[Illustration: _Marine officers visit Father Phuoc’s village. Left to right: Lieutenant Colonel Archie J. Clapp; Colonel John F. Carey; Father Phuoc; Colonel Julius W. Ireland; Colonel Gordon Gale; Major General Richard G. Weede; French Interpreter Gilles H. Rocheleau; and three unidentified Marine officers. (USMC Photo A420824)._] An investigation of the incident later revealed that the confusion had begun when the ARVN unit scheduled to be helilifted became involved in a skirmish with guerrillas less than a mile from the pick up point. A VNAF Forward Air Controller (FAC) in an observation aircraft had then marked the Viet Cong position for an air strike with a white smoke grenade rather than red smoke, as was normally used. This was the smoke which Lieutenant Colonel Rathbun had attempted to identify when his aircraft was hit. From this incident the pilots of HMM-163 learned several valuable lessons about helicopter support in conjunction with ARVN ground operations. First, helilifts of government forces from the field at prearranged times required thorough last minute coordination. Secondly, helicopters could not be used safely on low-level reconnaissance or identification passes. Finally, prearranged colored smoke signals were easily confused and when used routinely were subject to enemy attempts at deception. Such signalling methods were most effective when used in conjunction with radio communications between air and ground units. A somewhat humorous sequel to this incident took place later in the day when Rathbun learned that he had been selected for promotion to colonel. The timing of the notification prompted one squadron wit to quip: “Lost a bird, gained a bird.”[5-21] “Rathbun’s Ridge Runners” continued intensive support operations in III Corps Tactical Zone throughout the month of August. Their daily missions normally included both scheduled troop lifts and unscheduled medical evacuations. During the week of 19–25 August HMM-163 helicopters logged slightly over 800 combat flying hours. A squadron record for a single day was established on 24 August when 197.6 helicopter hours were flown. Flight time for the helicopters during the entire month totalled 2,543 hours--a new Marine Corps record for an HUS squadron. The OE-1 aircraft added 63 missions and 212 hours to this total. Another statistic revealed that 21 of the squadron’s pilots logged over 100 hours of combat flying time during August.[5-22] This record was even more impressive considering that flight operations were hampered by the monsoon season which reached its peak during August in the Mekong Delta.