Medevac crew refused to give up on saving Army Ranger

Medevac crew receives valor awards following harrowing rescue mission

STARS AND STRIPES
By CHAD GARLAND
Published: January 11, 2019

Under fire and carrying a badly wounded patient, the Black Hawk helicopter was just lifting off an Afghan battlefield when the crew chief saw an Army Ranger in the landing zone get shot and drop to the ground.

The Black Hawk darted back to evacuate the fallen Ranger.

From left: Sgt. Armando Yanez; Spc. Emmanuel Bynum; Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Six; Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jonathan Cole; and Capt. Benjamin Krzeczowski 101ST CAB, WINGS OF DESTINY/FACEBOOK

Spc. Emmanuel Bynum, thinking quickly, directed the pilot to make an emergency landing on a dusty patch masked from most enemy fire. They still took fire — in all, about two dozen rounds to the helicopter, which would become nearly unflyable.

After the wounded Ranger was loaded, the Black Hawk lifted off. But there was more danger to come as they flew from Paktia province toward a base in Logar province dozens of miles to the north.

For their courage during the July operation, Bynum and four other aircrew members received the Distinguished Flying Cross with valor during a Jan. 5 ceremony officiated by Gen. Scott Miller, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan.

Each of the five “completely disregarded his own safety” and refused to leave Army Ranger Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Andrew Celiz and an unnamed casualty on the battlefield, award citations said.
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Former Black Hawk Pilot Helping Arizona Veterans

Ex-Black Hawk pilot now advises AZ veterans agency 
Arizona Daily Star
By Becky Pallack
October 10, 2015

“Changing the perspective is really what we’re about,” he said. “It’s about seeing veterans not as a problem but as the solution.”

Rustand keeps this drawing of a
helicopter, similar to those he flew, in his office.

Brett Rustand served his country and now spends his free time serving his fellow veterans.

“I don’t know if it was before the military or if the military created it in me, but I know that lots of people — the vast majority of veterans coming out of the service — carry with them a desire to serve,” he said.

Rustand’s first military experience was competing in an ROTC Ranger Challenge competition with his good friend and college roommate, Ben Shaha.

“I realized it was something that I absolutely loved … and so I jumped right in,” Rustand said.

His plan had been to go to law school, but instead he commissioned in the aviation branch of the Army in 1999. He went to flight school at Fort Rucker in Alabama and became a Black Hawk helicopter pilot.
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Black Hawk Helicopter Pilot Remains Found After 45 Years

Army finds Belmont veteran’s remains 45 years after disappearance
WSOC TV News
February 14, 2015

45 years after he disappeared during the Vietnam War.

Junior Price’s family told Channel 9 the Army found his remains a mile away from where his helicopter crashed.

Junior Price was 21 when he went to Vietnam. In 1970, he disappeared after his Black Hawk helicopter was shot down over Cambodia.

The news about his brother comes with mixed emotions for Dennis Price.

“They called us Monday, February 9, his birthday, and they told us it was 100 percent positive match that it was his remains,” Dennis Price said.

Dennis Price said the Army compared his brother’s DNA with his own and they matched perfectly. Junior’s remains had been buried along with two others.
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Iraq war veteran combats loneliness with feline battle buddy

9/11 rescuer and Iraq war veteran combats loneliness with feline battle buddy
Pets for Patriots

When the World Trade Center collapsed on 9/11, Steven left his home in Chicago to join the rescue and recovery efforts at Ground Zero for three weeks, an experience that inspired him to enlist in the Army. But it was a four-legged, feline battle buddy that helped him combat the loneliness of his post-military life.

While in the Army, Steven served as a Blackhawk crew chief for six years, and flew more than 1,000 hours over Iraq over the course of two deployments. Despite being twice deployed, his most memorable military experience occurred stateside.

Following the 2010 mass shooting at Fort Hood, the helo chief was selected to fly the Secret Service Counter Assault Team over President Obama when the Commander in Chief visited shooting victims on base.

