Boeing CH-47D Chinook helicopter 90-00211.

90-00211

Unit patch from Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, Washington Army Reserve, circa 2003.

"Livin' Large"

Unit patch from Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, Washington Army Reserve, while deployed to Iraq for Operation Iraqi Liberation, circa 2003.

A photograph of the nose art on 90-00211, a.k.a. "Livin' Large" - 11 October 2003, taken in Kirkuk, Iraq.

90-00211, Boeing D model kit number M3363, was a CH-47D helicopter. The U.S. Army acceptance date was 19 September 1991. As of 22 June 1998, 90-00211 had accumulated 885.4 D model hours and 3,003.0 total aircraft hours. 90-00211 was a conversion from the original C model Chinook 70-15021. On 17 July 1990, 90-00211 was inducted into the D model program, converted, and initially assigned to Company A - "Hook-ers", 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, United States Army Reserve, located in the State of Washington. Shortly after the "War on Terrorism" was declared, 90-00211 was deployed to the Middle East Theater in support of Operation Iraqi Liberation. As of 1 January 2002, this aircraft was 30.3 years old. As of January 2004, the last known location of 90-00211 was in Iraq, assigned to the Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment. Aircraft status: Flyable.

90-00211, painted as "Livin' Large" by the main cabin door. Note also the sheet metal painted in the same fashion between the two crew members. The sheet metal came from an ex-Iranian Chinook, Augusta build P-043, captured by the Iraqi's during the Iran-Iraq war.

90-00211 and SFC Gene Mash (left) with SGT Charlie Ross (right), 2003.

SGT Charlie Ross, 90-00211's Flight Engineer (FE) assigned to Company A, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment in Iraq wrote: We were here with Big Windy. The guy who did a lot of the nose art here from Big Windy, SPC Grant Montgomery, painted "Livin' Large" for us. We were on a mission and we landed at an LZ that was hot, dusty, and in a God forsaken place, and the Flight Engineer (FE)/Door gunner SFC Gene Mash said on the intercom "Well boys, we're Livin' Large now!" He named it [the aircraft] and didn't even know it! We had "Montey" paint it on the side of 211 and that's what you see in the photo - J.P. Money Bags holding a fist full of dollars and burning a nice big cigar. We put $1 deposit on the F.U. hole for the pilots to pay before they go flying with us. We've made a few bucks from them, but you do have those few who are tighter than bark on a tree. We heard from SGT Lance Reynolds, Big Windy's FE on 88-00099, that there was an Iranian Chinook at Taji and that it ended up there during the Iran-Iraq war. We flew up there one day and I saw it and said to myself - you know what, I'm going to cut that panel out by the heater closet and have Montey paint me another Livin' Large on the identical panel. He did and so now that piece of the Iranian helicopter is in our hootch. He did an awesome job. The Big Windy boys sure did help us out here. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger version of the image.

90-00211 and The Harley Boys - SFC Gene Mash (left), SGT Charlie Ross (center), 1ST SGT Tom Doyle (right). All three own Harley motorcycles. 1ST SGT Doyle also flew A model Chinooks 66-19023 and 66-19075 in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam conflict. Click-N-Go Here to see a larger version of this photograph.

Engine Change

On 11 October 2003, 90-00211 got an engine change while on a layover in Kirkuk, Iraq. Pictured below (from left to right) is SFC Gene Mash, SSG Brett Otness (the Flight Engineer of 90-00222) and SGT Charlie Ross.

90-00211, a U.S. Army CH-47D helicopter belonging to Company A - "Hook-ers", 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, United States Army Reserve home-based at Fort Lewis, Washington, flies over Baghdad, Iraq, during a distinguished visitor flight in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

25 July 2003: 90-00211, a U.S. Army CH-47D helicopter belonging to Company A - "Hook-ers", 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, United States Army Reserve home-based at Fort Lewis, Washington, flies over Baghdad, Iraq, during a distinguished visitor flight in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

90-00211 transporting injured litter patients during the Iraq insurgency.

April 2004: Above, 90-00211 transports injured soldiers on litters during the indigent uprising in Iraq. Below, on the next run 90-00211 transports ammunition back to the front lines.

90-00211 transporting ammunition to the front lines in Iraq.

SFC Mash aboard 90-00211.

A modified version of the nose art of 85-24363 in the Iraqi desert during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

A modified version of the nose art of 90-00211 in the Iraqi desert during Operation Iraqi Freedom [2003-2004]. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.