[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 81 (Thursday, May 9, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3666-S3667]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DUSTOFF CREWS OF THE VIETNAM WAR CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, now, I ask unanimous consent that the
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be discharged from
further consideration of S. 2825 and the Senate proceed to its
immediate consideration.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title.
The senior assistant legislative clerk read as follows:
A bill (S. 2825) 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.
There being no objection, the committee was discharged, and the
Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
Mr. SCHUMER. I ask unanimous consent that the Cornyn substitute
amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as
amended, be considered read a third time and passed; and that the
motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
The amendment (No. 2066) in the nature of a substitute was agreed to,
as follows:
(Purpose: In the nature of a substitute)
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
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
[[Page S3667]]
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.
The bill (S. 2825), as amended, was ordered to be engrossed for a
third reading, was read the third time, and passed.
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