Dust Off Crew Chief Journey in The Vietnam War 1972-1973 57th Medical Detachment U.S. Army Vietnam

   • At War to the End: A Medevac/Dust Off...  

I was a Dust Off helicopter crew chief in Vietnam with the 57th Medical Detachment Helicopter Ambulance, U.S. Army Vietnam. The 57th was the first Dust Off unit to arrive in Vietnam in 1962 and the last Dust Off to leave when all American armed forces departed Vietnam in March 1973.
I was 19 years old, full of zest when I arrived in Vietnam in 1972 as the Eastern Offensive was still being fought, there were about 49,000 American troops remaining in Vietnam.
When I arrived at Long Binh the 57th and the 159th Medical Detachments had joined together, sharing helicopters, pilots, medics and crew chiefs which participated together on the same missions. The Eastern Offensive had taken a toll on Dust Off helicopters and its crewmembers, they were all physically and psychologically worn out. The 57th CO briefed me about Dust Off and their present situation, he told me that they had recently lost a pilot from the 159th, a 21-year-old CW2 Aircraft Commander, killed in action from NVA intense arms fire as the Dust Off was approaching the LZ to rescue three wounded American advisors and one ARVN officer. It was Dust Off UH-1H Huey Helicopter tail number 15620. Afterwards, I walked outside to the flight line, it was overcast and raining, it looked eerie, I stared at all the beat up white and green Med Evac Huey helicopters. I could feel it down to my bones that I wanted nothing more than to be a crewmember on one of those flying machines. I thought I was going to be assigned to the ground maintenance crew for a couple of months or even longer to get some experience working on the Huey before I could become a crew chief and able to fly on missions, however just a few days later the SP5 chief inspector walked into my room and told me that I had been selected to replace a crew chief who was getting short. I could not believe my ears, I was filled with joy and at the same time with fear, I had no experience whatsoever, I had to learn to be a crew chief on the job, on the mission. To my surprise I was assigned to be the crew chief for 15620 UH-1H Huey helicopter, it was now my ship, to maintain it in flying condition, to be ready on call for the mission, I took care of it like my own baby, I loved this bird.
My first mission was at night, a moonless night, it was pitch dark, we had to land on a triangle ARVN fire base to deliver medical supplies, the pilot turned the landing light on a few feet above before the skids touch the ground, it lit up the entire fire base and heavy dust swirl all around reflecting the landing light as armed ARVN soldiers on the perimeter covered their eyes.
I flew over 150 Dust Off missions in Vietnam, mostly on my 15620 Huey, but I also flew mission on all the other Dust Off helicopters in our unit. A Dust Off crew was made of two pilots, a medic and a crew chief, nothing made me prouder then and now to have served as a Dust Off crew chief with this group of courageous young men, completely committed to the mission under any condition. We each had a role to play for the success of the mission, we were a tight group, willing and ready to die to save the wounded waiting on the ground below. Dust Off helicopters, due to their nature with the red cross, had no mounted M60 machine guns, we could only carry an M16 or any other rifle of choice and a holster with a Colt 38 revolver.
Two AH-1G Cobra assault helicopters escorted our Dust Off helicopter on hot missions, I am deeply great full and give enormous praise and credit to the brave Cobra pilots who provided us with heavy fire support with their rockets and miniguns as we spiral down into the LZ, without them many more Dust Off helicopters would have been shot down and I would probably not be here today.
We supported the remaining U.S. armed forces in Vietnam, the South Vietnamese Army (ARVN) which was taking very high casualties, ROK soldiers from South Korea, Cambodia Royal Army soldiers, we even rescued two wounded Kid Carsons--ex-Vietcong who were then working as scouts for the U.S. Army. If we were at hand, we also evacuated injured Vietnamese civilians and pregnant ones on the verge of giving birth.
This video gives a glimpse of my personal experience as a crew chief in Vietnam, it is about Dust Off in its last phase in the war in Vietnam, it is my story with photographs and film, all the movie film shown on this video was taken with my Super 8mm Yashica movie camera and all but a few of the photographs shown were captured with my 35mm cameras.
My tour in Vietnam ended on 5 March 1973. The 57th, Medical Detachment left on 29 March 1973 along with the last remaining U.S. troops in Vietnam. Over 58,000 American died fighting in Vietnam and over 300,000 were wounded. Over 200 Dust Off helicopters were shot down by enemy fire and 211 Dust Off pilots, medics and crew chiefs lost their lives trying to save the lives of others.