Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1015 To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the United States Army Dustoff crews of the Vietnam War, collectively, in recognition of their extraor- dinary heroism and life-saving actions in Vietnam. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 14, 2023 Mr. KILMER (for himself, Mrs. RODGERS of Washington, Mrs. MILLER- MEEKS, and Mr. MANN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the United States Army Dustoff crews of the Vietnam War, collectively, in recognition of their extraordinary heroism and life- saving actions in Vietnam. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dustoff Crews of the 4 Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 The Congress finds that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:17 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1015.IH H1015 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1015 IH (1) a United States Army Dustoff crewman, in- 1 cluding a pilot, crew chief, and medic, is a helicopter 2 crew member who served honorably during the Viet- 3 nam War aboard helicopter air ambulances, which 4 were both nondivision and division assets under the 5 radio call signs ‘‘Dustoff’’ and ‘‘Medevac’’; 6 (2) Dustoff crews performed aeromedical evacu- 7 ation for United States, Vietnamese, and allied 8 forces in Southeast Asia from May 1962 through 9 March 1973; 10 (3) nearing the end of World War II, the 11 United States Army began using helicopters for 12 medical evacuation and years later, during the Ko- 13 rean War, these helicopter air ambulances were re- 14 sponsible for transporting 17,700 United States cas- 15 ualties; 16 (4) during the Vietnam War, with the use of 17 helicopter air ambulances, United States Army 18 Dustoff crews pioneered the concept of dedicated 19 and rapid medical evacuation and transported al- 20 most 900,000 United States, South Vietnamese, and 21 other allied sick and wounded, as well as wounded 22 enemy forces; 23 (5) helicopters proved to be a revolutionary tool 24 to assist those injured on the battlefield; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:17 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1015.IH H1015 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1015 IH (6) highly skilled and intrepid, Dustoff crews 1 were able to operate the helicopters and land them 2 on almost any terrain in nearly any weather to pick 3 up wounded, after which the Dustoff crews could 4 provide care to these patients while transporting 5 them to ready medical facilities; 6 (7) the vital work of the Dustoff crews required 7 consistent combat exposure and often proved to be 8 the difference between life and death for wounded 9 personnel; 10 (8) the revolutionary concept of a dedicated 11 combat life-saving system was cultivated and refined 12 by United States Army Dustoff crews during 11 13 years of intense conflict in and above the jungles of 14 Southeast Asia; 15 (9) innovative and resourceful Dustoff crews in 16 Vietnam were responsible for taking the new concept 17 of helicopter medical evacuation, born just a few 18 years earlier, and revolutionizing it to meet and sur- 19 pass the previously unattainable goal of delivering a 20 battlefield casualty to an operating table within the 21 vaunted ‘‘golden hour’’; 22 (10) some Dustoff units in Vietnam operated so 23 efficiently that they were able to deliver a patient to 24 a waiting medical facility on an average of 50 min- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:17 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1015.IH H1015 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1015 IH utes from the receipt of the mission, which saved the 1 lives of countless personnel in Vietnam, and this leg- 2 acy continues for modern-day Dustoff crews; 3 (11) the inherent danger of being a member of 4 a Dustoff crew in Vietnam meant that there was a 5 1 in 3 chance of being wounded or killed; 6 (12) many battles during the Vietnam War 7 raged at night, and members of the Dustoff crews 8 often found themselves searching for a landing zone 9 in complete darkness, in bad weather, over moun- 10 tainous terrain, and all while being the target of in- 11 tense enemy fire as they attempted to rescue the 12 wounded, which caused Dustoff crews to suffer a 13 rate of aircraft loss that was more than 3 times that 14 of all other types of combat helicopter missions in 15 Vietnam; 16 (13) the 54th Medical Detachment typified the 17 constant heroism displayed by Dustoff crews in Viet- 18 nam, over the span of a 10-month tour, with only 19 3 flyable helicopters and 40 soldiers in the unit, 20 evacuating 21,435 patients in 8,644 missions while 21 being airborne for 4,832 hours; 22 (14) collectively, the members of the 54th Med- 23 ical Detachment earned 78 awards for valor, includ- 24 ing 1 Medal of Honor, 1 Distinguished Service 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:17 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1015.IH H1015 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1015 IH Cross, 14 Silver Star Medals, 26 Distinguished Fly- 1 ing Crosses, 2 Bronze Star Medals for valor, 4 Air 2 Medals for valor, 4 Soldier’s Medals, and 26 Purple 3 Heart Medals; 4 (15) the 54th Medical Detachment displayed 5 heroism on a daily basis and set the standard for all 6 Dustoff crews in Vietnam; 7 (16) 6 members of the 54th Medical Detach- 8 ment are in the Dustoff Hall of Fame, 3 are in the 9 Army Aviation Hall of Fame, and 1 is the only 10 United States Army aviator in the National Aviation 11 Hall of Fame; 12 (17) Dustoff crew members are among the most 13 highly decorated soldiers in United States military 14 history; 15 (18) in early 1964, Major Charles L. Kelly was 16 the Commanding Officer of the 57th Medical De- 17 tachment (Helicopter Ambulance), Provisional, in 18 Soc Trang, South Vietnam; 19 (19) Major Kelly helped to forge the Dustoff 20 call sign into history as one of the most welcomed 21 phrases to be heard over the radio by wounded sol- 22 diers in perilous and dire situations; 23 (20) in 1964, Major Kelly was killed in action 24 as he gallantly maneuvered his aircraft to save a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:17 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1015.IH H1015 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1015 IH wounded United States soldier and several Viet- 1 namese soldiers and boldly replied, after being 2 warned to stay away from the landing zone due to 3 the ferocity of enemy fire, ‘‘When I have your 4 wounded.’’; 5 (21) General William Westmoreland, Com- 6 mander of the Military Assistance Command, Viet- 7 nam from 1964 to 1968, singled out Major Kelly as 8 an example of ‘‘the greatness of the human spirit’’ 9 and highlighted his famous reply as an inspiration to 10 all in combat; 11 (22) General Creighton Abrams, successor to 12 General Westmoreland from 1968 to 1972, and 13 former Chief of Staff of the United States Army, 14 highlighted the heroism of Dustoff crews, ‘‘A special 15 word about the Dustoffs . . . . Courage above and 16 beyond the call of duty was sort of routine to them. 17 It was a daily thing, part of the way they lived. 18 That’s the great part, and it meant so much to every 19 last man who served there. Whether he ever got hurt 20 or not, he knew Dustoff was there.’’; 21 (23) Dustoff crews possessed unique skills and 22 traits that made them highly successful in 23 aeromedical evacuation in Vietnam, including indom- 24 itable courage, extraordinary aviation skill and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:17 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1015.IH H1015 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1015 IH sound judgment under fire, high-level medical exper- 1 tise, and an unequaled dedication to the preservation 2 of human life; 3 (24) members of the United States Armed 4 Forces on the ground in Vietnam had their con- 5 fidence and battlefield prowess reinforced knowing 6 that there were heroic Dustoff crews just a few min- 7 utes from the fight, which was instrumental to their 8 well-being, willingness to fight, and morale; 9 (25) military families in the United States knew 10 that their loved ones would receive the quickest and 11 best possible care in the event of a war-time injury, 12 thanks to the Dustoff crews; 13 (26) the willingness of Dustoff crews to also 14 risk their lives to save helpless civilians left an im- 15 measurably positive impression on the people of 16 Vietnam and exemplified the finest United States 17 ideals of compassion and humanity; and 18 (27) Dustoff crews from the Vietnam War 19 hailed from every State in the United States and 20 represented numerous ethnic, religious, and cultural 21 backgrounds. 22 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 23 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 24 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:17 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1015.IH H1015 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1015 IH pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 1 for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a single 2 gold medal of appropriate design in honor of the Dustoff 3 crews of the Vietnam War, collectively, in recognition of 4 their heroic military service, which saved countless lives 5 and contributed directly to the defense of the United 6 States. 7 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 8 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 9 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec- 10 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 11 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec- 12 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense. 13 (c) U.S. ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT MUSEUM.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 15 gold medal in honor of the Dustoff Crews of the 16 Vietnam War, the gold medal shall be given to the 17 U.S. Army Medical Department Museum, where it 18 will be available for display as appropriate and avail- 19 able for research. 20 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 21 Congress that the U.S. Army Medical Department 22 Museum should make the gold medal awarded pur- 23 suant to this Act available for display elsewhere, 24 particularly at appropriate locations associated with 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:17 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1015.IH H1015 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1015 IH the Vietnam War, and that preference should be 1 given to locations affiliated with the U.S. Army 2 Medical Department Museum. 3 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 4 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 5 bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price 6 sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, 7 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 8 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 9 (a) NATIONAL MEDAL.—Medals struck pursuant to 10 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 11 of title 31, United States Code. 12 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 13 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 14 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 15 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 16 SALE. 17 (a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 18 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 19 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec- 20 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 21 this Act. 22 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 23 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:17 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1015.IH H1015 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1015 IH 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 1 Enterprise Fund. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 07:17 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1015.IH H1015 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS