The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter. Walking is better than running. As mentioned earlier, there was little protection from weapon fire for the pilots, and with body parts exposed on a third seat, we were especially vulnerable. One point I want to make is the the Crew Chiefs and Door Gunners were the and are still the best as well. Restraining the military in Vietnam in hindsight probably prevented a nuclear war with China or Russia. Most 18 year olds only think about girls and what they can get from them. Five Thousand pilots and crews lost their lives and 3,258 Hueys alone were lost during the war. The most common ethnicity of helicopter pilots is White (82.0%), followed by Hispanic or Latino (6.8%), Unknown (5.5%) and Asian (2.7%). 2/3 of the men who served in Vietnam were volunteers. come forward just a little . 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. bombers and were always exposed to hostile fire even in their base camps. 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. I already knew the difference between port and starboard, and it wasnt that hard to figure out beam and quartering approaches. [Nixon] Atrocities - every war has atrocities. 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. volunteers. There is no such thing as a fair fight-only ones where you win or lose. looking good. submit other directory changes and updates. Operation Chopper occurred on 12 January 1962 and was the first time U.S. forces participated in major combat in the Vietnam War. Although I was sworn to secrecy at the time, with the Freedom of Information Act, I believe that I can now break the silence. Chart. l.. 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. [People]. s.. The third pilot is retired Col. David Rainey U.S. Army. . only 10 to 20 minutes of that time exposed to hostile fire. 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!. Isolated atrocities committed by American soldiers produced torrents of outrage from antiwar critics and the news media while Communist atrocities were so common that they received hardly any attention at all. Membership is open to all helicopter pilots who flew in 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. As explained by Peter E. Davies in his book UH-1 Huey Gunship Vs NVA/VC Forces Vietnam 1962-75, many US Army pilots volunteered for combat simply because they wanted to fly the UH-1. The biggest responsibility of a helicopter pilot was to fly that helicopter in such a manner as to provide support for the men on the ground. (The CACF is the basis for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, i.e. They were utterly selfless and courageous warriors on our behalf. Section 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Service. Those brief and simple heartfelt words meant more to me that night than anything else ever said to me during my entire tour. Running is better than crawling. n.. So, were we really Young and Stupid? Myth: Most American soldiers were addicted to drugs, guilt-ridden about their role in the war, and deliberately used cruel and inhumane tactics. [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. This freed Marine quotas at Pensacola which could be used to . Also, it has been incorrectly reported that two of Kim Phuc's brothers were killed in this incident. Refining close formation skills was an immediate requirement, as airborne assaults could involve a tight gaggle of up to 40 helicopters, including ten gunships. . Shortly after arriving at Ft. Rucker, Alabama, I learned that those of us with the highest flight grades would attend a two-week gun school near the end of training, while the rest learned formation flying. Over the ten years of the war, Operation Ranch Hand sprayed about eleven million gallons of Agent Orange on the South Vietnamese landscape. As soon as he stepped from the left side to the right, the aircraft tipped. I guess that woke him up, as the next thing I heard was his rifle plugging away at a mound of dirt just outside his door and about 30 feet down. Rarely have so many people been so wrong about so much. At least, I believe that is how I would have felt had it been me. The Vietnam War was the turning point for Communism. Thanks for the memories. He was not strapped in. Hello. Prayer may not help . "The CDC Vietnam Experience Study Mortality Assessment showed that during the first 5 years after discharge, deaths from suicide were 1.7 times more likely among Vietnam veterans than non-Vietnam veterans. [Online]. They were the ones who flew the troops into and out of battle. Ground troops typically did not enter a sprayed area until four to six weeks after being sprayed. 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. [1] "Vietnam helicopter pilots describe the war from the cockpit," YouTube video, posted by "Military Times," April 18th, 2018. The American military did not lose a battle of any consequence. I dont think so. how to unhide mouse cursor windows 10; 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. Even more demanding was formation flying at night, with navigation lights off, using the glow from the leaders cockpit instruments for station keeping. Vietnam Veterans are less likely to be in prison - only 1/2 of one percent of Vietnam Veterans have been jailed for crimes. Myth: A disproportionate number of blacks were killed in the Vietnam War. [Burkett] Stolen Valor: How the Vietnam Generation was Robbed of its Heroes and its History by B.G. In Vietnam, pilots frequently encountered fog and monsoon rain, which severely tested their blind flying skills. ai.. 