Before his service in the military, Steven enjoyed a career as a firefighter and paramedic. The Army veteran returned home following his tours of duty and enrolled full-time as a student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, where he hopes to attend their medical school after graduation. In search of a four-legged battle buddy

Having enjoyed the company of his Army buddies for a decade, Steven sometimes felt lonely living in Chicago; he decided to adopt a pet to make sure he had a friend to come home to at the end of the day. “I wanted a companion that would allow for my place to feel less empty when I was the only one home.”

Steven found that companion at Chicago’s Anti-Cruelty Society in June 2012, when he honorably adopted Simon, a three year-old tabby cat. As a Pets for Patriots member, the Army veteran received a 10% discount and access to discounted care for Simon from the charity’s local veterinary partners. In addition, he received a generous contribution from the Pets for Patriots Veterans’ Pet Food Bank program to help with food and other necessities for his new companion.
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Fort Campbell pilot killed in accident survived Iraq and Afghanistan deployments

Fort Campbell pilot killed in accident described as leader
Leaf Chronicle
Written by Shawn Cohen
The (Westchester County, N.Y.) Journal News
Jan. 20, 2014

CORTLANDT, N.Y. — The member of an elite U.S. Army helicopter unit who was killed last week in a Blackhawk helicopter training accident in Savannah, Ga., will be laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery after family and friends gather for a funeral expected to be held in New York on Saturday.

"We have lost not only a member of our church, but a gifted young man many of us thought would become a great leader and a national treasure," said Pastor Jacob Dharmaraj of Shrub Oak United Methodist Church, where Army Capt. Clayton Carpenter was active as a child and continued to attend services as an adult in his military uniform.

His death during a training exercise, stateside, came as a particular shock because Carpenter had survived tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Winter Park Welcomes Home Soldier in Style

UPDATE Here's the video

Just back from a fabulous afternoon in Winter Park and proud to say it is my city after today! This is a report from WESH 2 News. My pictures are below.

Winter Park soldier's welcome home ceremony could be in documentary, commercial
Lt. Chuck Nadd served in Afghanistan
WESH
By Michelle Meredith
Jan 08, 2014

WINTER PARK, Fla. —A U.S. Army soldier from Winter Park returned home Wednesday to a hero's welcome.

Lt. Chuck Nadd wrapped up his mission in Afghanistan and flew home to Central Florida.

Nadd was the star of a parade held in his honor in Winter Park. He had no idea the parade was planned.

"It's a surprise then. It's a good thing ... makes him feel good," resident Eugenia Baylor said.

The parade was called "A Hero's Welcome" and was, in essence, a Hollywood production staged by Anheuser-Busch. It included confetti cannons, fancy cameras and the Budweiser Clydesdales.

The turnout for the parade was huge and included his mother, his girlfriend -- and even Orange County Medical Examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia.

"He is the best friend of my son, who graduated from Trinity Prep with him," Garavaglia said. "He is a wonderful guy. He is so pro-America."

"Very proud of him, and he deserves that. He represents all the other ones, absolutely," mother Agnes Nadd said.

Nadd is a graduate of West Point and was deployed to Afghanistan in May 2013, where he has used his skills as a Blackhawk pilot.
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These are some of the pictures from today that I took

Lt. Nadd's plane came in late.  Uncle Sam waited on stilts for over 45 minutes.

Cathy Haynes 

Patriotic lady brought gator

Orlando Honor Flight Always There With Smiles

1Sgt. Daniel Kalagian 812th MPCO back home on December 7,  2013

Korean War Veteran and Bride

VFW Post 4287 Orlando

Motorcycle Escorts

Budweiser Clydesdales 

OK, I made them do this.  Blame me.

The video of the parade should be up tomorrow so check back then.

Honored Couple

With help, Iraq veteran starts rebuilding his life with PTSD

With help, a veteran starts rebuilding his life
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald
Globe Correspondent
April 6, 2013

LYNN — Eight years ago, First Lieutenant Stephen Wood held the pressure-packed job of flying Army generals to Iraq hot spots in his Black Hawk helicopter. When he wasn’t in the pilot’s seat, the Rockland native served as a battle captain from a base in Kuwait, where he plotted missions for some 400 soldiers.

