The nature of service to others. A thread. 51 years ago today my Dad was a 1st Lt in Vietnam flying medical evacuation missions in CH-46s. He hadn't been trained on that aircraft, he was a Huey pilot. When he got to Vietnam he and a buddy were informed that was no longer true. 1/

They raised a fuss but were still transferred to the Famous Purple Foxes to be Phrog pilots. They learned to fly the phrog while flying in combat and saved a lot of lives. On this particular day, the Marine they went to evacuate had stopped showing any vital signs. 2/

This was a very dangerous landing zone so the Marines on the ground said not to come in, there was no use anymore. My dad refused. That crew had come to get that Marine out and damnit, they were going to do just that. He refused to give up just because it was dangerous. 3/

When they finally got into the zone and got that Marine onboard, the corpsman detected the faintest hint of a pulse. He worked tirelessly the whole way to medical hoping to keep that Marine alive. They landed, their Corpsman stayed with his patient and that was it. 4/

Dad didn't hear anything for decades. Fast forward to the sun downing of the CH-46. Through a series of connections my dad was told to call a number but no details. On the other end of the line was the Marine they had evacuated. He had lived, married and had a big family. 5/

All because Dad and his crew refused to give up on someone when it seemed like all hope was lost. 41 years later to the day, April 21, 2010, I flew that exact aircraft in with the Famous Purple Foxes. On August 1, 2015 it was the last CH-46 flown in the Marine Corps. 6/

It is now in the Smithsonian. The Marine who was saved and his whole family were there for the last flight as was my family.

In these dark times, never give up. No matter how feint the pulse may be, keep fighting and don't let others give up either.

http://www.hmm-364.org/1969/donovan-p/donovan2nc.html