Major
Wilford E. Vidlock, Finance Officer, 24th Infantry
Division
One morning I was due at the division's forward CP
at 0900 to deliver the payroll to unit agents. I
knew I could never make it by jeep, so I asked one
of the pilots of a helicopter to fly me and my
assistant forward. He very obligingly agreed. It
took us an hour to make the trip that would have
taken eight by jeep. So I claim for the finance
section of the 24th Infantry Division the
distinction of first having delivered a monthly
payroll by helicopter.
We arrived on time, so everybody was happy. You
should have seen the people at forward when I got
out of the "eggbeater"! No joke. They were
running every which way as we made our approach.
When I stepped out it was really a picnic. They
thought the helicopter was bringing General
Ridgeway!
