing."

In the opening episode, Knox's character, selecting platoon replacements, warns that he doesn't want any druggies to follow him into the jungle.

And Braun promises that racial conflict between black and white GIs will be dealt with in later installments.

But the overriding theme of the show will be the constant threat to life and the struggle to survive. "Not every episode will have the bombastic effects of the pilot," said Braun. "But there'll always be the ever-present threat of death -- even in a quiet moment there can be a sniper. It's both realistic and dramatic."

At 36, Terence Knox appears more outgoing and irreverent than philosophical and introspective. But he seems genuinely caught up in both the work and the meaning of "Tour of Duty." A member of the Vietnam Veterans organization mentioned how Knox and other cast members signed "Tour of Duty" posters for two hours after one screening for the organization. And Knox spoke warmly of the VVA members he's met this summer.

On a promotional trip to Washington, he visited the Vietnam War Memorial. He looked up the name of an acquaintance -- "Actually, I didn't even like him much" -- and was touched when he found it.

"I was prepared to be impressed by the memorial," said Knox. "I was not prepared to be moved."

AIR & SPACE MAGAZINE

Vietnam helicopter pilot awarded medal of honor almost 50 years later.

Charles Kettles’ act of heroism in May 1967 receives the nation’s highest award.

Zach Rosenberg

Lt. Col. Charles S. Kettles, an Army helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War, will be awarded the Medal of Honor in a ceremony later this month for an act of heroism almost 50 years ago. At the time he was given the Distinguished Service Cross, but a dedicated amateur historian finally talked the Department of Defense into reviewing the matter. Following an act of Congress and a Presidential signature (required for Medal of Honor awards), Kettles will receive his new medal in a July 18 ceremony at the White House.

Kettles was born in 1930 in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where he still resides. His father had flown for the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War I, and as a young man Charles learned how to fly an Ercoupe through a program at Michigan State Normal College, dividing his time between school and a job as a baggage handler for American Airlines at Detroit’s Willow Run Airport. In 1951, with the Korean War under way, Kettles was drafted into the Army, where he trained to fly helicopters. The war ended by the time he finished training in 1954, after which he was assigned to fly helicopters in post-war Korea, Japan and Thailand. After leaving the Army in 1956, he returned to Michigan and started a car dealership with his brother.

In 1963 Kettles rejoined the Army, which was in need of helicopter pilots for the growing war in Vietnam. He was taught to fly the UH-1D Huey, assigned to the 176 th Assault Helicopter Company, and eventually sent to the small airfield at Duc Pho on South Vietnam’s central coast.

On May 14, 1967, not long after he arrived in Vietnam, then-Major Kettles’ unit dropped off 80 men from the 101 st Infantry Division at Song Tra Cau. The next day, a large North Vietnamese Army force ambushed the troops, who quickly called for reinforcements. Kettles led a flight of eight Hueys back to Song Tra Cau, where, despite Air Force gunship and bomb runs as well as Army artillery support, they were blasted by Vietnamese mortar and heavy machine gun fire. Several helicopters were badly damaged, but they managed to drop off the reinforcements, load wounded troops, and fly home. There they picked up more reinforcements and, despite heavy resistance, flew back to the valley. According to the Army’s citation letter, Kettles “landed in the midst of enemy mortar and automatic weapons fire that seriously wounded his gunner and severely damaged his aircraft.” Leaking fuel, Kettles successfully brought the Huey back to the airfield. By the time he landed, only one of the eight helicopters that started the day was able to fly.

And his Medal of Honor-winning act was yet to come.

As the sun set, the remaining healthy ground troops—now down to 44—called for urgent extraction. Kettles took his lone flyable Huey, borrowed five more from another unit, and flew back to the valley. They landed under withering fire, got all the troops aboard, then lifted off to fly home.

It quickly became apparent that eight men were still on the ground, having been pinned by enemy fire when the helicopters landed. Kettles instructed the rest of his flight to proceed back to base, while he and his crew rejoined the battle. As the only helicopter in the air, unsupported by air or ground fire, Kettle’s Huey made an easy target. A mortar round perforated the tail, damaged one of the two main rotor blades, and shattered both the front windshields and chin bubbles. More fire poured in, but all eight soldiers made it safely to the helicopter—which was now a good 600 pounds too heavy to take off.

Heavy helicopters need extra air over the rotor to get enough translational lift for takeoff, and it’s not uncommon for pilots to just barely lift off the ground and fly forwards in ground effect , gaining speed until the rotor can generate enough lift for real flight. Here was an extreme case: The helicopter was so damaged that it fishtailed wildly, and too overweight to lift off even into ground effect. So in an act that would likely horrify any instructor pilot, Kettles “skipped” across the ground, gaining speed with each hop, and after five or six hops finally reached 40 knots, with enough lift to fly. The soldiers and crew made it home safely, and Kettles was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism.

He served out the rest of his tour of duty, then returned to Vietnam for another (less dramatic) tour in the Mekong Delta. After the war Kettles flew for the National Guard for a while, then earned a Master’s degree and taught aviation management at Eastern Michigan University. He never flew professionally again, though he owned a Beech Travelair for personal use. He had ten children from two marriages.

An interviewer from the Veteran’s History Project interviewed Kettles about his service, and after that started the campaign to upgrade Kettles’ DSC to the highest possible award, the Medal of Honor. Several crewmembers and soldiers involved in the action wrote letters in support of the upgrade.

