God bless your father for his service. Take good care of that Blackhawk. It's a family heirloom with an interesting story to tell.

 

That was a rough fight in the A Shau. I am sure good work by FAC's getting ordnance on target saved many American lives. If that little plane got hit he'd need every bit of that firepower to stay alive. He'd want to get away from the plane and hide, but the carbine, handgun, and grenades would make me feel better.

 

Talk about priceless ... thanks for sharing the story and welcome to the forum from the Buckeye State ...

 

Great story, great history, and great gun.

 

Ruger a Shau Valley.jpg

• gjohns427
• Jun 19, 2023

So I have this Ruger 3 screw 357 Blackhawk, s/n 54731, that I grew up with. It has had the recall done sometime in the early 70's IIRC. Family lore was that when my father returned from his 1st tour of Vietnam as a FAC, he told my grandfather that they sent him up with nothing other than smoke rockets in an L-19 - not even the pictured carbine. He was a fighter pilot recruited as a FAC. Family lore continued that my grandfather promptly bought him the Blackhawk, and that my father smuggled it back to Vietnam in his flight helmet under his flight gloves. There are dings in the wood handles that, according to my father, were caused getting into and out of the L-19, and later F-4's for tours 3 and 4. I had a photo (that I've lost) of him standing next to an L-19 with an M-16. On the back was written "something new in flight gear." My father is now 90 and has moved into an independant living apartment for seniors. I belived the story, but have found proof. I found the below photo in one of his albums. I asked him where this was taken and he said the A Shau Valley. I would like for Ruger to hear this, but their "email the president" function has been disabled. Hope you found this as interesting as I did.
Gary

I had a customer that carried one there, his daughter was selling them to our shop telling us he passed away Ave left them to her and 6 months later said I’m not dead I’m right here, that was one of them and luckily since he wouldn’t put charges on her the customer that got it was a good friend of the shop and let the guy have it back. Sad story but that’s the only one he really cared about.

 

How long is the BBL on that Blackhawk.

 

6 inches

 

That's a great story. Don't fix those blemishes on the grips. Paste wax can preserve them. I've not served, but I read a lot. Handguns can sometimes be worth their weight in gold.

 

May God bless your father and continue to bless the patriots of our country.

 

I find it very interesting. Keep us posted if you find more pictures.

 

We owe a debt to your father for his service to our country that can not be repaid in full.

 

Thanks for sharing that story. I wonder if any other Blackhawks made it to Viet Nam. (I doubt it.) That is truly a family heirloom. Thank your father for his service.

 

I wonder if any other Blackhawks made it to Viet Nam.

You would be amazed.

 

Lots of stuff there...
My FIL in '65 with a Thompson and a chrome plated 1911. He was an Army fixed wing pilot. Flew Beavers, Otters and Caribous.

 

Thank your father for his service please.
Thank you for sharing.

Consider calling RUGER CUSTOMER SERVICE to explain your desire. They may be able to help you.

Welcome to the forum.

 

I think this thread is a winner. The best part of it is the soldiers who carried these with them.............returned with them!

 

The Security Six didn't start shipping until 1972 so the Blackhawk was probably available and ruggedly built. The explanation could be that simple. Thanks for sharing.

 

Ruger a Shau Valley.jpg

• gjohns427
• Jun 19, 2023

So I have this Ruger 3 screw 357 Blackhawk, s/n 54731, that I grew up with. It has had the recall done sometime in the early 70's IIRC. Family lore was that when my father returned from his 1st tour of Vietnam as a FAC, he told my grandfather that they sent him up with nothing other than smoke rockets in an L-19 - not even the pictured carbine. He was a fighter pilot recruited as a FAC. Family lore continued that my grandfather promptly bought him the Blackhawk, and that my father smuggled it back to Vietnam in his flight helmet under his flight gloves. There are dings in the wood handles that, according to my father, were caused getting into and out of the L-19, and later F-4's for tours 3 and 4. I had a photo (that I've lost) of him standing next to an L-19 with an M-16. On the back was written "something new in flight gear." My father is now 90 and has moved into an independant living apartment for seniors. I belived the story, but have found proof. I found the below photo in one of his albums. I asked him where this was taken and he said the A Shau Valley. I would like for Ruger to hear this, but their "email the president" function has been disabled. Hope you found this as interesting as I did.
Gary

Had a few exciting conversations with FAC's. At least I was excited, there may have been one or more expletives at the time.

 

That is definitely a pistol that needs to stay in the family forever. Thank your father for all of us.

 

It sounds like your dad had an angel watching over him. He did a LOT of tours and made it back, which is one heck of a blessing. Too many pilots ended up dead or in the Hanoi Hilton in just a single tour. It's a great life he lived and worthy of a special kind of pride.

 

Ruger a Shau Valley.jpg

• gjohns427
• Jun 19, 2023

So I have this Ruger 3 screw 357 Blackhawk, s/n 54731, that I grew up with. It has had the recall done sometime in the early 70's IIRC. Family lore was that when my father returned from his 1st tour of Vietnam as a FAC, he told my grandfather that they sent him up with nothing other than smoke rockets in an L-19 - not even the pictured carbine. He was a fighter pilot recruited as a FAC. Family lore continued that my grandfather promptly bought him the Blackhawk, and that my father smuggled it back to Vietnam in his flight helmet under his flight gloves. There are dings in the wood handles that, according to my father, were caused getting into and out of the L-19, and later F-4's for tours 3 and 4. I had a photo (that I've lost) of him standing next to an L-19 with an M-16. On the back was written "something new in flight gear." My father is now 90 and has moved into an independant living apartment for seniors. I belived the story, but have found proof. I found the below photo in one of his albums. I asked him where this was taken and he said the A Shau Valley. I would like for Ruger to hear this, but their "email the president" function has been disabled. Hope you found this as interesting as I did.
Gary

GARY: You have a Died In The Wool Family Treasure in your hands in that Old Ruger Blackhawk. That belonged to and was carried by Your Father while He was a FAC Pilot and Fast Mover Pilot in the 1970`s in Vietnam. You should Treasure Your Dad also, for He is very special. He served His Country Well and with Honor. Treasure Him and the things He did for Our Country. When You see Your Father the next time give Him a hug on the neck for me. And tell Him for me I am very proud of Him for the many Dangerous and Deadly Missions He Flew and for His Personnel Courage and Service to Our Country. Tell Your Father also for me, I am glad He made it Home safe . And that I hope He had a good life. For He darn sure deserved it. Tell Your Father that for me.
ken

 

Thank you for all the kind words. I've kept him up to date on this discussion. Thought I show some photos of the Blackhawk, so I pulled it out of the safe.
Gary

 

I especially like the small fracture in the right grip panel which authenticates its worn in service to your father and our country. What an heirloom!!!

 

Most shooters appreciate seeing a working gun. Especially true in this case. Wear is evidence of real jobs done. The fact that it is in such good shape is a testament that your Dad was a true soldier. In such a rough, wet envioronment he took great care of his weapon.

Thanks again for sharing.

 

A Forward Air Controller, and a fighter pilot, and 4 tours in it? How does he carry them around?
That Ruger is the best of guns, a family piece with stories of honor written on the blued steel.

 

I Bought a S&W 66-3 2.5” a couple of months ago.
I asked the guy if he had the box and he said “No, but I’ll throw in an old box from a Model 10
that I picked up at a yard sale”.
Inside the box was the original receipt for the Model 10 dated 1963, price of $51.80, sold to a captain in the U.S. Army, Advisory Team 7, APO San Francisco. The store was Polak, Winters & Company, San Francisco.

Also in the box was the application to the U.S. Embassy in Saigon Vietnam for a gun permit.
There were also a couple of cleaning rods that came with the gun.

 

I own two 3-screw Rugers, a Super Blackhawk 357 and a Super Single Six. When I received orders to Vietnam in F-4's, I considered taking a 9mm and several clips. A clunky revolver in an F-4 was unthinkable and in my mind, highly impractical. I can , however, see the psychological value. I'm sure Gen Patton's Ivory handled 45's had no practical purpose. Anyway, I decided not to take a 9 since the prospect of employing it against the NVA or Cong would probably tend to really piss them off! Our squadron had a collection of well-worn 38 revolvers. Mine was very worn, but seemed adequate to dispatch any snake likely to be encountered, if I were unlucky enough to find myself in the jungle. I studied many Intel debriefs of surviving aircrews shot down from the mid 60's to mid 70's. I don't believe there was a single instance of a shot-down aircrew attempting to utilize his handgun against the enemy.

 

There’s a confirmed story of an American pilot in his parachute killing a Japanese pilot with his 1911. So, there’s always a chance you’ll need it.