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Army retires legendary UH-1 Huey helicopter
Yakima Herald - Republic ^ | January 26, 2011 | Mark Morey

Posted on 01/27/2011 6:21:50 AM PST by epithermal

YAKIMA, Wash. -- An icon of the Vietnam War, a faithful conveyer of American troops across the globe and savior to countless lost or injured civilians, the Huey helicopter’s long Army service is ending.

For the medevac detachment at the Army’s Yakima Training Center, that distinguished career concluded Wednesday.

More than 50 years after the first models lifted off, the Army is retiring the few single-bladed UH-1 variants still sitting on the flightline.

Wednesday’s retirement ceremony at the training center was a bittersweet moment for the pilots, crewmen and passengers who came to know the Huey as a reliable machine for both combat missions and stateside duties, most notably civilian search and rescue.

Chief Warrant Officer Joseph Long, part of the Training Center’s Air Ambulance Detachment, is probably one of the last Vietnam-era Huey pilots serving today. He was recalled to active duty in 2002 because the Army didn’t have enough Huey-trained pilots.

Long had the honor of piloting the last formal Huey mission at the training center as part of the flyaway retirement ceremony on the parade ground. Sitting on his left was retired Lt. Col. Bruce Crandall, who received the Medal of Honor for flying 70 wounded troops out of Vietnam’s Ia Drang Valley in 1965.

(Excerpt) Read more at yakima-herald.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: huey; uh1
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1 posted on 01/27/2011 6:21:54 AM PST by epithermal
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To: epithermal

LOL

Another aviation/military article written by a real (/sarcasm) enthusiast. Boy these journalism schools really teach ‘em how to do good research!

to wit: “ the Army is retiring the few single-bladed UH-1 variants ...”

single-BLADED !!!! ROFL

Watch one of those flop around.

Try single-ROTOR. Two blades; one rotor.


2 posted on 01/27/2011 6:28:32 AM PST by Blueflag (Res ipsa loquitur)
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Comment #3 Removed by Moderator

To: Blueflag

Well you could choose to critique the author. Or you could comment on the service the UH-1 has provided or the guys who flew it.


4 posted on 01/27/2011 6:32:32 AM PST by driftdiver (I could eat it raw, but why do that when I have a fire.)
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To: Blueflag

You’ve got it all wrong. These were the early ones with the oars out the sides.


5 posted on 01/27/2011 6:33:03 AM PST by headstamp 2 ("My Boss is a Jewish Carpenter")
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To: epithermal

Sad to see it fly off into history. I miss the plop plop plop sound. Hated to see the Garrand go too, but the new stuff is much better so they tell me. Nostalgia, isn’t wonderful?


6 posted on 01/27/2011 6:34:39 AM PST by Bringbackthedraft (The candidate they smear and ridicule the most is the one they fear the most.)
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To: Bringbackthedraft

Nostalgia, isn’t “IT” wonderful? ............ typo


7 posted on 01/27/2011 6:37:11 AM PST by Bringbackthedraft (The candidate they smear and ridicule the most is the one they fear the most.)
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To: epithermal
Photobucket
8 posted on 01/27/2011 6:38:27 AM PST by bushpilot1
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To: epithermal
Photobucket
9 posted on 01/27/2011 6:42:35 AM PST by bushpilot1
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To: epithermal
Lt. Col. Bruce Crandall, who received the Medal of Honor for flying 70 wounded troops out of Vietnam’s Ia Drang Valley in 1965.

Salute to "Snake" Crandall.

10 posted on 01/27/2011 6:43:48 AM PST by N. Theknow (Kennedys: Can't skipper a boat, Can't drive, Can't ski, Can't fly. But they KNOW what's best!)
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To: epithermal

Thinking about it now it seems like it was in another life.


11 posted on 01/27/2011 6:56:51 AM PST by Outrance
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To: epithermal

Really? Cool! I want one.


12 posted on 01/27/2011 6:57:25 AM PST by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously..... You won't live through it anyway.)
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To: Blueflag

Better reporting here:

Saying goodbye to iconic ‘Huey’
Military: Ceremony for workhorse of Vietnam War
ADAM ASHTON; Staff writer
Last updated: January 26th, 2011 06:40 AM (PST)

It’s not enough for retired Lt. Col. Bruce Crandall to wave goodbye to the Army]s last UH-1 helicopter flying on the West Coast.

Crandall, 77, wants to take the controls of the “Huey” himself.

“I would fly it tomorrow,” said Crandall, a Medal of Honor recipient from Port Orchard. “If I can, I’ll be in the cockpit.”

He’s the guest of honor at the Yakima Training Center today, where the Army Air Ambulance Detachment plans to mothball its last Huey.

The iconic Vietnam-era chopper was still in use for medical evacuations at the Yakima grounds through September. It’s been replaced by new models of the UH-72 Lakota, a quick helicopter designed for medical missions.

The Huey’s departure marks the passing of an era to Crandall and other Vietnam veterans who remember the “whoop whoop” of its blades gliding into combat zones.

