A 90-year-old Kailua-Kona resident who served as a battlefield air ambulance helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War is among about 3,500 U.S. Army Dustoff crew members, living and dead, recently honored with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor given by the U.S. Congress.
The bill authorizing the medal to those who served in Dustoff units during Vietnam was introduced by Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, and signed into law on Sept. 26 by President Joe Biden.
According to the law, “Innovative and resourceful Dustoff crews in Vietnam were responsible for taking the new concept of helicopter medical evacuation, born just a few years earlier, and revolutionizing it to meet and surpass the previously unattainable goal of delivering a battlefield casualty to an operating table within the vaunted ‘golden hour.’”
This gold medal recognizes the pilots, crew chiefs and medics who “served honorably during the Vietnam War aboard helicopter air ambulances.”
According to the U.S. Army website, Cornyn spoke on Sept. 26 — the day the law was signed — at Fort Sam Houston in San Houston in San Antonio, where Dustoff pilots, crew chiefs and medics were trained. The senator praised the courageous nature of the Dustoff crews and their reputation for life-saving care in difficult circumstances.
“All-volunteer Dustoff crews earned a well-deserved reputation for their heroic service doing one of the most dangerous jobs in one of history’s most dangerous conflicts,” Cornyn said.
Vince Cedola of Kona, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, served two tours flying Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopters, known in the military as “Hueys.” The first was in 1964-65 with the 571st Medical Detachment, at Soc Trang far south in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta. The second was in 1967-68 as unit commander of the 82nd Medical Detachment at Phu Bai, a former military base near Hue in central Vietnam, just south of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separated what was then North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
“When my unit went over, it was about two months (before) the first Tet Offensive began,” said Cedola, referring to a series of surprise attacks by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces during the lunar new year of 1968 which many historians cite as the conflict’s turning point against the U.S.-backed South Vietnamese.
“We flew all night, evacuating patients during that Tet,” he said. “I called it our baptism by fire, and I designed my unit patch, and my unit motto is ‘to save a life.’ And that was our mission — to save a life, no matter what. We did not do that foolishly. We evaluated every request and skillfully determined how we would help get those patients out of there.
“So, what I’m most proud of is that every one of my guys were volunteers. And I began a mission of adding what we called ‘patient protectors,’ because we did not carry any weapons for combat. And I had supply guys and administrators who volunteered to be patient protectors who went out on missions with us and helped with the patients when we got them on board.”
Dustoff’s mission, as Cornyn noted, was a dangerous one, not just during the Tet Offensive, but for the decade or so of American involvement in the conflict.
“It turns out there were 211 Dustoff crew members killed and 945 wounded. Out of 3,500, the casualty rate turns out to be just about a third,” Cedola said. “During 1967, which was recorded as the worst year for American casualties in the 10-year war, my unit rescued and evacuated over 16,000 patients. During the two tours that I had, I personally, with my crew, evacuated … close to 2,000 patients.
“God looked out for me and my crew.”
Under fire, the 3,500 Dustoff pilots, crew chiefs and medics have forged a lasting legacy. Now, all Army battlefield air ambulance units are known as “Dustoff” and, like the originals, use it as their radio call sign. The congressional award, however, is to recognize only the original Dustoff crews in the Vietnam War.
Cedola is a member of the Dustoff Hall of Fame. According to his bio, his “first mission of deploying a unit set the stage for the rest of his aviation career, activating and deploying Dustoff units to where none had previously existed.”
“He activated and deployed the 571st Medical Detachment in 90 days to Vietnam. His unit was honored by the U.S. Navy for the 5,000th, 7,000th, and 8,000th landings on Navy hospital ships,” his bio reads. “Because of his leadership, flying skills, and dedication, thousands of wounded patients reached professional medical care.”
Among his military awards, Cedola earned a Distinguished Flying Cross and was the first U.S. Army aviator awarded the Vietnamese Air Gallantry Medal and Aviation Badge.
After Dustoff, Cedola became a hospital administrator, having earned a master’s degree in hospital administration from Baylor University at Fort Sam Houston. He retired from the Army in 1976.
Following his second retirement, as executive director of Scottsdale Memorial Hospital in Arizona, Cedola and his wife, Lola, retired to West Hawaii.
The award itself, as a unit award, is little publicized, and only one Congressional Gold Medal will be struck sometime next year. It will reside in the Army Medical Department Museum in San Antonio.
The law authorizing the gold medal also authorizes the U.S. Mint to strike bronze replicas which eventually can be purchased from the U.S. Treasury.
The medal, while the highest honor given by Congress, is a civilian award. As such, it will not included in military records or authorized for wear on Army uniforms.
Cedola is hoping there are other Dustoff veterans in Hawaii who will either read this or be informed by those who do that their service is being recognized by Congress.
“I’m on a mission,” Cedola said. “I want to make sure everybody who earned it gets it.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