Now 34, Wood faces a different battle: rebuilding his life.

The nonvisible wounds of war, coupled with steep challenges of transitioning back to civilian life, have led him to a nonprofit Lynn facility for psychiatrically disabled veterans. Here at Habitat PLUS, staffers keep tabs on his hygiene, housekeeping, diet, and attitude.

Wood’s journey from decorated officer to struggling veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression has been a humbling one. Always a high achiever, he oversaw teams of analysts at Fidelity Investments before flying for the Army, where testers marveled at his top-rank scores on intellectual as well as physical exams. He signed on for officer training after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, knowing he’d be sent to war.

“I was a very good soldier,” Wood recalled. The Army agrees. He has been honored with six medals.

Despite setbacks in recent years, Wood’s life is once again full of promise. He has transitioned from group home living to a tidy one-bedroom apartment managed by Habitat PLUS. He is now golfing and playing basketball, attending church and Veteran Administration support groups, dating online, and seeking a job as a police officer. He hopes to get a master of business administration degree and is taking Suffolk University classes toward that goal.

Wood hopes his progress will show other veterans what’s possible for those who seek out benefits and get help from supportive professionals, family members, and caring friends.

“There were some pretty dark days there, definitely, where you think things that you never thought you would ever think,” Wood said “But I’ve got a very supportive family, who put me in for the benefits [for combat-related stress]. I’ve gotten the support that I need, and my recovery has come a long way.”
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National Guard troops mobilized for Sandy response

3 minutes ago
National Guard troops mobilized for Sandy response
By DAVID S. CLOUD
Tribune Washington Bureau
Published: October 31, 2012

WASHINGTON — More than 10,000 National Guard troops in 13 states have been mobilized to assist in the response to Hurricane Sandy, including more than 2,200 who are assisting with recovery efforts in New York, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

Eric Durr, a spokesman for New York’s Division of Military and Naval Affairs, said that 650 National Guard soldiers and air personnel are deployed on Long Island, while another 400 are in New York City, with another 400 on the way.

The Guard is using Humvees and trucks to clear debris, rescue stranded people and to help transport local officials in flooded areas.

“They’re taking cops and fireman around in Humvees helping to rescue people,” Durr said.

Thirty guard personnel are helping to lug fuel to the 13th floor of Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, where the facility’s emergency generators are located, he said.

Ten Black Hawk helicopters and other aircraft are being used for aerial surveillance and are assisting local first responders, he said.
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Vietnam Veteran still serving and flying

Vietnam veteran still serving his country
101st Combat Aviation Brigade
Story by Capt. Christina Wright

LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Ask Chief Warrant Officer 4 Walter Jones why he serves and he will tell you “It’s all about flying and soldiers.”

Jones, born in Mountain Home, ID., is serving in Afghanistan as an aviation maintenance officer with D Company, 5th Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade. Jones enlisted in the Army at the age of eighteen and after completing basic training in 1969, went on to Fort Rucker to become a Huey crew chief. Soon after that he found himself assigned to the 162nd Assault Helicopter Company in Can Tu, Vietnam.

One day during a mission his aircraft started to receive small arms fire. Rounds struck the helicopter's fuel cell, and the aircraft immediately caught fire. The helicopter began to spin about 200 feet above the ground.

Jones braced for impact and was knocked unconscious.

He was injured and spent ten months recovering in the hospital. During this time he made an important decision.

“That experience really made me focus on what I wanted to do with my life,” said Jones, “I wanted to make a career out of the Army.”

The Army re-classified him as a telephone line repairman and stationed him with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C. Having valuable combat experience as a Huey crew chief in Vietnam, he quickly found his way back into aviation.

This was also his first experience with the Cold War during the Arab-Israeli War in 1973.He remembers sitting on the green ramp being on standby to support Israel if needed, but Israel did not require it.

