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. 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. I will always thank Warrant Officer Study for his late-night, picture-perfect landing on the round end of the boat. We grabbed some unsuspecting Schmuck and told him to get his weapon and some ammo and run with us to the aircraft. aircraft in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam era and inform them of the existence of the Put some fire in that bunker! I yelled to Private Whats-His-Name. [Home] [ReunionInformation] [Donations] [OurLegacy] [MembershipServices] [RelatedWebSites] Member Login. its on the ground . Would love to chat with Bruce Huffman. 66 founding members. d.. American involvement in February 1973. Magazines are included with VHPA membership and are available to non-members with a [VHPA databases], Army AH-1G's totaled more than 1,166,344 flight hours in Vietnam. Others flew fixed wing and some were already in the Army but applied for and were chosen to attend flight school. 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." w.. 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. So, too, can the ones addressed To Whom It May Concern. Published by on October 31, 2021. 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. * Includes pilots with an airplane and/or a helicopter and/or a glider and/or a gyroplane certificate. [VHPA databases], Army UH-1's totaled more than 10,693,902 flight hours in Vietnam between October 1966 and the end of 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. 2/3 of the men who served in World War II were drafted. 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. [Nixon] No More Vietnams by Richard Nixon. Vietnam Helicopter Memorial: Veterans Fight Bureaucracy | Time The Vietnam 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. Another Huey pilot explained, We were expected to perform simulated missions like we were in Vietnam. Learn how your comment data is processed. A hoist mission was just the opposite. You need at least a Starter Account to use this feature. How old was the average helicopter pilot in Vietnam? Scared that maybe, just maybe, youll fail your mission where someone else just like you would have succeeded. He is the Founder and Editor of The Aviation Geek Club one of the worlds most read military aviation blogs. Here are some facts to clear up that poor job of reporting by the news media. (the herbicide was called "orange" in Vietnam, not Agent Orange. God bless you all! Average Age Statistics of Pilots: Are We in a Pilot Shortage? The average infantryman in Vietnam saw about 240 days of combat in one year thanks to the mobility of the helicopter. Refining close formation skills was an immediate requirement, as airborne assaults could involve a tight gaggle of up to 40 helicopters, including ten gunships. Ground troops typically did not enter a sprayed area until four to six weeks after being sprayed. 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. [Westmoreland] Approximately 70% of those killed were volunteers. Oh, were we Young and Stupid on hoist missions, too; the second Y & S thing we did! The pilots who were flying this helicopter, Whether their responsibility was to fly the troops into and out of battle, become the Medical Evacuation bird when required, be the forward eyes of the ground troopers or provide them fire support when needed. I have posted your reply to Steve on here so he will be able to read it. average age of vietnam helicopter pilot - cbeconsulting.net 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. average age of vietnam helicopter pilot By the end of the war half of them had been lost. Mortality studies show that 9,000 is a better estimate. 75,000 Vietnam veterans are severely disabled. ", Federal Aviation Administration, Average age of active pilots in the United States from 2002 to 2020, by category* Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/919100/aviation-industry-average-age-of-active-pilots-in-the-united-states-by-category/ (last visited March 04, 2023), Average age of active pilots in the United States from 2002 to 2020, by category* [Graph], Federal Aviation Administration, May 18, 2021. of what you can do online at https://www.vhpa.org/memhelp.htm#ODA, To preserve the legacy of all Vietnam Helicopter Pilots, an endowment I wanted that top 20% and focused all my abilities and energy on making gunship training. (Personally, I have fathered 73 children with two good Dustoff-sized testicles.) List of Vietnam War flying aces - Wikipedia The rest of the mission went as expected with no more surprises. [McCaffrey], Vietnam veterans have a lower unemployment rate than our non-vet age group. Vietnam Veterans were the best educated forces our nation had ever sent into combat. Although I was sworn to secrecy at the time, with the Freedom of Information Act, I believe that I can now break the silence. Mine were draped over the back of my seat, along with my M-16 rifle. aj.. Many times when either our troopers on the ground or another unit was facing enemy fire these brave men would come in with weapons blazing either destroying the enemy or allowing the ground troops to attain and then maintain superior fire power. If I had gone down over water, I would not have grabbed the wings either, because not only had I never tried to inflate them, I had never even tried to put them on. VHPA Aviator (big file). While in themselves those landings were not stupid, the way we got there was! The gunships that were escorting him told Al to put it on the ground right away because of the serious leak. One guy was 19, while the oldest (not counting our Commanding Officer) was the 28-year-old XO, Army slang for the second in command, Executive Officer. To use individual functions (e.g., mark statistics as favourites, set https://www.vhpa.org. A "DUSTOFF PILOT" - DUSTOFF Association He flew through the fog and light rain. . Over 900,000 patients were airlifted (nearly half were American). One point I want to make is the the Crew Chiefs and Door Gunners were the and are still the best as well. 