Myth: The fighting in Vietnam was not as intense as in World War II. As an example, heavy Its just what they do. Most of our Door Gunners and Crew Chiefs were also 18-21 years old. 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. I asked to take a different test and was able to pass that one! [VHPA 1993], The helicopter provided unprecedented mobility. The great majority of these efforts have erroneously portrayed many myths about the Vietnam War as being facts. [VHPA databases], Army AH-1G's totaled more than 1,166,344 flight hours in Vietnam. You will meet and hear the stories of three U.S. Army helicopter pilots who flew missions in Vietnam in this video. 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 was misreported then, and it is misremembered now. Myth: The United States lost the war in Vietnam. Magazines are included with VHPA membership and are available to non-members with a Learn how your comment data is processed. is passed from outgoing President to incoming President at each reunion. There is an explanation Translation: There are bad guys all around, weve got wounded, get in here NOW before they die or we have more wounded, and you have to come back again. 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. He was not strapped in. The platform is the top of the elevator shaft for the building and was not No matter what the enemy threw at them, they never backed down. You only have access to basic statistics. Helicopters in 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. "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. There is no such thing as a fair fight-only ones where you win or lose. 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. Thanks for posting the memories. Not only were we not found to be lacking as youthful aviators, as a whole we far exceeded the expectations. Vietnam seldom flew above 1,500 feet which is traffic pattern altitude for Refining close formation skills was an immediate requirement, as airborne assaults could involve a tight gaggle of up to 40 helicopters, including ten gunships. 20002023 The Veterans Site and GreaterGood. He was an Air Cav pilot, delivering and evacuating troops into and out of battlefields. As soon as he stepped from the left side to the right, the aircraft tipped. [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. As a Premium user you get access to the detailed source references and background information about this statistic. You need at least a Starter Account to use this feature. As soon as this statistic is updated, you will immediately be notified via e-mail. Damn Navy talk! The hospital ship would then radio to the helicopter again, Just come in from the left and land to the back of the boat. It always got an immediate Roger!. I was okay to fly helicopters in the Army, but not to drive a jeep! These three represent all of out Vietnam War helicopter pilots. Copyright 1995 - 2018 Gary B. Roush, 242 ASHC Muleskinners, May 1968 - May Please call HQ on 800-505-VHPA (8472) to sign up to be a life average age of vietnam helicopter pilot 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. They were immensely important to the troops on the ground as aerial fire power. (Although 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both event date and birth date. on 29 April 1975 from UPI's offices on the top floor of the Saigon Hotel which He was an assault helicopter pilot, in other words a gunship pilot. fund has been established at the Vietnam Center and Archives at Texas Tech Mine were draped over the back of my seat, along with my M-16 rifle. Those Hueys were their horses and they rode into battle en masse, to deliver their troops and evacuate the wounded. This famous picture is the property of UPI Corbus-Bettman Photo Agency. I tried to use the opportunity to prove to myself that I could accomplish the goals I set for myself and do them well. While in themselves those landings were not stupid, the way we got there was! I promised myself that it would never happen again, and it didnt. rotary wing aircrews that flew in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam Era. Click here to view the US Army educational video, "A Day in the Life of a Helicopter Pilot," circa 1967. 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. Back home in the real world, my buddies were at the drive-in, drinking beer and looking for a carload of girls to flirt with, just as I had been doing a year or two before. Scientific research has shown that dioxin degrades in sunlight after 48 to 72 hours; therefore, troops exposure to dioxin was infinitesimal. If you lose you 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). 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. It was a fact that Dustoff crews had three times the casualty rate of other helicopter crews. I have posted your reply to Steve on here so he will be able to read it. Accessed March 04, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/919100/aviation-industry-average-age-of-active-pilots-in-the-united-states-by-category/, Federal Aviation Administration. Event date is used instead of declared dead date for some of those who were listed as missing in action) [CACF] Company pick-up truck, I was told I didnt pass the depth perception portion of the eye test and would not be issued the license. pilots in the Vietnam War. [All That We Can Be]. So, were we really Young and Stupid? The Vietnam Helicopter Flight Crew Network (VHFCN) is a non profit veterans organization dedicated to the fulfillment of the following purposes: To provide a forum for recreational communications amongst a fraternity of aircrew members who served in Vietnam during the period 1961-75 At the conclusive battle of the war (the Fall of Saigon), the . . Dario Leone is an aviation, defense and military writer. In retrospect, I think that is what happened to one of the pilots in our unit a few months after I left. By 1967, 600 pilots were being graduated per