“You’ll never see a movie about Vietnam without some helicopters flying around and they’ll all be Hueys,” said retired Col. Philip E. Courts, 72, of DuPont.

Courts’ career spanned the Huey’s heyday. It was first produced in 1959, and Courts was an instructor pilot in the early 1960s teaching others how to fly the chopper. At the time, it represented a considerable improvement in power and speed. Courts was eager to fly the Huey instead of its cumbersome predecessors.

He served two tours of duty in Vietnam, flying Hueys on medical evacuations and attack runs. The Army sent about 7,000 Hueys to Vietnam; it lost 3,305, according to the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association.

Courts went on to command the 9th Aviation Battalion at Fort Lewis. He retired in 1988 with the Blackhawk and Apache established as the Army’s primary helicopters.

“I know the new equipment is much better,” said Courts. “It’s much more sophisticated and more capable. But I still have a soft spot for the Huey. We could not have done what we did in Vietnam without the Huey.”

Courts will be the featured speaker at today’s ceremony in Yakima. He’ll be joined by his son, Col. Michael Courts, who likewise became an Army helicopter pilot. Michael Courts now is the deputy chief of staff at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Crandall’s achievements in a Huey are memorialized in print and on film. He commanded a helicopter company during the Nov. 14, 1965 battle at the Ia Drang Valley, the first major battle between American ground forces and the North Vietnamese Army.

Crandall and his wingman, the late Maj. Ed Freeman, made 14 landings under fire and are credited with saving more than 70 soldiers.

Both received the Medal of Honor for their actions at Ia Drang. They’re memorialized in “We Were Soldiers,” a 2002 movie starring Mel Gibson that recounts the battle.

Crandall was an adviser to the movie crew. He last flew a Huey while working on the set.

He told Gibson he felt as if he’d never stopped flying.

“Like riding a bicycle?” Gibson asked. “More like sex, unless you’re really into riding a bicycle,” Crandall joked to the actor.

Crandall misses flying, but not only for the adrenaline.

“It meant that there’s a lot of people living today that wouldn’t be here – grandchildren and some great grandchildren – because that helicopter performed. It brought home a lot of my friends,” he said.

Adam Ashton: 253-597-8646 adam.ashton@thenewstribune.com

Read more: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/01/26/v-printerfriendly/1517465/saying-goodbye-to-iconic-huey.html#ixzz1CFPx2hV2

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/01/26/v-printerfriendly/1517465/saying-goodbye-to-iconic-huey.html


13 posted on 01/27/2011 6:58:56 AM PST by KeyLargo
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To: epithermal

The soundS of Hueys are vivd in the memories my childhood.
Goodbye old bird...


14 posted on 01/27/2011 7:02:29 AM PST by ßuddaßudd (7 days - 7 ways Guero >>> with a floating, shifting, ever changing persona.....)
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To: Bringbackthedraft

I was never in the service but scored marksmanship and sniper scores with the Garand as Sheriff Explorer, when I was 14.

I loved that gun and now have two M1A Springfield’s.

I couldn’t sing their praise too much.

My brother who has similar skills swears by his AR. But without his ACOG he can’t compete for grouping @ 100yrds.

Tells me all the time to turn my gun into tinsel and bulbs but I love her the she is and I can reach out and touch someone to about 6 or 700yrds with .308.


15 posted on 01/27/2011 7:02:32 AM PST by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously..... You won't live through it anyway.)
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To: KeyLargo

Crandall was Rambo’s Colonel...wasn’t he?


16 posted on 01/27/2011 7:03:28 AM PST by Vendome (Don't take life so seriously..... You won't live through it anyway.)
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To: Blueflag
Try single-ROTOR. Two blades; one rotor.

I think the author is trying unsuccessfully to distinguish the original twin blade UH-1 models from the new UH-1Y that is still in production for the USMC. The UH-1Y still only has one ROTOR but it is a four bladed one.


17 posted on 01/27/2011 7:04:46 AM PST by GonzoGOP (There are millions of paranoid people in the world and they are all out to get me.)
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To: bushpilot1

This story brought back many memories of riding on the Huey for me..used to take many rides in them hauling radio equipment out to FB`s.

Also that pic with the concertina reminded me of the time I got caught in it hurrying to load a slick at night and getting snagged,took three guys to get me extracated

It was always impressive to see the sky filled with Hueys and that big Chinook hauling artillery underneath


18 posted on 01/27/2011 7:15:16 AM PST by Harold Shea (RVN `70 - `71)
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To: driftdiver

Obviously I made my point the way I wanted to. I intended it as a slam on the quality of, like, gee, totally the diligence and work ethic of modern day journalists reporting on aviation the military topics.

One should not infer any slight to the bird itself or the service it and the men and women who flew it provided.


19 posted on 01/27/2011 7:16:49 AM PST by Blueflag (Res ipsa loquitur)
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To: Blueflag

oops

aviation OR military topics.

my bad.


20 posted on 01/27/2011 7:18:54 AM PST by Blueflag (Res ipsa loquitur)
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