In, Federal Aviation Administration. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy. I can throw a rock in there, its so close! was the rest of my thought. Mailing Address: Based on the data, more than 30% of the current for-hire pilots fall within the age range of 50 to 64. By the end of the war half of them had been lost. [2]:3, The helicopters transported over 1,000 Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) paratroopers for an assault on a suspected Viet Cong (VC) stronghold 10 miles (16km) west of Saigon. The others on board simply assumed he was also headed for dinner, but I knew the true meaning of his statement. (Westmoreland quoting Douglas Pike, a professor at the University of California, Berkley a renowned expert on the Vietnam War) [Westmoreland] This included Tet 68, which was a major military defeat for the VC and NVA. The VHPA is a social organization only and reunion. In action, gunships sometimes left their lights on for night missions, for according to another Huey pilot, We had a doctrine that wed rather have the enemy shoot at the gunship than at the lesser armed slicks.. To all of the brave Pilots and their crews, I can say but three things. ai.. "We (Americans) had nothing to do with controlling VNAF," according to Lieutenant General (Ret) James F. Hollingsworth, the Commanding General of TRAC at that time. The first time I tried to land on the ship at night, I terminated at a 30-foot hover over the deck instead of on the deck, and the Aircraft Commander had to take over and hover us down to the ship. b.. November 14th, 2013 at 5:45 pm Dave Shannon (crewmember, 92nd AHC) Says: I always liked the subdued look of combat zone attire, as opposed to anything shiny or glittery. Communications with the Executive Council No Pilot that I know of ever went into a combat situation without both. Oh, Sugar! (Not my exact word.) If you lose you The VHPA publishes six Soviet Union. The longer you stare at the gauges the less time it takes them to move from green to red. If we waited for gunship support, it may be too late for the wounded, so most times we tried to sneak in and sneak out (if thats possible in a clattering helicopter) and complete the rescue before the enemy had TOO much time to shoot us up . Running is better than crawling. The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter Warrant Officer Shelly Berryman flew Huey helicopters in Vietnam War But it also exposed American servicemen and women to a chemical that now has them dying on average 13 years earlier than their counterparts who did not serve in . Please note: This In September of 68 1LT Bruce Huffman had his crew disembark fron his ship and had it loaded with ammo, C-rations and batteries for the radio. on VHFCN (http://www.vhfcn.org) , Heli-Vets and FaceBook also another FaceBook site. To retrieve the data click on 2020 Active Civil Airmen Statistics. There walks a dead man. [1996 Information Please Almanac], The 140,000 evacuees in April 1975 during the fall of Saigon consisted almost entirely of civilians and Vietnamese military, NOT American military running for their lives. All of these, however, are better than extraction by Medavac, even if it is technically, a form of flying. Thank you. Myth: Agent Orange poisoned millions of Vietnam veterans. If everything is as clear as a bell, and everything is going exactly as planned, youre about to be surprised. We grabbed some unsuspecting Schmuck and told him to get his weapon and some ammo and run with us to the aircraft. As one of those troopers on the ground, I can honestly say how proud I am to have served with Brave men. The additional weight of patients on the end of the hoist as they were lifted off the ground further complicated the stability of the aircraft. Your email address will not be published. . War is brutal and not fair. 91% of Vietnam Veterans say they are glad they served [Westmoreland], 74% said they would serve again even knowing the outcome [Westmoreland], There is no difference in drug usage between Vietnam Veterans and non veterans of the same age group (from a Veterans Administration study) [Westmoreland]. magazines, a membership directory and a calendar each year and periodically publishes As the Aircraft Commander in control of the helicopter, my eyes never left the tree branches that were touching the nose of my aircraft. It was an average age for most of the other Army helicopter pilots I flew with in the 237th Medical Detachment in northern I Corps near the DMZ. The Vietnam War was shortly after China got involved in the Korean war, the time of the Cuban missile crisis, Soviet aggression in Eastern Europe and the proliferation of nuclear bombs. Drinking and how not to get caught. I suppose that is what kept most of us going in the daily risk of flying helicopters in combat in Vietnam. Yet undoubtedly every plane in Laos carried opium at some time, unknown to the pilot and his superiors. designed as a helipad. Then I did another Young & Stupid thing. [Houk]. ac.. Running out of pedal, fore or aft cyclic, or collective are all bad ideas. The Veterans Site honors the helicopter pilots and crews who fought so hard for us on the ground throughout the Vietnam War. . I enlisted in the (WOFT) Warrant Officer Flight Training. It is far better that you fear the media, for they will steal your HONOR. [VHPA databases], Army AH-1G's totaled more than 1,166,344 flight hours in Vietnam. come left . It has been said many times by Navy and Marine jet pilots that landing on an aircraft carrier is like landing on a postage stamp. about halfway down . Helicopters in Currently, you are using a shared account. The Vietnamese pilot who dropped the napalm in error is currently