He was an assault helicopter pilot, in other words a gunship pilot. I arrived in Vietnam on the 4th of July 1969, barely 21 years old. Categories . As MedEvac helicopter pilots, we flew the only Army Hueys equipped with the electric hoist/winch. When we, as students, first began training in Hueys at Ft. Rucker, Alabama, our Instructor Pilots (IPs) were required to fill out a Department of the Army (DA) form if our testicles were too big to fit comfortably in the standard front seat of a Huey. Phil Marshall, DMZ Dustoff 711, 237th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance) Camp Evans and Quang Tri, Vietnam 1969. From 1965, around 99 percent of each completed class of students were sent to Vietnam. It was finally time to find out if we had the gonads to be combat helicopter pilots. Information contained herein shall not be used for commercial See an example of our magazine, The After the first of the two injured soldiers was hoisted on board, the din of the covering fire began to register in my head. theyre on the penetrator . It was NOT the U.S. Embassy. [McCaffrey], The oldest man killed was 62 years old (TAYLOR, KENNA CLYDE). The United States sought to minimize and prevent attacks on civilians while North Vietnam made attacks on civilians a centerpiece of its strategy. I logged 205 hours in Flight Training. magazines, a membership directory and a calendar each year and periodically publishes 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. 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. The VC were surprised and soundly defeated. The third pilot is retired Col. David Rainey U.S. Army. You only have access to basic statistics. 5.5% of all helicopter pilots are women, while 94.5% are men. v.. A free fire zone has nothing to do with economics. Section 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Service. If everyone does not come home, none of the rest of us can ever fully come home either. . Shoot, I had NO idea! I dont think so. plaque made from the mold for the AH-1G prototype collective grip. Age 60 to 64 --------$350.00 When sprayed on dense jungle foliage, less that 6 percent ever reached the ground. Occasionally, the gunner and crew chief had to exit temporarily to reduce the weight sufficiently for take off. THE UNITED STATES DID NOT LOSE THE WAR IN VIETNAM, THE SOUTH VIETNAMESE 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. hostile fire exposure versus battle area exposure. The Scout Team would search for the enemy and then have the Weapons Team come in and destroy the enemy. In closing, I would merely like to state that I am able to write this today in large part because of luck whole lot of GOOD luck and a little bit of good humor. sent to webmaster@vhpa.org whereupon Further proof of these facts can be found at a recent Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association (VHPA) reunion. See also The History of the Ranch Hand Epidemiologic Investigation. 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. The third seat was for our testicles. average age of vietnam helicopter pilot 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. come right . This is a true testament for any theater! To all of the brave Pilots and their crews, I can say but three things. pilots in the Vietnam War. Oh, Sugar! (Not my exact word.) 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. PO Box 8091 . . Over the ten years of the war, Operation Ranch Hand sprayed about eleven million gallons of Agent Orange on the South Vietnamese landscape. U.S. active certificated pilots - number 1990-2020, Worldwide aircraft fleet age by region 2020-2030, Air traffic - passenger growth rates forecast 2019-2040. aa..Thus the term SHIT! can also be used to denote a situation where high Pucker Factor is being encountered. "Average Age of Active Pilots in The United States from 2002 to 2020, by Category*. 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. 86% of the men who died in Vietnam were Caucasians, 12.5% were black, 1.2% were other races. VHPA Aviator magazine If the rear echelon troops are really happy, the front line troops probably do not have what they need. Myth: Air America, the airline operated by the CIA in Southeast Asia, and its pilots were involved in drug trafficking. . He has reported from Europe and flown Super Puma and Cougar helicopters with the Swiss Air Force. . q.. Having all your body parts intact and functioning at the end of the day beats the alternative. If everything is as clear as a bell, and everything is going exactly as planned, youre about to be surprised. There walks a dead man. Two high ranking A paid subscription is required for full access. 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. There were no Americans involved in any capacity. 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. Don S. the last (in-country) Masher33, 1971, It is not easy to read this stuff. By contrast, there still are 78,000 unaccounted-for Americans from World War II and 8,100 from the Korean conflict. 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 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. ah.. Nobody cares what you did yesterday or what you are going to do tomorrow. They were involved in every aspect of that war fighting, from medevac, to ammo, troop and supply delivery, to aerial fire support. 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. [Burkett] Stolen Valor: How the Vietnam Generation was Robbed of its Heroes and its History by B.G. i.. Chicken Plates are not something you order in a restaurant. Whatd he say? Hell, I dont know. and flew his bird to the top of Monkey Mountian. The VHPA publishes six w.. 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). Warrant Officer-1 Al Gaddis was a tall, curly haired kid as I remember him. s.. . That was probably the lowest point of my Vietnam flying experience, and I never forgot it. Many men volunteered for the draft so even some of the draftees were actually When I found out that I was assigned to be a MedEvac pilot, I was devastated. how to unhide mouse cursor windows 10; Even more demanding was formation flying at night, with navigation lights off, using the glow from the leaders cockpit instruments for station keeping. Thank you for your Service and Insight! I would NOT fly unarmed helicopters! Knowing that my depth perception left little margin for error on the night approaches (especially), I had to totally concentrate on what I was doing and not relax for a second until we were down on that rockin and rollin ship. University. The early (65-68) Weapons Team was made up of two pilots, crew chief and a door gunner. 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. h.. They were utterly selfless and courageous warriors on our behalf. Mortality studies show that 9,000 is a better estimate. American-owned airlines never knowingly transported opium in or out of Laos, nor did their American pilots ever profit from its transport. 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. Those trainers were so small you could lean in them to make the thing turn. volunteers. Later, the crew became a two-man pilot team. But come look for us, will ya? bombers and were always exposed to hostile fire even in their base camps. To use individual functions (e.g., mark statistics as favourites, set Failure to heed this commandment can affect the morale of the crew. 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