Closing the Flight Plan

Fred Duncan, life member of DUSTOFF Association since 2003 died of complications of a disease resembling ALS on February 8, 2005. Fred, as a 17-year-old merchant marine, served his country during WW II aboard Liberty Ships with one of the Aviation Repair Units in the South Pacific. His work in his later years brought to […]

You’ll possibly remember Richard Hock who was the medic who stood in as Godfather for little baby Kathleen in the 3rd Field Hospital and was a key part of “In the Shadow of the Blade” and the reunion between Kathleen and those who saved her life 34 years before. A DUSTOFF crew (the pilot was

Lt. Colonel John McNeil Lankford (‘Neil’), U.S. Army Retired, passed away on May 18, 2004 at the age of 58. Col. Lankford, a graduate of North Georgia Military College, was a Vietnam Veteran, having served as a combat medic with the 3rd/187 of the 101st Airborne Division. As a medical Service Corps officer and specialist

Danny McFadden died 19 January 2004. He was a medic with eagle DUSTOFF 70-71. If anyone wants to contact his family, his daughters, Janie & Katie, at7305 Leadings Oaks; San Antonio, Texas 78233-3211   (210) 651-5259 He, like all of our crew members, was responsible for a lot of names NOTbeing on the Wall. God bless our

The Department of Defense announced the deaths of four DUSTOFF soldiers who were killed when their UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crashed Jan. 8 near Fallujah, Iraq. The soldiers were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom and members of the 571st Medical Company out of Fort Carson, CO. SPC  Michael A. Diraimondo, 22, of Simi Valley, Calif.; SPC Christopher

Robert “Don” Upchurch (DUSTOFF 78) passed away 19 Dec 03 in Indianapolis IN. Served as DUSTOFF pilot with 57th Med Det, Republic of Vietnam ,1970-1971. Call sign DUSTOFF 78. Was employed by the Veterans Administration as a counselor to fellow veterans. Survived by wife Janet, and 4 children.

Bob Cowgill, the sole remaining pilot who flew 70 soldiers to safety during the WW II Ivory Soap rescues in the Philippines died June 13, 2003. Ivory Soap was the project during World War II that took Liberty Ships and outfitted them to conduct aviation repair. During June of 1945, five aviators flew Sikorsky R-4’s

Born 30 Jul 1948Passed away 26 Sep 2002 in Lake Charles, LACause of Death Hep C contracted from Vietnam He, like all of his fellow crew members, was responsible for a lot of names NOT being on the Wall. God bless our Medics. What life to lead and where to goAfter the War, after the

Deceased Jan 8, 2000 Elberta, ALDate of Birth 11/03/1941Served in the U.S. ArmyCall sign in Vietnam DUSTOFFBurial information: Barrancas National Cemetery, Pensacola, FL

24 Aug 46 – 31 Dec 98 Randy was born in Vermillion, South Dakota on August 24, 1946, the second of eleven children of William Joseph and Susie Albers Radigan. lie was a 1964 graduate of Vermilion High School; he attended the University of South Dakota and several colleges In 1966, he enlisted in the