Men, Machines, Myths, and Legends

Aviation Day is a day and time to reflect upon the path of which the world of aviation has grown. Man, and his sojourn to conquer the skies and heavens has been an overall story of both progress and pain. Triumph and tragedy. Fueled by the thirst of innovation through science, the human endeavor is still in pursuit of aerial mastery. If necessity is the mother of all invention", then sacrifice is the father of invention as well. In Birmingham, Alabama, the Birmingham Southern Museum of Flight honored the sacrifices of a US Army Aviation pioneer.

As detailed in numerous books, documentaries, and now motion pictures, there are men who disregarded their own safety, flew into hostile terrain and combat situations, or "hot LZ's" to aid and assist their brothers in arms. They were the new pioneers in this new concept in the midst of a questionable war. Much of America's war fighting doctrine was based on traditional battlefield theaters. Despite having fought the Japanese in the jungles of the south Pacific, troop insertion by rotorcraft previously didn't exist. Given the scope of the situation at hand, Vietnam would require a new type of pilot with a much different mindset. In this particular war, the pilot represented a new type of cavalry officer, and his horse was the helicopter.

The iconic UH-1 "Huey", perched on static on the north entrance of the museum recently underwent a makeover. Beneath, the Huey now rests a plaque honoring the life and accomplishments of legendary CWO Mike Novosel. This now adds more historical wealth to the helicopter site that has served as a silent reminder of the gallantry and sacrifices of the men that flew it, maintained it, and flew on it. Furthermore, it serves as a reminder of the need to be innovative and push the envelope of technological development. The UH-1 Huey was a fundamental leap forward. So invaluable it was that it became an icon of the war itself. Just as important were the men behind the machine.

Born in 1922, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps at the age of 19, just ten months before Pearl Harbor. By 1945, he had risen to the rank of captain, piloting B-29 Superfortress bombers in the Pacific Theater. Post-WWII, he briefly exited the service amid military downsizing and settled in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, to raise his family. He re-enlisted in the Air Force Reserve during the Korean War and returned to active duty. After leaving the service in 1953, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve in 1955.

In 1963, Novosel was working as a commercial airline pilot when he decided to return to active military duty. By then, he was 41 and the Air Force did not have space for any more officers in the upper ranks. He decided to give up his rank of lieutenant colonel in the Air Force to join the Army and fly helicopters as a chief warrant officer (CW4) with the elite Special Forces Aviation Section. He served his first tour in Vietnam flying medevac helicopters with the 283rd Medical Detachment. His second tour in Vietnam was with the 82nd Medical Detachment. During that war, Novosel flew 2,543 missions and extracted 5,589 wounded personnel, among them his own son Michael J. Novosel Jr. The following week, Michael Jr. returned the favor by extracting his father after he was shot down.

On the morning of October 2, 1969, Novosel embarked on a mission to evacuate a group of South Vietnamese soldiers trapped by several thousand North Vietnamese infantry near the Cambodian border. With radio communications cut off and the soldiers out of ammunition, Novosel navigated his helicopter at a low altitude amidst unrelenting enemy fire. His medic and crew chief worked to pull the wounded aboard as he hovered just above the ground. Despite being wounded and temporarily losing control of his helicopter due to the intense enemy barrage, Novosel successfully completed 15 perilous extractions, ultimately saving 29 men.

After his tour concluded in 1970, President Richard Nixon awarded Novosel the Medal of Honor in 1971, the highest U.S. military decoration for bravery in combat. His numerous accolades also included the Distinguished Service Cross (subsequently upgraded to the MOH), Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star with an Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Purple Heart. He was honored with induction into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame in 1975. At his retirement, he was bestowed a unique tribute for a living hero as the main street at Fort Rucker, Alabama, was renamed "Novosel Street". Additionally, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal at his retirement ceremony.

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the War Department secured 4,600 acres in present-day Dothan, Alabama, for training soldiers and support personnel during WWII. Originally named Ozark Triangular Division Camp, it was later renamed in honor of Confederate Colonel Edmund Rucker, a Civil War veteran. Known colloquially as "Mother Rucker," the base serves as the primary flight training facility for U.S. Army Aviators and houses both the United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence (USAACE) and the United States Army Aviation Museum. Fort Rucker was among the U.S. Army installations named after Confederate soldiers recommended for renaming by The Naming Commission, which suggested the name Fort Novosel. On January 5, 2023, William A. LaPlante, U.S. Under-Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, ordered the full adoption of The Naming Commission's recommendations across the Department of Defense. Consequently, the installation was officially redesignated as Fort Novosel on April 10, 2023.

CWO4 Novosel is also honored in the BSMOF's Alabama Aviation Hall of Fame. Furthermore, this Veteran's Day 2024, the museum plans to honor at a banquet featuring CWO4's son Michael Novosel Jr, who also flew side by side with him during the Vietnam War. Many who knew him or even served under him are expected to be in attendance. The bravery, comradery, and combat exploits of CWO4 Novosel are detailed in his 1999 book, Dustoff, which at some military academies and ROTC units is required reading.

There are numerous books available that detail the heroics and horrors of helicopter pilots and crews in the Vietnam War. Several recommendations are; Black Cat 2-1, rattler 1-7, Huey, The Adventures of A Helicopter Pilot, This Is Minuteman Two-Three....Go, Coming All the Way Home, The Gunners and the Grunt, Undaunted Valor. It is within the pages of these intricately explained literary pieces that we are able to examine the minds of men that pushed the envelope of aviation in the realm of war.

Airmobile and rotorcraft interdiction were revolution concepts. It took young men, some as young as 19 to command helicopters and fly into hell's hole, risking life and limb, to insert and extract, as well as put rounds on target. Caution had to often be thrown to the wind. Pilots and aircrews had to constantly make innovative adjustments to successfully combat an elusive enemy who consistently changing their tactics. In most cases, the "book" on air operations was being written as they went along. Vietnam was unlike any war that the US had ever fought.

In Vietnam, the triple canopy jungle was just as much of an enemy as the actual enemy itself. The Viet Cong and NVA used it to their advantage. Initially the Vietnamese were intimidated of the helicopters because they'd never seen them before. Furthermore, the loud and distinctive one to one tempo of the rotors added another layer to the fear factor. Also, the vociferous rates of fire that the gunships could pour on greatly tilted the scale in favor of the Americans. Enemy forces knew from the beginning of the war it was very ill fated to engage in pitched battles with the American forces. Therefore, they developed hit and runs tactics where they engaged in brief firefights then suddenly disappeared into the jungle, or in some cases, into underground tunnels.

The helicopter was considered a high value target for a host of reasons. First as a troop transport, it could ferry fresh troops to the battle in minutes as well as evacuate the wounded and KIA. In previous wars this would take hours. Second, it also brought much needed supplies and ammunition to keep the troops in the fight. Lastly, it could churn out high rates of fire from an assortment of ordinance ranging from door mounted 7.62 mm M60 machine guns, forward firing .50 Caliber machine guns, mini-Gatlin guns, and rockets. This is what ultimately struck fear into the eyes and hearts of the enemy. Therefore, to down an American helicopter was akin to killing two birds with one stone.

It is hard to fight an enemy that you cannot see. The counter measure to this was to lure the enemy from his cover and concealment, thus making him easier to hit. In an epic case of cat and mouse, pilots would fly into battle in the Hughes Light Observation OH-6 LOH Helicopter, or "Loach". Hovering just above tree top level, they were searching for concealed enemy troops and troop movements along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The strategy called for pilots to detect and locate enemy locations. Then the accompanying Huey gunship or "Huey Hog" or AH-1 Cobra gunship would be called in to destroy the target. Helicopter pilots were a unique breed more so than fixed winged pilots. This is because helicopters were big and slow, thus an easier target. For rotary pilots and crews, warfare was more up close and personal. In most cases, helicopter pilots and crews actually saw the enemy combatants that they shot at and were being shot at by. Especially in the cases of door gunners, it often boiled down to who was the quicker on the draw.

