Walking is better than running. Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, Dustoff 7-1-1, were going down over the sea. We grabbed some unsuspecting Schmuck and told him to get his weapon and some ammo and run with us to the aircraft. Please support The Veterans Site by adding us to your ad blockers whitelist ads help us to provide food and supplies to veterans. 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. 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. 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. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Although the percent who died is similar to other wars, amputations or crippling wounds were 300 percent higher than in World War II. 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. al.. Helicopters needed far more hands on piloting than fixed wing types. about halfway down . 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. It was a "civilian" (Air America) Huey not Army or Marines. "Average Age of Active Pilots in The United States from 2002 to 2020, by Category*. Experienced pilots with proven records of successful, aggressive combat could be invited to join a platoon in a fire team of one or two gunships operating with a scout helicopter and escorting slick assaults. I have no idea who he was, but we logged his flight time as PP: Patient Protector.. The best of the best: the portal for top lists & rankings: Strategy and business building for the data-driven economy: Industry-specific and extensively researched technical data (partially from exclusive partnerships). . Chart. Burkett and Glenna Whitley, Verity Press, Inc., Dallas, TX, 1998. ad.. When called upon, a Pilot did not wait for approval from his crew, becuse he knew his crew would never say No. The further you fly into the mountains, the louder the strange engine noises become. The third pilot is retired Col. David Rainey U.S. Army. UH-1 Huey Gunship Vs NVA/VC Forces Vietnam 1962-75 is published by Osprey and is available to order here. All through flight school, we were taught by gun pilots, slick drivers, scout pilots (although not as many of the scout pilots, they had a high loss ratio), and oh, yes, ONE Dustoff pilot. . The average time lapse between wounding to hospitalization was less than one hour. 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. [All That We Can Be]. Hello, I enjoyed Reading the blog. The longer you stare at the gauges the less time it takes them to move from green to red. Communications with the Executive Council Small, two seat TH-55 Osages were also used. Another tradition started in 1988 is a "Cobra" 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. When they saw one flying balls out, they knew it was a Dustoff on an urgent mission. In addition to an annual reunion held around July 4th, members keep in touch informally After the first of the two injured soldiers was hoisted on board, the din of the covering fire began to register in my head. We lost a lot of Pilots but we also lost a lot of Crew Chiefs and Door Gunners. 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. An automobile accident or other traumatic event also can cause it. The average age for helicopter pilots in Vietnam was in the area of 22 years as I recall. Myth: The American military was running for their lives during the fall of Saigon in April 1975. . They were immensely important to the troops on the ground as aerial fire power. 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! Was 19 the average age of a combat soldier in Vietnam? You only have access to basic statistics. Did you know the average life expectancy of a US Army Huey pilot in Life member rates based on age are as follows (also [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. We HAD no survival radios in those aircraft. Membership is open to all helicopter pilots who flew in Also, it has been incorrectly reported that two of Kim Phuc's brothers were killed in this incident. It was misreported then, and it is misremembered now. No matter what the enemy threw at them, they never backed down. Average age of 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years. How could we lose a war we had already stopped fighting? We especially were concerned about the troops we were there to support. DID after the U.S. Congress cut off funding. Most Agent Orange contained .0002 of 1 percent of dioxin. Thanks for posting the memories. The Vietnam War helped medical progress in this area. 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. Further proof of these facts can be found at a recent Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association (VHPA) reunion. It was a rare breed of man whobecame a Scout Pilot. Even though I had yet to fly my first hour of combat, I had already done many incredible things that my high school and college friends could not even dream of. Fournisseur de Tallents. The early (65-68) Weapons Team was made up of two pilots, crew chief and a door gunner. Otherwise, if we got tangled up, it could cause the aircraft to crash. $99) To contact the magazine editor aviator@vhpa.org. In reference to Mr. Walker, would he also be the same pilot that was nick named, Baby Huey in Vietnam? magazines, a membership directory and a calendar each year and periodically publishes Then I did another Young & Stupid thing. Age 70 to 74 --------$150.00 Any combination of these can be deadly. Your email address will not be published. an.. A grunt is the true reason for the existence of the helicopter. That was probably the lowest point of my Vietnam flying experience, and I never forgot it. [1996 Information Please Almanac] 1995 Information Please Almanac Atlas & Yearbook 49th edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston & New York 1996, pages 117, 161 and 292. A paid subscription is required for full access. Most of the Commissioned Officers were older. "Pogo" Hunter who died in 1995. Don S. the last (in-country) Masher33, 1971, It is not easy to read this stuff. The Vietnam 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. 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. hostile fire exposure versus battle area exposure. As an example, heavy fund has been established at the Vietnam Center and Archives at Texas Tech Its just what they do. The South Vietnamese ran out There was an adrenaline high, too, and a tremendous sense of accomplishment that I have yet to experience since flying my last mission in Vietnam. sent to. 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). Caicos Islands, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican . . 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. All of these, however, are better than extraction by Medavac, even if it is technically, a form of flying. Most of our Door Gunners and Crew Chiefs were also 18-21 years old. This famous picture is the property of UPI Corbus-Bettman Photo Agency. statistic alerts) please log in with your personal account. We risked much in a totally dark valley that night, and there was no doubt that someone appreciated us. 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!. In fact, we all did well. 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. Innocent people get killed. Event date is used instead of declared dead date for some of those who were listed as missing in action) [CACF] 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. Trainees (known as candidates) then commenced the nine month long US Army Primary Helicopter School course at Fort Wolters, Texas, where they endured some extremely robust Preflight training as potential warrant officers. As he entered the crowded car, he said, Ballroom, please.. For the latter, a specially equipped H-13 had optional blanked out external vision. was several blocks from the Pittman Apartments. [McCaffrey], Vietnam veterans' personal income exceeds that of our non-veteran age group by more than 18 percent. 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! 2/3 of the men who served in World War II were drafted. has no political agenda as is our brother organization, The Vietnam Helicopter n.. They gave us classes on what altitudes to fly to avoid certain types of enemy fire small arms or 0.51 cal. Recent reports in the news media that an American commander ordered the air strike that burned Kim Phuc are incorrect. So, were we really Young and Stupid? 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. One point I want to make is the the Crew Chiefs and Door Gunners were the and are still the best as well. A third tradition is a bottle Learn how your comment data is processed. No this is Pat Bieneman I am the owner of this site. Average age of active pilots in the United States from 2002 to 2020, by category* [Graph]. [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. "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. Operation Chopper (Vietnam) - Wikipedia aa..Thus the term SHIT! can also be used to denote a situation where high Pucker Factor is being encountered. The last American troops departed in their entirety 29 March 1973. 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. The rest of the mission went as expected with no more surprises. 5. 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. They were involved in every aspect of that war fighting, from medevac, to ammo, troop and supply delivery, to aerial fire support. Although I was sworn to secrecy at the time, with the Freedom of Information Act, I believe that I can now break the silence. Those Hueys were their horses and they rode into battle en masse, to deliver their troops and evacuate the wounded. 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. [CACF]. Magazines are included with VHPA membership and are available to non-members with a 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. Donations can be made here https://www.vhpa.org/donate.htm, The VHPA has a membership of over 16,600 (8,700 dues current) helicopter pilots from around the world out of the It was a small price to pay for the successful completion of our daily rescues. American-owned airlines never knowingly transported opium in or out of Laos, nor did their American pilots ever profit from its transport. And what was even stupider, I suppose, was the fact that if the doors were closed when we reached the water, we opened them so we could get out easier if we did go down. Restraining the military in Vietnam in hindsight probably prevented a nuclear war with China or Russia. This statistic is not included in your account. If everything is as clear as a bell, and everything is going exactly as planned, youre about to be surprised. 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.. The others on board simply assumed he was also headed for dinner, but I knew the true meaning of his statement. If you have not been there and done that you probably will not understand most of this. The Scout Team would search for the enemy and then have the Weapons Team come in and destroy the enemy. I would NOT fly unarmed helicopters! 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. (Although 58,169 names are in the Nov. 93 database, only 58,148 have both event date and birth date. rules. 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. Whatd he say? Hell, I dont know. Shoot, I had NO idea! Three of the five newest democracies are former Soviet republics: Belarus (where elections were first held in November 1995), Armenia (July 1995) and Kyrgyzstan (February 1995). Please create an employee account to be able to mark statistics as favorites. When I returned to the states later and applied for my military drivers license so I could drive the. Operation Chopper occurred on 12 January 1962 and was the first time U.S. forces participated in major combat in the Vietnam War. Click here to view the US Army educational video, "A Day in the Life of a Helicopter Pilot," circa 1967. A hoist mission was just the opposite. [Nixon]. [1] "Vietnam helicopter pilots describe the war from the cockpit," YouTube video, posted by "Military Times," April 18th, 2018. I arrived in Vietnam on the 4th of July 1969, barely 21 years old. f.. That was the unforgiving part. This is a true testament for any theater! Steve DaCosta, Cavalier15, June67-June68. Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association - VHPA [CACF] (Combat Area Casualty File) November 1993. PO Box 8091 ak.. [Nixon], The Vietnam War has been the subject of thousands of newspaper and magazine articles, hundreds of books, and scores of movies and television documentaries. Not only were we not found to be lacking as youthful aviators, as a whole we far exceeded the expectations. dont care. 66 founding members. a.. Once you are in the fight, it is way too late to wonder if this is a good idea. A "DUSTOFF PILOT" - DUSTOFF Association I made a pedal turn (U-turn) about 200 feet in the air, probably over some bad guys, and hovered back in over the trees. 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. They were heavily armed with mini-guns, machine guns, and various kinds of rockets. There is an explanation Age 65 to 69 --------$250.00 EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW IN LIFE I LEARNED AS A HELICOPTER PILOT IN VIETNAM. History of the founding of the VHPA written by The VC were surprised and soundly defeated. 