The 45th Medical Company Air Ambulance "Dustoff" is the epitome of Helicopter Aeromedical Evacuation.
'DUSTOFF' - Acronym Definition - Dedicated Unhesitating Service To Our Fighting Forces. The terms 'medevac' and 'medivac' were used synonymously for Army 'Aeromedical evacuation' or "Dustoff" (Dust Off).
Dustoff in Vietnam was a crew of 4 dedicated (and most people would likely say "certifiably insane")
men that flew unarmed helicopters to the front line and beyond to rescue wounded soldiers.
The mission for Dustoff was to get the wounded soldiers out of harms way, save their life by
providing basic medical care, and get them to the nearest or best hospital to treat their wounds.
Life as we know it could have been a lot different for the casualties of the Vietnam War
had it not been for the outstanding bravery and dedication of Dustoff crews.
I was a Dustoff Medic. Without a doubt the Dustoff Medic witnessed more of the brutality of war than anyone.
It took a man with incredible intestinal fortitude to face the type and quantity of wounds
or injuries he faced many times every day. Anything and everything imaginable to
mutilate the human body were the types of challenges he faced each and every day.
As I stated above, Dustoff in Vietnam was a crew of 4 dedicated men. Each Dustoff Crew consisted
of 2 Pilots, a Flight Medic, and a Crewchief. The Pilots were responsible for flying our unarmed
helicopter, the Medic cared for the wounded, and the Crewchief maintained the helicopter. We all
depended on each other, and we trusted each other with our lives. - This trust was never more
apparent than when we flew a night 'Hoist Mission' to rescue a wounded 'American GI' or a wounded
'Australian Baggy'. Everyone on the crew had their own job to do PLUS watch and make sure we did
not hit anything with the main rotor or especially the tail rotor. It was quite common for the
Crewchief and Medic to stand out on the skids and lean out so we could see the tail rotor and
watch the jungle penetrator or the 'Stokes Litter' spinning from the downdraft from the rotating
helicopter blades as we hoisted the wounded up through the trees as the bullets whizzed by our
heads and made Swiss Cheese out of our helicopter.
'Si' Simmons summed it all up from a Pilots point of view with what I think is the most beautiful
heartfelt tribute to the Dustoff Medic and Crewchief ever written.
With special permission from "Si" here is that tribute:
It's been said that when DUSTOFF pilots are flying,
they talk about women --
and when they're with women,
they talk about flying ---
But when they tell war stories of the "You Had To Be There" calibre, the subject usually locks in
on the feats of their grungy MEDIC and CREWCHIEF.
As DUSTOFF pilots in Vietnam, our task was to insure that timely medical care was delivered to
the wounded; a job that was probably helped along by having a bent for foxy flying and being a
button short ---
The "medical care" we "delivered" was a different story -- ---
Our "Medic and Crewchief team" aboard was the precious cargo for whom the wounded
watched and prayed --
Through the plexiglass we've watched them ---- and we've watched the wounded watch them ---
with litter and weapon in hand, trudge through waist-deep rice paddies, through tangled jungle
growth, up rocky mountainsides, hang from skids with outstretched hand, jump to watery depths,
tear into burning cockpits, hug a jungle penetrator as it takes them through triple canopy --
all too often under withering enemy fire.
We've watched both as they've emptied clips into treelines, bunkers and jungled hideouts --
buying altitude -- before turning to continue tending the wounded, halt hemorrhage, close a
sucking chest, start fluids, calm hysteria, breath life, cuddle babies maimed.
As their wounded were off-loaded to definitive care-- we've watched the "thumbs up" as their tired
eyes and muddy faces grin at a life given --
and too often we've watched a sudden stiffness -- a desperation -- as they carefully --
almost reverently -- slide a lifeless litter from the hold --- then resignation ---
then --"clear on the right"! -- and back to the job --
Leaving the flightline at mission's end, we've turned and watched both - in searing heat or monsoon
storms and dead of night -- tie the blade, check the damage, hose the red from their rotten smelling
station -- refit gear and ammo, and begin the tedious and demanding postflight or the too-often
twenty five hour inspection. --
And we get the "high sign" as we yell, "We'll save chow!"
Then as we trot back to the flight line as quickly as we'd left, we watched their fatigue unveil as
we yelled, "Wind'er up! - got C's on board?" --
and we watched them suck-it-up -- again -- and scurry to lift off -- again --
to save a poor soul --
again -- again -- and again ----
As a DUSTOFF pilot, it has been my greatest honor to serve with this awe-inspiring team and be a part of it.
SiSimmons
More than 900,000 soldiers survived their injuries and owe their lives
to the outstanding bravery and dedication of Dustoff crews.
The average time from when the soldier was wounded to the time he
was on the surgical table was under an hour and 97% of all soldiers who reached the hospital alive survived.
Most people that served in Vietnam will tell you that "Dustoff" was one of the most dangerous
jobs of the war. It has been said that the life expectancy of a Dustoff crew in a hot LZ was 30
seconds, BUT if you hear a mortar round explode that time drops to about 8 seconds. I can't
begin to tell you how any of us ever lived to talk about it. We went rain or shine in the light
of day and the dead of night. We never turned down a mission and quite often we didn't have
gunship support.
I served with the 45th Medical Company Air Ambulance from October 1968 - October 1969.
Other Dustoff units included the 54th Medical Detachment, the 57th Medical Detachment, the
159th Medical Detachment, the 236th Medical Company, the 247th Medical Detachment, the
498th Medical Company, and the 571st Medical Detachment.
In the ten year war, those who actively flew Dustoff missions on a 24/7
basis numbered less than 3000. Our casualty rate was 33%.
All Dustoff crews flew with the same spirit and dedication as the legendary MEDEVAC pilot
Major Charles ``Combat'' Kelly, who died while flying a Dustoff mission in Vietnam in 1964.
Major Charles Kelly coined what is now the motto for all MEDEVAC crews: "No compromise. No rationalization.
No hesitation. Fly the mission. Now!"
Unsung Hero Main Entry: unsung hero
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: a person who makes a substantive yet unrecognized contribution;
a person whose bravery is unknown or unacknowledged.
On a daily basis these dedicated Dustoff crews performed their mission with conspicuous
gallantry and with great risk to their lives as a part of the call of duty while engaging
in selfless actions supporting the United States of America.
I'd like to offer up the following poignant poem to the dedicated 33%
who gave their all in support of this great nation. On behalf of my late dad, the author, I'd be pleased to have the poem appear on your site. Randy Vaincourt www.vaincourt.homestead.com
He was getting old and paunchy and his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion, telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he had fought in and the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies; they were heroes, every one.
And tho' sometimes, to his neighbors, his tales became a joke,
All his Legion buddies listened, for they knew whereof he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer for old Bill has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer, for a soldier died today.
He will not be mourned by many, just his children and his wife,
For he lived an ordinary and quite uneventful life.
Held a job and raised a family, quietly going his own way,
And the world won't note his passing, though a soldier died today
When politicians leave this earth, their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing and proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell their whole life stories, from the time that they were young,
But the passing of a soldier goes unnoticed and unsung.
Is the greatest contribution to the welfare of our land
A guy who breaks his promises and cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow who, in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his Country and offers up his life?
A politician's stipend and the style in which he lives
Are sometimes disproportionate to the service that he gives.
While the ordinary soldier, who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal and perhaps, a pension small.
It's so easy to forget them for it was so long ago,
That the old Bills of our Country went to battle, but we know
It was not the politicians, with their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom that our Country now enjoys.
Should you find yourself in danger, with your enemies at hand,
Would you want a politician with his ever-shifting stand?
Or would you prefer a soldier, who has sworn to defend
His home, his kin and Country and would fight until the end?
He was just a common soldier and his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us we may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict, then we find the soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles that the politicians start.
