DANANG - A  helicopter pilot and  his crew chief teamed up recently to make a daring recon  team extract in Elephant Valley,  20 miles  west of Danang.

First Lieutenant Ben L. Williams (San Jose, Calif.), and Lance Corporal Hilbert  J.  Torrez  (McClave,  Col.)  are  members  of  Marine  Medium Helicopter Squadron 364, Marble Mountain Air Facility.

Action  began  when eight  Marines on  a recon  patrol  captured enemy equipment and  were awaiting extraction from a 1500 foot cliff.   Several enemy sightings had been made around their position.

As  section leader  of the  three  CH-46  Sea  Knight  helicopters,  1stLt. Williams was dispatched to extract the team.

Once on the scene,  Williams found he was in trouble.   The wind at that altitude was extremely bad.  The  landing zone was a bomb crater on the cliff,  surrounded by trees on three sides.   Lt. Williams  approached the zone,  hovered,  turned  around and  began backing  slowly  toward  the crater.

LCpl.  Torrez  raced  from the ramp  to windows  on both  sides  of  the chopper,  talking the pilot into the zone.   While hovering 1500 feet over the zone,  Torrez stood with one foot  on the ramp and  the other on the crater, and pulled the team aboard.

With the  recon team and  the equipment  aboard,  Lt. Williams  cleared the zone and returned to Danang.