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Medal of Honor Recipients
The Medal of Honor has been awarded to two DUSTOFF pilots during
the Vietnam War. Their stories provide inspiration to all air
amublance crews to give their all in the rescue of wounded Soldiers.
Our job is simply, to save a life.
Patrick H Brady
For
conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life
above and beyond the call of duty, MAJ Brady distinguished himself while
serving in the Republic of Vietnam commanding a UH-1H ambulance helicopter,
volunteered to rescue wounded men from a site in enemy held territory, which
was reported to be heavily defended and to be blanketed by fog. To reach the
site he descended through heavy fog and smoke and hovered slowly along a
valley trail, turning his ship sideward to blow away the fog with the
backwash from his rotor blades. Despite the unchallenged, close-range enemy
fire, he found the dangerously small site, where he successfully landed and
evacuated 2 badly wounded South Vietnamese soldiers. He was then called to
another area completely covered by dense fog where American casualties lay
only 50 meters from the enemy. Two aircraft had previously been shot down
and others had made unsuccessful attempts to reach this site earlier in the
day. With unmatched skill and extraordinary courage, MAJ Brady made 4
flights to this embattled landing zone and successfully rescued all the
wounded. On his third mission of the day MAJ Brady once again landed at a
site surrounded by the enemy. The friendly ground force, pinned down by
enemy fire, had been unable to reach and secure the landing zone. Although
his aircraft had been badly damaged and his controls partially shot away
during his initial entry into this area, he returned minutes later and
rescued the remaining injured. Shortly thereafter, obtaining a replacement
aircraft, MAJ Brady was requested to land in an enemy minefield where a
platoon of American soldiers was trapped. A mine detonated near his
helicopter, wounding 2 crewmembers and damaging his ship. In spite of this,
he managed to fly 6 severely injured patients to medical aid. Throughout
that day MAJ Brady utilized 3 helicopters to evacuate a total of 51
seriously wounded men, many of whom would have perished without prompt
medical treatment. MAJ Brady’s bravery was in the highest traditions of the
military service and reflects great credit upon himself and the U.S. Army.
Michael J Novosel
For
conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life
above and beyond the call of duty. CWO Novosel, 82d Medical Detachment,
distinguished himself while serving as commander of a medical evacuation
helicopter. He unhesitatingly maneuvered his helicopter into a heavily
fortified and defended enemy training area where a group of wounded
Vietnamese soldiers were pinned down by a large enemy force. Flying without
gunship or other cover and exposed to intense machinegun fire, CWO Novosel
was able to locate and rescue a wounded soldier. Since all communications
with the beleaguered troops had been lost, he repeatedly circled the battle
area, flying at low level under continuous heavy fire, to attract the
attention of the scattered friendly troops. This display of courage visibly
raised their morale, as they recognized this as a signal to assemble for
evacuation. On 6 occasions he and his crew were forced out of the battle
area by the intense enemy fire, only to circle and return from another
direction to land and extract additional troops. Near the end of the
mission, a wounded soldier was spotted close to an enemy bunker. Fully
realizing that he would attract a hail of enemy fire, CWO Novosel
nevertheless attempted the extraction by hovering the helicopter backward.
As the man was pulled on aboard, enemy automatic weapons opened fire at
close range, damaged the aircraft and wounded CWO Novosel. He momentarily
lost control of the aircraft, but quickly recovered and departed under the
withering enemy fire. In all, 15 extremely hazardous extractions were
performed in order to remove wounded personnel. As a direct result of his
selfless conduct, the lives of 29 soldiers were saved. The extraordinary
heroism displayed by CWO Novosel was an inspiration to his comrades in arms
and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.
Louis R Rocco
WO
Rocco distinguished himself when he volunteered to accompany a
medical evacuation team on an urgent mission to evacuate 8
critically wounded Army of the Republic of Vietnam personnel. As the
helicopter approached the landing zone, it became the target for
intense enemy automatic weapons fire. Disregarding his own safety,
WO Rocco identified and placed accurate suppressive fire on the
enemy positions as the aircraft descended toward the landing zone.
Sustaining major damage from the enemy fire, the aircraft was forced
to crash land, causing WO Rocco to sustain a fractured wrist and hip
and a severely bruised back. Ignoring his injuries, he extracted the
survivors from the burning wreckage, sustaining burns to his own
body. Despite intense enemy fire, WO Rocco carried each unconscious
man across approximately 20 meters of exposed terrain to the Army of
the Republic of Vietnam perimeter. On each trip, his severely burned
hands and broken wrist caused excruciating pain, but the lives of
the unconscious crash survivors were more important than his
personal discomfort, and he continued his rescue efforts. Once
inside the friendly position, WO Rocco helped administer first aid
to his wounded comrades until his wounds and burns caused him to
collapse and lose consciousness. His bravery under fire and intense
devotion to duty were directly responsible for saving 3 of his
fellow soldiers from certain death. His unparalleled bravery in the
face of enemy fire, his complete disregard for his own pain and
injuries, and his performance were far above and beyond the call of
duty and were in keeping with the highest traditions of
self-sacrifice and courage of the military service.
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