month. I already knew the difference between port and starboard, and it wasnt that hard to figure out beam and quartering approaches. * Includes pilots with an airplane and/or a helicopter and/or a glider and/or a gyroplane certificate. When I read the quickly handwritten sheet for this particular mission, I knew before we left that it was going to be an insecure hoist. [Westmoreland], 97% were discharged under honorable conditions; the same percentage of honorable discharges as ten years prior to Vietnam [Westmoreland], 85% of Vietnam Veterans made a successful transition to civilian life. To seek out, using whatever means available, individuals who piloted rotary wing Restraining the military in Vietnam in hindsight probably prevented a nuclear war with China or Russia. By the end of the war half of them had been lost. No Pilot that I know of ever went into a combat situation without both. Can I pick up Armed Forces Radio on it? sent to. I suppose that is what kept most of us going in the daily risk of flying helicopters in combat in Vietnam. The average infantryman in the South Pacific during World War II saw about 40 days of combat in four years. As one of those troopers on the ground, I can honestly say how proud I am to have served with Brave men. "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. "In all the years we've been working on this we have found that's not the case." Ground troops typically did not enter a sprayed area until four to six weeks after being sprayed. 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. . "The aviation units were the sole combat element of the U.S. Army that did not come. 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?. It required every skill we had. . A constant line of chatter was transmitted from the medic and the Crew Chief to the pilots, who were both on the flight controls in case either was violently incapable of continuing to fly the aircraft. submit other directory changes and updates. The death squads focused on leaders at the village level and on anyone who improved the lives of the peasants such as medical personnel, social workers, and schoolteachers. No matter what the make up of the team was they flew in helicopters that were made with the intention of dispensing a superior amount of fire power on the enemy. Innocent people get killed. The longer you stare at the gauges the less time it takes them to move from green to red. Average age of 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years. To use individual functions (e.g., mark statistics as favourites, set Obviously, I was wrong, but I did not know it then. Values are as of December 31 each year. Small, two seat TH-55 Osages were also used. by | Jun 5, 2022 | curtain suppliers in dubai | riverside cafe medicine park, ok menu | Jun 5, 2022 | curtain suppliers in dubai | riverside cafe medicine park, ok menu Shoot, I had NO idea! By Phil Marshall, DMZ Dustoff 711, 237th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance) Camp Evans and Quang Tri, Vietnam 1969, published in Association of Naval Aviation, Cape Fear Seahawk Newsletter, July 2012, Vol. Laura Ungaro, I enjoyed reading this very much, many good memories were recalled. Correspondence relating to commercial purposes or solicitations shall only be l.. Many times these brave men had to deliver or retrieve the troopers into or out of areas where enemy fire was heavy. Warrant Officer-1 Al Gaddis was a tall, curly haired kid as I remember him. Keeping with the VHPAs tradition that the History Sections theme becomes the theme for that years Membership Directory, the 2023 Membership Directory (D2023) will be a history of U.S. Air Force helicopters in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War (1961 thru 1975).Read more about the planned U.S. Air Force helicopter Vietnam War history sections. contained this quote about Vietnam, there has been "the most extensive accounting in the history of human warfare" of those missing in action. Profit from the additional features of your individual account. I could not have been more proud of myself and my flight school classmates for having come this far. i.. Chicken Plates are not something you order in a restaurant. Mortality studies show that 9,000 is a better estimate. historical reference directories, CD-ROMs and DVDs. More realities about war: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - it was not invented or unique to Vietnam Veterans. Failure to heed this commandment can affect the morale of the crew. When they saw one flying balls out, they knew it was a Dustoff on an urgent mission. But come look for us, will ya? There walks a dead man. In my mind, the only way I would. Get full access to all features within our Business Solutions. It is Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, Dustoff 7-1-1, were going down over the sea. Servicemen who went to Vietnam from well-to-do areas had a slightly elevated risk of dying because they were more likely to be pilots or infantry officers. The BSR (Bang Stare Red) Theory states that the louder the sudden bang in the helicopter, the quicker your eyes will be drawn to the gauges. ah.. Nobody cares what you did yesterday or what you are going to do tomorrow. The UH-1 evolved from a 1955 US Army competition for a new utility helicopter. If everything is as clear as a bell, and everything is going exactly as planned, youre about to be surprised. After the first of the two injured soldiers was hoisted on board, the din of the covering fire began to register in my head. Another tradition started in 1988 is a "Cobra" [Nixon] Atrocities - every war has atrocities. [Burkett] Stolen Valor: How the Vietnam Generation was Robbed of its Heroes and its History by B.G. Read more about the planned U.S. Air Force helicopter Vietnam War history sections. 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. 