living in the United States. The emotions are almost indescribable, but there was one more feeling: relief from being so scared! First, one has to understand what a hoist mission is and why we did them. The DA-4733-DSC should not be confused with the much more common DA-4734-GSTT (Gunship Sized Tiny Testicles), where other pilots made up for their lack of size with big guns and big wrist watches. And what was even stupider, I suppose, was the fact that if the doors were closed when we reached the water, we opened them so we could get out easier if we did go down. has no political agenda as is our brother organization, The Vietnam Helicopter Normally, one has to push a button to talk over the intercom in a military aircraft, but on a hoist mission, we turned it to hot mikes, because we all needed our hands for other things. That sinister-sounding term was coined after the war) Orange was sprayed at three gallons per acre that was the equivalent of .009 of an ounce per square foot. $36/year subscription. . [VHPA databases], Army UH-1's totaled more than 10,693,902 flight hours in Vietnam between October 1966 and the end of (the herbicide was called "orange" in Vietnam, not Agent Orange. [1996 Information Please Almanac], POW-MIA Issue (unaccounted-for versus missing in action), Politics & People, On Vietnam, Clinton Should Follow a Hero's Advice, My opinion is that he was as afraid that he could not complete the mission, as much as he was afraid to die. The United States sought to minimize and prevent attacks on civilians while North Vietnam made attacks on civilians a centerpiece of its strategy. member. Every helicopter flying in Vietnam had one real purpose: To help the grunt. That knocked the rotor blades off and the TH-55 went in., Successful candidates then progressed to the Contact Phase at Knox Army Heliport, Fort Rucker, for specific training on the UH-1B, C, and D, followed by the Tactics Phase at nearby Lowe Army Helioport, which prepared them for realistic combat conditions. At the same time, I made flight adjustments according to the guys in the back. When called upon, a Pilot did not wait for approval from his crew, becuse he knew his crew would never say No. The last American troops departed in their entirety 29 March 1973. Please do not hesitate to contact me. The gunships that were escorting him told Al to put it on the ground right away because of the serious leak. On 11 December 1961, the USS Core (T-AKV-41) docked in Saigon with 32 U.S. Army Piasecki H-21 helicopters and 400 crewmen of the 8th Transportation Company (Light Helicopter) and the 57th Transportation Company (Light Helicopter). Myth: The media have reported that suicides among Vietnam veterans range from 50,000 to 100,000 - 6 to 11 times the non-Vietnam veteran population. Its just what they do. As an elevator at the reunion hotel was transporting me and other attendees to the Saturday night banquet, another Dustoff pilot stepped on from his floor. "The problem is that those who think the Vietnamese haven't cooperated sufficiently think there is some central repository with answers to all the lingering questions," notes Gen. John Vessey, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Reagan and Bush administration's designated representative in MIA negotiations. As a group, we helicopter pilots did what we had to do and then some. If you are wearing body armor, they will probably miss that part. They also acted as the means of supply of ammunitions, equipment and food. Restraining the military in Vietnam in hindsight probably prevented a nuclear war with China or Russia. The average time lapse between wounding to hospitalization was less than one hour. So, too, can the ones addressed To Whom It May Concern. [McCaffrey], The oldest man killed was 62 years old (TAYLOR, KENNA CLYDE). Although I was sworn to secrecy at the time, with the Freedom of Information Act, I believe that I can now break the silence. q.. Having all your body parts intact and functioning at the end of the day beats the alternative. [The Wall Street Journal] The Wall Street Journal, 1 June 1996 page A15. It is a bad thing to run out of airspeed, altitude, and ideas all at the same time. In reference to Mr. Walker, would he also be the same pilot that was nick named, Baby Huey in Vietnam? It was called "shell shock" and other names in previous wars. You will come away from this video with a real sense of the quality of heroism that every one of our Vietnam War helicopter pilots displayed on a daily basis. Membership is open to all helicopter pilots who flew in I told my roommate, This is it. [VHPA Databases] Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association Databases. I did well enough to make the school, along with about 25 of my classmates. The planes doing the bombing near the village were VNAF (Vietnam Air Force) and were being flown by Vietnamese pilots in support of South Vietnamese troops on the ground. am.. Do not fear the enemy, for your enemy can only take your life. The Pilots of 1st of the 9th Cav were and yes still are the best. Average age of active pilots in the United States from 2002 to 2020, by category* [Graph]. The further you fly into the mountains, the louder the strange engine noises become. no, seven! Okay, so the Hueys were extremely reliable, and I still love those incredible machines, but for the moment let us discuss navigation equipment on a Huey. or down. 66 founding members. You were a good friend and much appreciated by my parents. I can personally remember one time when we were pinned down due to superior enemy fire from a tree line and a weapons platoon helicopter (Cobra) sat just off to our right and lit up the tree line with such superior fire