During his two tours in Vietnam, Col. Moore flew 2,752 combat medevac mission and transported 2,952 wounded men back to the medical help they needed. The night I was wounded, my new co-pilot Don Study put us right on the deck, but all the while I had visions of my first 30-foot hover when I was a Funny New Guyan FNG. They also acted as medical evacuation helicopter pilots when needed. It can be expressed in its mathematical formula of S (suction) + H (height) above ground) + I (interest in staying alive) + T (# of tracers coming your way). 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.. information contained in this publication shall not be distributed to non-VHPA Over 900,000 patients were airlifted (nearly half were American). 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. As they entered a one year combat tour, many pilots heard the ominous rumor that the average life expectancy of a US Army Aviator helicopter pilot in combat was only 19 minutes. The Pilots of 1st of the 9th Cav were and yes still are the best. looking good. Small, two seat TH-55 Osages were also used. If we had been shot down on virtually any hoist mission, our high hover would not have allowed us to make a safe landing, and many would surely have died. Myth: The fighting in Vietnam was not as intense as in World War II. [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. I suppose we would have survived; we had water wings! sent to webmaster@vhpa.org whereupon Vietnam Helicopter Flight Crew Network (VHFCN) We lost a lot of Pilots but we also lost a lot of Crew Chiefs and Door Gunners. Our single-engine UH-1H Hueys did not float in the water very well. If everything is as clear as a bell, and everything is going exactly as planned, youre about to be surprised. Whatd he say? Hell, I dont know. Warrant Officer-1 Al Gaddis was a tall, curly haired kid as I remember him. am.. Do not fear the enemy, for your enemy can only take your life. 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. After training, they entered transport or gunship platoons referred to simply as slicks or guns. Most would complete at least two combat tours. You will get a sense of what that was like from listening to his stories. z.. Pucker Factor is the formal name of the equation that states the more hairy the situation is, the more of the seat cushion will be sucked up your ass. It would instantly cut the cable should any part of the lift apparatus get snagged in the trees or in any other emergency situation. 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. U.S. aviation industry - average age of active pilots by - Statista . By 1967, 600 pilots were being graduated per month. I have got to pass this on to an Aussie friend of mine, Ian. When we were on short final approach over the landing zone, I heard small arms fire and my brand-new Crew Chief yelled Were taking fire!, I pulled power into the rotor system to get out of there as quickly as I could, when the radio operator on the ground called out Dustoff, where are you going?. With the front of my Huey still kissing the tree leaves and my crew keeping me posted as to what was going on, I took a quick, curious look out my left window to see where the friendly fire was impacting. of fuel, ammunition and other supplies because of a lack of support from Values are as of December 31 each year. 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. Being scared in the sense of risking ones life for others, for sure, but also a sense of being scared that you will not be up to the standards of your fellow pilots. Whether their responsibility was to fly the troops into and out of battle, become the Medical Evacuation bird when required, be the forward eyes of the ground troopers or provide them fire support when needed. The average age (according to General William C. Westmoreland before the Third Annual Reunion of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association (VHPA) at the Washington, DC Hilton Hotel on July 5th, 1986) was 26 The average man who fought in World War II was 26 years of age. is passed from outgoing President to incoming President at each reunion. Experienced pilots with proven records of successful, aggressive combat could be invited to join a platoon in a fire team of one or two gunships operating with a scout helicopter and escorting slick assaults. Drinking and how not to get caught. k.. San Antonio, Texas 78208-0091, Copyright 2023 DUSTOFF Association | Powered by Barefoot Pixel, USAAAD conducts life-saving rescue of two civilians near Mount Adams. Epilogue: Most people who see photos of Dustoff Hueys in Vietnam observe only the outside of the aircraft. The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand stayed free of Communism because of the U.S. commitment to Vietnam. Read the latest issue of the Friends of the Vietnam Center Newsletter and subscribe to recieve future newsletters. v.. A free fire zone has nothing to do with economics. As one of those troopers on the ground, I can honestly say how proud I am to have served with Brave men. time than any other aircraft in the history of warfare assuming you count actual There is no such thing as a fair fight-only ones where you win or lose. come left . Rarely have so many people been so wrong about so much. