[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2825 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.2825
One Hundred Eighteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and twenty four
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
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 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.'';
(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 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.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.