On May 3rd 2005 Mike Novose,
Fred Castleberry and John Travers returned to Washington and
The Wall. This time not to lay flowers, but rather to place the
Combat Aeromedic Badge at the base of The Wall under the names
of the fallen members of Dustoff. The badge, designed by a former
Dustoff medic “Billy” Cunningham, was produced and
paid for by Vietnam Veteran’s of America Chapter 542 of
Harrisburg, PA.
Relatives of the men whose names
are on The Wall came from all over the country to help lay the
badges. After the ceremony, they kept their loved ones badges.
Several members of the United States
Congress also attended and helped lay the badges. Congressman
Tim Holden (D) PA and Joseph Pitts (R) PA then helped introduce
language into the Defense Authorization Bill to require the Army
to either award the CMB or create the new Combat Aeromedic Badge
for members of Dustoff.
To show this effort is also for
the young men and women flying Dustoff today on the battle fields
of Iraq and Afghanistan, Mike Novosel and John Travers laid a
plaque at The Wall. Etched on the plaque are the names of Dustoff
crews who gave the ‘Final Measure of Devotion’ in
operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom.
We promise to continue this fight
for all those who have flown Dustoff and those who fly it today. |
