Medal of Honor recipient Michael Novosel saved more than 5,000 in Vietnam ― including his son Vietnam Magazine By: Doug Sterner March 30, 2018
A month before the father was to return home, the son’s helicopter came under fire, and Novosel Jr. made an emergency landing. Novosel Sr., with wounded aboard his helicopter, dropped down to pick up his son and the grounded dustoff crew. One week later, Novosel Sr. and his helicopter were grounded. He recognized the pilot coming to the rescue him—it was his son. “I’ll never hear the last of this,” Novosel recalled saying.
“Dustoff.” In 1963 that was the call sign for helicopter pilots who pioneered emergency medical evacuations during the Vietnam War. About 3,000 pilots and crewmen flew unarmed air ambulances, often into heavy fire, to medevac more than 100,000 severely wounded men, and 33 percent became casualties themselves.
Michael “Mike” J. Novosel, a native of Etna, Pennsylvania, took a circuitous route to the cockpit of a UH-1H Huey medevac copter. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps (a predecessor to the U.S. Air Force) in February 1941 to become a pilot but was a quarter-inch shy of the 5-foot, 4-inch requirement for the aviation cadet program and found himself in a pay clerk’s job.
In his 1999 Dustoff: The Memoir of an Army Aviator, Novosel recounted his effort to beat the height requirement. He had read that people are tallest in the morning before they stand and the body compresses, so on the day of the measurement Novosel’s buddies transported him to the medical facility on a makeshift stretcher. He still came up short, but a compassionate medical officer “stretched” his height on paper.
After earning his wings in December 1942, Novosel became a B-24 pilot training aerial gunners in World War II. He placed a pillow behind him in the pilot seat so his feet could reach the rudder pedals. He later flew B-29s on four combat missions in the Pacific. During the Japanese surrender ceremony on Sept. 2, 1945, he was one of 500 pilots to fly in formation over Tokyo Bay. read more here
As many as 11,800 military families face deportation issues, group says Military Times By: Tara Copp April 1, 2018
“It used to be veterans we’d see more frequently. We’re now seeing an uptick in active-duty people.” Nancy Kuznetsov
As many as 11,800 currently serving in the U.S. military are dealing with a spouse or family member who is facing deportation, a national immigration advocacy group announced Friday.
Esperanza Perez and her husband, Miguel Perez, parents of war veteran Miguel Perez Jr., stand with a handful of military veterans during a news conference Feb. 27 at the Lincoln Methodist Church in Chicago. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials confirmed March 26 that Miguel Perez had been deported to Mexico because of a 2008 drug-trafficking conviction. (Abel Uribe/Chicago Tribune via AP)
No previous estimate, official or unofficial, has been available on just how many of the 1 million married military members currently on active duty, National Guard or Reserve status may be dealing with the stress of having a spouse, dependent or parent deported.
It’s also not a number that can be easily checked, or verified, because neither DoD, the Department of Homeland Security nor U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement tracks military status in immigration proceedings.
American Families United, a non-profit immigration advocacy group, calculated the estimate using 2011 U.S. Census statistics, which found that 6.3 percent of the 129 million married Americans are married to foreign-born spouses. The Pew Research Center found that one in four of those foreign-born spouses are in the country illegally. About 75 percent of that population comes from countries like Mexico, where if they entered illegally, they have a harder time obtaining legal status, as opposed to a person from Europe who might have overstayed a visa, said American Families United President Randall Emery. read more here
Family searches for answers after missing Oregon Natl. Guardsman found dead KATU 2 News Keaton Thomas April 1, 2018
Veber says her brother's body was found in the river near Waverly Country Club on Wednesday night by fisherman. Deputies do not suspect foul play was involved.
PORTLAND, Ore. -- The body of Marty Nance, an Oregon Air National Guardsman reported missing back in January, was found Wednesday in the Willamette River, but family members are still hoping for answers in his disappearance and death.
Lisa Veber, Nance's sister, says a chaplain with the Clackamas County Sheriff's office told her about the discovery Thursday night.
If he had problems, Veber said, "Marty was a fixer, Marty was a doer."
