. $99) To contact the magazine editor aviator@vhpa.org. Guts and Gumption: Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Wore Their Hearts on Their Many times these brave men had to deliver or retrieve the troopers into or out of areas where enemy fire was heavy. has no political agenda as is our brother organization, The Vietnam Helicopter . How old was the average helicopter pilot in Vietnam? Life member rates based on age are as follows (also historical reference directories, CD-ROMs and DVDs. (May 18, 2021). Most were 19 or 20 years old, with a few experienced old men per platoon in their late twenties. 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. The 1990 unsuccessful movie "Air America" helped to establish the myth of a connection between Air America, the CIA, and the Laotian drug trade. Owned and operated by CharityUSA.com, LLC. That was the unforgiving part. Phil Marshall, DMZ Dustoff 711, 237th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance) Camp Evans and Quang Tri, Vietnam 1969. We sacrificed our youth and innocence; we achieved above and beyond the call of duty on a daily basis. For the latter, a specially equipped H-13 had optional blanked out external vision. Vietnam War Facts, Stats and Myths - US Wings keep your tail straight . Others flew fixed wing and some were already in the Army but applied for and were chosen to attend flight school. To use individual functions (e.g., mark statistics as favourites, set looking good. At the same time, I made flight adjustments according to the guys in the back. Myth: The American military was running for their lives during the fall of Saigon in April 1975. its on the ground . It is By the end of the war half of them had been lost. average age of vietnam helicopter pilot - cbeconsulting.net 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. 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. x.. Medals are OK, but having your body and all your friends in one piece at the end of the day is better. Thanks for the memories. If I had gone down over land, I probably would not have taken my weapon with me. [Houk]. 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. Were about five miles out. Five miles out from where? 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. [McCaffrey]. [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. They explained the trajectory of the weapons fired from an aircraft, especially when firing in a turn., Fort Rucker trained 120 aviators on its gunship aerial weapons course for the UH-1B in 1965. [McCaffrey] (The CACF is the basis for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, i.e. No matter what the enemy threw at them, they never backed down. Innocent people get killed. advertising and other information. address changes for the directory and use the comments form to Without the helicopter it would have taken three times as many troops to secure the 800 mile border with Cambodia and Laos (the politicians thought the Geneva Conventions of 1954 and the Geneva Accords or 1962 would secure the border) [Westmoreland], Approximately 12,000 helicopters saw action in Vietnam (all services). Yes, most definitely young, but stupid? Most 18 year olds only think about girls and what they can get from them. There is a reason why these medevac pilots were called our angels in the sky. We who fought the enemy face to face on the ground, whether infantry or recon, knew that if we were wounded, these guys would do anything necessary, face any danger the enemy could present, to get us out of hell and back to the care we needed. [Home] [ReunionInformation] [Donations] [OurLegacy] [MembershipServices] [RelatedWebSites] Member Login. come right . They were involved in every aspect of that war fighting, from medevac, to ammo, troop and supply delivery, to aerial fire support. t.. He he he he . Decisions made by someone above you in the chain-of-command will seldom be in your best interest. 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. Hello, I enjoyed Reading the blog. These new battalions eventually formed a sort of modern-day cavalry for the Army. The average age of an employed helicopter pilot is 44 years old. If you win the battle you are entitled to the spoils. average age of vietnam helicopter pilot - polucon.com I have no idea who he was, but we logged his flight time as PP: Patient Protector.. [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. Currently, you are using a shared account. Ground troops typically did not enter a sprayed area until four to six weeks after being sprayed. member. hostile fire exposure versus battle area exposure. Never have the consequences of their misunderstanding been so tragic." Always make sure someone has a P-38. U.S. active certificated pilots - average age 1993-2020; . I used to laugh at the occasional Huey slick driver who flew out to let guys from his unit use the shopping facilities on the ships. As the Aircraft Commander in control of the helicopter, my eyes never left the tree branches that were touching the nose of my aircraft. through mini-reunions (local get togethers) throughout the year and through the Internet . If you are allergic to lead, it is best to avoid a war zone. average age of vietnam helicopter pilot - madinahmining.com . 