U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Royce L. “Roy” Worthington, Ret. of Camp Hill, PA, passed away 21 June 2019 in Holy Spirit Hospital at the age of 81. He was born 26 August 1937 in Sommers Point, NJ, son of the late Rose Gertrude (Betz) Worthington Thackeray. Roy served with distinction as a medic in the United States Air Force for 20 years. From March 1967 to February 1968, then-Staff Sergeant Worthington was assigned to the 633rd USAF Dispensary at Pleiku Air Base, and was one of only a handful of Airmen to fly with DUSTOFF. During a critical shortfall of U.S. Army medics during this period, he volunteered to fly over 200 hours with the 498th Air Ambulance Company and 283rd Medical Detachment at Camp Holloway, Pleiku, to include combat rescue missions during the Battle of Dak To and Tet Offensive. He was credited with over 100 battlefield saves.
A dedicated and selfless servant, Roy also spent countless hours training and treating local Montagnard villagers as part of the Medical Civic Action Program (MEDCAP), which was captured in the book “There Is A Man Who Walks: A Personal Account of Montagnard Guerilla Warfare in Vietnam,” by Dan Conlon, M.D.
After his retirement from the USAF, Roy enjoyed a variety of careers to include working for the U.S. Navy Exchange System and serving as a Children and Youth Social Worker in Adams County, PA. As a medical records technician at Dunham Army Health Clinic during Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM, he was awarded the Army Achievement Medal for Civilian Service for his volunteer work processing Army National Guard and Reserve units during their mobilization and demobilization at Carlisle Barracks and Ft. Indiantown Gap.