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. Correspondence relating to commercial purposes or solicitations shall only be They were the ones who flew the troops into and out of battle. 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. 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. As soon as this statistic is updated, you will immediately be notified via e-mail. A Scout team consisted of a pilot, a Door Gunner and an observer. Ancient U.S. Army proverb. Myth: The war was fought largely by the poor and uneducated. There is no such thing as a fair fight-only ones where you win or lose. It is At the same time, I made flight adjustments according to the guys in the back. They will always be our heroes, our Angels in the Sky.. As I look back on my own experiences, two things stand out in my mind that I consider young and stupid.. They were utterly selfless and courageous warriors on our behalf. Tactics such as pinnacle landing on top of steep hills, slopes, and karst outcrops amid destabilizing downdraughts to deliver heavy supplies to US Army firebases and outposts while under enemy fire were also tackled. Recent reports in the news media that an American commander ordered the air strike that burned Kim Phuc are incorrect. Fast Contour flying as close to the ground as possible to avoid ground fire was also mastered. VHPA and encourage all eligible individuals to become members. Army Flight School was about 9 months long, this was the shortest calendar time. Did you know the average life expectancy of a US Army Huey pilot in Business Solutions including all features. The average time lapse between wounding to hospitalization was less than one hour. A dead man, meaning, he should never have made it back because Dustoff aircraft were unarmed MedEvac helicopters with red and white targets (crosses) painted all over them and flew single-ship missions. 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%). confidential. Statista. Helicopters in Five Thousand pilots and crews lost their lives and 3,258 Hueys alone were lost during the war. That was probably the lowest point of my Vietnam flying experience, and I never forgot it. 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. It is dedicated to the fulfillment of Dustoff pilots with their unique seating arrangement is where that statement originated. Phil Marshall, DMZ Dustoff 711, 237th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance) Camp Evans and Quang Tri, Vietnam 1969. He was an assault helicopter pilot, in other words a gunship pilot. Americans who deliberately killed civilians received prison sentences while Communists who did so received commendations. Five Thousand pilots and crews lost their lives and 3,258 Hueys alone were lost during the war. q.. Having all your body parts intact and functioning at the end of the day beats the alternative. The Vietnam War helped medical progress in this area. With a fair amount of apprehension, it was now the moment of truth. Could we really do what we had been trained to do, without letting anyone down? We lost a lot of Pilots but we also lost a lot of Crew Chiefs and Door Gunners. 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. volunteers. The picture of a Huey helicopter evacuating people from the top of what was billed as being the U.S. Embassy in Saigon during the last week of April 1975 during the fall of Saigon helped to establish this myth. In fact, not at all, since we usually flew with the doors open, even at night. If you are allergic to lead, it is best to avoid a war zone. Section 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Service. a.. Once you are in the fight, it is way too late to wonder if this is a good idea. 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. 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. address changes for the directory and use the comments form to 5 Stars . to incorporate the statistic into your presentation at any time. 2160250. buzz lightyear of star command complete series (Three years for . About 12,000 U.S. military helicopters spent 7.5 million hours above Vietnam, flying 2 million missions. 