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. It would instantly cut the cable should any part of the lift apparatus get snagged in the trees or in any other emergency situation. 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." University. applies to subscribers): Age 80 and above ---$75.00 (One has to realize that there was virtually no protection for the pilots from the front and little from the sides or underneath.) [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. Is that AM or FM? October 20, 2021. Have you ever heard the expression, He was flying the aircraft balls out? That was us. average age of vietnam helicopter pilot - saiservicecentre.in My opinion is that he was as afraid that he could not complete the mission, as much as he was afraid to die. It is a bad thing to run out of airspeed, altitude, and ideas all at the same time. It required every skill we had. We are now Older and Wiser, and for that I am very thankful. on VHFCN (http://www.vhfcn.org) , Heli-Vets and FaceBook also another FaceBook site. For more information see 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. As the Aircraft Commander in control of the helicopter, my eyes never left the tree branches that were touching the nose of my aircraft. Hot garrison chow is better than hot C-rations which, in turn, is better than cold C-rations which, in turn, is better than no food at all. First of all, there was landing on the Navy Hospital ships, USS Repose and USS Sanctuary, in the South China Sea, very near the Demilitarized Zone. Here are some facts to clear up that poor job of reporting by the news media. How old was the average helicopter pilot in Vietnam? - Quora Army Flight School was about 9 months long, this was the shortest calendar time. 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. g.. You will come away from this video with a real sense of the quality of heroism that every one of our Vietnam War helicopter pilots displayed on a daily basis. advertising and other information. Correspondence relating to commercial purposes or solicitations shall only be Age 60 to 64 --------$350.00 There are over 4,945 helicopter pilots currently employed in the United States. website may contain information that VHPA considers proprietary and The United States sought to minimize and prevent attacks on civilians while North Vietnam made attacks on civilians a centerpiece of its strategy. reunion. I graduated from Flight Training 2 day short of a year. 79% had a high school education or better. I cannot talk about how tough flight school was, nor can I state what the washout rate was because I did not go myself. These men never refused to fly into harms way. I logged 205 hours in Flight Training. [Parade Magazine]. Age Vietnam Helicopter Average Pilot Of - albe.mi.it 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 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. 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. The American military was not defeated in Vietnam. It is unfortunate that many helicopters never had the opportunity to fulfill their one true mission in life, simply because someone forgot this fact. 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. We put him in the back of the cargo compartment with his M-16 and a helmet, hooked him up to the intercom, and we were off. Please do not hesitate to contact me. The Vietnam Army Helicopter Pilot | Charlie Troop 1st Squadron 9th Many times these brave men had to deliver or retrieve the troopers into or out of areas where enemy fire was heavy. We believe that the Huey along with the Huey Cobra have more combat flight to incorporate the statistic into your presentation at any time. I then realized that ole PP back there was just sitting in the hell hole taking it all in, not doing a thing! From 1965, around 99 percent of each completed class of students were sent to Vietnam. designed as a helipad. Marine Corps could barely maintain Helicopter Pilots There was a down side to the over-sized appendages, however. The Scout Pilot. Americans who deliberately killed civilians received prison sentences while Communists who did so received commendations. . From a military standpoint, it was almost an unprecedented performance. Thanks Tom H. AKA,Cavalier 16, 68/69, Brought a tear to my eye. Southeast Asia during the Vietnam era (1961-1975). The total of non-pilot crewmembers killed was 2,704, according to records of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots' Association. Vietnam Helicopter Flight Crew Network (VHFCN) pilots in the Vietnam War. 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 . Is this the Steve DaCosta who was friend of my brother W.O. Copyright 1995 - 2018 Gary B. Roush, 242 ASHC Muleskinners, May 1968 - May no, seven! Use Ask Statista Research Service. Get the details for all upcoming vietnam helicopter unit reunions. "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. We fought to an agreed stalemate. Boeing and Read More, I will say this - and I know a lot of other Navy guys that Read More, The Defense Security Cooperation Agency has not specified whether the weapons are intended for Taiwans Read More, Models of the F-19 Stealth Fighter started to appear in the eighties and were available Read More, The USAF plans to begin production in fiscal 2025, with the first E-7A expected to Read More, UH-1 Huey Gunship Vs NVA/VC Forces Vietnam 1962-75, Boeing, US Army AH-64 Apache attack helicopters Achieve 5 Million Flight Hours, Equivalent to Flying nonstop for more than 208,333 Days or 570 Years and Nine Months, Taiwan to get 100 AGM-88B HARM missiles and 200 AIM-120C-8 missiles for its F-16 fleet, USAF awards Boeing E-7A prototype contract: the Wedgetail will replace the E-3 AWACS, US Navy Nuclear Propulsion Plant Operator explains when a submarine reactor can be run at higher than 100% (and why the 105% on the reactor ordered in The Hunt for Red October movie would not be worth any risk to the ship and crew), Former US Navy F/A-18 pilot explains why although during his era the Hornet was the best airplane on the carrier his fun meter was most pegged flying the A-4 Skyhawk, The Stealth Fighter that Never Was: How the Secret Development of the F-117 led to the Birth of the Misleading F-19. As MedEvac helicopter pilots, we flew the only Army Hueys equipped with the electric hoist/winch.

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