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. The domino theory was accurate. "The aviation units were the sole combat element of the U.S. Army that did not come. of 21 year old Scotch purchased in 1971 by Brian Novak one of the original 4.7 average based on 3 product ratings. [Burkett]. It is a bad thing to run out of airspeed, altitude, and ideas all at the same time. Book review. In the movie We Were Soldiers and Young the Lift Pilot was portrayed by Snake and To Tall. . Loud, sudden noises in a helicopter WILL get your undivided attention. Publi le 12 juin 2022 par . Overview and forecasts on trending topics, Industry and market insights and forecasts, Key figures and rankings about companies and products, Consumer and brand insights and preferences in various industries, Detailed information about political and social topics, All key figures about countries and regions, Market forecast and expert KPIs for 600+ segments in 150+ countries, Insights on consumer attitudes and behavior worldwide, Business information on 60m+ public and private companies, Detailed information for 35,000+ online stores and marketplaces. [CACF]. Americans who deliberately killed civilians received prison sentences while Communists who did so received commendations. time than any other aircraft in the history of warfare assuming you count actual I promised myself that it would never happen again, and it didnt. He was not strapped in. He flew through the fog and light rain. Here are some facts to clear up that poor job of reporting by the news media. k.. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for NEW 2008 HASBRO GI Joe Helicopter Pilot Wild Bill 25th Anniversary FREE SHIPPING at the best online prices at eBay! Helicopter Combat Pilots In Vietnam: Heroes One and All Always smiling and never hurt anyone, I would guess. 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. After the first of the two injured soldiers was hoisted on board, the din of the covering fire began to register in my head. Copyright 1995 - 2018 Gary B. Roush, 242 ASHC Muleskinners, May 1968 - May We fought to an agreed stalemate. [VHPA Databases] Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association Databases. ah.. Nobody cares what you did yesterday or what you are going to do tomorrow. A "DUSTOFF PILOT" - DUSTOFF Association average age of vietnam helicopter pilot - mail.germenergy.com VHPA Aviator (big file). q.. Having all your body parts intact and functioning at the end of the day beats the alternative. I will always thank Warrant Officer Study for his late-night, picture-perfect landing on the round end of the boat. Burkett and Glenna Whitley, Verity Press, Inc., Dallas, TX, 1998. aj.. 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. When we, as students, first began training in Hueys at Ft. Rucker, Alabama, our Instructor Pilots (IPs) were required to fill out a Department of the Army (DA) form if our testicles were too big to fit comfortably in the standard front seat of a Huey. Values are as of December 31 each year. DID after the U.S. Congress cut off funding. We grabbed some unsuspecting Schmuck and told him to get his weapon and some ammo and run with us to the aircraft. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force. Shoot, I had NO idea! 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], The person who can be seen aiding the refugees was CIA operations officer, Mr. O.B. See an example of our magazine, The Then you can access your favorite statistics via the star in the header. Myth: Most American soldiers were addicted to drugs, guilt-ridden about their role in the war, and deliberately used cruel and inhumane tactics. bombers and were always exposed to hostile fire even in their base camps. I am so very proud to have served with them. I and many more just like me can only say Thank You for all that you did. 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 . Thank you for your service. . Was 19 the average age of a combat soldier in Vietnam? A few were even awarded. The Air Cav was just what the name implies. Directly accessible data for 170 industries from 50 countries and over 1 million facts: Get quick analyses with our professional research service. The initial Army designation was HU-1, which led to the common unofficial nickname of Huey.. submit other directory changes and updates. I enlisted in the (WOFT) Warrant Officer Flight Training. Five Thousand pilots and crews lost their lives and 3,258 Hueys alone were lost during the war. approximately 40,000 who served as helicopter Yet undoubtedly every plane in Laos carried opium at some time, unknown to the pilot and his superiors. 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. 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.. Restraining the military in Vietnam in hindsight probably prevented a nuclear war with China or Russia. ), 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. Heroes in Hueys: The Pilots and Crews of the Vietnam War Helicopters - Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund 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?