Hello, fellow DUSTOFFers!
What a momentous year it has been for the DUSTOFF Association and especially for all DUSTOFF Veterans who courageously served during the Vietnam War. On September 26th, 2024, the DUSTOFF Crews of Vietnam Congressional Gold Medal Act was signed into law. This is the highest civilian honor Congress can bestow on an individual or organization, which shows how significant an impact our Vietnam DUSTOFF crew members made during the Vietnam War, rescuing over 900,000 patients and with an ultimate price of losing over 200 of our own.
The 2025 DUSTOFF Association Summit/Reunion will be in D.C. and we will Honor our newest inductees into the DUSTOFF Hall of Fame, present our annual awards to the Aviator of the Year, Flight Paramedic/Medic of the Year, Crew Chief of the Year and Rescue of the Year! We will also visit the Vietnam Memorial as a time of reflection and to Honor our fallen comrades, family and friends who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam. While visiting the National Museum of the U.S. Army, we will have the opportunity to view the new DUSTOFF Tribute Plaque, that was dedicated on November 11, 2024, Veteran’s Day. This plaque was designed to Honor all DUSTOFF crew members past, present and future who performed as a crew member conducting the DUSTOFF mission.
As tradition holds, we will also conduct our annual Closing the Flight Plan Ceremony, honoring all our DUSTOFF crew members who have passed away over the last year.
I want to thank all our sponsors who have supported the association for so many years, as well as our new sponsors. We have grown to 11 incredible corporate and small business sponsors who have committed to a combined $25,000 in annual donations.
I personally want to acknowledge everyone who submitted articles to the 2024 Fall/Winter Newsletter. Of special note, I want to thank Rick Ortiz, our Assistant Executive director and our current Strategic Plan Committee Lead for his incredible article that outlines Vision 2035 and how the association will move forward into the future!
I also want to thank all our volunteer officers who have tirelessly managed their roles within the association, their own jobs and family time. Our volunteers are an incredible group of people, some of the best individuals I’ve had the honor to work with and who inspire me to be my best.
I want to recognize our newest volunteer officer, Dawn Herron, who has agreed to become our Social Media Coordinator. She will work alongside Dave Zimmerman, IT Manager, and our current and future Presidents, ensuring our message is spread through all social media platforms and our website. She is an incredible addition, and we are excited to have her join the association’s all volunteer team! I also want to recognize Rob Howe, who will take over as the new Hall of Fame Committee Chair from Bob Mitchell. Rob will continue to ensure our Hall of Fame program is conducted with the utmost professionalism each year.
On behalf of our association, I want to personally invite you to join us at the 2025 Summit & Reunion that will be from April 30th to May 2nd, 2025 at the Alexandrian Hotel in Old Town. See our website at dustoff.org to view the schedule, register and to reserve your hotel room. Also, our newsletter is a digital format and can be viewed on the website.
It’s been the honor of my lifetime being our association’s Executive Director. It’s certainly been big shoes to fill, following Dan Gower, but he has been there for me since day one. I will have the opportunity to transition the directorship to Rick Ortiz at the 2025 Summit in D.C., moving the association to another incredible chapter, that will launch us well into the future and on the national stage.
As I like to say, we are America’s DUSTOFF and we should be proud of this distinction! We have flown into harm’s way, putting our own lives at risk in support of every conflict in our nation’s history, since the beginning of helicopters, saving the lives of people we have never met. These moments of yours, saving lives, are special and I never want you to every forget it.
One country, one Army, one DUSTOFF and you!
Sincerely,
John McMahan
DUSTOFF!