that the enemy was destroyed. (So I guess that makes three Young and Stupids. Is this the Steve DaCosta who was friend of my brother W.O. We put him in the back of the cargo compartment with his M-16 and a helmet, hooked him up to the intercom, and we were off. American-owned airlines never knowingly transported opium in or out of Laos, nor did their American pilots ever profit from its transport. All rights reserved. From 1965, around 99 percent of each completed class of students were sent to Vietnam. With the patient finally on board, the Radio Operator with the ground unit Rogered our departure message with a Thanks a HELL of a lot, Dustoff!. Most Agent Orange contained .0002 of 1 percent of dioxin. (Personally, I have fathered 73 children with two good Dustoff-sized testicles.) Directly accessible data for 170 industries from 50 countries and over 1 million facts: Get quick analyses with our professional research service. Most aviators receives about 210 hours of flight time. If we didnt do it, the next guy would, and we would have been found to be personally lacking what it took to complete the mission. American involvement in February 1973. Thanks for posting the memories. I tried to use the opportunity to prove to myself that I could accomplish the goals I set for myself and do them well. The pilots who were flying this helicopter, hostile fire exposure versus battle area exposure. Click here to view the US Army educational video, "A Day in the Life of a Helicopter Pilot," circa 1967. [2]:4, On 15 April 1962 the United States Marine Corps began Operation Shufly, the rotating deployment of Marine helicopter squadrons, associated maintenance units and air traffic control detachments to South Vietnam to improve the mobility of ARVN forces. Five Thousand pilots and crews lost their lives and 3,258 Hueys alone were lost during the war. A third tradition is a bottle He was an instructor pilot at Downing Army Airfield at Ft. Wolters, Texas, in May of 1968. In the last decade, 69 nations have held multi-party elections for the first time in their histories. If you have not been there and done that you probably will not understand most of this. The fall of Saigon happened 30 April 1975, two years AFTER the American military left Vietnam. The Naval Air Training Command, located at Pensacola, Florida, could not train enough Marine helicopter pilots to bring the units in Vietnam up to strength. Operation Chopper occurred on 12 January 1962 and was the first time U.S. forces participated in major combat in the Vietnam War. We were an easier target during the day, but unlike at night when we kept all the lights off, we could see what we were doing! d.. If I had gone down over water, I would not have grabbed the wings either, because not only had I never tried to inflate them, I had never even tried to put them on. Nighttime was even worse. g.. I have got to pass this on to an Aussie friend of mine, Ian. survive the 365 days in Southeast Asia was to be a gunship pilot, blazing my way back to the states, defending myself with mini-guns, rockets, and grenade launchers. a31 road closure alton; cdw insurance for rental cars; hygro cotton bath towels; Hello world! I dont think so. I will always thank Warrant Officer Study for his late-night, picture-perfect landing on the round end of the boat. San Antonio, Texas 78208-0091, Copyright 2023 DUSTOFF Association | Powered by Barefoot Pixel, USAAAD conducts life-saving rescue of two civilians near Mount Adams. statistic alerts) please log in with your personal account. The third seat was installed in our combat aircraft to accommodate the well above average size of our family jewels, which were required to complete most of the missions we flew in Vietnam. story building where the CIA station chief and many of his officers lived, located at 22 Ly Tu Trong St. The UH-1 evolved from a 1955 US Army competition for a new utility helicopter. It is dedicated to the fulfillment of Myth: Air America, the airline operated by the CIA in Southeast Asia, and its pilots were involved in drug trafficking. Here are some facts to clear up that poor job of reporting by the news media. (May 18, 2021). The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter. View complete answer on zippia.com Put some fire in that bunker! I yelled to Private Whats-His-Name. ), Once out to sea, landing on the ships was an interesting experience, especially when the decks were bouncing up and down like a fishing bobber with a carp under it. Federal Aviation Administration. Others flew fixed wing and some were already in the Army but applied for and were chosen to attend flight school. Uh, thats a can opener for those of you who arent military. information contained in this publication shall not be distributed to non-VHPA These three represent all of out Vietnam War helicopter pilots. You can only download this statistic as a Premium user. sent to webmaster@vhpa.org whereupon As a Premium user you get access to the detailed source references and background information about this statistic. The American military was not defeated in Vietnam. Flying is better than walking. Only a few privileged people, other than the crew members themselves, know an obscure fact that there were actually three seats in the cockpit of a Dustoff helicopter, rather than two seats, as mounted in all other Hueys. Flight training was preceded by grueling infantry instruction at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and Fort Polk, Louisiana, where recruits, predominantly volunteers, learned through Basic Combat Training that they were primarily soldiers, with a secondary role as helicopter crew members.
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