FORT RUCKER, Ala. -- Forty years after the fact, a Fort Rucker unit received a Valorous Unit award for its actions during the Vietnam War.
The 1st Battalion, 14th Aviation Regiment, received its new flag streamer, award confirmation letter and plaque during a ceremony at the U.S. Army Aviation Museum May 20.
The award was presented for the unit’s heroism in action against and armed enemy of the U.S. from Feb. 8 to April 7, 1971.
If not for the efforts of retired CW4 Douglas Womack, the award might have been lost for a much longer amount of time. While working with a veteran on a post-traumatic stress disorder claim six years ago, he came across the unsigned recommendation for the award in the national archives. He said his reaction was one almost stronger than he could handle.
“It’s a good thing I was sitting down when I came across it,” he said. “I had such a visceral reaction that, if I had been standing, I might have needed help getting back up.”
According to the award write up, the unit conducted numerous combat assaults into areas congested with anti-aircraft weapons and armor. Enemy gunners were highly accurate and positioned themselves strategically so as to disrupt the helicopters’ flight paths as much as possible. The unit continued to fly mission after mission into increasingly dangerous combat zones. The unit was instrumental in extracting besieged allied troops near the end of combat operations.
After finding the recommendation, Womack started pushing for the award to finally be awarded. He said it was a great moment for the unit and the Soldiers who served in it when the order was finally signed.
“For our era, the Soldier wasn’t well-received when he came home,” Womack said. “In this case, it was almost adding insult to injury that not only did those at home ignore us, but our command had failed to recognize the price we had paid in the course of doing our duty. I’m just so heartened that today has come and that the sacrifices the unit made are finally being recognized.”
The commander of the 1st Bn., 14th Avn. Regt. during the time the events took place, retired Col. Joseph Rutkowski, was unable to attend due to illness, but the former S3, retired Maj. Clark Sando, made sure those in attendance knew how much the award meant to all who were in the unit during those days.
“It was a great honor to be here today representing the unit,” he said. “It’s those who didn’t come back with us that we’re honoring.”
Sando added it was great to be able to meet the new commanders of the unit and to see how far the Soldiers of today have come.
The current commander of the unit, Lt. Col. Scott Halverson, told the former Soldiers of the 1st Bn., 14th Avn. Regt., the Soldiers in the unit today wouldn’t be where they are if it weren’t for the efforts made by those that came before them.
“We calculate the value of our contributions by the quality of the Aviation professionals we send to commanders in the field,” he said. “They are ready to fight, and join in the tradition you have established in sweat and blood of battles fought not so long ago. Our pledge to you is that we’ll continue to live up to the high standards of loyalty, selfless service and personal courage you demonstrated to us in times past. We’ll continue to ensure the officers we train understand and are committed to that tradition as well.”
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