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! A Huey pilot later with the 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion (AHB) at Pleiku, recalled one student who, flush with success after his first solo, decided to see what it was like in the empty instructors seat, but knew he would have to change back to land. reunion. [McCaffrey], Vietnam veterans' personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent. Deaths Average Age Enlisted: 50,274, 22.37 years Officers: 6,598, 28.43 years They could often see what we could not and helped keep the enemy off of us and to even the odds for us, so to speak. He dropped to the deck a couple miles out and then screamed up the hill at 120 knots and tree top level, trying to sneak in past the enemy. I then realized that ole PP back there was just sitting in the hell hole taking it all in, not doing a thing! "No event in American history is more misunderstood than the Vietnam War. I will always thank Warrant Officer Study for his late-night, picture-perfect landing on the round end of the boat. . confidential. . . Based on the data, more than 30% of the current for-hire pilots fall within the age range of 50 to 64. We dont have any place for you to land, so just hang your butts out in the open sky for several minutes so any kid with a bow and arrow can shoot you down, and Gee, those red crosses on your helicopter sure make great aiming points, dont they? The terms Protective Armor and Helicopter are mutually exclusive. rules. Later, the crew became a two-man pilot team. Sometimes, being good and lucky still is not enough. Two high ranking to Europe and both have since died. a colleague is looking for a helicopter pilot nicknamed chicken man, who spent some time around Solid Anchor in about 1971. u.. Everybodys a hero on the ground in the club after the fourth drink. Over the course of the war, some 12,000 helicopters of various kinds saw service in Vietnam. As a group, we helicopter pilots did what we had to do and then some. nfl open tryouts 2022 dates; liste des parc de maison mobile en floride; running 5k everyday for a month before and after; girls who code summer immersion program By the end of the war half of them had been lost. ad.. This form number DA- 4733-DSC (Dustoff-Sized Cajones), was used to determine which pilots would obtain MedEvac training at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, upon completion of training at Mother Rucker. It happened many times, and their names are on The Wall in Washington, D.C. One particular mission I recall was a day hoist. One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. Their stories are extremely compelling. The Wall), Center for Electronic Records, National Archives, Washington, DC, [All That We Can Be] All That We Can Be by Charles C. Moskos and John Sibley Butler, [Westmoreland] Speech by 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 (reproduced in a Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association Historical Reference Directory Volume 2A). d.. designed as a helipad. approximately 40,000 who served as helicopter Your email address will not be published. [VHPA databases]. You were way more mature for your age than 99% of the young men today. We believe that the Huey along with the Huey Cobra have more combat flight . The Pilots of Charlie Troop 1st Squadron 9th Cavalry Regiment 1st Cavalry Division (AM) were the best Pilots of the Vietnam War and today they are the best men America has to offer. It is a bad thing to run out of airspeed, altitude, and ideas all at the same time. Read more about the planned U.S. Air Force helicopter Vietnam War history sections. "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. Magazines are included with VHPA membership and are available to non-members with a Nighttime was even worse. [People]. A Scout team consisted of a pilot, a Door Gunner and an observer. aa..Thus the term SHIT! can also be used to denote a situation where high Pucker Factor is being encountered. 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. The Air Cav was just what the name implies. members without the express consent of the member. There are over 4,945 helicopter pilots currently employed in the United States. If I had gone down over land, I probably would not have taken my weapon with me. . Categories . Get the details for all upcoming vietnam helicopter unit reunions. Please create an employee account to be able to mark statistics as favorites. sent to webmaster@vhpa.org whereupon average age of vietnam helicopter pilot. ab.. Thousands of Vietnam Veterans earned medals for bravery every day. Americans who deliberately killed civilians received prison sentences while Communists who did so received commendations. Knowing that my depth perception left little margin for error on the night approaches (especially), I had to totally concentrate on what I was doing and not relax for a second until we were down on that rockin and rollin ship. It was NOT the U.S. Embassy. The Army employed it in various roles, including that of an armed escort or attack gunship in Vietnam. k.. Myth: Air America, the airline operated by the CIA in Southeast Asia, and its pilots were involved in drug trafficking. There, the new guys learned how to apply their recently found skills to combat situations. but it cant hurt. its on the ground . More realities about war: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - it was not invented or unique to Vietnam Veterans. Every helicopter flying in Vietnam had one real purpose: To help the grunt. American involvement in February 1973. historical reference directories, CD-ROMs and DVDs. 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.