(Washington, D.C.) — “Vietnam Veterans of America applauds Congress for working across the aisle to pass the Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act (S.2825),” said Jack McManus, VVA National President. The bill was signed into law by President Joe Biden on September 26, 2024. S.2825 calls for the “awarding of a Congressional Gold Medal to the United States Army Dustoff crews of the Vietnam War, collectively, in recognition of their extraordinary heroism and life-saving actions in Vietnam,” which contributed directly to the defense of the United States.
McManus commented, “There was no more welcome sound to a wounded soldier in Vietnam than the whop-whop-whop of a ‘dustoff Huey’ coming to get them out of hell. Anyone who has ever been plucked from the battlefield by one of these Hueys will never forget that heavenly sound….These were some of the most heroic men in the war. The Dustoff Crews witnessed more of the brutality of war than almost anyone, facing an endless parade of grievous wounds and injuries daily. Running through minefields to get to the wounded, they were shot at, sniped at, and under mortar and heavy arms fire constantly,” McManus concluded.
In April of 1962, the 57th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance) arrived in Vietnam with five UH-1 “Huey” helicopters, adopting the call sign Dustoff. The number of medevac detachments grew over time until the entire country had coverage. Their motto was: “Anyone Anywhere Anytime.” Collectively, over the next 11 years of intense jungle warfare, these crews were responsible for taking the new concept of helicopter medical evacuation, born just a few years earlier in Korea, and revolutionizing it to meet and surpass the previously unattainable goal of delivering a battlefield casualty to an operating table within the vaunted “golden hour.” Meeting the “golden hour” criteria was most often the difference between life and death for the wounded.
“Their heroism, as well as their innovation and resourcefulness, should be recognized,” McManus said. “Thanks to Dustoff, American and Allied seriously wounded during the Vietnam War had the highest survival rates among wounded soldiers from any conflict in history to that time. If you weren’t killed outright, Dustoff almost always got you to an aid station in time. They saved countless American and Vietnamese lives.”
