Angels With Rotors (Part 2): U.S. MEDEVAC Helicopter Operations From Vietnam to Present Day | Aviation

“When I have Your Wounded”: the evolution of U.S. MEDEVAC chopper operations.

The chopper hovered over the area the wounded soldier was located, it was reported as a secure area and the patient’s needs were urgent. Maj. Charles Kelly of the U.S. Army 57th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance) sat at the controls of the UH-1 Huey, determined to rescue the man like he had done so many times before. Suddenly the jungle erupted with fire; the enemy had mixed in close to the friendlies, and was awaiting the predicted arrival of the MEDEVAC (Medical Evacuation) chopper. They opened up on the Huey, and an American advisor on the ground repeatedly called for Kelly to abort and withdraw, but Kelly , a man who let few obstacles stop him from his mission, stubbornly refused, replying “When I have your wounded.”

Moments later a bullet zipped through the window of the helicopter, struck Kelly in the heart, his helicopter rolled over into the earth, and he became the 149th American casualty…