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. They also acted as the means of supply of ammunitions, equipment and food. Later, the crew became a two-man pilot team. The biggest responsibility of a helicopter pilot was to fly that helicopter in such a manner as to provide support for the men on the ground. [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. If we had been shot down on virtually any hoist mission, our high hover would not have allowed us to make a safe landing, and many would surely have died. Myth: Most Vietnam veterans were drafted. [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. The Scout Team would search for the enemy and then have the Weapons Team come in and destroy the enemy. A MiG-21 of the VPAF which became the primary fighter-interceptor against USAF and USN aircraft. Vietnam War Facts, Stats and Myths - US Wings website may contain information that VHPA considers proprietary and He fell right through the rotor blades. Jurez y 18 de Marzo Col. Centro, C.P 96360 Nanchital, Ver. Guts and Gumption: Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Wore Their Hearts on Their 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 . Statistics about the Vietnam War - VHPA I then realized that ole PP back there was just sitting in the hell hole taking it all in, not doing a thing! If so glad to know youre well. There were many of the Warrant Officers that were in their 18,19, and 20s. One of those is the missing man table at the banquet at each rotary wing aircrews that flew in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam Era. The American military was not defeated in Vietnam. 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. Myth: The media have reported that suicides among Vietnam veterans range from 50,000 to 100,000 - 6 to 11 times the non-Vietnam veteran population. The Scout Pilot. There is only one rule in war: When you win, you get to make up the 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. I asked to take a different test and was able to pass that one! i.. Chicken Plates are not something you order in a restaurant. 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. Most aviators receives about 210 hours of flight time. Is that AM or FM? The first one you will meet is retired Army Col. Douglas Moore, a medevac pilot in Vietnam. about halfway down . Restraining the military in Vietnam in hindsight probably prevented a nuclear war with China or Russia. Was 19 the average age of a combat soldier in Vietnam? Event date is used instead of declared dead date for some of those who were listed as missing in action). am.. Do not fear the enemy, for your enemy can only take your life. 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! When I returned to the states later and applied for my military drivers license so I could drive the. Both immigrated come forward just a little . Values are as of December 31 each year. 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. In addition to an annual reunion held around July 4th, members keep in touch informally (CACF and Westmoreland), Sociologists Charles C. Moskos and John Sibley Butler, in their recently published book "All That We Can Be," said they analyzed the claim that blacks were used like cannon fodder during Vietnam "and can report definitely that this charge is untrue. and flew his bird to the top of Monkey Mountian. "Pogo" Hunter who died in 1995. Average age of 58,148 killed in Vietnam was 23.11 years. fund has been established at the Vietnam Center and Archives at Texas Tech 86% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasians, 12.5% were black, 1.2% were other races. How could we lose a war we had already stopped fighting? To retrieve the data click on 2020 Active Civil Airmen Statistics. San Antonio, Texas 78208-0091, Copyright 2023 DUSTOFF Association | Powered by Barefoot Pixel, USAAAD conducts life-saving rescue of two civilians near Mount Adams. I suppose that is what kept most of us going in the daily risk of flying helicopters in combat in Vietnam. 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. 01/09/2013. Our single-engine UH-1H Hueys did not float in the water very well. no, seven! (EC), [Home] [ReunionInformation] [Donations] [OurLegacy] [MembershipServices] [RelatedWebSites], This Wainwright Station bombers and were always exposed to hostile fire even in their base camps. No this is Pat Bieneman I am the owner of this site. one of 42 pictures of this helicopter that UPI photographer, Hubert Van Es took As a Premium user you get access to background information and details about the release of this statistic. reunion. 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. If you win the battle you are entitled to the spoils. 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. The third pilot is retired Col. David Rainey U.S. Army. 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. Not only were we not found to be lacking as youthful aviators, as a whole we far exceeded the expectations. Later, the crew became a two-man pilot team. t.. The platform is the top of the elevator shaft for the building and was not Steve DaCosta, Cavalier15, June67-June68. Over the ten years of the war, Operation Ranch Hand sprayed about eleven million gallons of Agent Orange on the South Vietnamese landscape. The average age of an employed helicopter pilot is 44 years old. Federal Aviation Administration. The emotions are almost indescribable, but there was one more feeling: relief from being so scared! After the first of the two injured soldiers was hoisted on board, the din of the covering fire began to register in my head. He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force. The VHPA publishes six Publi le 12 juin 2022 par . All of these, however, are preferable to cold rice balls, even if they do have the little pieces of fish in them. [CACF]. 