average age of vietnam helicopter pilot
The pilots and crews of these helicopters were heroes, one and all. Both immigrated Categories . 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. 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. We honor the memory of all those who lost their lives in that service. 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. Oh, were we Young and Stupid on hoist missions, too; the second Y & S thing we did! [All That We Can Be]. . Even then, there could be no guarantee that the slicks would be able to land and then depart without being targeted by enemy fire. Black fatalities amounted to 12 percent of all Americans killed in Southeast Asia - a figure proportional to the number of blacks in the U.S. population at the time and slightly lower than the proportion of blacks in the Army at the close of the war." The cables going out . v.. A free fire zone has nothing to do with economics. Add to that, it is also the most unforgiving mission flown in a helicopter. No Pilot that I know of ever went into a combat situation without both. Statista. Most of our Door Gunners and Crew Chiefs were also 18-21 years old. It was the Pilots mission to fly as low and as slow as he could allowing the observer and the Door Gunner to watch for signs of the enemy or to allow the enemy to fire at them. Those of us lucky enough to come home learned from the experience and were, without question, changed men, no longer wide-eyed boys. History of the founding of the VHPA written by hostile fire exposure versus battle area exposure. [The Wall Street Journal] The Wall Street Journal, 1 June 1996 page A15. I will always thank Warrant Officer Study for his late-night, picture-perfect landing on the round end of the boat. Average age of active pilots in the United States from 2002 to 2020, by category* [Graph]. [Burkett] Stolen Valor: How the Vietnam Generation was Robbed of its Heroes and its History by B.G. . was typical of the continual commentary from the enlisted crew members. I graduated from Flight Training 2 day short of a year. Southeast Asia during the Vietnam era (1961-1975). s.. 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 terms Protective Armor and Helicopter are mutually exclusive. Age 60 to 64 --------$350.00 a.. Once you are in the fight, it is way too late to wonder if this is a good idea. 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. In June of 1967, Marine officers destined to become fixed-wing pilots began reporting to Air Force bases for flight training. I have posted your reply to Steve on here so he will be able to read it. average age of vietnam helicopter pilot [1996 Information Please Almanac], POW-MIA Issue (unaccounted-for versus missing in action), Politics & People, On Vietnam, Clinton Should Follow a Hero's Advice, 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. one of 42 pictures of this helicopter that UPI photographer, Hubert Van Es took These three represent all of out Vietnam War helicopter pilots. 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. 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. af.. sent to webmaster@vhpa.org whereupon Maybe it was only three miles . One point I want to make is the the Crew Chiefs and Door Gunners were the and are still the best as well. 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. No American had involvement in this incident near Trang Bang that burned Phan Thi Kim Phuc. I told my roommate, This is it. Directly accessible data for 170 industries from 50 countries and over 1 million facts: Get quick analyses with our professional research service. Thanks for the memories. "The aviation units were the sole combat element of the U.S. Army that did not come. reunion. But as the Army would have it, during Friday night formation of the middle weekend of gun school, 24 of us, including 12 in the gun school, received orders to attend MedEvac school at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, immediately after graduation. However, these same 18-year-old young men attended flight school and were given responsibility to operate a multi million dollar helicopter. https://www.vhpa.org. who is now retired in Arizona. "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. dont care. Joe Treen, People.com, 21 April 2000. 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). 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. In, Federal Aviation Administration. 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%). 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? q.. Having all your body parts intact and functioning at the end of the day beats the alternative. 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. Vietnamese where among those taken that day to Tan Son Nhut airport, General on VHFCN (http://www.vhfcn.org) , Heli-Vets and FaceBook also another FaceBook site. Are you interested in testing our business solutions? The Air Cav was just what the name implies. Thanks for posting the memories. More Scout Teams were lost because of this than any other helicopter team. We thank God for these pilots and crews who fearlessly went into our hell on our behalf day in and day out, during the Vietnam War. I never forgot the reverence with which that statement was made, as I began to form a survival plan of action in my mind. t.. If the rear echelon troops are really happy, the front line troops probably do not have what they need. You will get a clear sense of what they were up against and how they conducted themselves. k.. ), 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. [VHPA databases], Army UH-1's totaled more than 10,693,902 flight hours in Vietnam between October 1966 and the end of Obviously, I was wrong, but I did not know it then. Always smiling and never hurt anyone, I would guess. [People]. I wont make it back.. The crewmen I flew with on hoist missions (like me, in their teens and early 20s) were absolutely the best, and I wish I could shake every one of their hands and hug them today. VHPA and encourage all eligible individuals to become members. The others on board simply assumed he was also headed for dinner, but I knew the true meaning of his statement. It was a "civilian" (Air America) Huey not Army or Marines. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 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. Is that AM or FM? ad.. This included Basic Combat Training and Flight Training. 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). That was us giving you covering fire! he replied. The emotions are almost indescribable, but there was one more feeling: relief from being so scared! no, seven! When I found out that I was assigned to be a MedEvac pilot, I was devastated. The Vietnamese pilot who dropped the napalm in error is currently living in the United States. godfrey funeral homes; pierre engvall giraffe; 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. 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. Vietnam Veterans were the best educated forces our nation had ever sent into combat. . 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 . My opinion is that he was as afraid that he could not complete the mission, as much as he was afraid to die. . 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 VHPA has a membership of over 16,600 (8,700 dues current) helicopter pilots from around the world out of the approximately 40,000 who served as helicopter pilots in the Vietnam War. aj.. Section 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Service. So, too, can the ones addressed To Whom It May Concern. As he entered the crowded car, he said, Ballroom, please.. It was a rare breed of man whobecame a Scout Pilot. tail number N4 7004, were Bob Caron who lives in Florida and Jack 66 founding members. am.. Do not fear the enemy, for your enemy can only take your life. Have you ever heard the expression, He was flying the aircraft balls out? That was us. It took all of our skill and luck to avoid flying into the valley walls as we stuck our heads out the windows to find our way to the LZ without balling up the helicopter. trina daughter instagram 97887 65581; music city drum corps staff saiservicecentre2020@gmail.com U.S. active certificated pilots - average age 1993-2020; . (The CACF is the basis for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, i.e. 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. plaque made from the mold for the AH-1G prototype collective grip. magazines, a membership directory and a calendar each year and periodically publishes 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. The VC were surprised and soundly defeated. All of these, however, are preferable to cold rice balls, even if they do have the little pieces of fish in them. Not only were we not found to be lacking as youthful aviators, as a whole we far exceeded the expectations. Never have the consequences of their misunderstanding been so tragic." Business Solutions including all features. 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. solicitation purposes, or any correspondence related thereto. Copyright 1995 - 2018 Gary B. Roush, 242 ASHC Muleskinners, May 1968 - May 01/09/2013. Yet undoubtedly every plane in Laos carried opium at some time, unknown to the pilot and his superiors. Information contained herein shall not be used for commercial [Home] [ReunionInformation] [Donations] [OurLegacy] [MembershipServices] [RelatedWebSites] Member Login. Communications with the Executive Council Sometimes, being good and lucky still is not enough. a31 road closure alton; cdw insurance for rental cars; hygro cotton bath towels; Hello world! The initial Army designation was HU-1, which led to the common unofficial nickname of Huey.. [Burkett]. From a military standpoint, it was almost an unprecedented performance. 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! By contrast, there still are 78,000 unaccounted-for Americans from World War II and 8,100 from the Korean conflict. "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. About 12,000 U.S. military helicopters spent 7.5 million hours above Vietnam, flying 2 million missions. I logged 205 hours in Flight Training. Funds are paid by Greater Good Charities to benefiting organizations as a grant. e.. Cover your Buddy, so he can be around to cover for you. 79% had a high school education or better. When they saw one flying balls out, they knew it was a Dustoff on an urgent mission. I suppose we would have survived; we had water wings! From 1965, around 99 percent of each completed class of students were sent to Vietnam. The first one you will meet is retired Army Col. Douglas Moore, a medevac pilot in Vietnam. The further you fly into the mountains, the louder the strange engine noises become. . 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. 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. The Pilots of 1st of the 9th Cav were and yes still are the best. In the movie We Were Soldiers and Young the Lift Pilot was portrayed by Snake and To Tall. the following purposes: To enhance and accredit the cohesiveness, esprit de corps, and traditions of valor of Innocent people get killed. has no political agenda as is our brother organization, The Vietnam Helicopter Tran Van Don and the head of the secret police Tran Kim Tuyen. Congress while the North Vietnamese were very well supplied by China and the Americans who deliberately killed civilians received prison sentences while Communists who did so received commendations. Harnage, I wonder how many grunts would have gotten on the hoist had they known that. Membership is open to all helicopter pilots who flew in The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter. . We know that it