Two people everyone should know about, but they don’t…
MICHAEL Novosel and his son Mike Jr. muse over Vietnam like old war buddies at a reunion.
“We were always being shot at. We expected it,” Mike Jr. said of the rescue missions they flew together.
America didn’t ask Mike Jr. to follow his father into war. He went willingly to flight school and later to Vietnam, where he volunteered as a “dustoff” pilot for the 82nd Medical Detachment.
The senior Novosel was the 82nd’s medical-evacuation commander, a seasoned trainer who’d coached pilots to fly in the line of fire. He welcomed his son into the unit with more pride than fear of dangers ahead.
“I wasn’t overly concerned about the risk Mike was taking. I was confident in my ability to teach him the proper way of doing the work and surviving,” Novosel said.
But in March of 1970, Mike Jr.’s UH-1 helicopter was shot down. His dad heard the “Mayday” call from 15 minutes away. With assurance from the aircraft commander that his son’s crew had survived the crash and found shelter, Novosel completed his own mission before flying to their aid.
The younger Novosel returned the favor seven days later when his father was shot down. Just 19 at the time, Mike Jr. flew to his father’s rescue…
To read the rest of this go HERE!
It’s people like this that we as Army aviators judge ourselves by. It’s a lofty standard and we can only hope to even come close to the standards these men held and the things they did in the midst of combat.
May they rest in peace.
For more about CW4 Novosel see this WIKI Page
Novosel passes away after accepting flag honoring his father
Dec 16 2009 12:00AM By Kim Lewis Managing Editor
Former Enterprise resident Michael Novosel Jr. completed his final mission Dec. 9 as he accepted a Medal of Honor flag on behalf of his late father at his home in Shalimar, Fla.
Novosel died the following day, 30 hours after receiving the flag, from an aggressive form of cancer. He was 60.
In a story published by the Northwest Florida Daily News, Novosel Jr. was too sick and jaundiced to attend the flag presentation elsewhere, so surrounded by friends and family he accepted the flag.
“The Army was very responsive in getting it done quickly,” said Okaloosa County Judge Patt Maney, a retired brigadier general in the Army Reserves, who facilitated the ceremony, and also served with Novosel Jr.
Maj. Gen. James O. Barclay III, commanding general of the U.S. Army Aviation Center for Excellence and Fort Rucker, flew to Florida to present the flag to Novosel Jr.
“It’s what we do. We take care of our heroes, and all of our soldiers are heroes,” Barclay said after the ceremony. “They’re (the Novosels) part of Fort Rucker.”
After learning of Novosel Jr.’s passing, Maney described Novosel Jr. as a man of many talents for all seasons.
“America lost a patriot (Thursday) and ordinary soldiers lost a friend,” he said, adding that after Novosel Jr. retired from the Army he flew petroleum service helicopters out into the Gulf and worked on a fishing boat in the Pacific.
Novosel Jr., and his late father Mike Novosel Sr., are described as “aviation legends.” It is only fitting that the main street that runs through Fort Rucker, the home of Army Aviation, is Novosel Drive.
As Army Medevac pilots, Novosel Jr. and his father together rescued thousands of wounded soldiers during the Vietnam War. Novosel Sr., who died April 2, 2006 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center after a long battle with cancer, won the Medal of Honor for rescuing 29 soldiers in one day. The 83-year-old retired chief warrant officer 4 earned the Medal of Honor for actions on Oct. 2, 1969, when he completed 15 hazardous combat extractions in a UH-1 Huey helicopter, saving the lives of 29 South Vietnamese soldiers who had been surrounded by enemy forces along the Cambodian border.
Novosel Jr., and his sister Patricia Clevinger, visited Fort Rucker Oct. 20 to unveil the bust of their late father that is displayed in the lobby of the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence Headquarters in the center of the Wall of Heroes. Novosel Jr., accepted many awards and accolades on behalf of his father since 2006.
Novosel Jr., enlisted in the Army in 1968 and trained to become a helicopter pilot. His father was a pilot in World War II and the Korean War before re-enlisting with the Army to fly helicopters.
According to reports, the father and son team flew together 10 months, including one week in 1970 when a helicopter piloted by Novosel Jr. went down and his father rescued him. A week later, Novosel Jr. returned the favor when his father’s helicopter was shot down. During Novosel Jr.’s time in Vietnam he flew 1,736 missions, rescuing more than 2,500 service members and earning 37 air medals.
He left the military in 1991 as a chief warrant officer 4, but his commitment to his father, family and soldiers continued.
Novosel Jr. and George T. Metz started the Novosel Foundation after Novosel Sr. passed away. The non-profit organization provides financial help and other services to wounded, handicapped soldiers especially those serving in the National Guard and Army Reserve. The foundation’s home is Pittsburg, Pa., Novosel Sr.’s hometown, Metz said during Novosel Sr.’s recent bust unveiling at Fort Rucker.
Novosel is survived by his wife Margaret Novosel, a stepdaughter, Wendy Latchum of Shalimar; sisters, Patricia Clevinger of Enterprise; Jeannee Vinyard of Phoenix; and a brother, John of Auburn.
Funeral services were yesterday at Emerald Coast Funeral Home. He was buried at Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola.
Cards and letters of encouragement may be sent to: Novosel Family, 10 Doral Way, Shalimar, Fla. 32579.
There is a concerted effort going on, in our time, to make such men extinct, and to sponge out there memory from the other.
I think it’s just possible that that may be our enemies’ worst miscalculation.
That should be “their memory from the earth.” Sorry, I’m tired.
Thanks, Outlaw. That’s the first time I heard about them.
As far as I’m concerned, all you helo pilots are heroes.