[118th Congress Public Law 87]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[[Page 1549]]
DUSTOFF CREWS OF THE VIETNAM WAR CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT
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Public Law 118-87
118th Congress
An Act
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the United States Army Dustoff
crews of the Vietnam War, collectively, in recognition of their
extraordinary heroism and life-saving actions in Vietnam. <<NOTE: Sept.
26, 2024 - [S. 2825]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Dustoff Crews of
the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act. 31 USC 5111 note.>>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War
Congressional Gold Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) a United States Army Dustoff crewman, including a pilot,
crew chief, and medic, is a helicopter crew member who served
honorably during the Vietnam War aboard helicopter air
ambulances, which were both nondivision and division assets
under the radio call signs ``Dustoff'' and ``Medevac'';
(2) Dustoff crews performed aeromedical evacuation for
United States, Vietnamese, and allied forces in Southeast Asia
from May 1962 through March 1973;
(3) nearing the end of World War II, the United States Army
began using helicopters for medical evacuation and years later,
during the Korean War, these helicopter air ambulances were
responsible for transporting 17,700 United States casualties;
(4) during the Vietnam War, with the use of helicopter air
ambulances, United States Army Dustoff crews pioneered the
concept of dedicated and rapid medical evacuation and
transported almost 900,000 United States, South Vietnamese, and
other allied sick and wounded, as well as wounded enemy forces;
(5) helicopters proved to be a revolutionary tool to assist
those injured on the battlefield;
(6) highly skilled and intrepid, Dustoff crews were able to
operate the helicopters and land them on almost any terrain in
nearly any weather to pick up wounded, after which the Dustoff
crews could provide care to these patients while transporting
them to ready medical facilities;
(7) the vital work of the Dustoff crews required consistent
combat exposure and often proved to be the difference between
life and death for wounded personnel;
(8) the revolutionary concept of a dedicated combat life-
saving system was cultivated and refined by United States
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Army Dustoff crews during 11 years of intense conflict in and
above the jungles of Southeast Asia;
(9) 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'';
(10) some Dustoff units in Vietnam operated so efficiently
that they were able to deliver a patient to a waiting medical
facility on an average of 50 minutes from the receipt of the
mission, which saved the lives of countless personnel in
Vietnam, and this legacy continues for modern-day Dustoff crews;
(11) the inherent danger of being a member of a Dustoff crew
in Vietnam meant that there was a 1 in 3 chance of being wounded
or killed;
(12) many battles during the Vietnam War raged at night, and
members of the Dustoff crews often found themselves searching
for a landing zone in complete darkness, in bad weather, over
mountainous terrain, and all while being the target of intense
enemy fire as they attempted to rescue the wounded, which caused
Dustoff crews to suffer a rate of aircraft loss that was more
than 3 times that of all other types of combat helicopter
missions in Vietnam;
(13) the 54th Medical Detachment typified the constant
heroism displayed by Dustoff crews in Vietnam, over the span of
a 10-month tour, with only 3 flyable helicopters and 40 soldiers
in the unit, evacuating 21,435 patients in 8,644 missions while
being airborne for 4,832 hours;
(14) collectively, the members of the 54th Medical
Detachment earned 78 awards for valor, including 1 Medal of
Honor, 1 Distinguished Service Cross, 14 Silver Star Medals, 26
Distinguished Flying Crosses, 2 Bronze Star Medals for valor, 4
Air Medals for valor, 4 Soldier's Medals, and 26 Purple Heart
Medals;
(15) the 54th Medical Detachment displayed heroism on a
daily basis and set the standard for all Dustoff crews in
Vietnam;
(16) 6 members of the 54th Medical Detachment are in the
Dustoff Hall of Fame, 3 are in the Army Aviation Hall of Fame,
and 1 is the only United States Army aviator in the National
Aviation Hall of Fame;
(17) Dustoff crew members are among the most highly
decorated soldiers in United States military history;
(18) in early 1964, Major Charles L. Kelly was the
Commanding Officer of the 57th Medical Detachment (Helicopter
Ambulance), Provisional, in Soc Trang, South Vietnam;
(19) Major Kelly helped to forge the Dustoff call sign into
history as one of the most welcomed phrases to be heard over the
radio by wounded soldiers in perilous and dire situations;
(20) in 1964, Major Kelly was killed in action as he
gallantly maneuvered his aircraft to save a wounded United