While at Fort Bragg he saw the experimental balsa wood full scale model of the future UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. He pointed to one of his buddies and said, ”I am going to fly that one day.”
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Duckworth "For most of my adult life I wore camouflage"

Tammy Duckworth had an answer for Joe Walsh during their last debate after he complained she was out buying a dress for the convention. She said "For most of my adult life I wore camouflage."

8th Congressional District candidates Republican Joe Walsh and Democrat Tammy Duckworth debated at the Meadows Club in Rolling Meadows on Tuesday night.

About Tammy
In 2003, Tammy Duckworth was working on a project for Rotary International to provide wheelchairs for the disabled in developing countries including Iraq. As a Captain in the National Guard, she was mobilized for Operation Iraqi Freedom and deployed in 2004.

As a Black Hawk helicopter pilot, she was one of the first women to fly combat missions in Iraq until November 12th, 2004 when her helicopter was hit by an RPG. Tammy lost both legs and part of the use of her right arm in the explosion, and was awarded the Purple Heart for her combat injuries.

During her recovery at Walter Reed, Tammy was one of the highest-ranking amputees and became an advocate for her fellow soldiers. Her leadership was recognized when she was asked to testify before Congress and recruited to run for the House of Representatives. After losing a close race, Tammy continued to serve as a Major in the National Guard and became Director of Illinois' Department of Veterans' Affairs. There, she implemented many first in the nation programs to address Post Traumatic Stress, improve traumatic brain injury screening and reduce homelessness among Vets.

In 2009, Tammy was tapped by President Obama to be Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs where she sought to improve the standard of care for Vets. She oversaw VA's effort to end Veteran homelessness and lead initiatives for female Vets and increased accessibility and accountability with the new Office of Online Communications.

Military service is a Duckworth tradition - a family member has served during every period of conflict since the Revolution. Tammy followed suit by joining the Reserves in graduate school and chose to fly helicopters because it was one of the few combat jobs open to women.

Tammy is a graduate of the University of Hawaii and received a Masters of Arts in International Affairs from the George Washington University. She and her husband Bryan, an Army Major, live in Hoffman Estates where their home was rebuilt for wheelchair access in 2005 by her fellow Soldiers and friends. Despite her injuries, she declined a military medical retirement and continues to drill as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Illinois Army National Guard.
Find out more about Tammy Duckworth here.

Blackhawk pilot couple return from Afghanistan

Married Blackhawk pilots return home
Updated: Sunday, 07 Oct 2012
Posted by: Liz Reiman

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (WIVB) - A military family gets to celebrate two loved ones who returned home this weekend after serving in Afghanistan.

Two married, Blackhawk pilots Nicole and James Daisley returned to Niagara Falls Saturday afternoon.

Nicole just completed her fifth and final tour in Afghanistan.
red more here linked from Army Times

After brother’s suicide, a helicopter pilot moves into chaplaincy

After brother’s suicide, a helicopter pilot moves into chaplaincy
Army Times
By Meghann Myers
Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Sep 25, 2012

Almost as soon as Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jeremy Cover enlisted in the Army 10 years ago, suicide was front and center.

“One of the guys in my class had mentioned he wanted to hurt himself,” Cover said. “I was assigned as his battle buddy, so I went with him all day to his [behavioral health] visits.”

As a young soldier, he was a little irritated that he’d been called to take time out of his few free hours a day to babysit a fellow private. They didn’t say a lot to each other at the time, but Cover blames that on his inexperience.

“One of the misconceptions about suicide is that you don’t want to talk to the guy about it, because if you talk about it, you’ll give him ideas,” he said.

Now he finds that talking about it is the best treatment, because if they can talk about it, they’re less likely to actually do it.

Cover supervised half a dozen more guys in the following years. In his last combat mission before returning home from Iraq in March 2011, he flew a Blackhawk helicopter transporting the remains of a soldier who had committed suicide downrange.
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Maine guardsman dies in Kuwait

Maine guardsman dies in Kuwait
The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Aug 29, 2012

PORTLAND, Maine — A soldier from Maine who served in the National Guard has died in Kuwait, military officials said Wednesday.

