FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas---Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) hosted a press conference at the U.S. Army Medical Department Museum on Veterans Day to highlight his recently filed legislation, The Dust Off Crews of Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act.
The bill directs the Speaker and the Senate President pro tem to present, on behalf of Congress, a Congressional Gold Medal in honor of the Dust Off crews of the Vietnam War (collectively), in recognition of their heroic service.
Medal of Honor recipient Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady, a Dust-off veteran, joined Cornyn to describe the contributions of Dust Off crews during the Vietnam War.
During his remarks Brady noted that America's nobility are called veterans whose deeds embody the values of courage, sacrifice and patriotism. "KIA, MIA and POW are the highest titles earned thru blood, sweat and tears," he said.
Brady recalled the exploits of Maj. Charles Kelly and the members of the 57th and 54th Medical Detachments (Air Ambulance) who flew medical evacuation missions in Vietnam. Kelly was killed on July 1, 1964 while evacuating wounded Soldiers when he refused to leave only "when I have your wounded" which became the motto for Dust Off crews.
According to Dan Gower, past president of the Dust Off Association, the members of Army Dust Off units in Vietnam were some of the most heroic and talented service members in the history of American aviation warfare.
"Dust Off" was the tactical call-sign for helicopter ambulances operated by crews who performed aeromedical evacuation for United States, Vietnamese, and allied forces that were wounded on the battlefields of the Vietnam War.
"The Vietnam War imposed an extraordinary cost of life and limb suffered by so many of our service members who fought there," Gower said.
The Dust Off 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," Gower said.
At great risk to their own safety, they often designed new procedures and techniques that allowed our wounded on the battlefield to be rescued in the face of insurmountable odds and unrelenting conditions, he noted.
Cornyn's bill recognizes that United States Army Dust Off crews pioneered the concept of dedicated and rapid medical evacuation and rescued almost 900,000 US, Vietnamese, and allied sick and wounded. The legislation highlights their extraordinary innovation and resourcefulness, whereby some Dust Off units in Vietnam were able to deliver a patient to a waiting medical facility on an average of 33 minutes from the receipt of the mission.
Being a member of a Dust Off crew in Vietnam meant that there was a one in three chance of being wounded or killed. Dust Off crews experienced a rate of aircraft loss that was more than three times that of all other forms of combat helicopter missions in Vietnam.
General Creighton Abrams, Commander of Military Assistance Command in Vietnam (1968-1972) highlighted the heroism of Dust Off crews when he said, "A special word about the Dust Offs ... Courage above and beyond the call of duty was sort of routine to them. It was a daily thing, part of the way they lived. That's the great part, and it meant so much to every last man who served there. Whether he ever got hurt or not, he knew Dust Off was there."
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