Steve Fortenberry came to Bravo Company as Platoon Leader of 2nd Platoon in about August of 1967. Steve was one of those remarkable leaders that no one forgets. Even men like me, who can not remember their own platoon leaders and were not in his platoon, still remember Steve 34 years later. As you probably already have read else where on this site, Steve is well remembered for capturing the giant python, Lurch, at Loc Ninh. I knew then Steve was crazy or feerless. From what else I knew about him, I could rule out crazy. Some time in 1968, I believe it was March, Steve became our Company X.O. When he left Vietnam, he went to Flight School and became a helicopter pilot and returned to Vietnam flying slicks. He was a member of a rare fraternity of helicopter pilots that had a C.I.B. Here is the rest of Steve's story, in his own words:
I was stationed at Ft. Ord after my 2nd tour as a Co. Commander C 1/1 from March 71 till March 72. I then managed to turn my helicopter training into an aviation career. I am a B747 Captain for Japan Airlines (JAL), but I worked for Evergreen Airlines in McMinville, OR for a few years as Chief Pilot. My younger son is a pilot for Horizon Air. My older son is an Army Helicopter Pilot, stationed at Ft. Bragg, NC. My wife is a Flight Attendant for Alaska Airlines. You might actually remember her. She was a Donut Dolly in Lai Khe. Her name is Patty(Bright). She was the pretty one :-) (still is). We got married after she came home while I was still in flight school. So we still talk about Lai Khe and Quan Loi and all those places.