Staff Sgt. Jessica Wing, 42, of Glenburn, died Monday, the Department of Defense said. Officials said her death wasn’t related to combat, but they didn’t provide details on the circumstances.

Wing was a helicopter crew chief assigned to the 1st Battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment out of Bangor. The unit provides medical evacuation to patients and military personnel using medically equipped UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters.
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Shooting USA features wounded Black Hawk pilot

Outdoor Channel's "Shooting USA" to Feature Wheelchair-Bound Pro Shooter, Trevor Baucom
Quick News Competition Shooting
 06.13.2012
Story by: dabneybailey


Smith and Wesson announced that the Outdoor Channel’s "Shooting USA" will feature shooting team member Trevor Baucom. The episode will cover Baucom’s journey from a Blackhawk pilot and flight leader with the Fifth Battalion, 101st Airborne Brigade, to the shooting industry’s first professionally sponsored disabled shooter.
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Disabled Iraq Veteran Tammy Duckworth running for congress

Tammy Duckworth Takes on the Tea Party
May 14, 2012
Michelle Goldberg

An Iraq War vet is making a stand in her run for Congress.

After Tammy Duckworth lost her 2006 run for Congress by 2 percentage points in one of the country’s most expensive House races, she swore she’d never run again. One of the few women to pilot Black Hawk helicopters in combat, Duckworth lost both legs and shattered her right arm after being downed by a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq in 2004. She later emerged as an important voice against that war. Powerful Illinois politicians like Dick Durbin and Rahm Emanuel recruited her to run for Congress in suburban Chicago while she was still recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, learning to navigate the world on prosthetics.

The race against Republican Peter Roskam was hard. “It was so nasty, and so full of lies,” she says. Duckworth, whose mother is Thai-Chinese, recalls seeing an image of herself, her eyes Photoshopped into slits, “standing on the border handing out money to illegal immigrants.” After the election, she says, “I just thought, I’m done. I will find other ways to serve.”

Now, though, she’s back, campaigning against Republican Congressman Joe Walsh in what will likely prove one of 2012’s highest-profile races. For Democrats, the contest has an epic quality, pitting a galvanic war heroine against a man who symbolizes everything liberals abhor about the Tea Party. Walsh is famous for screaming at constituents for their criticism of big banks. He also preached personal responsibility while being sued by his ex-wife for more than $100,000 in unpaid child support. (They recently settled out of court.)
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Heartache follows call to duty

Heartache follows call to duty
Monday, April 11, 2011

SALISBURY — When Mo Hopper is out running errands, she likes to say she’s killing rats.

Last week, she was killing a lot of rats, putting the finishing handiwork on a surprise going-away party for her husband, Tim, who will be leaving Saturday for a year’s deployment in Iraq.

Tim, 55 and silver-haired, commands a Black Hawk helicopter unit for the Army National Guard in Salisbury, and he’ll be leading its Iraqi mission. He says he has no worries about the wartime job because he’ll be with soldiers he has complete trust in.

The toughest thing for Tim is leaving Mo behind. She continues to battle a blood and bone marrow disease — MPD, for short — that doctors have said will eventually claim her life.

Mo deflects any concerns about herself — the progression of the disease varies considerably from person to person — and says she has a great support system at home with her friends and military family.

“We definitely do not want Tim worrying about anything here,” she says. “He needs to go — for country, family and God.”

Despite dealing with pain around the clock, Mo remains a fireball. She runs her own business — Hopper’s Quick Bite, a food service at area auctions through the week.