More than 10 percent of the casualties in Vietnam were helicopter crew members, predominantly door gunners who defended the helicopter, its crew, and passengers from a vulnerable position. It is often claimed that the average lifespan of a door gunner on a Huey in Vietnam was merely two weeks. There are many accounts of helicopter pilots having the windshield shot out but still accomplished the mission. One pilot actually stated where he drew his .45 caliber and shot and NVA soldiers through the shattered fiberglass door. In Vietnam, 2,165 helicopter pilots were killed out of the more than 40,000 who served, flying tens of millions of missions. This equates to a 5. 6% fatality rate. Over 5,000 Huey's were in operation during the Vietnam War. Approximately 2,500 of them were lost to enemy fire. In terms of percentages, Loaches suffered more shoot-downs than any other aircraft. It is reported that 964 of the 1,422 OH-6A's produced for the US Army were destroyed in the Vietnam theater, with the majority of these losses due to hostile actions, usually ground fire. Out of the approximately 1,100 Cobras delivered to the Army, 300 were lost.

The hunter-killer concept during the Vietnam War represented a revolutionary method in aerial reconnaissance and ground assault operations. In this strategy, the hunter-killer helicopter pilots had the task of synchronizing the actions of two helicopter platforms: the "hunter" to locate and mark the enemy, and the "killer" to carry out the assault. The "hunter" role was usually assigned to smaller, nimble helicopters such as the OH-6 Little Bird, while the "killer" role was fulfilled by heavily armed helicopters like the AH-1 Cobra or the armed Huey, which hovered at higher altitudes above the aeroscouts. When the aeroscouts pinpointed and designated a target, the attack helicopters would dive down to eliminate the enemy threat.

The Hughes OH-6 Cayuse, a single-engine light helicopter, was designed and manufactured by Hughes Helicopters, an American aerospace firm. The official name "Cayuse" honors the Cayuse people, and its nickname "Loach" comes from the Light Observation Helicopter (LOH) program. Created to fulfill the U.S. Army's Technical Specification 153 from 1960, the OH-6 aimed to replace the Bell H-13 Sioux fleet. Hughes' Model 369, competing against Fairchild-Hiller and Bell, was one of the finalists for the production contract. The first prototype took flight on February 27, 1963. Notable for its crashworthy, teardrop-shaped fuselage, the Model 369 offered exceptional visibility. Its agile, four-bladed, fully articulated main rotor was ideal for personnel transport, escort and attack missions, and reconnaissance. In May 1965, Hughes was granted a production contract by the U.S. Army.

The Birmingham Southern Museum Of Flight has been a strong proponent of restoring and honoring the legacy of Army Aviation. Inside of the museum rests an exhibit in which details the bravery of the hunter striker teams of the famed Outcasts. The Outcasts Aero Scouts operated in the U Minh Forest and along the Saigon River into Cambodia on Highway QL13. Highway 13, known as "Thunder Road" to American forces, was a crucial supply route for the 1st Division and the 11th Air Cavalry Regiment. The enemy had effectively decimated several convoys. This is where Hugh Mills comes into the picture.

Hugh Mills is regarded as one of the US Army's most decorated pilots during the Vietnam conflict war. He flew over 2,000 combat hours and played a pivotal role in developing the Army's standard air cavalry aero scout tactics. He commanded the Aero Scouts Platoon, known as the "Outcasts" of D Troop. In this position he spearheaded covert air cavalry raids into Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam, despite official denials of US forces actually having a presence in these regions. Commanding hunter-killer and Darkhorse teams, Mills destroyed enemy ambush squads preemptively. He was involved in the rescue of more than 100 covert operations teams, survived being shot down three times, and notably endured a two-day escape and evasion in Laos, while saving his injured co-pilot. Additionally, he is recognized for eliminating 28 enemy combatants in a single flight during a counter-ambush. Eventually, enemy ambushes were successfully eradicated, thus enabling two convoys to run daily, untouched by the enemy. Many of his heroic first-person accounts are detailed in his book, "Low Level Hell".

The Birmingham Southern Museum Of Flight will continue to be committed to the preservation of the history and legacy of US Army Aviation. In the midst of upholding such a proud legacy, the museum also promotes educating the future Army Aviators of tomorrow by encouraging reading books that chronicle the exploits of Vietnam helicopter aviators such as CWO4 Novosel, Philip Ide, James Mooney, Dominic Frino, Robert Hartley, Mark Garrison, Robert Mason, Phil Marshall, Larry Freeland, and Rex Gooch. Some of these riveting first person accounts are available for purchase in the museum's gift shop.

• for information on Veteran's Day events and tribute to CWO4 Novosel contact the BSMOF at (205) 833-8226