II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2825 

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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 

Mr. CORNYN (for himself, Ms. WARREN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. CRUZ, Mr. 

CASEY, Mrs. BLACKBURN, Ms. CORTEZ MASTO, Ms. HASSAN, Mr. 

DAINES, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. THUNE, Mr. WELCH, Mr. MORAN, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. KAINE, Mrs. 

SHAHEEN, and Mr. PETERS) 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 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

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

5 Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds that— 

3 (1) a United States Army Dustoff crewman, in4 cluding a pilot, crew chief, and medic, is a helicopter 

5 crew member who served honorably during the Viet6 nam War aboard helicopter air ambulances, which 

7 were both nondivision and division assets under the 

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

9 (2) Dustoff crews performed aeromedical evacu10 ation for United States, Vietnamese, and allied 

11 forces in Southeast Asia from May 1962 through 

12 March 1973; 

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

14 United States Army began using helicopters for 

15 medical evacuation and years later, during the Ko16 rean War, these helicopter air ambulances were re17 sponsible for transporting 17,700 United States cas18 ualties; 

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

20 helicopter air ambulances, United States Army 

21 Dustoff crews pioneered the concept of dedicated 

22 and rapid medical evacuation and transported al23 most 900,000 United States, South Vietnamese, and 

24 other allied sick and wounded, as well as wounded 

25 enemy forces; 


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1 (5) helicopters proved to be a revolutionary tool 

2 to assist those injured on the battlefield; 

3 (6) highly skilled and intrepid, Dustoff crews 

4 were able to operate the helicopters and land them 

5 on almost any terrain in nearly any weather to pick 

6 up wounded, after which the Dustoff crews could 

7 provide care to these patients while transporting 

8 them to ready medical facilities; 

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

10 consistent combat exposure and often proved to be 

11 the difference between life and death for wounded 

12 personnel; 

13 (8) the revolutionary concept of a dedicated 

14 combat life-saving system was cultivated and refined 

15 by United States Army Dustoff crews during 11 

16 years of intense conflict in and above the jungles of 

17 Southeast Asia; 

18 (9) innovative and resourceful Dustoff crews in 

19 Vietnam were responsible for taking the new concept 

20 of helicopter medical evacuation, born just a few 

21 years earlier, and revolutionizing it to meet and sur22 pass the previously unattainable goal of delivering a 

23 battlefield casualty to an operating table within the 

24 vaunted ‘‘golden hour’’; 


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1 (10) some Dustoff units in Vietnam operated so 

2 efficiently that they were able to deliver a patient to 

3 a waiting medical facility on an average of 50 min4 utes from the receipt of the mission, which saved the 

5 lives of countless personnel in Vietnam, and this leg6 acy continues for modern-day Dustoff crews; 

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

8 a Dustoff crew in Vietnam meant that there was a 

9 1 in 3 chance of being wounded or killed; 

10 (12) many battles during the Vietnam War 

11 raged at night, and members of the Dustoff crews 

12 often found themselves searching for a landing zone 

13 in complete darkness, in bad weather, over moun14 tainous terrain, and all while being the target of in15 tense enemy fire as they attempted to rescue the 

16 wounded, which caused Dustoff crews to suffer a 

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

18 of all other types of combat helicopter missions in 

19 Vietnam; 

20 (13) the 54th Medical Detachment typified the 

21 constant heroism displayed by Dustoff crews in Viet22 nam, over the span of a 10-month tour, with only 

23 3 flyable helicopters and 40 soldiers in the unit, 

24 evacuating 21,435 patients in 8,644 missions while 

25 being airborne for 4,832 hours; 


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1 (14) collectively, the members of the 54th Med2 ical Detachment earned 78 awards for valor, includ3 ing 1 Medal of Honor, 1 Distinguished Service 

4 Cross, 14 Silver Star Medals, 26 Distinguished Fly5 ing Crosses, 2 Bronze Star Medals for valor, 4 Air 

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

7 Heart Medals; 

8 (15) the 54th Medical Detachment displayed 

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

10 Dustoff crews in Vietnam; 

11 (16) 6 members of the 54th Medical Detach12 ment are in the Dustoff Hall of Fame, 3 are in the 

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

14 United States Army aviator in the National Aviation 

15 Hall of Fame; 

16 (17) Dustoff crew members are among the most 

17 highly decorated soldiers in United States military 

18 history; 

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

20 the Commanding Officer of the 57th Medical De21 tachment (Helicopter Ambulance), Provisional, in 

22 Soc Trang, South Vietnam; 

23 (19) Major Kelly helped to forge the Dustoff 

24 call sign into history as one of the most welcomed 


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1 phrases to be heard over the radio by wounded sol2 diers in perilous and dire situations; 

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

4 as he gallantly maneuvered his aircraft to save a 

5 wounded United States soldier and several Viet6 namese soldiers and boldly replied, after being 

7 warned to stay away from the landing zone due to 

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

9 wounded.’’; 

10 (21) General William Westmoreland, Com11 mander of the Military Assistance Command, Viet12 nam from 1964 to 1968, singled out Major Kelly as 

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

14 and highlighted his famous reply as an inspiration to 

15 all in combat; 

16 (22) General Creighton Abrams, successor to 

17 General Westmoreland from 1968 to 1972, and 

18 former Chief of Staff of the United States Army, 

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

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

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

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

23 That’s the great part, and it meant so much to every 

24 last man who served there. Whether he ever got hurt 

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


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1 (23) Dustoff crews possessed unique skills and 

2 traits that made them highly successful in 

3 aeromedical evacuation in Vietnam, including indom4 itable courage, extraordinary aviation skill and 

5 sound judgment under fire, high-level medical exper6 tise, and an unequaled dedication to the preservation 

7 of human life; 

8 (24) members of the United States Armed 

9 Forces on the ground in Vietnam had their con10 fidence and battlefield prowess reinforced knowing 

11 that there were heroic Dustoff crews just a few min12 utes from the fight, which was instrumental to their 

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

14 (25) military families in the United States knew 

15 that their loved ones would receive the quickest and 

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

17 thanks to the Dustoff crews; 

18 (26) the willingness of Dustoff crews to also 

19 risk their lives to save helpless civilians left an im20 measurably positive impression on the people of 

21 Vietnam and exemplified the finest United States 

22 ideals of compassion and humanity; and 

23 (27) Dustoff crews from the Vietnam War 

24 hailed from every State in the United States and 


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1 represented numerous ethnic, religious, and cultural 

2 backgrounds. 

3 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

4 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

5 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem6 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

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

8 gold medal of appropriate design in honor of the Dustoff 

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

10 their heroic military service, which saved countless lives 

11 and contributed directly to the defense of the United 

12 States. 

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

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

15 of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Sec16 retary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, 

17 devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Sec18 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense. 

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

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

21 gold medal in honor of the Dustoff Crews of the 

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

23 U.S. Army Medical Department Museum, where it 

24 will be available for display as appropriate and avail25 able for research. 


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

2 Congress that the U.S. Army Medical Department 

3 Museum should make the gold medal awarded pur4 suant to this Act available for display elsewhere, 

5 particularly at appropriate locations associated with 

6 the Vietnam War, and that preference should be 

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

8 Medical Department Museum. 

9 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

10 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

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

12 sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, 

13 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 

14 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

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

16 this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 

17 of title 31, United States Code. 

18 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 

19 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

20 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 

21 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF 

22 SALE. 

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

24 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

25 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be necVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:15 Sep 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2825.IS S2825

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1 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 

2 this Act. 

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

4 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

5 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

6 Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


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