May-June 1967-page 13 + 18

"President Honors 3rd ARRGp For Rescue Activities in Vietnam"

photo-caption :
WHITE HOUSE CEREMONY- President Lyndon B. Johnson congratulates Col Arthur W. Beall after awarding the Presidential Unit Citation to the 3rd Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Group. At left are LtCol Baylor Haynes and A2c Malcolm Hassler. ARRS is credited with saving more than 600 persons in Southeast Asia. HH-43 HUSKIE crews rescued 347 of the 490 plucked from the jungle or sea last year.

The 3rd Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Group, Military Airlift Command, was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation recently for "extraordinary gallantry" while carrying out rescue operations in Vietnam from Aug 1, 1965 to June 30, 1966. Helicopters and amphibious aircraft in the Group, which is based at Tan Son Nhut, are credited with recovering 339 friendly troops during the period covered by the citation. The missions ranged from open water pickups in the Gulf of Tonkin, while under fire from Communist shore batteries, to jungle rescues deep within North Vietnam. The unit also rescued many downed airmen or evacuated injured military personnel in South Vietnam.

Of the 490 persons saved in 1966, 347 were rescued by HH-43 HUSKIE crews attached to the 38th ARRSq. In recognition of its rescue activities between August 1964 and July 1965, the squadron was honored last year with a Presidential Unit Citation. The 37th and 39th ARRS squadrons form the rest of the Group which also utilizes HH-3E helicopters and HC-130H and HU-16 fixed-wing planes in the rescue and recovery work.

In saluting the men of the 3rd ARRG during the White House ceremony, President Johnson said :

"The contributions of the 3rd Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Group to the struggle for freedom are already legendary. By risking their lives so that others might live, the men of the 3rd have won the everlasting gratitude of their fellow countrymen -and the right to be honored among America's heroes.

"In all weathers, over the most difficult terrain, faced always with the peril of enemy fire, they have reached out and plucked to safety - from the jungles, from the mountains, from the sea - fliers downed in combat. In Southeast Asia alone, the group has been credited with 597 combat rescues.

"By their very existence, they have provided our downed fliers with the knowledge that they are not forgotten - that help is on the way. To a man bobbing in an empty sea or crawling through a dense jungle, that knowledge is a blessing without price. 

"Their place of honor was not earned without sacrifice: seven members of the group have given their lives, fourteen are listed as missing, and two have been captured - all in devotion to the spirit of the 3rd's motto: 'That Others May Live.'

"We are proud to pay tribute, with this citation, to the gallant men of the 3rd Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Group. Their courage and self-sacrifice have provided us with a glowing example of the best of American manhood. They are a credit to a grateful nation. We salute them all. "

Several members of the 3rd Group, during the period of the citation, attended the ceremony. They were Col Arthur W. Beall, group commander; LtCol James L. Blackburn, operations officer; LtCol Baylor R. Haynes, rescue squadron commander; Captains James L. Butera, John F. Guilmartin, Jr., and William E. Cowell, rescue aircraft commanders; MSgt Charles T. Walther, and A2c Malcolm C. Hassler, pararescue technicians. Also attending were Air Force Secretary Harold Brown, who read the citation; Gen John McConnell, Air Force chief of staff; BrigGen George Boylan of the Military Airlift Command; and BrigGen Allison C. Brooks, commander of the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service.

More than 1800 individual awards have been made to personnel in the 3rd ARRG. Three have been for the Air Force Cross, one of which was awarded posthumously to A1c William H. Pitsenbarger, an HH-43 crewman and the first airman to receive the award. Other awards and decoration won by the unit include 64 Silver Stars, 3 awards of the Legion of Merit; 251 Distinguished Flying Crosses; 18 Airman's Medals; 24 Bronze Stars; 1330 Air Medals; 25 Purple Hearts; and 117 Air Force Commendation Medals. The 3rd Group served with distinction in World War II and the Korean War, with 15 campaign streamers and six unit citations to its credit.

Meanwhile, rescue crews from the 3rd ARRG continue their rescue efforts in Vietnam. The following are a few of the missions carried out by HH-43 crews from the 38th ARRSq :

 

At 0330 Da Nang AB and a neighboring village were subjected to a vicious mortar and rocket attack. Even before the all-clear signal sounded, Lt William T. Sehorn and his HH-43 crew from Det 7, 38th ARRSq, scrambled to the HUSKIE to ready it for the support and medical evacuations that would be needed. For the rest of the night they treated and evacuated the casualties. A small field hospital was established in the helicopter and temporary first aid was given to the wounded by Lieutenant Sehorn; Lt Alfred R. Jacox, Jr, the copilot; SSgt Hugh A. Pike, Alc Russell W. Price, Alc John F. Tobey, A2c Duane O. Hackney, rescue specialists; and Alc Edward L. Thorpe, helicopter flight mechanic. The critically injured were treated and then evacuated in the HUSKIE to the Navy or Army hospitals nearby. As more helicopters arrived, Lieutenant Sehorn assumed command of the fleet and "superbly organized and directed the evacuation operations." The HH-43 crew was constantly exposed to sporatic ground fire during the entire period, from 0330 until sunrise, when the evacuations were completed. Their actions were described afterward as "outstanding and highly praiseworthy. " 

Among the best examples of ARRS determination and perseverance during life-saving activities in Vietnam may be found in a report on a mission flown by Capt Richard A. Smith and his HH-43 crew from Det 9, 38th ARRSq, Pleiku Airport. Sharing in the hazardous rescue effort were Capt Jack V. Butler, the copilot; Alc Harry J. Hull, flight engineer; and A2c Michael J. Rosler, pararescue specialist.

