$36/year subscription. VHPA and encourage all eligible individuals to become members. 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.. Myth: Most Vietnam veterans were drafted. The U.S. Embassy and its helipad were much larger. . 2160250. buzz lightyear of star command complete series Event date is used instead of declared dead date for some of those who were listed as missing in action). n.. How could we lose a war we had already stopped fighting? Mailing Address: I wont make it back.. To all of the brave Pilots and their crews, I can say but three things. He was not strapped in. 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! Published by on October 31, 2021. You were way more mature for your age than 99% of the young men today. years. 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. website may contain information that VHPA considers proprietary and The Army employed it in various roles, including that of an armed escort or attack gunship in Vietnam. how to unhide mouse cursor windows 10; [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. Although the percent who died is similar to other wars, amputations or crippling wounds were 300 percent higher than in World War II. 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. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Aero Bonus 320085 1/32 Us Army Helicopter Pilot Vietnam War 1960-1975 at the best online prices at eBay! Directly accessible data for 170 industries from 50 countries and over 1 million facts: Get quick analyses with our professional research service. 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. 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. 4.7 average based on 3 product ratings. 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. Helicopter Pilots Association (VHPA) is a non-profit war veterans organization filed under I could not have been more proud of myself and my flight school classmates for having come this far. An automobile accident or other traumatic event also can cause it. Every helicopter flying in Vietnam had one real purpose: To help the grunt. 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. Larry Clark and Mike Law in 1990. It was a "civilian" (Air America) Huey not Army or Marines. . In reference to Mr. Walker, would he also be the same pilot that was nick named, Baby Huey in Vietnam? Also "Estimating the Number of Suicides Among Vietnam Veterans" (Am J Psychiatry 147, 6 June 1990 pages 772-776). By the end of the war half of them had been lost. 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. Is this the Steve DaCosta who was friend of my brother W.O. ah.. Nobody cares what you did yesterday or what you are going to do tomorrow. . fund has been established at the Vietnam Center and Archives at Texas Tech When you crash, well try to recover your bodies. Provide food and supplies to veterans at The Veterans Site for free! sent to webmaster@vhpa.org whereupon Member By contrast, there still are 78,000 unaccounted-for Americans from World War II and 8,100 from the Korean conflict. In 2009, the US Congress changed the mandatory age of retirement of airline pilots from 60 to 65 in a bid to solve the pilot shortage problem. . Thanks for posting the memories. v.. A free fire zone has nothing to do with economics. 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. All of these, however, are better than extraction by Medavac, even if it is technically, a form of flying. This included Basic Combat Training and Flight Training. Maturity, self-confident, bravery, willing to take chances, courageous, and yes fun-loving are the attributes that make a great pilot. . A little more than 12 days later, Operation Chopper commenced. My father mentioned a pilot and I was curious if this was one of the same. Another tradition started in 1988 is a "Cobra" Categories . 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. ac.. Running out of pedal, fore or aft cyclic, or collective are all bad ideas. "The aviation units were the sole combat element of the U.S. Army that did not come. Southeast Asia during the Vietnam era (1961-1975). f.. 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. [Parade Magazine] August 18, 1996 page 10. If the rear echelon troops are really happy, the front line troops probably do not have what they need. The American military did not lose a battle of any consequence. 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. Occasionally, the gunner and crew chief had to exit temporarily to reduce the weight sufficiently for take off. Thanks Tom H. AKA,Cavalier 16, 68/69, Brought a tear to my eye. c.. NEVER get into a fight without more ammunition than the other guy. website may contain information that VHPA considers proprietary and The longer you stare at the gauges the less time it takes them to move from green to red. As he entered the crowded car, he said, Ballroom, please.. With a hot mike, everything that was said, every noise, every round fired, every grunt and groan was amplified and transmitted into everyones headset without touching any buttons. I told my roommate, This is it. Life member rates based on age are as follows (also No matter what the enemy threw at them, they never backed down. 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. 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." m.. No matter what you do, the bullet with your name on it will get you. Search: Average Age Of Vietnam Helicopter Pilot. [Houk]. [Nixon] No More Vietnams by Richard Nixon. Owned and operated by CharityUSA.com, LLC. See also The History of the Ranch Hand Epidemiologic Investigation. The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter. . That was us giving you covering fire! he replied. During a hoist mission, we flew with one finger on a button on the cyclic stick that operated an electric solenoid. ak.. Most of the Commissioned Officers were older. These three represent all of out Vietnam War helicopter pilots. Whatd he say? Hell, I dont know. He fell right through the rotor blades. You only have access to basic statistics. . The Vietnam War was the turning point for Communism. 