Army retires legendary UH-1 Huey helicopter

Yakima Herald - Republic ^ | January 26, 2011 | Mark Morey

[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.

[Erasmus]

Yeah, when I first read that I had this vision in my mind of a UH-1 with a single blade attempting to lift off the ground - it wasn’t a pretty image.

Hey, if it were counterweighted properly, it'd have a chance.

In the early days of fixed-wing aviation, they did experiment with a single-bladed propellor (properly counterweighted of course).

[FreedomPoster]

I assure you it is WOP WOP WOP WOP WOP!, no need to think it.

As a kid, I lived right next to the parade field at Rucker during the height of pilot training for Vietnam. Classes flew over constantly, either practicing formation flying for graduation, or actually graduating. We’re talking 70-100 ship formations here. There were always helicopters overhead, in general.

It has been a long time, but you don’t forget that sound.

[bushpilot1]

A Huey was sent to the field to pick me up..take me to Chu Chi..drop me at the 25th Division HQ. The Red Cross sent it..to my dismay a civilian was waiting. He took me to their office where I had to sit down and write a letter to my mother. Could not leave until it was finished.

She contacted the Red Cross because I was not answering her letters.

Had to find my own own back to the field. Was a 19 yo Sergeant 11E40, tank commander...in the 3/4 Cav.

[Harold Shea]

That was funny,my mom did the same thing..contacted Red Cross.You know how it was,wore out,couldn`t tell what day of the week it was.ya mean to write first thing in the am

I just got called into the CO`s office to get a chewing out

You guys in those those big tanks were like supermen to me

[archy]

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.

Lest we forget. Absent Comrades.

[archy]

***The Huey was well known in its role as a medevac chopper and its pilots earned a reputation as the "cowboys of aviation" for their willingness to fly whenever, wherever, however if somebody needed help under fire. The bird was nicknamed "Dustoff" for the cloud of dirt kicked up on takeoff, a name still given to medevac crews. ***

More ignorant tripe. DUSTOFF was the callsign for Maj. Charles Kelly, originally by his unit 57th Air Evac, later used by all Medevac flights after Maj Kelly's death. Major Kelly set the example.

Major Charles L. Kelly was DUSTOFF and DUSTOFF was "Combat Kelly." The two became synonymous in Vietnam in 1964. As commander of the 57th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance), Kelly assumed the call sign "DUSTOFF." His skill, aplomb, dedication, and daring soon made both famous throughout the Delta. The silence of many an outpost was broken by his radio draw, "...this is DUSTOFF. Just checking in to see if everything is okay." And when there were wounded, in came Kelly "hell-bent for leather!" On 1 July 1964 Kelly approached a hot area to pick up wounded only to find the enemy waiting with a withering barrage of fire. Advised repeatedly to withdraw, he calmly replied to the ground element's advisor, "When I have your wounded." Moments later, he was killed by a single bullet. Kelly was dead but his "DUSTOFF" became the call sign for all aeromedical missions in Vietnam. "When I have your wounded" became the personal and collective credo of the gallant DUSTOFF pilots who followed him. Major Charles L. Kelly was inducted into the DUSTOFF Hall of Fame on 17 February 2001.