Commander applauds bill to honor Dust Off crews

American Legion National Commander Dale Barnett expressed his appreciation, on behalf of the nation’s largest wartime veterans organization, for a bill introduced Nov. 10 that would recognize life-saving U.S. Army Dust Off helicopter crews with the Congressional Gold Medal.

If passed as written, the medal would be displayed at the Smithsonian Institute, according to the measure introduced by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.

“Average Americans may not understand the meaning of helicopter air ambulances, but anyone whose life was saved by one can never forget,” Barnett said. “The sound of helicopter blades thumping through jungle or desert air, for many wounded American troops, was the cadence of survival in a remote, hostile battle zone.”

Cornyn praised the dedication of the helicopter crews. “These soldiers earned a national reputation for their service in what was considered to be one of the most dangerous jobs in one of the world’s deadliest conflicts in the modern era.”

Introduced in World War II, expanded in the Korean War, and indispensible in the Vietnam War and later armed conflicts, including Iraq and Afghanistan, Dust-Off crews and their predecessors have saved approximately 1 million lives through the decades. One in three Dust-Off crewmembers suffered casualty or death, and no fewer than 215 lost their lives in combat during the Vietnam War alone.

The bill acknowledges the 54th Medical Detachment that, during a 10-month span in the Vietnam War evacuated 21,435 patients flying 8,644 missions with only three functional helicopters and 40 soldiers in the unit.

Among the many decorated soldiers of that unit was Patrick Brady, who received the Medal of Honor for his actions in 1968 and went on to become a major general. His citation credited him for flying numerous rescue operations in a single day in 1968, bringing back 51 wounded troops. Enemy fire was so fierce that he used three different helicopters to complete the day’s missions. In two tours during the Vietnam War, Brady evacuated approximately 5,000 patients.

Brady said that the leadership of Maj. Charles L. Kelly, commanding officer of the 54th Medical Detachment, illustrates the Dust Off philosophy. “Dust Off was made famous in the jungles of Vietnam under the leadership of Charles Kelly, who was killed rescuing wounded under enemy fire,” Brady said. “His dying words, when warned to leave the area because of intense enemy fire, were: ‘When I have your wounded!’” That expression, Brady explained, “set the standard for aeromedical evacuation to this day.”

Manchin explained the reasoning behind the Gold Medal recognition. “The Dust Off crews of the Vietnam War truly embody some of the most talented and heroic servicemembers in American history,” he said. “These warriors displayed the utmost courage and resilience while under fire by flying to the treacherous frontlines to get wounded soldiers out of harm’s way. Because of their outstanding bravery, hundreds of thousands of lives were saved. It is our privilege and duty to publicly thank them for their heroic military service by awarding them with the Congressional Gold Medal.”

See a video interview with Brady, who received The American Legion’s 2006 Distinguished Service Medal and is now a member of The American Legion 100th Anniversary Honorary Committee, at http://www.legion.org/medalofhonor/videos/PLHMR9MmnivfPEHKG6CSDJEBn3yF6j...