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. It was NOT the U.S. Embassy. We fought to an agreed stalemate. I did well enough to make the school, along with about 25 of my classmates. However, these same 18-year-old young men attended flight school and were given responsibility to operate a multi million dollar helicopter. He he he he . Thank you. Myth: Most American soldiers were addicted to drugs, guilt-ridden about their role in the war, and deliberately used cruel and inhumane tactics. During his two tours in Vietnam, Col. Moore flew 2,752 combat medevac mission and transported 2,952 wounded men back to the medical help they needed. So, were we really Young and Stupid? story building where the CIA station chief and many of his officers lived, located at 22 Ly Tu Trong St. At least, I believe that is how I would have felt had it been me. Age Vietnam Helicopter Average Pilot Of - albe.mi.it Never have the consequences of their misunderstanding been so tragic." There were no Americans involved in any capacity. Communications with the Executive Council First, one has to understand what a hoist mission is and why we did them. Information contained herein shall not be used for commercial 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 following purposes: To enhance and accredit the cohesiveness, esprit de corps, and traditions of valor of 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. . [Westmoreland], Democracy Catching On - In the wake of the Cold War, democracies are flourishing, with 179 of the world's 192 sovereign states (93%) now electing their legislators, according to the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union. I can throw a rock in there, its so close! was the rest of my thought. The United States sought to minimize and prevent attacks on civilians while North Vietnam made attacks on civilians a centerpiece of its strategy. 5.5% of all helicopter pilots are women, while 94.5% are men. This freed Marine quotas at Pensacola which could be used to . The tactical situation is such that the ground troops cannot get the dead or wounded to a secure open area for evacuation. ab.. Thousands of Vietnam Veterans earned medals for bravery every day. Crew Members Association http://vhcma.org/. "Average age of active pilots in the United States from 2002 to 2020, by category*." After training, they entered transport or gunship platoons referred to simply as slicks or guns. Most would complete at least two combat tours. I think that some of us changed for the better, but some of us did not. They could rotate around a battle site from above, unleashing punishing weapon support from above. Membership is open to all helicopter pilots who flew in Rarely have so many people been so wrong about so much. XV, Issue VII. 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. 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. Laura Ungaro, I enjoyed reading this very much, many good memories were recalled. Number of helicopter pilot licenses in China 2014-2019; Global share of pilots whose mental health was affected by the pandemic 2020 ; If everything is as clear as a bell, and everything is going exactly as planned, youre about to be surprised. Also, it has been incorrectly reported that two of Kim Phuc's brothers were killed in this incident. You will meet and hear the stories of three U.S. Army helicopter pilots who flew missions in Vietnam in this video. I was okay to fly helicopters in the Army, but not to drive a jeep! Thank you for your service. He was a Dustoff pilot. Myth: The American military was running for their lives during the fall of Saigon in April 1975. They also acted as medical evacuation helicopter pilots when needed. [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. As one of those troopers on the ground, I can honestly say how proud I am to have served with Brave men. Operation Chopper occurred on 12 January 1962 and was the first time U.S. forces participated in major combat in the Vietnam War. . Flying is better than walking. Even then, there could be no guarantee that the slicks would be able to land and then depart without being targeted by enemy fire. View complete answer on zippia.com You will get a sense of what that was like from listening to his stories. As MedEvac helicopter pilots, we flew the only Army Hueys equipped with the electric hoist/winch. I remember my very first primary flight instructor pointing at him as I listened intently to his every word. [McCaffrey]. Use Ask Statista Research Service. h.. solicitation purposes, or any correspondence related thereto. In June of 1967, Marine officers destined to become fixed-wing pilots began reporting to Air Force bases for flight training. Heroes in Hueys: The Pilots and Crews of the Vietnam War but it cant hurt. 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. ag.. On what turned out to be his final mission, they were to pick up wounded on a mountain top, but got caught in heavy fire while making their approach. Further proof of these facts can be found at a recent Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association (VHPA) reunion. Provide food and supplies to veterans at The Veterans Site for free! average age of vietnam helicopter pilot - polucon.com