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Vietnam
Helicopter Pilots Association Washington State Chapter |
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WA Chapter of VHPAOctober 16, 2004 Meeting Minutes Vietnam Helicopter Pilots AssociationBriefing and meeting @ Ft. Lewis, WA. Subject: Minutes of business meeting and other notes of interest. 0900 Meet at the American Lake Club. 0915 Pledge of Allegiance to the flag, prayer for fallen and current soldiers. 0930 New members welcomed and eat breakfast. Robert Asbell from Port Ludlow Jim Oatfield from Olympia Terry Daniels from Tacoma 1000 Hrs.: MG Pat Brady gave his talk on dust-off pilot experiences in Vietnam and actions that resulted in his Congressional Medal of Honor in 1969. Statistics were also cited from book “Stolen Valor” by B.G. Burkett, about the significant contributions of Vietnam Veterans to our society today, much of which has been overlooked in mainstream media. See the attached sheet for brief notes. 1100 – 1150 Meeting and reports of the organization. Business meeting:
Notes of interest: 24 members and guests attended. See separate list for those present. WA Chapter Secretary, Doug Decker 10/16/2004 9:47 PM E-mail: dougdecker1@comcast.net Notes taken of MG Pat Brady’s Medal of Honor award and some of his experiences in Viet Nam as a Dust Off pilot/commander & relevant statistics about VN veterans. He cleared up the difference between a med-evac mission & a designated “Dust Off” medical mission. For one, “Dust Off “ pilots received additional training in medical operations and most were Medical Corps officers supplemented by Warrant Officer pilots. The “Dust Off” call sign was initially just an SOI code name up to the time that Major Charles Kelly was killed, then “Dust Off” was kept as the one call sign & frequency to use throughout the theater, later army wide. The citation event related by MGen. Brady, was of the many attempts to perform a rescue in the mountains both at the top, which was clouded in, and the valley, which was fogged in. He explained how he was able to maneuver the UH-1B sideways up & down the mountain following a trail and performing an ITO out of the fog. He preferred night flight rescues and related one event of using flare ships in the mountains. Night time turned out to be safer in a “Blackout” mode so the enemy could not see the helo to shoot at it and he asked that the ground unit did not do any firing including any support gunships, that way he could tell where the enemy fire was coming from and avoid it. He called this his “quiet approach.” MGEN. Pat Brady also explained how he followed rivers, canals, & streams at night in order to reach his pick up site again flying in a blackout mode. If other aircraft were in the area, he would fly between the 500-foot intervals to avoid a mid-air. He also used deception to trick the enemy mortar man by landing at the opposite end of a airstrip or opening, waiting as long as he could stand it, then move quickly to the other end and make the waiting pickup and move out without getting blasted. Again, thinking through the situation will keep you alive longer. MGen. Pat Brady urged all veterans to vote in the coming Nov. 2nd general elections as we can make a difference, and at this time it is vital for everyone to vote. Note: A standing ovation was applauded.
End of notes: Doug Decker |
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