Or five tables where the surgeons would work,” Richard said. Where amazing men and women worked together to save lives. That brought in the wounded, the wait time was reduced to minutes. Thanks to the MASH units and the helicopters In past conflicts, wounded soldiers often The strategy was to keep the unitsĪs close to the front as possible. Lines moved, the MASH units moved with them. Loaded onto the pods of a chopper, the wounded were flown to a MASH (mobileĪ series of tents and buildings that could be easily relocated. Wounded soldier was in bad enough shape, the helicopter was called in. From there the wounded might go to an aid station. When a soldier was wounded in combat, he was No guns they were equipped only with exterior pods and stretchers to take Missions took them deep into enemy territory. They were stationed close to the front, and their longest Much to look at, but by the end of the war they would be responsible for saving Their base consisted ofĪ few small tents, four pilots, and two Sikorsky R-5 helicopters. I was wrong.”Īssigned to the 5th Air Force, 3rd Air Rescue Squadron. I also assumed that learning to fly the helicopter would be aĬakewalk for a fighter pilot. “I had wanted fighters, and now I was stuck in what they had nicknamed That the helicopter be pickled and then hidden away behind all the “realĪircraft.” Although many thought it was a strange contraption, Richard was One day a helicopterĪrrived at McChord Air Force Base for a display. He would end up piloting the helicopter in such an important role. Opposite of what I did as a fighter pilot.” “IĪlso believed in the mission that the helicopter could play. “I wasn’t pleased at first, butĪfter I started flying the helicopter, I really loved it,” Richard said. Would be tested on the front lines in Korea. In the early 1950s the helicopter was still in its infancy.Ī few had made an appearance during the last days of World War II. Glamorous names like Sabre and Shooting Star. Had visions of flying some of the new cutting-edge jets - aircraft with He experienced good times and bad, including the mission where he During his 104 combat missions he flew with Richard Bong and Charles Army AirĬorps and flew P-47s and P-38s for the 49th Fighter Group in the Southwest During World War II, he enlisted in the U.S. It was a dream he’d had since he was a young boy building This story first ran in the September 2019 issue of Warbirds.Īlways wanted to fly.
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