I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5299 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the United States Army Dust 

Off crews of the Vietnam War, collectively, in recognition of their extraordinary heroism and life-saving actions in Vietnam. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 19, 2016 

Mr. REICHERT (for himself and Mr. KILMER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the United States 

Army Dust Off 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 ‘‘Dust Off Crews of 

5 the 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 Dust Off crewman is 

2 a helicopter crew member who served honorably in 

3 the Vietnam War aboard a helicopter air ambulance 

4 under the radio call sign ‘‘Dust Off’’; 

5 (2) Dust Off crews performed aeromedical evac6 uation for United States, Vietnamese, and allied 

7 forces inside South Vietnam from May 1962 through 

8 March 1973; 

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

10 United States Army began using helicopters for 

11 medical evacuation and years later, during the Ko12 rean War, these helicopter air ambulances were re13 sponsible for transporting 17,700 United States cas14 ualties; 

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

16 helicopter air ambulances, United States Army Dust 

17 Off crews pioneered the concept of dedicated and 

18 rapid medical evacuation and rescued almost 

19 900,000 United States, South Vietnamese, and other 

20 allied sick and wounded, as well as wounded enemy 

21 forces; 

22 (5) helicopters proved to be a revolutionary tool 

23 to assist those injured on the battlefield; 

24 (6) highly skilled and intrepid, Dust Off crews 

25 were able to operate the helicopters and land them 


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1 on almost any terrain in nearly any weather to pick 

2 up wounded, after which the Dust Off crews could 

3 provide care to these patients while transporting 

4 them to ready medical facilities; 

5 (7) the vital work of the Dust Off crews re6 quired consistent combat exposure and often proved 

7 to be the difference between life and death for 

8 wounded personnel; 

9 (8) the revolutionary concept of a dedicated 

10 combat life-saving system was cultivated and refined 

11 by United States Army Dust Off crews during 11 

12 years of intense conflict in and above the jungles of 

13 South Vietnam; 

14 (9) innovative and resourceful Dust Off crews 

15 in Vietnam were responsible for taking the new con16 cept of helicopter medical evacuation, born just a 

17 few years earlier, and revolutionizing it to meet and 

18 surpass the previously unattainable goal of delivering 

19 a battlefield casualty to an operating table within 

20 the vaunted ‘‘golden hour’’; 

21 (10) some Dust Off units in Vietnam operated 

22 so efficiently that they were able to deliver a patient 

23 to a waiting medical facility on an average of 33 

24 minutes from the receipt of the mission, which saved 


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1 the lives of countless personnel in Vietnam, and this 

2 legacy continues for modern-day Dust Off crews; 

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

4 a Dust Off crew in Vietnam meant that there was 

5 a 1 in 3 chance of being wounded or killed; 

6 (12) many battles during the Vietnam War 

7 raged at night, and members of the Dust Off crews 

8 often found themselves searching for a landing zone 

9 in complete darkness, in bad weather, over moun10 tainous terrain, and all while being the target of in11 tense enemy fire as they attempted to rescue the 

12 wounded, which caused Dust Off crews to suffer a 

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

14 of all other types of combat helicopter missions in 

15 Vietnam; 

16 (13) the 54th Medical Detachment typified the 

17 constant heroism displayed by Dust Off crews in 

18 Vietnam, over the span of a 10-month tour, with 

19 only 3 flyable helicopters and 40 soldiers in the unit, 

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

21 being airborne for 4,832 hours; 

22 (14) collectively, the members of the 54th Med23 ical Detachment earned 78 awards for valor, includ24 ing 1 Medal of Honor, 1 Distinguished Service 

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1 ing Crosses, 2 Bronze Star Medals for valor, 4 Air 

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

3 Heart Medals; 

4 (15) the 54th Medical Detachment displayed 

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

6 Dust Off crews in Vietnam; 

7 (16) 5 members of the 54th Medical Detach8 ment are in the Dust Off Hall of Fame, 3 are in the 

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

10 United States Army aviator in the National Aviation 

11 Hall of Fame; 

12 (17) Dust Off crew members are among the 

13 most highly decorated soldiers in American military 

14 history; 

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

16 the Commanding Officer of the 57th Medical De17 tachment (Helicopter Ambulance), Provisional, in 

18 Soc Trang, South Vietnam; 

19 (19) Major Kelly helped to forge the Dust Off 

20 call-sign into history as one of the most welcomed 

21 phrases to be heard over the radio by wounded sol22 diers in perilous and dire situations; 

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

24 as he gallantly maneuvered his aircraft to save a 

25 wounded American soldier and several Vietnamese 


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1 soldiers and boldly replied, after being warned to 

2 stay away from the landing zone due to the ferocity 

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

4 (21) General William Westmoreland, Com5 mander, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam 

6 (1964–1968), singled out Major Kelly as an example 

7 of ‘‘the greatness of the human spirit’’ and high8 lighted his famous reply as an inspiration to all in 

9 combat; 

10 (22) General Creighton Abrams, Westmore11 land’s successor (1968–1972), and former Chief of 

12 Staff of the United States Army, highlighted the 

13 heroism of Dust Off crews, ‘‘A special word about 

14 the Dust Offs . . . Courage above and beyond the 

15 call of duty was sort of routine to them. It was a 

16 daily thing, part of the way they lived. That’s the 

17 great part, and it meant so much to every last man 

18 who served there. Whether he ever got hurt or not, 

19 he knew Dust Off was there.’’; 

20 (23) Dust Off crews possessed unique skills and 

21 traits that made them highly successful in 

22 aeromedical evacuation in Vietnam, including indom23 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 Dust Off crews just a few 

7 minutes from the fight, which was instrumental to 

8 their 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 Dust Off crews; 

13 (26) the willingness of Dust Off 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) Dust Off 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 Dust Off 

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 Dust Off 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 

4 under such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe, at 

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

6 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, 

7 and the cost of the gold medal. 

8 SEC. 5. NATIONAL MEDALS. 

9 The medal struck pursuant to this Act is a national 

10 medal for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 

11 Code. 

Æ 


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