Actual long range combat shooting with a pistol.
In the 1960's I was instructing Army helicopter students at Fort Wolters Texas.
One of my students had recently returned from Vietnam. At the time he was the most decorated man on post.
I read his Silver Star Commendation.
He was a Sergeant and door gunner on a LOH (light observation helicopter) when they were shot down. They crash landed in the middle of a large rice paddy. The chopper ended up upside down against a dike. The pilot was hurt and hanging in the seat belt. He was in too much pain for the Sergeant to move him. The Sergeant's M60 was jammed in the door frame, so all he had was a 1911 and he said he always carried a 30 cal ammo box full of 45 ammo.
When he looked over the dike there was a single VC at seven yards and the Sergeant shot him with the 45.
From then on the VC came across the rice paddy one and two at a time and the Sergeant killed them, without being hit himself.
By the time help arrived the Sergeant had killed VC from (a measured) 7 yards to 97 yard with his 1911.
I wish I had written down the details because I don't remember how many dead VC they counted but I remember the number shocked me.
I asked, I wonder why the VC didn't all charge him at once?
He said, Everyone wondered the same thing.
First, they obviously were inexperienced troops with a very poor leader.
Probably the best explanation is, the VC knew he had a M60 and chances are they thought he was just playing with them with the 45 hoping to get the whole unit out in the rice paddy where he could cut them all down with the M60.
Learning to fly didn't come easy to the Sergeant but I told him I wasn't washing out a man that earned a Silver Star.
