Hooah: Vietnam-era ‘Dustoff’ air ambulance crews nominated for Congressional Gold Medal
Washington Times
By Jennifer Harper - The Washington Times - Wednesday, November 11, 2015
It’s a bipartisan bill which has drawn applause from many quarters: This has support from Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, AMVETS, the Association of the United States Army and the Army Aviation Association of America.
Sens. John Cornyn and Joe Manchin have introduced legislation to award an elite group of Vietnam veterans with the Congressional Gold Medal. That would be the tenacious “Dust Off” crews, who drew their name from the U.S. Army 57th Medical Detachment’s radio call sign and fearlessly flew unarmed air ambulances into combat to rescue and evacuate the wounded. Their airborne mission has roots dating back to World War II.
“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,” says Mr. Cornyn.
“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,” notes Mr. Manchin.
The Dustoff Association, and the Vietnam Dustoff Association heartily approve of the bill. Find them here: Dustoff.org and VietnamDustoff.com
“Dust Off’s mission in Vietnam was to expedite the relief and remedy of pain and injury by transporting the wounded to a waiting US medical facility as fast as human and machine would allow. These intrepid American warriors boldly executed this humanitarian mission by rescuing nearly 900,000 souls in the process,” notes one historic account.
“At great risk to their own safety, they often innovated new procedures and techniques that allowed our wounded on the battlefield to be rescued in the face of insurmountable odds and unrelenting conditions.”
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