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Warrant Officer Candidates (WOCs) then progressed to Fort Rucker, Alabama, or, from 1967, Hunter Army Airfield at Fort Stewart, Georgia, for advanced flight training and instrument flight instruction. All of these, however, are better than extraction by Medavac, even if it is technically, a form of flying. 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. ", Federal Aviation Administration, Average age of active pilots in the United States from 2002 to 2020, by category* Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/919100/aviation-industry-average-age-of-active-pilots-in-the-united-states-by-category/ (last visited March 04, 2023), Average age of active pilots in the United States from 2002 to 2020, by category* [Graph], Federal Aviation Administration, May 18, 2021. . During a hoist mission, we flew with one finger on a button on the cyclic stick that operated an electric solenoid. In, Federal Aviation Administration. Reunion dates and locations have been announced for the following units: The latest quarterly issue has the agenda and registration details for Vietnam War conference scheduled for March 2-4, 2023 that will focus on the year 1973: The Paris Peace Accords and the Allied Withdrawal from South Vietnam Also included are updates on the Oral History Project and volunteer opportunities.Stay in touch and help us preserve your legacy. Five minutes or more seemed like hours while we sat in the air over the ground troops, taxing every bit of professionalism we hadand the reader better believe we had the utmost professionalism. In order to be Old and Wise, one must first be young and stupid. Myth: Kim Phuc, the little nine year old Vietnamese girl running naked from the napalm strike near Trang Bang on 8 June 1972, was burned by Americans bombing Trang Bang. survival radio, whats that? As soon as this statistic is updated, you will immediately be notified via e-mail. [McCaffrey], 87% of the American people hold Vietnam Vets in high esteem. THE UNITED STATES DID NOT LOSE THE WAR IN VIETNAM, THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE average age of vietnam helicopter pilot - lebel-minsk.by Or, to hear veteran helicopter pilots describe their personal experiences in the line of duty, click here. The radioman on the ship would tell them Cleared for a port quarter approach. The silence on the radio was the proverbial pregnant pause, and I could imagine the conversation inside the Huey cockpit. Publi le 12 juin 2022 par . Categories . aa..Thus the term SHIT! can also be used to denote a situation where high Pucker Factor is being encountered. And the answer is: There IS none! Sure, we had a compass and an Automatic Direction Finder, but in the event of an engine failure on the way to the hospital ship, this would have probably been my emergency call. af.. 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. Those Hueys were their horses and they rode into battle en masse, to deliver their troops and evacuate the wounded. I will always thank Warrant Officer Study for his late-night, picture-perfect landing on the round end of the boat. Oh, Sugar! (Not my exact word.) Although many of them had experience of fixed wing aircraft, very different challenges lay ahead when it came to learning the sophisticated, coordinated control techniques required for rotary wing flying. f.. * Includes pilots with an airplane and/or a helicopter and/or a glider and/or a gyroplane certificate. Parameters for authorizing operating a US Navy submarine reactor plant above practicable design limits is Read More, Additionally, 1.3 million of those five million flight hours were accomplished during combat. Failure to heed this commandment can affect the morale of the crew. October 20, 2021. An automobile accident or other traumatic event also can cause it. Correspondence relating to commercial purposes or solicitations shall only be In reference to Mr. Walker, would he also be the same pilot that was nick named, Baby Huey in Vietnam? One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. They could rotate around a battle site from above, unleashing punishing weapon support from above. [Westmoreland], Democracy Catching On - In the wake of the Cold War, democracies are flourishing, with 179 of the world's 192 sovereign states (93%) now electing their legislators, according to the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union. We took no hits on that mission, and as we lifted out of the landing zone, the fact that we cheated death again left me with all the exciting feelings I mentioned at the beginning of this article.
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