Dustoff The Helicopter Medical Evacuation Teams

Modern techniques of war in some respects bear little resemblance to the "old days". The advent of the helicopter drastically changed casualty evacuation, and many other aspects of combat. Vietnam was the helicopter war. To the wounded, no sight was more welcome than the Iroquois Helicopter with the Red Cross emblem painted on the nose, top and sides, known throughout Vietnam by the code name "Dustoff". It meant immediate treatment and a swift journey to a hospital for medical attention; the saving of valuable minutes that were for some the difference between life and death. The average time from being wounded to hospitalisation was one hour.

The well known terminology, "Dustoff" was adopted from the radio callsign of famed pilot Major Charles Kelly tragically killed in action in 1964.

The UH-1 Bell Helicopters was fitted to carry 6 patients with at least one member of the crew of 4 being a fully trained first-aid man, able to give treatment from transfusions to reassurance. They sped out to evacuate the wounded, landing in the most inaccessible places, which were more often than not, under enemy fire. In 1968, 35 "Dustoff " Helicopters were hit by ground fire whilst carrying out an evacuation. In 1969 the figure was 39.

Their dedicated untiring support to our fighting forces on all occasions and under all circumstances will be remembered especially those who owe their lives to the "Angels of Mercy"

This incident is recalled by an Australian Veteran;

"It was 1968, during the Tet Offensive, when an Infantry Rifle Platoon were engaged in fierce fire fight with a company sized enemy group. Unable to break off the engagement, with members of the Platoon severely wounded, an American Helicopter Gunship Fire Team arrived to provide fire support and attempt to break-up the attack on the platoon. With them were two medevac choppers (Dustoff).

The Gunship Team went about their business, strafing the enemy position with mini-gun and rocket fire. Still the enemy hung on, determined to fight. The situation on the ground was bad, with severely wounded, the Platoon was taking further casualties.

Realising the desperate situation, especially for the seriously wounded, the pilot of one Dustoff decides to attempt a winch out of the two serious cases while the Gunships laid suppressing fire on the enemy position. Under fire and with disregard to his own safety and the safety of his crew or aircraft, the Dustoff pilot hovered his helicopter above the Platoon position while they winched up the two severe cases through the canopy of jungle. Successfully, they flew the two casualties back to hospital.

The Gunships continued to blast the enemy position and eventually the enemy withdrew, allowing the remainder of the wounded to be evacuated.

Sometime later, the pilot of the first Dustoff returned in a different helicopter, still keen to help. On landing back at Ben Hoa, he had been informed by his ground crew that he had over sixty bullet holes in his machine and was no longer safe to fly. Undaunted, the pilot and his crew simply jumped in another helicopter and flew back."

Some Facts

Cost of the Australian Commitment
Human Terms

No 9 Sqn RAAF Helicopters by December 1968 had evacuated
2000 caualties from the Battle field

The USAF Military Airlift Command(MAC) evacuated 406,022 patients, including 168,832 battle casualties, between 1965 and 1973.
Americans killed - 58,169 at an average age of 23.11 years
304,000 were wounded
5 men killed in Vietnam were aged 16 years
Oldest killed was 62 year old
11,465 killed were less than 20 years
1 in 10 Americans who served in Vietnam were casualties
75,000 Veterans were severely disabled
Amputation and crippling wounds were 300% higher than WW2.
Medivac helicopters flew nearly 500,000 missions

Between 1965 and 1969, there were 372,947casualties evacuated
by Helicopter . This included US, Allied troops and civilians.
At the peak of Allied involvement, 116 Bell UH-1 "Dustoffs" were in service.
There were 18 hospitals scattered throughout Vietnam.
83% of wounded were able to return to military duty.
2% of wounded died in hospital compared with the Second World War death rate of 4.5%.

Causes

Note the higher percentage in deaths, from small arms fire compared with WW II and Korea. This was attributed to the lightweight high velocity rounds in modern weapons such as the AK47 and the captured M16s. These weapons with rapid fire capability caused multiple wounds with small entry and large exit wounds. Without the use of helicopter for rapid evacuation, the death toll in Vietnam would have been far greater.