498th Medical Company- Air Ambulance
Fort Benning, Georgia
authorized: 141 soldiers
14 UH-60A aircraft
go to the
OFFICIAL HOME OF THE 498TH MEDICAL COMPANY (TODAY)
AT FT. BENNING
provided by Cpt. Mike Pouncey
498th Medical Co., Ft. Benning, Ga.
the following is borrowed from
Toma Grubb and the 159th website
John Cook's book, "Rescue Under Fire," describes
several of the "miracles" performed by DUSTOFF and
MEDEVAC crews.
But one that happened to CPT Walter
Mueller in a 498th Med DUSTOFF is well worth repeating.
Mueller responded to an urgent request to
evacuate a wounded 1st Cav soldier from a rice paddy
30 Ks northwest of Nha Trang. The soldier was said
to be suffering from a sucking chest wound. It was
getting dark when the DUSTOFF reached the PZ. The
troops on the ground told him that the man had died
after they had radioed the request but they had two
other wounded. Mueller landed and saw the man they had come for lying face down
wrapped in a poncho. He agreed to evacuate the body
with the other wounded. SGT. Sullivan, the medic,
was helping load the body when he heard a very faint
moan. Sullivan quickly stripped the poncho from the
supposedly dead man. Though seriously wounded, with
a large bullet hole in his chest, the man was alive.
Sullivan administered to him, Mueller made a mad dash
for the 8th Field Hospital in Nha Trang. This miracle
hinged on a number of coincidences happening in the
right order. When the man had stopped breathing, his
buddies had wrapped him in a poncho and place him face
down on the damp ground. The poncho and the man's
weight, combining with the wet ground, had sealed the
chest wound, allowing him to start breathing again.
Had they placed him on his back, he would have died.
Had there been a full load of wounded, he would have
laid there until the normal "back haul" the next
morning. Had Sullivan not been so quick and skilled
and Mueller not agreeing to haul a dead body, this man
would have died. At Nha Trang, the soldier underwent
surgery and later recovered completely.
Some days are
better than others. This was a good day for this
soldier!!
the following is provided by Scott Cunningham and Paul Ferguson
(498th alumnai )
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY
HEADQUARTERS
498th MEDICAL COMPANY (AIR AMB)
498th MEDICAL COMPANY (AIR AMB) NEWSLETTER
1. The third quarter of FY 70 has come to a close on a rapidly changing
situation. The deactivation
of the 43rd Medical Group on 15 Jan 70 resulted in the 498th Medical Company
(Air Amb) being
assigned to the 67th Medical group in Da Nang. However, on 11 Feb 70 the 61st
Medical Battalion was
reassigned from Cam Ranh Bay to Qui Nhon with the 498th Medical Company (Air
Amb) being assigned to
it. The 61st Medical Battalion became operational on 26 Feb 70 controlling all
Dustoff resources in
northern II Corps and all of I Corps. The 283rd Medical Detachment (HA) remained
under the command
and control of the 498th Medical Company (Air Amb). The 247th Medical Detachment
(HA) and the 254th
Medical Detachment (HA) remained in southern II Corps and was reassigned to the
45th Medical Company
(AA), 68th Medical Group.
On 1 Mar 70 the 44th Medical Brigade was deactivated and the US Army Medical
Command, Vietnam
(Prov) was activated. As a result all medical activities in Vietnam are now
USARV units and are
authorized to wear the USARV arm patch. Needless to say the turnover in higher
headquarters has kept
the Administration Officer and Motor Officer constantly busy changing the names
of next higher
headquarters on correspondence, SOP’s, and vehicles, to name a few.
2. Major personnel changes occurred during this quarter. Of most significance
was the departure of
LTC Henry Capozzi to the 44th Medical brigade as aviation staff officer on 1 Feb
70. His successor
proved very capable in filling the large shoes left behind, as MAJ William
“Bill” Carroll took
control. Having been a charter member of the 498th Medical Company (Air Amb)
MAJ Bill Carroll
continued the outstanding leadership of the unit. As Bill could not be induced
to extend his tour in
RVN , he was then succeeded by MAJ Henry “Hank” Mayer on 26 Mar 70.
Our dynamic executive officer, MAJ Don Bissell, departed on 30 Jan 70. MAJ
Carroll held down the
XO slot thereafter until he assumed command. The operations was MAJ Hank Mayer’s
bag until MAJ Frank
Gilliam arrived. When MAJ Mayer took command in March, the Executive Officer
slot remained untilled
leaving MAJ Gilliam doubling in that position in addition to holding down
Operations. MAJ Gilliam
was an in-country transfer from the 237th Medical Detachment (HA) at Quang Tri.
CPT Eldon Ideus replaced MAJ Loucks as Commanding Officer of the 283rd
Medical Detachment (HA) at
Pleiku RVN. CW2 Gerald Koermer has become the Maintenance Platoon Leader.
If nothing else, these changes kept everyone in the unit wondering who their
boss was. The
present Flight Platoon Leaders are CPT Charles Gilford, CPT Jimmy Alexander, and
LT Roy Laird.
3. With the deactivation of the 43rd Medical group came a change in our area of
operations. We now
have responsibility for II Corps North with the southern boundary following the
river at Tuy Hoa to
the Pleiku Province and further west along the provincial border. this change
affected our field
sites in that the two-ship stand-by at Phu Hiep was given to the 254th Medical
Detachment. The
two-ship stand-by held by the 283rd Medical Detachment (HA) was also transferred
to the 254th
Medical Detachment. The 283rd now has the luxury of having all six aircraft
assigned to their home
base.
HOME
498th patch by gerry rawles
498TH DUSTOFF LINKS
DUSTOFF HISTORY provided by 159th dustoff link
WEBMASTER
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page last updated 4/07/2001