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Zach Rosenberg | READ MORE

Zach Rosenberg is an Associate Editor at Air & Space.

Honor In The Air

A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT HEROISM

Honor in the air, remembering captain scott robinson alwin.

Scott Alwin poses with his helicopter.jp

FILM SYNOPSIS

This documentary is a story of inspiration, dedication, valor and love, following the life of one soldier while recognizing an entire generation.

As the 50th anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam draws near and our nation is called to remember an incredibly unpopular war, we bring you the story of a humble man who became a decorated aviator and hero. Scott served five tours of duty during the Vietnam war as an Army helicopter pilot, first flying slicks and later, gunships.

Scott’s skills, daring, and decorations stand as a testament to his valor and include 136 documented Air Medals, Vietnam Republic Medals, Purple Hearts, Bronze Stars, Silver Stars, and Distinguished Flying Crosses, all with oak leaf clusters. He and a fellow Top Tiger pilot, Howard M. King, developed a low approach autorotation technique to counter tail rotor failure and taught it to other pilots in their unit. The army still teaches this technique to all helicopter pilots in their standard training today.

It was while in Vietnam that Scott met, fell in love with, and married his wife, Du Duong “Tess”. Scott went to war because he loved his country, the United States of America. During his five tours of duty, he fell in love with Vietnam, too. Scott survived five tours of active duty in Vietnam only to be killed by a suicidal drunk driver while on his way from his home in Wisconsin to the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania. To those who knew him, his legacy lives on.

PRODUCTION TEAM

Producer pamela alwin fullerton pamela is scott alwin's sister, an award- winning author, and retired attorney. writer/director/producersusan reetz susan has directed and produced many projects, including the following award-winning documentaries. - missing threads: the story of the wisconsin indian child welfare act - tuba ted: the man and the music - living in shadows: the innocent victims of meth, director of photography brian alberth brian is an outstanding cinematographer and director of photography working with clients worldwide. he was the lead cinematographer on missing threads: the story of the wisconsin indian child welfare act. editor don byrne don is a highly talented editor working with clients large and small throughout the u.s. he edited living in shadows: the innocent victims of meth, and did final editing on tuba ted: the man and the music. , join the mailing list for updates.

Thanks for submitting!

Link to an article in Legiontown.org, a publication of the American Legion.

Link to a news story from WSAW TV 7's Nolan Bulmahn.

Link to article in the Experimental Aircraft Association magazine, Warbirds

About Sunshine Helicopters

Stationed in Germany with their families were two military brats who met and became high school sweethearts. The young man went off to college. The girl followed him. “In those days (1963) you had to be married in order to leave Germany together. We felt two could live cheaper than one,” Anna confirmed with a gleam in her eye, “so we eloped.” This was the romantic beginning for Ross and Anna Scott, the husband and wife team and owner/operators of Sunshine Helicopters.

Company History

Both attended the University of Washington in Seattle. The year was 1965. Our country was at war in Vietnam but Ross took a sabbatical from college and was hired by Boeing as a design engineer to work on the development of their new 737 airplane. Shortly afterward, Ross was drafted. Not wanting to be a foot soldier, Ross signed up for the Army Helicopter Flight Training Program. He quickly discovered his love for flying and became a gunship pilot. During his one year tour of duty, Ross saw a lot of action and was awarded the Purple Heart and two Distinguished Flying Crosses for his bravery in the field. At age 25, Ross was the senior pilot and platoon leader of his unit.

After Ross’s tour of duty in Vietnam, the Scotts moved to Anchorage, Alaska. Anna worked in personnel at Carr’s grocery chain and Ross managed a large aviation company with 50 airplanes and 30 helicopters. The family grew to include two sons, Ross and Jonathan.

During the next eleven years, Ross’ job often took him away from his family. The family’s needs, as well as Alaska’s economics, were changing and they decided a lifestyle change was in order. Fate stepped in when Ross received a notice that the property they had invested in on Maui needed to have the weeds mowed. At the same time, Ross found a newspaper ad, “Own your own business in paradise. Sailboat charter business for sale.”

“I hopped on a plane to Maui, cut the weeds, and bought the boat company,” Ross explained. “We had thought about moving over to Maui for some time and had vacationed here often when Western Airlines offered the ‘triangle ticket.’ People dream about this. I wanted to do it!”

Ross and Anna thoroughly enjoyed their charter boat business, named Alihilani Yacht Charters, but something was calling Ross back to the blue skies. He wanted to fly helicopters again. Ross and Anna leased two ships from his former company in Alaska and Sunshine Helicopters was launched in 1985. Today, Sunshine Helicopters enjoys an excellent reputation and is a successful family-operated business.

Ross and Anna love the islands and enjoy sharing them with others, whether on the ocean or in the air. “We came here on vacation many times…and even though we live here now, we’re still on vacation.” When asked about their success, Ross smiled warmly. “Anna is my business partner, she lets me think I am the ultimate decision maker and I get to write all the checks.”

Tour of Duty (TV Series)

Uso down (1988), full cast & crew.

Directed by

Writing credits , cast (in credits order) , produced by , music by , cinematography by , editing by , casting by , art direction by , set decoration by , makeup department , production management , second unit director or assistant director , art department , sound department , special effects by , stunts , camera and electrical department , casting department , costume and wardrobe department , location management , music department , transportation department , additional crew .

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