Vietnam-era helicopter begins a national journey of memory

PENSACOLA -- The "whomp, whomp, whomp" sound was unmistakable to Vietnam veterans who greeted a restored Huey helicopter Wednesday at its first stop on a sentimental journey around the country.

The telltale rotor chop helped make the Huey, officially the Bell UH-1 Iroquois, a lasting icon of the Vietnam War.

"Without that Huey, without that particular bird, there would have been no Vietnam War as we know it," said former Huey pilot Michael Novosel. "If you didn't see it, you heard it. It was always around."

Like the Jeep in World War II, the Huey hauled troops and supplies, served as a mobile gun platform and evacuated the wounded.

The Huey's unique sound inspired the name for a documentary film being made about the cross-country journey. In the Shadow of the Blade is being produced by Arrowhead Film & Video of Austin, Texas.

Novosel, 80, with homes in Fort Walton Beach and Enterprise, Ala., said the purpose is to connect with everyone who was touched by the Vietnam War.

After Pensacola, the Huey headed for Destin and was scheduled for stops in Fort Pierce today and Merritt Island and Daytona Beach on Friday. Then it will be on to Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, Kentucky, the Washington, D.C., area and New Mexico.

The air odyssey began at Fort Rucker, Ala., where Army and Air Force helicopter pilots are trained. The first leg ended at Pensacola's "Wall South," a half-size replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.

A Huey helicopter is permanently displayed atop the Pensacola wall. This city also is home to Pensacola Naval Air Station, where Navy and Marine Corps pilots get preliminary training before learning to fly helicopters at nearby Whiting Field.

Novosel was aboard the mottled green Shadow of the Blade Huey for the first leg of its trip. The World War II veteran retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel, then joined the Army to fly more than 2,000 combat missions in Hueys before retiring again as a chief warrant officer.

He received the Medal of Honor for landing his Huey three times to rescue 29 soldiers surrounded by enemy troops. The helicopter was riddled with bullet holes.

Another veteran who made the first leg of the flight was retired Navy Master Chief Petty Officer C.J. Roberson, 71, of Foley, Ala. Roberson last flew aboard a Huey in 1968, as a crew chief and door gunner. He spent 13 months in Vietnam, providing air cover for river patrol boats.

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