States soldier and several Vietnamese soldiers and boldly
replied, after being warned to stay away from the landing zone
due to the ferocity of enemy fire, ``When I have your
wounded.'';
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(21) General William Westmoreland, Commander of the Military
Assistance Command, Vietnam from 1964 to 1968, singled out Major
Kelly as an example of ``the greatness of the human spirit'' and
highlighted his famous reply as an inspiration to all in combat;
(22) General Creighton Abrams, successor to General
Westmoreland from 1968 to 1972, and former Chief of Staff of the
United States Army, highlighted the heroism of Dustoff crews,
``A special word about the Dustoffs . . . . Courage above and
beyond the call of duty was sort of routine to them. It was a
daily thing, part of the way they lived. That's the great part,
and it meant so much to every last man who served there. Whether
he ever got hurt or not, he knew Dustoff was there.'';
(23) Dustoff crews possessed unique skills and traits that
made them highly successful in aeromedical evacuation in
Vietnam, including indomitable courage, extraordinary aviation
skill and sound judgment under fire, high-level medical
expertise, and an unequaled dedication to the preservation of
human life;
(24) members of the United States Armed Forces on the ground
in Vietnam had their confidence and battlefield prowess
reinforced knowing that there were heroic Dustoff crews just a
few minutes from the fight, which was instrumental to their
well-being, willingness to fight, and morale;
(25) military families in the United States knew that their
loved ones would receive the quickest and best possible care in
the event of a war-time injury, thanks to the Dustoff crews;
(26) the willingness of Dustoff crews to also risk their
lives to save helpless civilians left an immeasurably positive
impression on the people of Vietnam and exemplified the finest
United States ideals of compassion and humanity; and
(27) Dustoff crews from the Vietnam War hailed from every
State in the United States and represented numerous ethnic,
religious, and cultural backgrounds.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) Presentation Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of
Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make
appropriate arrangements for the presentation, on behalf of Congress, of
a single gold medal of appropriate design in honor of the Dustoff crews
of the Vietnam War, collectively, in recognition of their heroic
military service, which saved countless lives and contributed directly
to the defense of the United States.
(b) Design and Striking.--For purposes of the presentation referred
to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in this
Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal with suitable
emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary,
in consultation with the Secretary of Defense.
(c) U.S. Army Medical Department Museum.--
(1) In general.--Following the award of the gold medal in
honor of the Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War, the gold medal
shall be given to the U.S. Army Medical Department Museum, where
it will be available for display as appropriate and available
for research.
(2) Sense of congress.--It is the sense of Congress that the
U.S. Army Medical Department Museum should make the
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gold medal awarded pursuant to this Act available for display
elsewhere, particularly at appropriate locations associated with
the Vietnam War, and that preference should be given to
locations affiliated with the U.S. Army Medical Department
Museum.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold
medal struck under section 3, at a price sufficient to cover the costs
thereof, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and
overhead expenses.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
(a) National Medal.--Medals struck pursuant to this Act are national
medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
(b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of sections 5134 and 5136 of
title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be
considered to be numismatic items.
SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO USE FUND AMOUNTS; PROCEEDS OF SALE.
(a) Authority To Use Fund Amounts.--There is authorized to be
charged against the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund such
amounts as may be necessary to pay for the costs of the medals struck
under this Act.
(b) Proceeds of Sale.--Amounts received from the sale of duplicate
bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be deposited into the
United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.
Approved September 26, 2024.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 2825:
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 170 (2024):
May 9, considered and passed Senate.
Sept. 17, considered and passed House.
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