Captain Smith and his crew flew into an "extremely hostile" territory to evacuate six seriously wounded soldiers. Air cover had failed to arrive but, due to the condition of the evacuees, Captain Smith continued with the mission. He approached the area, effected an approximate 200-foot hover, then hover-taxiied under overhanging tree limbs to the site. Airman Rosler was lowered to prepare the wounded for hoisting - 207 feet of cable was used. The HH-43F left but made the same hazardous approach a few minutes later to make the pickup. Three litter patients were hoisted to the HUSKIE with max power being used as the third was taken aboard - the tailpipe and vertical stabilizer were touching a second tree canopy cover to the rear of the chopper. As Airman Rosler waited on the ground, Captain Smith eased the helicopter from the hazardous site, flew to the hospital and then returned for the other wounded. The area was now under hostile fire, but again the hazardous approach was made and the HH-43 hovered beneath the tree canopy. Two litter patients had been hoisted into the helicopter when it was found the hoist would not operate from Airman Hull's position.

Captain Butler took over the helicopter control's while Captain Smith, better able to observe the hoist cable from his side, "threaded" the third survivor through the trees to the HUSKIE. A jungle penetrator was then lowered for Airman Rosler who had been on the ground for two hours and 25 minutes. The pararescueman, however, had still another "adventure" in store for him before reaching the helicopter. By this time low fuel was a definite problem so the helicopter transitioned to forward flight with Airman Rosler still below on the hoist. Hoisting was completed while climbing to 3000 feet at 60 knots. The patients were delivered to the hospital and the HH­43F returned to Pleiku.

 

Disregarding small arms and automatic weapon fire less than 50 yards away, an HH-43 HUSKIE crew from Det 6, 38th ARRSq, Bien Hoa AB, landed in a small jungle clearing to evacuate a seriously wounded infantry­man. Since the FM radio was inoperative, the helicopter had been unable to communicate with Army ground personnel so, after landing, the rescuemen waited in the exposed position for 10 minutes until the soldier could be brought to the clearing. Maj Breeden P. Hamer was pilot of the HH-43; 1stLt Robert A. Reilly, copilot; SSgt Robert S. Loud and Alc Melvin G. Goff, crewmen.

In another Det 6 mission, soon after an A-1H pilot landed in a rice paddy with one wing aflame, an HH-43 crew deposited a fire suppression kit nearby and quickly extinguished the blaze despite the danger from live ammunition. Capt David L. Wiest was RCC; 1stLt Wendell B. Wood, copilot; A2c Steve M. Northern, rescue specialist; and SSgt Henry B. Peterson, firefighter.

HONORED-HH-43 crews from Det 6, 38th ARRSq, Bien Hoa AB, RVN, display Kaman Scrolls of Honor presented for recent hazardous missions. Left to right are Maj David M. Randall, SSgt Barry Sherman, Lt Robert A. Reilly, Maj James F. Jansa, Lt Wendell B. Wood, Capt David L. Wiest, Alc Harrison H. Ewton and TSgt Robert S. Loud. (USAF photo)

HH-43 Crew Receives DFC's

The members of an HH-43 crew from Det 8, 38th ARRSq, at Cam Ranh Bay were presented Distinguished Flying Crosses recently for the hazardous rescue of a Special Forces soldier who had fallen 150 feet from a helicopter. The DFCs were presented to 1stLt Delford G. Britton, the pilot; 1stLt Loran C. Schnaidt, copilot; A2c Donald J. Lake and A2c Carlos L. Joiner, crewmen; by Col Donald T. Smith, PARRC (MAC), commander.

The accident occurred as a helicopter was hovering over the wreckage of a downed aircraft preparing to lower troops in order to secure the area. Disregarding the constant threat of hostile small arms fire, Lieutenant Britton immediately moved the HUSKIE into position over the soldier and then lowered the aircraft into the tops of the tall trees so that the wheels and lower part of the fuselage were in the branches. The tips of the rotor blades on the HH-43 brushed leaves from the branches as Lake lowered Joiner to the ground on the forest penetrator. The airman placed the injured man in the rescue basket, which had also been lowered, and then rescuee and rescuer were hoisted to the helicopter.

 

last update : 09/06/2007