thedrifter
05-01-06, 10:16 AM
A hero passes
Thomas Lifson 5 01 06
The Army Times brings us news of the passing of Michael Novosel, who served in WW II and earned the Medal of Honor in Vietnam. You have to read his story to believe it.
I am frankly in awe of the man. What a life! Can you imagine the wonderful movie that could be made about him?
Jim Tice reports:
Michael J. Novosel Sr., a veteran of three wars, a Medal of Honor recipient and a major figure in Army aviation history, died April 2 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center after a long battle with cancer.
The 83-year-old retired chief warrant officer 4 earned the Medal of Honor for actions on Oct. 2, 1969, when he completed 15 hazardous combat extractions in a UH-1 Huey helicopter, saving the lives of 29 South Vietnamese soldiers who had been surrounded by enemy forces along the Cambodian border.
His military career began during World War II when, at age 19, he was commissioned in the Army Air Forces, and subsequently flew combat missions against Japan as a B-29 bomber pilot. When the Japanese surrendered aboard the battleship Missouri in September 1945, Novosel commanded a bomber in a massive flyover of the ceremony in Tokyo harbor.
After leaving active duty in 1949, Novosel joined the Air Force Reserve but was recalled to active duty for the Korean War.
By 1964, when Vietnam was heating up, Novosel, by then a reserve lieutenant colonel, requested recall to active duty for the burgeoning war. Told the Air Force was overstrength in lieutenant colonels, Novosel — by then 42 years old — accepted an appointment as an Army warrant officer, and eventually was assigned to the 283rd Medical Detachment as a “dustoff” air evacuation pilot.
Interestingly, around the same time as the action that earned Novosel the Medal of Honor, his son joined him in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot in the same unit. Also named Mike, and also now a retired chief warrant officer 4, the younger Novosel was also a “dustoff” pilot, and together with his father, is credited with rescuing more than 7,000 men during their tours in Vietnam.
After several assignments as an author, lecturer and instructor with the Warrant Officer Career College and Army Aviation Center at Fort Rucker, Ala., Novosel retired in 1985. The Army renamed Fort Rucker’s main street “Novosel Avenue” to honor of the last serving U.S. military pilot to have flown combat missions during World War II.
As a master army aviator and Air Force command pilot, Novosel is the only person to hold the top pilot ratings for the two services. After 42 years on flight status, he logged 12,400 flying hours, 2,038 of those in combat. During two tours in Vietnam, he rescued an astounding 5,589 wounded soldiers.
Ellie
Thomas Lifson 5 01 06
The Army Times brings us news of the passing of Michael Novosel, who served in WW II and earned the Medal of Honor in Vietnam. You have to read his story to believe it.
I am frankly in awe of the man. What a life! Can you imagine the wonderful movie that could be made about him?
Jim Tice reports:
Michael J. Novosel Sr., a veteran of three wars, a Medal of Honor recipient and a major figure in Army aviation history, died April 2 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center after a long battle with cancer.
The 83-year-old retired chief warrant officer 4 earned the Medal of Honor for actions on Oct. 2, 1969, when he completed 15 hazardous combat extractions in a UH-1 Huey helicopter, saving the lives of 29 South Vietnamese soldiers who had been surrounded by enemy forces along the Cambodian border.
His military career began during World War II when, at age 19, he was commissioned in the Army Air Forces, and subsequently flew combat missions against Japan as a B-29 bomber pilot. When the Japanese surrendered aboard the battleship Missouri in September 1945, Novosel commanded a bomber in a massive flyover of the ceremony in Tokyo harbor.
After leaving active duty in 1949, Novosel joined the Air Force Reserve but was recalled to active duty for the Korean War.
By 1964, when Vietnam was heating up, Novosel, by then a reserve lieutenant colonel, requested recall to active duty for the burgeoning war. Told the Air Force was overstrength in lieutenant colonels, Novosel — by then 42 years old — accepted an appointment as an Army warrant officer, and eventually was assigned to the 283rd Medical Detachment as a “dustoff” air evacuation pilot.
Interestingly, around the same time as the action that earned Novosel the Medal of Honor, his son joined him in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot in the same unit. Also named Mike, and also now a retired chief warrant officer 4, the younger Novosel was also a “dustoff” pilot, and together with his father, is credited with rescuing more than 7,000 men during their tours in Vietnam.
After several assignments as an author, lecturer and instructor with the Warrant Officer Career College and Army Aviation Center at Fort Rucker, Ala., Novosel retired in 1985. The Army renamed Fort Rucker’s main street “Novosel Avenue” to honor of the last serving U.S. military pilot to have flown combat missions during World War II.
As a master army aviator and Air Force command pilot, Novosel is the only person to hold the top pilot ratings for the two services. After 42 years on flight status, he logged 12,400 flying hours, 2,038 of those in combat. During two tours in Vietnam, he rescued an astounding 5,589 wounded soldiers.
Ellie