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. At least, I believe that is how I would have felt had it been me. Mine were draped over the back of my seat, along with my M-16 rifle. 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. 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. To use individual functions (e.g., mark statistics as favourites, set The total of non-pilot crewmembers killed was 2,704, according to records of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots' Association. It is dedicated to the fulfillment of [CACF]. Thank you. was several blocks from the Pittman Apartments. The early (65-68) Weapons Team was made up of two pilots, crew chief and a door gunner. Topics cover the entire spectrum from Vietnam to . 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. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/919100/aviation-industry-average-age-of-active-pilots-in-the-united-states-by-category/, Average age of active pilots in the United States from 2002 to 2020, by category*, Available to download in PNG, PDF, XLS format, Number of pilots active in the airline industry 2019-2029, Share of female pilots by major airline 2021, Global opinion on how long the aviation industry will take to recover 2021, U.S. student certificated pilots - number 1990-2020, Number of pilot licenses in China 2018-2020, by type, Employment by registered airlines in the United Kingdom (UK) 2015-2020, by position, Employment profile of pilots worldwide 2020-2021, Job seeking status of pilots worldwide 2020, U.S. active certificated pilots - average age 1993-2020, U.S. aviation industry - average age of active pilots by category 2002-2020, Methods used to increase the potential supply of female pilots 2020, Global civil aviation training market size 2017-2021, Dependence of pilots on flight deck automation worldwide 2019, Downward pressure of automation on the role of pilots worldwide 2019, Methods used to reduce flight operations costs 2020, Pilots' plans to change jobs globally 2021, Difficulty to ensure stable supply of qualified pilots over the next decade 2020, Air traffic - passenger volume forecast by region 2037, Forecast of new pilots in the global aviation industry by region 2021-2040, Demand for new pilots in the commercial aviation industry by region 2021-2040, Projected pilot shortage globally by region 2029, U.S. aviation industry - number of active pilot certificates by age and category 2020, U.S. aviation - industry number of active pilot certificates by age 2020, United Airlines - pilot expenditure 2012-2021, JetBlue Airways - pilot expenditure 2012-2021, Delta Air Lines - pilot expenditure 2012-2021, Number of pilots active in the airline industry: by region 2017, American Airlines - pilot expenditure 2012-2021, Pilot deficit in U.S. commercial aviation 2016-2026, Southwest Airlines - pilot expenditure 2012-2021, Airline pilots worldwide - average age 2016, Number of pilots in the airline industry: per aircraft type 2016, Number of drone pilot licenses in China 2014-2019, Number of new pilots in Finland 2017, by type, Number of helicopter pilot licenses in China 2014-2019, Global share of pilots whose mental health was affected by the pandemic 2020, National and international commercial air traffic in Morocco 2016-2019, Number of bird strikes caused by military aviation Australia 2006-2015, Find your information in our database containing over 20,000 reports. Oh, were we Young and Stupid on hoist missions, too; the second Y & S thing we did! For more information see af.. Business Solutions including all features. These men never refused to fly into harms way. Okay, so the Hueys were extremely reliable, and I still love those incredible machines, but for the moment let us discuss navigation equipment on a Huey. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. 01/09/2013. A paid subscription is required for full access. 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). [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. 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. directory for dues current members. Dustoff pilots with their unique seating arrangement is where that statement originated. As an elevator at the reunion hotel was transporting me and other attendees to the Saturday night banquet, another Dustoff pilot stepped on from his floor. That was probably the lowest point of my Vietnam flying experience, and I never forgot it. No Pilot that I know of ever went into a combat situation without both. . 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. submit other directory changes and updates. aj.. I enlisted in the (WOFT) Warrant Officer Flight Training. As soon as this statistic is updated, you will immediately be notified via e-mail. One pilot lost a testicle to a .50-caliber round and was able to father only 44 children (at last count) after returning from overseas. come left . Ground troops typically did not enter a sprayed area until four to six weeks after being sprayed. The emotions are almost indescribable, but there was one more feeling: relief from being so scared! No American had involvement in this incident near Trang Bang that burned Phan Thi Kim Phuc. Myth: Agent Orange poisoned millions of Vietnam veterans. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. 91% of Vietnam Veterans say they are glad they served [Westmoreland], 74% said they would serve again even knowing the outcome [Westmoreland], There is no difference in drug usage between Vietnam Veterans and non veterans of the same age group (from a Veterans Administration study) [Westmoreland]. bombers and were always exposed to hostile fire even in their base camps. Communications with the Executive Council November 14th, 2013 at 5:45 pm Dave Shannon (crewmember, 92nd AHC) Says: I always liked the subdued look of combat zone attire, as opposed to anything shiny or glittery. It was finally time to find out if we had the gonads to be combat helicopter pilots. The pilots who were flying this helicopter, Obviously, I was wrong, but I did not know it then. Innocent people get killed. I wonder how many grunts would have gotten on the hoist had they known that. October 20, 2021. . EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW IN LIFE I LEARNED AS A HELICOPTER PILOT IN VIETNAM. "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. (Three years for Always make sure someone has a P-38. The Vietnam Helicopters Memorial Tree was dedicated in 2015 and honors the helicopter pilots and crew members who died while serving in Southeast Asia from 1961 to 1975. In all, a very scary time for our country. Helicopters were used in more than 850,000 medical evacuation missions and were responsible for boosting survival rates for the wounded. We always at least tried to complete the mission and felt that we let someone down if we didnt. Number of helicopter pilot licenses in China 2014-2019; Global share of pilots whose mental health was affected by the pandemic 2020 ; l.. One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. They also acted as the means of supply of ammunitions, equipment and food. He was a Dustoff pilot. When they saw one flying balls out, they knew it was a Dustoff on an urgent mission. I did well enough to make the school, along with about 25 of my classmates. Even more demanding was formation flying at night, with navigation lights off, using the glow from the leaders cockpit instruments for station keeping. (Westmoreland quoting Douglas Pike, a professor at the University of California, Berkley a renowned expert on the Vietnam War) [Westmoreland] This included Tet 68, which was a major military defeat for the VC and NVA. [2]:3, This operation heralded a new era of air mobility for the U.S. Army, which had been slowly growing as a concept since the Army formed twelve helicopter battalions in 1952 as a result of the Korean War. They were Kim's cousins not her brothers. 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. For the latter, a specially equipped H-13 had optional blanked out external vision. As MedEvac helicopter pilots, we flew the only Army Hueys equipped with the electric hoist/winch. 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). 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. only 10 to 20 minutes of that time exposed to hostile fire. Loud, sudden noises in a helicopter WILL get your undivided attention. While in themselves those landings were not stupid, the way we got there was! This freed Marine quotas at Pensacola which could be used to . Then I did another Young & Stupid thing. 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? Updated: 7 February 2018 keep your tail straight . Learn how your comment data is processed. b.. 75,000 Vietnam veterans are severely disabled. 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. He is the Founder and Editor of The Aviation Geek Club one of the worlds most read military aviation blogs. I dont think so. Required fields are marked *. Access to this and all other statistics on 80,000 topics from, Show sources information [Online]. Many men volunteered for the draft so even some of the draftees were actually . x.. Medals are OK, but having your body and all your friends in one piece at the end of the day is better. First, one has to understand what a hoist mission is and why we did them. Currently, you are using a shared account. 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. They were utterly selfless and courageous warriors on our behalf. The building is the Pittman Apartments, a 10 Vietnam seldom flew above 1,500 feet which is traffic pattern altitude for 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. VHPA Aviator magazine Please note: This 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. 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). Get the details for all upcoming vietnam helicopter unit reunions. 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. [McCaffrey] Speech by Lt. Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, (reproduced in the Pentagram, June 4, 1993) assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to Vietnam veterans and visitors gathered at "The Wall", Memorial Day 1993. Many of these brave men went from High School to Flight School. They were immensely important to the troops on the ground as aerial fire power. I would NOT fly unarmed helicopters! 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. am.. Do not fear the enemy, for your enemy can only take your life. 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. In June of 1967, Marine officers destined to become fixed-wing pilots began reporting to Air Force bases for flight training. Any combination of these can be deadly. Myth: The American military was running for their lives during the fall of Saigon in April 1975. It was a fact that Dustoff crews had three times the casualty rate of other helicopter crews. an.. A grunt is the true reason for the existence of the helicopter. 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. We still got there in a hurry, but once there, we hovered over the trees like a target at the County Fair 25-cent target-shooting booth. 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. War is brutal and not fair. [People], The person who can be seen aiding the refugees was CIA operations officer, Mr. O.B. The 1990 unsuccessful movie "Air America" helped to establish the myth of a connection between Air America, the CIA, and the Laotian drug trade. Fast Contour flying as close to the ground as possible to avoid ground fire was also mastered. The average time lapse between wounding to hospitalization was less than one hour. The terms Protective Armor and Helicopter are mutually exclusive. h.. ag.. Those trainers were so small you could lean in them to make the thing turn.