“Occasionally we hear of those first responders running toward the danger. Dustoff crews did it every day, over and over again,” said Major General Patrick Brady.
Earlier this month, a group of Vietnam War veterans were finally recognized for their heroic efforts, and that includes a helicopter pilot from Benbrook, Texas.
The long-time veteran helicopter pilot’s personal story helps define the story of the more than 3,000 crew members who put their lives on the line every single mission, so that others may live.
Doug Petersen landed as a Huey pilot in Vietnam in 1969.
But what he didn’t expect, was that he would never take a single shot at the enemy.
“‘Mr. Petersen, you’ll be going to the Dustoff unit,” Petersen said he was told. “I said, ‘No, wait a minute, I’m a gunship guy.’ And they go, ‘No, no no, you’re a Dustoff guy.'”
Dustoff: That was the nickname given to pilots and crew members on medical helicopters. The men and the machines that in the Vietnam War, pioneered an entirely new and swift way to evacuate the wounded, directly from the battlefield.