was a .50-cal that got him and not an AK47 bullet because an AK round is not big enough to shoot off the balls of a Dustoff pilot. The platform is the top of the elevator shaft for the building and was not Epilogue: Most people who see photos of Dustoff Hueys in Vietnam observe only the outside of the aircraft. Magazines are included with VHPA membership and are available to non-members with a 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. "In all the years we've been working on this we have found that's not the case." He flew through the fog and light rain. Mine were draped over the back of my seat, along with my M-16 rifle. Many men volunteered for the draft so even some of the draftees were actually In all, a very scary time for our country. The U.S. Embassy and its helipad were much larger. They were the ones who flew the troops into and out of battle. The average age of an employed helicopter pilot is 45 years old. But this time he definitely took hits in a .50-caliber crossfire, and as he peeled off from the mountain, fuel was streaming from the aircraft. Hello, I enjoyed Reading the blog. 1969 In the Vietnam War the helicopter became one of the most important elements in the daily operations of our war fighting successes. Mailing Address: [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. Register in seconds and access exclusive features. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force. come forward just a little . story building where the CIA station chief and many of his officers lived, located at 22 Ly Tu Trong St. 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!. average age of vietnam helicopter pilot. 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. (Personally, I have fathered 73 children with two good Dustoff-sized testicles.) [People], The person who can be seen aiding the refugees was CIA operations officer, Mr. O.B. aircraft in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam era and inform them of the existence of the 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). It is far better that you fear the media, for they will steal your HONOR. aa..Thus the term SHIT! can also be used to denote a situation where high Pucker Factor is being encountered. Publi le 12 juin 2022 par . Always make sure someone has a P-38. fund has been established at the Vietnam Center and Archives at Texas Tech 2/3 of the men who served in Vietnam were volunteers. Myth: Most American soldiers were addicted to drugs, guilt-ridden about their role in the war, and deliberately used cruel and inhumane tactics. To retrieve the data click on 2020 Active Civil Airmen Statistics. 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. Profit from the additional features of your individual account. d.. VHPA Aviator (big file). On one particularly difficult night MedEvac in the mountains, all our windows fogged up as we dropped from 7,000 feet through a hole in the clouds to pick up a Soldier with a head wound. 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. Loud, sudden noises in a helicopter WILL get your undivided attention. x.. Medals are OK, but having your body and all your friends in one piece at the end of the day is better. Please use the membership application form to submit . b.. ai.. Running is better than crawling. Helicopters needed far more hands on piloting than fixed wing types. 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. . Those Hueys were their horses and they rode into battle en masse, to deliver their troops and evacuate the wounded. I dont think so. Without that commitment, Communism would have swept all the way to the Malacca Straits that is south of Singapore and of great strategic importance to the free world. I enlisted in the (WOFT) Warrant Officer Flight Training. 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. As soon as he stepped from the left side to the right, the aircraft tipped. Burkett and Glenna Whitley, Verity Press, Inc., Dallas, TX, 1998. As soon as this statistic is updated, you will immediately be notified via e-mail. In order to be Old and Wise, one must first be young and stupid. No matter what the enemy threw at them, they never backed down. The fall of Saigon happened 30 April 1975, two years AFTER the American military left Vietnam. They were utterly selfless and courageous warriors on our behalf. Those brief and simple heartfelt words meant more to me that night than anything else ever said to me during my entire tour. Helicopters were used in more than 850,000 medical evacuation missions and were responsible for boosting survival rates for the wounded. I had no idea of the satisfaction, pride, sense of accomplishment, and even elation that I would feel in the next six months. I just tapped him gently on the shoulder and whispered, Hey, Buddy, Im as far back in the elevator as I can get now. I knew what he was really saying. San Antonio, Texas 78208-0091, Copyright 2023 DUSTOFF Association | Powered by Barefoot Pixel, USAAAD conducts life-saving rescue of two civilians near Mount Adams. an.. A grunt is the true reason for the existence of the helicopter. Myth: A disproportionate number of blacks were killed in the Vietnam War. approximately 40,000 who served as helicopter From 1965, around 99 percent of each completed class of students were sent to Vietnam. 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. If you win the battle you are entitled to the spoils. The domino theory was accurate. You were a good friend and much appreciated by my parents. If you ask people who live in these countries that won the war in Vietnam, they have a different opinion from the American news media. 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. Life member rates based on age are as follows (also If you are an admin, please authenticate by logging in again. 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.