Caroline, you should have posted the fwd that you sent to me. It made for some real good reading, including the links.

Dave

MICHAEL J. NOVOSEL
One of two living Vietnam-era Medal of Honor winners from Western Pennsylvania, Etna native Michael J. Novosel saved the lives of 29 soldiers in Kien Tuong Province Oct. 2, 1969.

Michael J. Novosel

Novosel, then 47, was a chief warrant officer in the Army and commander of a medical evacuation helicopter. He maneuvered the chopper into an enemy training area where a group of friendly South Vietnamese soldiers was pinned down.

Flying without cover under intense machine gun fire, Novosel and his crew rescued one of the soldiers. He directed the helicopter to circle low to attract the attention of the injured and rally them.

Novosel continued to ferry back and forth while under fire between the wounded soldiers and the special forces camp, where they were dropped off.

Toward mission's end, Novosel spotted a wounded soldier near an enemy bunker. He hovered the helicopter backward, and as the soldier was pulled aboard, the enemy opened fire. A bullet hit Novosel in the leg and shrapnel bit into his hand. He briefly lost control of the helicopter but recovered and escaped, having saved 29 soldiers during 15 separate extractions.

Novosel, who now lives in Alabama, was shot down three times on his tour in Vietnam, during which he evacuated 7,700 Vietnamese civilians and wounded soldiers.

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News from In The Shadow of The Blade
Special Issue Saluting CWO Mike Novosel, Sr.
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--An American hero...
--...and a really great guy.

If you felt America sigh today, it was because,
sadly, she had to give up one of her best. With
grief for the nation's loss, and celebration for the
great life he lived, we honor hero and friend
retired Chief Warrant Officer Mike Novosel, Sr., who
passed from our world to the next April 2, 2006 at
the age of 84.

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An American hero...
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Mike Novosel, whose buddies engaged in elaborate
schemes to "stretch" him enough to meet minimum
height requirements for flying, was a giant in Army
aviation, serving our country in World War II as a
B-29 Super-fortress pilot, in Vietnam as a Huey
"DUSTOFF" pilot, and as an instructor pilot and
safety officer at home. So great is his
contribution to Army aviation that observant
visitors to Fort Rucker will note that
they drive down a street called Novosel.

During his two tours piloting DUSTOFF missions in
Vietnam, Mike Novosel logged 2,038 combat hours,
extracting 5,589 wounded. Among the many dramatic
stories of his life is that he and his son and
namesake served together in the same unit and are
the only father-son team in history to evacuate each
other from combat.

On 2 October 1969, CWO Novosel earned the
nation's highest honor when he "unhesitantingly
maneuvered his helicopter into a heavily fortified
and defended enemy training area where a group of
wounded Vietnamese soldiers was pinned down by a
large enemy force. Flying without gunship or other
cover and
exposed to intense machine gun fire" Novosel, who
was wounded in the action, extracted 29 men that
day. At 48, he was awarded the Medal of Honor by
President Richard Nixon.

Novosel's Medal of Honor Citation - http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4mepgubab.0.vwbrgubab.vynw5fbab.1419&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.army.mil%2Fcmh-pg%2Fmohviet2.htm

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...and a really great guy.
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One might expect that a hero of Novosel's stature
had earned the right to be aloof, but everyone who
met him, whether it was a kid at the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial or a wounded soldier freshly returned from
Iraq or a filmmaker who wanted to take a Huey across
America, would soon learn that this man who wore a
medal-adorned blue ribbon around his neck was not
only a true American hero but also the nicest guy in
the world. He spent his last years fully engaged in
the fight to award combat flight recognition to the
DUSTOFF medics and crew chiefs he so fully respected.

Mike Novosel life was a monument to the twentieth
century, but he wore it with a twinkle in his eye
and a joke on his lips. We are very honored to have
met him. He was a gem.

Mike Novosel's autobiography - http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4mepgubab.0.7wbrgubab.vynw5fbab.1419&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Fgp%2Fproduct%2F0891416986%2Fsr%3D8-3%2Fqid%3D1143998653%2Fref%3Dsr_1_3%2F104-3375154-3311103%3F%255Fencoding%3DUTF8

On October 2, 2002, exactly 33 years to the day
after the heroic Vietnam War mission which earned
him the Medal of Honor, CWO Mike Novosel took the
left seat of Huey 091 on the maiden leg of her
flight across America. On this symbolic flight from
the home of Army Aviation in Fort Rucker, Alabama to
a first landing to honor the war dead at Wall South
in Pensacola, Florida, Mike Novosel represented all
the life savers who flew Hueys and all the lives men
like him had saved. Dressed in the flight suit he'd
worn on
his first duty day as an Army aviator, Novosel
helped set
the tone for "In The Shadow of The Blade's" symbolic
mission of healing and reconciliation. And he was
there when 091 made her final landing on The Mall in
Washington, D.C.

Today, America sighed, but heaven must be singing,
for it has been joined by an indomitable,
twinkly-eyed, good-to-the-core spirit who will make
a very, very fine angel.

(Photos: Mike Novosel at the Vietnam Veterans
Memorial, testifying before the U.S. Senate, In The
Shadow of The Blade, all by Sarah Beal.)

See Arrowhead's series of video tributes to Mike Novosel, available 4/3 - http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4mepgubab.0.69qvqjbab.vynw5fbab.1419&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.arrowheadfilms.com

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Quick Links...
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*In The Shadow of The Blade - http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4mepgubab.0.i4xbagbab.vynw5fbab.1419&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.intheshadowoftheblade.com
*Arrowhead Films - http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4mepgubab.0.69qvqjbab.vynw5fbab.1419&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.arrowheadfilms.com
*The Military Channel - http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4mepgubab.0.ndraeobab.vynw5fbab.1419&p=http%3A%2F%2Fmilitary.discovery.com%2F
*The ITSOTBlog: Where News and Comments Live - http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4mepgubab.0.ner6brbab.vynw5fbab.1419&p=http%3A%2F%2Fintheshadowoftheblade.blogspot.com%2F

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