Dust Off Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3748 To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the United States Army Dust Off crews of the Vietnam War, collectively, in recognition of their extraor- dinary heroism and life-saving actions in Vietnam. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 14, 2020 Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Ms. WARREN, Mr. COTTON, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. MORAN, Mr. COONS, Mr. TILLIS, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. PERDUE, Ms. MCSALLY, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. TESTER, and Mrs. LOEFFLER) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the United States Army Dust Off 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 ‘‘Dust Off Crews of 4 the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 The Congress finds that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:00 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3748.IS S3748 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3748 IS (1) a United States Army Dust Off crewman 1 (pilot, crew chief, and medic) is a helicopter crew 2 member who served honorably during the Vietnam 3 War aboard a helicopter air ambulance often under 4 the radio call sign ‘‘Dust Off’’; 5 (2) Dust Off crews performed aeromedical evac- 6 uation for United States, Vietnamese, and allied 7 forces in Southeast Asia from May 1962 through 8 March 1973; 9 (3) nearing the end of World War II, the 10 United States Army began using helicopters for 11 medical evacuation and years later, during the Ko- 12 rean War, these helicopter air ambulances were re- 13 sponsible for transporting 17,700 United States cas- 14 ualties; 15 (4) during the Vietnam War, with the use of 16 helicopter air ambulances, United States Army Dust 17 Off crews pioneered the concept of dedicated and 18 rapid medical evacuation and transported almost 19 900,000 United States, South Vietnamese, and other 20 allied sick and wounded, as well as wounded enemy 21 forces; 22 (5) helicopters proved to be a revolutionary tool 23 to assist those injured on the battlefield; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:00 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3748.IS S3748 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3748 IS (6) highly skilled and intrepid, Dust Off 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 Dust Off crews could 4 provide care to these patients while transporting 5 them to ready medical facilities; 6 (7) the vital work of the Dust Off crews re- 7 quired consistent combat exposure and often proved 8 to be the difference between life and death for 9 wounded personnel; 10 (8) the revolutionary concept of a dedicated 11 combat life-saving system was cultivated and refined 12 by United States Army Dust Off crews during 11 13 years of intense conflict in and above the jungles of 14 Southeast Asia; 15 (9) innovative and resourceful Dust Off crews 16 in Vietnam were responsible for taking the new con- 17 cept of helicopter medical evacuation, born just a 18 few years earlier, and revolutionizing it to meet and 19 surpass the previously unattainable goal of delivering 20 a battlefield casualty to an operating table within 21 the vaunted ‘‘golden hour’’; 22 (10) some Dust Off units in Vietnam operated 23 so efficiently that they were able to deliver a patient 24 to a waiting medical facility on an average of 50 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:00 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3748.IS S3748 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3748 IS minutes from the receipt of the mission, which saved 1 the lives of countless personnel in Vietnam, and this 2 legacy continues for modern-day Dust Off crews; 3 (11) the inherent danger of being a member of 4 a Dust Off crew in Vietnam meant that there was 5 a 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 Dust Off 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 Dust Off 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 Dust Off crews in 18 Vietnam, over the span of a 10-month tour, with 19 only 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 16:00 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3748.IS S3748 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3748 IS 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 Dust Off crews in Vietnam; 7 (16) 6 members of the 54th Medical Detach- 8 ment are in the Dust Off 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) Dust Off crew members are among the 13 most highly decorated soldiers in American 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 Dust Off 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 16:00 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3748.IS S3748 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 3748 IS wounded American soldier and several Vietnamese 1 soldiers and boldly replied, after being warned to 2 stay away from the landing zone due to the ferocity 3 of enemy fire, ‘‘When I have your wounded.’’; 4 (21) General William Westmoreland, Com- 5 mander, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam 6 (1964–1968), singled out Major Kelly as an example 7 of ‘‘the greatness of the human spirit’’ and high- 8 lighted his famous reply as an inspiration to all in 9 combat; 10 (22) General Creighton Abrams, Westmore- 11 land’s successor (1968–1972), and former Chief of 12 Staff of the United States Army, highlighted the 13 heroism of Dust Off crews, ‘‘A special word about 14 the Dust Offs . . . Courage above and beyond the 15 call of duty was sort of routine to them. It was a 16 daily thing, part of the way they lived. That’s the 17 great part, and it meant so much to every last man 18 who served there. Whether he ever got hurt or not, 19 he knew Dust Off was there.’’; 20 (23) Dust Off crews possessed unique skills and 21 traits that made them highly successful in 22 aeromedical evacuation in Vietnam, including indom- 23 itable courage, extraordinary aviation skill and 24 sound judgment under fire, high-level medical exper- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:00 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3748.IS S3748 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 3748 IS tise, and an unequaled dedication to the preservation 1 of human life; 2 (24) members of the United States Armed 3 Forces on the ground in Vietnam had their con- 4 fidence and battlefield prowess reinforced knowing 5 that there were heroic Dust Off crews just a few 6 minutes from the fight, which was instrumental to 7 their well-being, willingness to fight, and morale; 8 (25) military families in the United States knew 9 that their loved ones would receive the quickest and 10 best possible care in the event of a war-time injury, 11 thanks to the Dust Off crews; 12 (26) the willingness of Dust Off crews to also 13 risk their lives to save helpless civilians left an im- 14 measurably positive impression on the people of 15 Vietnam and exemplified the finest American ideals 16 of compassion and humanity; and 17 (27) Dust Off crews from the Vietnam War 18 hailed from every State in the United States and 19 represented numerous ethnic, religious, and cultural 20 backgrounds. 21 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 22 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 23 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem- 24 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:00 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3748.IS S3748 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 3748 IS for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a single 1 gold medal of appropriate design in honor of the Dust Off 2 crews of the Vietnam War, collectively, in recognition of 3 their heroic military service, which saved countless lives 4 and contributed directly to the defense of our country. 5 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the 6 award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 7 Treasury shall strike the gold medal with suitable em- 8 blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the 9 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense. 10 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 12 gold medal in honor of the Dust Off Crews of the 13 Vietnam War, the gold medal shall be given to the 14 Smithsonian Institution, where it will be available 15 for display as appropriate and available for research. 16 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 17 Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should 18 also make the gold medal awarded pursuant to this 19 Act available for display elsewhere, particularly at 20 appropriate locations associated with the Vietnam 21 War, and that preference should be given to loca- 22 tions affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:00 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3748.IS S3748 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 3748 IS SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 1 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 2 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 3 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 4 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 5 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 6 and the cost of the gold medal. 7 SEC. 5. NATIONAL MEDALS. 8 The medal struck pursuant to this Act is a national 9 medal for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 10 Code. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:00 Jun 03, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3748.IS S3748 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS