II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2738 

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, 2021 

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

CRUZ, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. PADILLA, and Mr. CASEY) 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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) a United States Army Dustoff crewman 

2 (pilot, crew chief, and medic) is a helicopter crew 

3 member who served honorably during the Vietnam 

4 War aboard helicopter air ambulances, which were 

5 both non-division and division assets under the radio 

6 call signs ‘‘Dustoff’’ and ‘‘Medevac’’; 

7 (2) Dustoff crews performed aeromedical evacu8 ation for United States, Vietnamese, and allied 

9 forces in Southeast Asia from May 1962 through 

10 March 1973; 

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

12 United States Army began using helicopters for 

13 medical evacuation and years later, during the Ko14 rean War, these helicopter air ambulances were re15 sponsible for transporting 17,700 United States cas16 ualties; 

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

18 helicopter air ambulances, United States Army 

19 Dustoff crews pioneered the concept of dedicated 

20 and rapid medical evacuation and transported al21 most 900,000 United States, South Vietnamese, and 

22 other allied sick and wounded, as well as wounded 

23 enemy forces; 

24 (5) helicopters proved to be a revolutionary tool 

25 to assist those injured on the battlefield; 


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1 (6) highly skilled and intrepid, Dustoff crews 

2 were able to operate the helicopters and land them 

3 on almost any terrain in nearly any weather to pick 

4 up wounded, after which the Dustoff crews could 

5 provide care to these patients while transporting 

6 them to ready medical facilities; 

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

8 consistent combat exposure and often proved to be 

9 the difference between life and death for wounded 

10 personnel; 

11 (8) the revolutionary concept of a dedicated 

12 combat life-saving system was cultivated and refined 

13 by United States Army Dustoff crews during 11 

14 years of intense conflict in and above the jungles of 

15 Southeast Asia; 

16 (9) innovative and resourceful Dustoff crews in 

17 Vietnam were responsible for taking the new concept 

18 of helicopter medical evacuation, born just a few 

19 years earlier, and revolutionizing it to meet and sur20 pass the previously unattainable goal of delivering a 

21 battlefield casualty to an operating table within the 

22 vaunted ‘‘golden hour’’; 

23 (10) some Dustoff units in Vietnam operated so 

24 efficiently that they were able to deliver a patient to 

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1 utes from the receipt of the mission, which saved the 

2 lives of countless personnel in Vietnam, and this leg3 acy continues for modern-day Dustoff crews; 

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

5 a Dustoff crew in Vietnam meant that there was a 

6 1 in 3 chance of being wounded or killed; 

7 (12) many battles during the Vietnam War 

8 raged at night, and members of the Dustoff crews 

9 often found themselves searching for a landing zone 

10 in complete darkness, in bad weather, over moun11 tainous terrain, and all while being the target of in12 tense enemy fire as they attempted to rescue the 

13 wounded, which caused Dustoff crews to suffer a 

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

15 of all other types of combat helicopter missions in 

16 Vietnam; 

17 (13) the 54th Medical Detachment typified the 

18 constant heroism displayed by Dustoff crews in Viet19 nam, over the span of a 10-month tour, with only 

20 3 flyable helicopters and 40 soldiers in the unit, 

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

22 being airborne for 4,832 hours; 

23 (14) collectively, the members of the 54th Med24 ical Detachment earned 78 awards for valor, includ25 ing 1 Medal of Honor, 1 Distinguished Service 


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1 Cross, 14 Silver Star Medals, 26 Distinguished Fly2 ing Crosses, 2 Bronze Star Medals for valor, 4 Air 

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

4 Heart Medals; 

5 (15) the 54th Medical Detachment displayed 

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

7 Dustoff crews in Vietnam; 

8 (16) 6 members of the 54th Medical Detach9 ment are in the Dustoff Hall of Fame, 3 are in the 

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

11 United States Army aviator in the National Aviation 

12 Hall of Fame; 

13 (17) Dustoff crew members are among the most 

14 highly decorated soldiers in American military his15 tory; 

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

17 the Commanding Officer of the 57th Medical De18 tachment (Helicopter Ambulance), Provisional, in 

19 Soc Trang, South Vietnam; 

20 (19) Major Kelly helped to forge the Dustoff 

21 call sign into history as one of the most welcomed 

22 phrases to be heard over the radio by wounded sol23 diers in perilous and dire situations; 

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

25 as he gallantly maneuvered his aircraft to save a 


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1 wounded American soldier and several Vietnamese 

2 soldiers and boldly replied, after being warned to 

3 stay away from the landing zone due to the ferocity 

4 of enemy fire, ‘‘When I have your wounded.’’; 

5 (21) General William Westmoreland, Com6 mander, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam 

7 (1964–1968), singled out Major Kelly as an example 

8 of ‘‘the greatness of the human spirit’’ and high9 lighted his famous reply as an inspiration to all in 

10 combat; 

11 (22) General Creighton Abrams, Westmore12 land’s successor (1968–1972), and former Chief of 

13 Staff of the United States Army, highlighted the 

14 heroism of Dustoff crews, ‘‘A special word about the 

15 Dustoffs . . . Courage above and beyond the call of 

16 duty was sort of routine to them. It was a daily 

17 thing, part of the way they lived. That’s the great 

18 part, and it meant so much to every last man who 

19 served there. Whether he ever got hurt or not, he 

20 knew Dustoff was there.’’; 

21 (23) Dustoff crews possessed unique skills and 

22 traits that made them highly successful in 

23 aeromedical evacuation in Vietnam, including indom24 itable courage, extraordinary aviation skill and 

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1 tise, and an unequaled dedication to the preservation 

2 of human life; 

3 (24) members of the United States Armed 

4 Forces on the ground in Vietnam had their con5 fidence and battlefield prowess reinforced knowing 

6 that there were heroic Dustoff crews just a few min7 utes from the fight, which was instrumental to their 

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

9 (25) military families in the United States knew 

10 that their loved ones would receive the quickest and 

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

12 thanks to the Dustoff crews; 

13 (26) the willingness of Dustoff crews to also 

14 risk their lives to save helpless civilians left an im15 measurably positive impression on the people of 

16 Vietnam and exemplified the finest American ideals 

17 of compassion and humanity; and 

18 (27) Dustoff crews from the Vietnam War 

19 hailed from every State in the United States and 

20 represented numerous ethnic, religious, and cultural 

21 backgrounds. 

22 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

23 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

24 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem25 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 


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

2 gold medal of appropriate design in honor of the Dustoff 

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

4 their heroic military service, which saved countless lives 

5 and contributed directly to the defense of our country. 

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

7 award referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the 

8 Treasury shall strike the gold medal with suitable em9 blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the 

10 Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense. 

11 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 

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

13 gold medal in honor of the Dustoff Crews of the 

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

15 Smithsonian Institution, where it will be available 

16 for display as appropriate and available for research. 

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

18 Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should 

19 also make the gold medal awarded pursuant to this 

20 Act available for display elsewhere, particularly at 

21 appropriate locations associated with the Vietnam 

22 War, and that preference should be given to loca23 tions affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution. 


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1 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

2 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

3 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3 at 

4 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 

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

6 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

7 (a) NATIONAL MEDAL.—The medal struck pursuant 

8 to this Act is a national medal for purposes of chapter 

9 51 of title 31, United States Code. 

10 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of chapter 

11 51 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under 

12 this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 

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

14 SALE. 

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

16 authorized to be charged against the United States Mint 

17 Public Enterprise Fund such amounts as may be nec18 essary to pay for the costs of the medals struck under 

19 this Act. 

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

21 sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 

22 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public 

23 Enterprise Fund. 

Æ 


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