On 16 June, three days after the crash on Tiger Tooth Mountain, Lieutenant Colonel La Voy’s unit ceased its operations and began preparations for turning over its helicopters and equipment to the Vietnamese Air Force. The Marines spent three days removing the automatic stabilization equipment (the helicopter’s equivalent of an automatic pilot) and the USMC identification from the 24 UH-34Ds. While HMM-364’s men accomplished the necessary last-minute preparations, pilots from a new Marine medium helicopter squadron, HMM-162, began flying their UH-34Ds ashore from the LPH-8, USS _Valley Forge_. Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Oliver W. Curtis, an Oklahoman who held four Distinguished Flying Crosses for air actions fought during World War II and Korea, HMM-162 was the first Marine squadron since Lieutenant Colonel Clapp’s to deploy to Vietnam with its complement of aircraft and maintenance equipment. With HMM-162’s arrival, elements of Lieutenant Colonel La Voy’s unit began departing for Okinawa on board refueler-transport aircraft from VMGR-152. Also on board one of the KC-130s bound for Okinawa was Lieutenant Colonel Beal, who relinquished command of the MABS-16 sub unit to Major Marion R. Green on the last day of June. The newly commissioned VNAF 217th Squadron informally accepted the aircraft from HMM-364 on 19 June. Formal acceptance occurred 10 days later with Major General Paul J. Fontana, the commanding general of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, attending a ceremony presided over by the I Corps commanding general. Following the exchange of equipment, the Vietnamese officials presented various orders of the Cross of Valor, their nation’s second highest decoration, to Marine pilots who had distinguished themselves during Operation SURE WIND 202. Vice Air Marshal Nguyen Cao Ky, commanding general of the Vietnamese Air Force, then presented Vietnamese pilot wings to Colonel Merchant, Lieutenant Colonel La Voy, and to each Marine instructor-pilot who had participated in the helicopter pilot training program. HMM-364’s tour in South Vietnam ended officially on 30 June when the last of its members boarded KC-130’s bound for Okinawa. Since initiating combat flight operations in February, the squadron’s helicopters had logged 2,665 combat sorties and 2,365 combat hours. Another statistic underscored the intensity of the actions in which the unit had participated. Well over half of the squadron’s 24 helicopters had been damaged by enemy fire during its five-month deployment in Vietnam.[11-11] CHAPTER 12 Fall and Winter Operations _Dry Weather Fighting--Monsoon and Flood Relief Operations--Changes and Improvements--Action as the Year Ends_ _Dry Weather Fighting_ The military situation in I Corps remained essentially unchanged as HMM-162 began its assignment with SHUFLY. Hot, dry weather, with its promise of near perfect flying conditions and spirited fighting, continued over the mountainous northern provinces.