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Heartache follows call to duty

Captain David Anthony Wisniewski saved 240 lives and was buried at Arlington yesterday

AP

ARLINGTON, VA - AUGUST 23: U.S. Air Force Captain David Anthony Wisniewski's parents, Chester and Bev Wisniewski attend their son's burial service at Arlington National Cemetery August 23, 2010 in Arlington, Virginia. Originally from Moville, Iowa, the Air Force captain, 31, was the pilot of a Black Hawk helicopter that was shot down during a rescue mission in Afghanistan on June 9 and died of his injuries on July 2. Wisniewski is credited with saving more than 240 soldiers in seven tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, 40 of which were saved in his final rescue mission in June. He was awarded the Purple Heart on June 23.
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Captain David Anthony Wisniewski

Tammy Duckworth: VA official, war amputee is flying again

Tammy Duckworth: VA official, war amputee is flying again
'I leave my wheelchair behind up in the air," Hoffman Estates woman says
Tammy Duckworth flying again

Father and son receive simultaneous Silver Stars

Father and son receive simultaneous Silver Stars
By KRISTIN M. HALL – 1 hour ago

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) —Jonathan Harris, a Blackhawk pilot who withstood enemy fire to save a wounded crewmember in Afghanistan, was awarded a Silver Star on Friday. Not to be outdone, his 60-year-old father was awarded a Silver Star and a Bronze Star in a simultaneous ceremony honoring his bravery in Vietnam.

The two generations watched each other through a video teleconference between Fort Campbell, where the elder Gary Harris was honored, and Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, where Jonathan is completing a tour.

Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser, top commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, told retired Staff Sgt. Gary Harris via video that he hoped the special ceremonies repaid the Army's failure to give him an official ceremony nearly 40 years ago.

Gary Harris, of Corbin, Ky., originally received his medals in the mail. He was officially pinned with a Silver Star by the deputy commanding general-rear for the 101st Airborne Division for gallantry in action against an armed hostile force in Vietnam. He also received a Bronze Star for meritorious achievement during his time in Vietnam.

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also from the Orlando Sentinel

Orlando-area man receives Silver Star for Vietnam heroics 40 years later
Gary Taylor | Sentinel Staff Writer
November 28, 2008

For decades, Frank Ambrose never questioned why he didn't receive a medal for a firefight in Vietnam that killed or wounded everyone in his 15-man patrol.

After all, a medal wouldn't bring back the friends he lost that day outside Da Nang when his group of Marines stumbled upon two battalions of the North Vietnamese Army.

"We didn't care about medals back then," Ambrose said. "That was the last thing on our minds."

The enemy soldiers were just as surprised as the outnumbered Americans that day -- Feb. 7, 1968 -- which might be the reason Ambrose lived to talk about the ordeal and to hold the Silver Star he was recently awarded 40 years late.


About half his patrol was killed that day, including the Marines on either side of Ambrose when a rocket-propelled grenade hit as they took cover in a roadside ditch. "It blew all three of us out of the ditch."

He was hit above the eye by shrapnel that is still there. "My face was covered with blood," he said.

"I was the only one left conscious in the front group," he said, recalling how he stood his ground with a machine gun until another group of Marines arrived, alerted by a call from the patrol's radio man just as the attack began.

Although Da Nang was attacked by the North Vietnamese Army, it was the only major city in South Vietnam that didn't suffer a major attack, and Ambrose thinks it was because his patrol interrupted the enemy as they were preparing to launch it.

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Vet highlights women in combat, military health care

Vet highlights women in combat, military health care
Newsday - Long Island,NY,USA

BY ZACHARY R. DOWDY | zachary.dowdy@newsday.com
8:13 PM EST, November 11, 2008
Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth stood alongside President-elect Barack Obama for a Veterans Day observance at a memorial in Illinois Tuesday and saluted those who fought beside her and died - men and women who weren't as lucky as she was.

Duckworth, 40, who in 2004 lost both of her legs and partial use of an arm during the conflict, had flown combat missions as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot. The decorated soldier, who spent 13 months recuperating at Walter Reed hospital in Washington, D.C., received the Purple Heart and the Air Medal for her service.

A major in the Illinois National Guard, she had flown the fighter plane for more than 200 combat hours before a grenade exploded in her cockpit. She told The Associated Press that her experience is an example of women's increased exposure to military combat.

"The American public is beginning to realize that women are playing an equal part in this war and that they are facing the same risks," she said.
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