75,000 Vietnam veterans are severely disabled. [McCaffrey], 87% of the American people hold Vietnam Vets in high esteem. After training, they entered transport or gunship platoons referred to simply as slicks or guns. Most would complete at least two combat tours. The American military did not lose a battle of any consequence. [Parade Magazine] August 18, 1996 page 10. Age 70 to 74 --------$150.00 A Scout team consisted of a pilot, a Door Gunner and an observer. We must now hover over the trees or rocky terrain, while we let out up to 150 feet of quarter-inch cable with a jungle penetrator or a Stokes litter attached to it. sent to webmaster@vhpa.org whereupon We honor the memory of all those who lost their lives in that service. Steve DaCosta, Cavalier15, June67-June68. Owned and operated by CharityUSA.com, LLC. Terry Clark? Your email address will not be published. its on the ground . They were involved in every aspect of that war fighting, from medevac, to ammo, troop and supply delivery, to aerial fire support. Annual car sales worldwide 2010-2022, with a forecast for 2023, Number of cars sold in the U.S. 1951-2021, Battery electric vehicles in use worldwide 2016-2021, Annual gas prices in the United States 1990-2021, Automotive industry worldwide - statistics & facts, Motorcycle industry in the United States - statistics & facts, Profit from additional features with an Employee Account. It does not have to be war related. 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. It wasnt easy, and I will now confess that my depth perception almost was not good enough to pass my initial flight physical, but I made it. Even the AP photographer, Nick Ut, who took the picture was Vietnamese. $36/year subscription. Any combination of these can be deadly. There are over 4,945 helicopter pilots currently employed in the United States. One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. When sprayed on dense jungle foliage, less that 6 percent ever reached the ground. survival radio, whats that? [Nixon]. Those brief and simple heartfelt words meant more to me that night than anything else ever said to me during my entire tour. EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW IN LIFE I LEARNED AS A HELICOPTER PILOT IN VIETNAM. It was called "shell shock" and other names in previous wars. Correspondence relating to commercial purposes or solicitations shall only be ac.. Running out of pedal, fore or aft cyclic, or collective are all bad ideas. We risked much in a totally dark valley that night, and there was no doubt that someone appreciated us. Put some fire in that bunker! I yelled to Private Whats-His-Name. [VHPA 1993] Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association 1993 Membership Directory page 130. In UH-1C gunnies, a pilot had to master taking off with a 1,000lb overload, persuade the aircraft to hover at an altitude of just three feet, and then dip the nose slightly to achieve forward movement basically skidding and bouncing along the runway to develop enough speed and lift to rise higher. . Maybe we could have used our survival radio once we were in the water or forced down over the jungle. 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 The initial Army designation was HU-1, which led to the common unofficial nickname of Huey.. o.. Please note: This Section 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Service. They will always be our heroes, our Angels in the Sky.. U.S. active certificated pilots - average age 1993-2020; . [Westmoreland] Approximately 70% of those killed were volunteers. average age of vietnam helicopter pilot 02.12.2021 hartford basketball roster 2021 jack flaherty contract bulls statement jersey 2020 is required reading in many colleges, High Schools and military units. We sacrificed our youth and innocence; we achieved above and beyond the call of duty on a daily basis. (So I guess that makes three Young and Stupids. I graduated from Flight Training 2 day short of a year. It is unfortunate that many helicopters never had the opportunity to fulfill their one true mission in life, simply because someone forgot this fact. Information contained herein shall not be used for commercial Without his heroic actions that day we, the Grunts, would have been in severe situation as we were running out of food, ammo and our radio batteries were almost dead. Decisions made by someone above you in the chain-of-command will seldom be in your best interest. First, one has to understand what a hoist mission is and why we did them. 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. Traditions: The VHPA has developed some traditions over the 01/09/2013. who is now retired in Arizona. The Army employed it in various roles, including that of an armed escort or attack gunship in Vietnam. Every helicopter flying in Vietnam had one real purpose: To help the grunt. s.. Epilogue: Most people who see photos of Dustoff Hueys in Vietnam observe only the outside of the aircraft. 5.5% of all helicopter pilots are women, while 94.5% are men. Business Solutions including all features. It On the ground, the troops would look up at Hueys flying over. Vietnamese where among those taken that day to Tan Son Nhut airport, General [1996 Information Please Almanac], There were almost twice as many casualties in Southeast Asia (primarily Cambodia) the first two years after the fall of Saigon in 1975 then there were during the ten years the U.S. was involved in Vietnam. To all of the brave Pilots and their crews, I can say but three things. (One has to realize that there was virtually no protection for the pilots from the front and little from the sides or underneath.) website may contain information that VHPA considers proprietary and 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. Oh, Sugar! (Not my exact word.) The further you fly into the mountains, the louder the strange engine noises become. VHPA and encourage all eligible individuals to become members. [People], The evacuees were Vietnamese not American military. I wonder how many grunts would have gotten on the hoist had they known that. We especially were concerned about the troops we were there to support. 