118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2825 

AN ACT 

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 lifesaving actions in Vietnam. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dustoff Crews of the 

3 Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds that— 

6 (1) a United States Army Dustoff crewman, in7 cluding a pilot, crew chief, and medic, is a helicopter 

8 crew member who served honorably during the Viet9 nam War aboard helicopter air ambulances, which 

10 were both nondivision and division assets under the 

11 radio call signs ‘‘Dustoff’’ and ‘‘Medevac’’; 

12 (2) Dustoff crews performed aeromedical evacu13 ation for United States, Vietnamese, and allied 

14 forces in Southeast Asia from May 1962 through 

15 March 1973; 

16 (3) nearing the end of World War II, the 

17 United States Army began using helicopters for 

18 medical evacuation and years later, during the Ko19 rean War, these helicopter air ambulances were re20 sponsible for transporting 17,700 United States cas21 ualties; 

22 (4) during the Vietnam War, with the use of 

23 helicopter air ambulances, United States Army 

24 Dustoff crews pioneered the concept of dedicated 

25 and rapid medical evacuation and transported al26 most 900,000 United States, South Vietnamese, and 
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1 other allied sick and wounded, as well as wounded 

2 enemy forces; 

3 (5) helicopters proved to be a revolutionary tool 

4 to assist those injured on the battlefield; 

5 (6) highly skilled and intrepid, Dustoff crews 

6 were able to operate the helicopters and land them 

7 on almost any terrain in nearly any weather to pick 

8 up wounded, after which the Dustoff crews could 

9 provide care to these patients while transporting 

10 them to ready medical facilities; 

11 (7) the vital work of the Dustoff crews required 

12 consistent combat exposure and often proved to be 

13 the difference between life and death for wounded 

14 personnel; 

15 (8) the revolutionary concept of a dedicated 

16 combat life-saving system was cultivated and refined 

17 by United States Army Dustoff crews during 11 

18 years of intense conflict in and above the jungles of 

19 Southeast Asia; 

20 (9) innovative and resourceful Dustoff crews in 

21 Vietnam were responsible for taking the new concept 

22 of helicopter medical evacuation, born just a few 

23 years earlier, and revolutionizing it to meet and sur24 pass the previously unattainable goal of delivering a 
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1 battlefield casualty to an operating table within the 

2 vaunted ‘‘golden hour’’; 

3 (10) some Dustoff units in Vietnam operated so 

4 efficiently that they were able to deliver a patient to 

5 a waiting medical facility on an average of 50 min6 utes from the receipt of the mission, which saved the 

7 lives of countless personnel in Vietnam, and this leg8 acy continues for modern-day Dustoff crews; 

9 (11) the inherent danger of being a member of 

10 a Dustoff crew in Vietnam meant that there was a 

11 1 in 3 chance of being wounded or killed; 

12 (12) many battles during the Vietnam War 

13 raged at night, and members of the Dustoff crews 

14 often found themselves searching for a landing zone 

15 in complete darkness, in bad weather, over moun16 tainous terrain, and all while being the target of in17 tense enemy fire as they attempted to rescue the 

18 wounded, which caused Dustoff crews to suffer a 

19 rate of aircraft loss that was more than 3 times that 

20 of all other types of combat helicopter missions in 

21 Vietnam; 

22 (13) the 54th Medical Detachment typified the 

23 constant heroism displayed by Dustoff crews in Viet24 nam, over the span of a 10-month tour, with only 

25 3 flyable helicopters and 40 soldiers in the unit, 
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1 evacuating 21,435 patients in 8,644 missions while 

2 being airborne for 4,832 hours; 

3 (14) collectively, the members of the 54th Med4 ical Detachment earned 78 awards for valor, includ5 ing 1 Medal of Honor, 1 Distinguished Service 

6 Cross, 14 Silver Star Medals, 26 Distinguished Fly7 ing Crosses, 2 Bronze Star Medals for valor, 4 Air 

8 Medals for valor, 4 Soldier’s Medals, and 26 Purple 

9 Heart Medals; 

10 (15) the 54th Medical Detachment displayed 

11 heroism on a daily basis and set the standard for all 

12 Dustoff crews in Vietnam; 

13 (16) 6 members of the 54th Medical Detach14 ment are in the Dustoff Hall of Fame, 3 are in the 

15 Army Aviation Hall of Fame, and 1 is the only 

16 United States Army aviator in the National Aviation 

17 Hall of Fame; 

18 (17) Dustoff crew members are among the most 

19 highly decorated soldiers in United States military 

20 history; 

21 (18) in early 1964, Major Charles L. Kelly was 

22 the Commanding Officer of the 57th Medical De23 tachment (Helicopter Ambulance), Provisional, in 

24 Soc Trang, South Vietnam; 
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1 (19) Major Kelly helped to forge the Dustoff 

2 call sign into history as one of the most welcomed 

3 phrases to be heard over the radio by wounded sol4 diers in perilous and dire situations; 

5 (20) in 1964, Major Kelly was killed in action 

6 as he gallantly maneuvered his aircraft to save a 

7 wounded United States soldier and several Viet8 namese soldiers and boldly replied, after being 

9 warned to stay away from the landing zone due to 

10 the ferocity of enemy fire, ‘‘When I have your 

11 wounded.’’; 

12 (21) General William Westmoreland, Com13 mander of the Military Assistance Command, Viet14 nam from 1964 to 1968, singled out Major Kelly as 

15 an example of ‘‘the greatness of the human spirit’’ 

16 and highlighted his famous reply as an inspiration to 

17 all in combat; 

18 (22) General Creighton Abrams, successor to 

19 General Westmoreland from 1968 to 1972, and 

20 former Chief of Staff of the United States Army, 

21 highlighted the heroism of Dustoff crews, ‘‘A special 

22 word about the Dustoffs . . . . Courage above and 

23 beyond the call of duty was sort of routine to them. 

24 It was a daily thing, part of the way they lived. 

25 That’s the great part, and it meant so much to every 
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1 last man who served there. Whether he ever got hurt 

2 or not, he knew Dustoff was there.’’; 

3 (23) Dustoff crews possessed unique skills and 

4 traits that made them highly successful in 

5 aeromedical evacuation in Vietnam, including indom6 itable courage, extraordinary aviation skill and 

7 sound judgment under fire, high-level medical exper8 tise, and an unequaled dedication to the preservation 

9 of human life; 

10 (24) members of the United States Armed 

11 Forces on the ground in Vietnam had their con12 fidence and battlefield prowess reinforced knowing 

13 that there were heroic Dustoff crews just a few min14 utes from the fight, which was instrumental to their 

15 well-being, willingness to fight, and morale; 

16 (25) military families in the United States knew 

17 that their loved ones would receive the quickest and 

18 best possible care in the event of a war-time injury, 

19 thanks to the Dustoff crews; 

20 (26) the willingness of Dustoff crews to also 

21 risk their lives to save helpless civilians left an im22 measurably positive impression on the people of 

23 Vietnam and exemplified the finest United States 

24 ideals of compassion and humanity; and 
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1 (27) Dustoff crews from the Vietnam War 

2 hailed from every State in the United States and 

3 represented numerous ethnic, religious, and cultural 

4 backgrounds. 

5 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

6 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

7 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem8 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

9 for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a single 

10 gold medal of appropriate design in honor of the Dustoff 

11 crews of the Vietnam War, collectively, in recognition of 

12 their heroic military service, which saved countless lives 

13 and contributed directly to the defense of the United 

14 States. 

15 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For purposes of the 

16 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 

17 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec18 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

19 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec20 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense. 

21 (c) U.S. ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT MUSEUM.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 

23 gold medal in honor of the Dustoff Crews of the 

24 Vietnam War, the gold medal shall be given to the 

25 U.S. Army Medical Department Museum, where it 
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1 will be available for display as appropriate and avail2 able for research. 

3 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

4 Congress that the U.S. Army Medical Department 

5 Museum should make the gold medal awarded pur6 suant to this Act available for display elsewhere, 

7 particularly at appropriate locations associated with 

8 the Vietnam War, and that preference should be 

9 given to locations affiliated with the U.S. Army 

10 Medical Department Museum. 

11 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

12 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

13 bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price 

14 sufficient to cover the costs thereof, including labor, mate15 rials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 

16 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

17 (a) NATIONAL MEDAL.—Medals struck pursuant to 

18 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 

19 of title 31, United States Code. 

20 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of sections 

21 5134 and 5136 of title 31, United States Code, all medals 

22 struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic 

23 items. 
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1 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 

2 SALE. 

3 (a) AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS.—There is 

4 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

5 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec6 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 

7 this Act. 

8 (b) PROCEEDS OF SALE.—Amounts received from the 

9 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

10 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

11 Enterprise Fund. 

Passed the Senate May 9, 2024. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2825 

AN ACT 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the 

Vietnam. traordinary heroism and life-saving actions in nam War, collectively, in recognition of their exUnited States Army Dustoff crews of the Viet-