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543,902 out of 865,929 Veterans
543,902 out of 865,929 Veterans
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Military Experiences
Apr 1970 - Apr 1971
DustOff (Medevac) pilot
Callsign "DustOff 23I flew 998 combat flight hours between April 14, 1970 and April 17, 1971, with almost half of those hours being at night or in monsoon seasonal weather or both. We were unarmed aircraft, covered with air ambulance red crosses and flew about 85% of our missions as a single ship without gunship support. If it was a “hoist mission” and/or the ground unit had enemy contact within the last 24 hours, we were required to have gunship protection. The "friendly" unit was also asked to report the direction and time of the last enemy contact in relation to the LZ (landing zone). Getting accurate information from the Vietnamese was always a problem, as they usually were working through a translator who in most cases was in another, usually distant, location. At an average of two to four sorties per flight hour and an average of one to twelve patients per sortie, we witnessed the true horrors of war daily for 365 long days and nights.
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