That being said, Veber understands it's possible her brother may have committed suicide. read more here
Getting the demon out PTSD Patrol Kathie Costos April 1, 2018
You have this great vehicle and take pride in it. You make sure it is clean. You even go to have the body detailed, so it sparkles in the sunlight. If you do not take care of the parts that power it, then it will sit there and rust. The tires will go flat and you'll cover it, ashamed of what you let happen to it. What about the vehicle the carries everything that powers you? That wonderful spirit inside of you needs detail work too. After all, that spirit is what caused you to want to be of service to others. It is what enabled you to train to do it. Endure all the hardships that came with that job. It gave you the courage to rush toward what you knew could end your life. It is also what can help you heal your life. How is it that you can find it so easy to believe that you were meant to do your job saving lives, yet do not believe you are worthy of saving your own? PTSD is fueled by the acid of doubt. It eats away at everything that is good within you. The devil is in that detail. The demons are in control of every negative thought you have and they enjoy causing you pain. You went to bed one night filled with hope long ago. So long ago, you cannot remember what it felt like. The sense of being wrong believing in the power within you became stronger. Now, you are not sure of who you are anymore. It is time to see the miracle of redemption and the see that everything you need to heal is within your body. Time to work on that. read more here
Vietnam Veterans Service Did Not End Combat PTSD Wounded Times Kathie Costos March 31, 2018 Yesterday, all across the nation, these men and women were honored for their service. How many knew how far that service reached when they said "thank you" to them? How many knew their service did not end when they came home? To post this yesterday, would not have been as meaningful. The stories are all over the online world this morning, but as you know, they are all over this site on a daily basis.
Our Vietnam veterans managed to do the impossible. They came home hated, but did not give up on each other. They did not give up on any other generation, although the other generations of veterans did not welcome them. They were turned away but would not go away quietly. What they accomplished needs to be acknowledged as benefiting every citizen. It was their efforts, despite how they were treated, that civilians receive treatment for the inner wounds after surviving traumatic events. It was their efforts that produced a clearer understanding of the men and women who serve as our first responders in law enforcement, fire departments and other emergency responders. Vietnam veterans came home with the same wounds all other generations came home with, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. While it was called many different names, the results were all the same. Wars they thought they were forced to fight alone within the borders of their own minds.
If you think that the stories of being mistreated were fabricated, then listen to MOH Sammy Davis talk about what happened to him. This interview was done at the Orlando Nam Knights, when he came to speak at a fundraiser for young veteran.
Before the ceremony, Sammy and his wife Dixie sat down, told me the story, and I had never heard it before. Still shocked, I was filming when his Medal of Honor Citation was being read. Here what happened to him along with what he did before he was treated as badly as he was.
A wreath was placed at the Yellowstone National Cemetery during the ceremony to remember those who fought and lost their lives in the Vietnam War. Navy Corpsman, Paul Thomae read a poem that said, "When I came home from Vietnam I wasn't met by a marching band. The crowd at the airport shouted and cried. They told us all that they wished we a died."
Douglas County Commissioner Tim Freeman thanked the Vietnam veterans for stepping forward and serving in an unpopular war. “When our country called, you did not hesitate to do your duty. Your dedication and sacrifice were ignored and belittled by America. The only welcome home many of you received was given by your immediate family or hostile demonstrators,” Freeman said.
They went where they were sent. That's what numerous U.S. Military veterans from the Vietnam period said during that gathering where retired soldiers, airmen, marines and sailors received a special lapel pin meant to honor them for their service.
Sheriff Donny Youngblood, the guest speaker and a Vietnam veteran himself, said when he came back from the war in 1969 people made veterans embarrassed about what they'd done in service to their country. Youngblood stayed away from veterans events for years, not because he wasn't proud of his service, but because no one else was. He was required to go to those events after being elected sheriff in 2006. They still made him uncomfortable, but gradually he's seen a change in how veterans are perceived.
"If you know a Vietnam veteran, I can't tell you what it means to shake their hand and say thank you," he said.
One of those who copes with not just physical wounds from the war, but also with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, is Paul Clark, a Marine and retired Columbus Police Officer who was in attendance with his wife, and his service dog of two years, Alice. The 1961 Watkins Memorial High School graduate served from 1962-67 during the war era. Clark, a three-time Purple Heart recipient, was also awarded the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry at Tam Ke.
Since then, the cemetery has become the final resting place to more 3,700 men and women, according to cemetery director Don Murphy. And the numbers are growing daily, he said. In fact, the reason the flag was at half-staff was because there had already been one funeral there that morning.
When you look online for events in your area, be sure to read what the veterans had to say. Then think of their grateful attitude so long after they returned. Now maybe you will appreciate them even more.