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.. From 1957 to 1973, the National Liberation Front assassinated 36,725 South Vietnamese and abducted another 58,499. Congress while the North Vietnamese were very well supplied by China and the Phil Marshall, DMZ Dustoff 711, 237th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance) Camp Evans and Quang Tri, Vietnam 1969. Scott McBride CW4 152HH AH-64D Apache Flight Instructor, Charlie Troop 1st Squadron 9th Cavalry Regiment, The Troopers of Charlie Troop 1st Squadron 9th Cavalry 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). Loud, sudden noises in a helicopter WILL get your undivided attention. VHPA Aviator (big file). You will get a clear sense of what they were up against and how they conducted themselves. We always at least tried to complete the mission and felt that we let someone down if we didnt. The third seat was for our testicles. 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. Generally, someone is badly wounded in jungle or mountainous (or both) terrain where a helicopter cannot land on the ground or even close to it. After that initial post-service period, Vietnam veterans were no more likely to die from suicide than non-Vietnam veterans. Wainwright Station Our single-engine UH-1H Hueys did not float in the water very well. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force. We were unarmed, and experience had taught us that, usually, we were better off to quickly fly to the landing zone, get in and get out as fast as possible while avoiding the bad guys, and fly straight back to the hospital. https://www.vhpa.org. Don S. the last (in-country) Masher33, 1971, It is not easy to read this stuff. 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. What is important is what you are doing-NOW-to solve our problem. [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. 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. and flew his bird to the top of Monkey Mountian. Age 59 and below --$450.00. When the Army decided to use helicopters as the Eyes, Protection and Horses of the 1st Cavalry Division, men both young and older were chosen to become pilots. Is this the Steve DaCosta who was friend of my brother W.O. [CACF] (Combat Area Casualty File) November 1993. Access to this and all other statistics on 80,000 topics from, Show sources information but it cant hurt. Please support The Veterans Site by adding us to your ad blockers whitelist ads help us to provide food and supplies to veterans. designed as a helipad. In order to be Old and Wise, one must first be young and stupid. They could rotate around a battle site from above, unleashing punishing weapon support from above. m.. No matter what you do, the bullet with your name on it will get you. XV, Issue VII. The average age of the 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years (Although 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both event date and birth date. American-owned airlines never knowingly transported opium in or out of Laos, nor did their American pilots ever profit from its transport. Yes, most definitely young, but stupid? 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. It was finally time to find out if we had the gonads to be combat helicopter pilots. While it may be possible to ward off this natural event some of the time, it cannot, despite the best efforts of the crew, always be prevented. 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. A paid subscription is required for full access. The American military was not defeated in Vietnam. to Europe and both have since died. The Vietnamese pilot who dropped the napalm in error is currently living in the United States. 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. When I returned to the states later and applied for my military drivers license so I could drive the. The claimed flying aces of the Vietnam War, pilots who shot down five or more enemy aircraft, include 19 North Vietnamese pilots (six MiG-17 and 13 MiG-21 pilots), [1] : 228 and five Americans. Prayer may not help . Flying is better than walking. reunion. It called for release of all U.S. prisoners, withdrawal of U.S. forces, limitation of both sides' forces inside South Vietnam and a commitment to peaceful reunification. I suppose we would have survived; we had water wings! 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. As MedEvac helicopter pilots, we flew the only Army Hueys equipped with the electric hoist/winch. has no political agenda as is our brother organization, The Vietnam Helicopter Publi le 12 juin 2022 par . a colleague is looking for a helicopter pilot nicknamed chicken man, who spent some time around Solid Anchor in about 1971. [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. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. $99) To contact the magazine editor aviator@vhpa.org. The South Vietnamese ran out 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). Americans who deliberately killed civilians received prison sentences while Communists who did so received commendations. So, too, can the ones addressed To Whom It May Concern. Communications with the Executive Council . . It was a "civilian" (Air America) Huey not Army or Marines. 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. One point I want to make is the the Crew Chiefs and Door Gunners were the and are still the best as well. Running is better than crawling. Number of helicopter pilot licenses in China 2014-2019; Global share of pilots whose mental health was affected by the pandemic 2020 ; . The Vietnam War was the turning point for Communism. Army Flight School was about 9 months long, this was the shortest calendar time. information contained in this publication shall not be distributed to non-VHPA His writing has appeared in The National Interest and other news media.