Ken Harbaugh tells the stories of service members who have distinguished themselves through an act of valor. These stories feature recipients from the Civil War to present day, including a few who were originally overlooked for the medal.
During his second tour in Vietnam, Major General Patrick Henry Bradyserved as a helicopter pilot in the 57th Medical Detachment, tasked with evacuating wounded no matter what the conditions. The 57th’s call sign, “Dustoff” became one of the most famous call signs in the war.
On January 6th, 1968, Brady was awakened to rescue two wounded Vietnamese soldiers stranded in the densely fogged mountains. This cloud cover was a double edged sword, providing cover from enemy fire, but making it almost impossible for pilots to navigate. At this time, Brady was the only Huey pilot who could fly in it. By turning his aircraft sideways and hovering slowly along the valley trail, he blew away the fog with the backwash of his rotor blades. This cleared a path, and allowed Brady to reach the stranded men.
Brady then received word that 70 wounded Americans were in need of rescue nearby. Continuing to navigate the fog using his unique technique, Brady reached their position and made a total of four trips back and forth to the hospital. Brady was supposed to be joined by other pilots, but he was the only one who could penetrate the fog, so he had to do it all on his own.
During his third trip, Brady’s Huey was hit by enemy fire. The controls took serious damage, and he later found out they were hanging on by a thread. After this damage assessment, Brady and his crew hopped in a replacement aircraft and continued on with the mission.
Brady later received word of an American platoon stranded in a minefield. Another Huey had already attempted to pull them out, but it set off a mine after touching down, forcing it to retreat. With incredible precision, Brady touched down right where the previous aircraft did in order to avoid any mines. His crew then navigated the minefield, dragging the wounded back to the aircraft one by one. On one of their trips they hit an explosive, injuring two crew members and sending shrapnel into the aircraft. Despite their injuries the crew was able to load the rest of the wounded. Brady flew the damaged ship back to the hospital, and swapped into another Huey.
On October 9th, 1969, Major General Patrick Henry Brady was awarded the Medal of Honor. Major Brady evacuated a total of 51 seriously wounded men that day, and without his quick response & skillful navigation, many of them wouldn’t have made it.
Welcome to the Medal of Honor podcast, brought to you in partnership with the National Medal of Honor Museum. I’m Ken Harbaugh. In each episode, we’ll learn about a different service member who has distinguished him or herself through an act of valor.
Patrick Henry Brady was born on October 1st, 1936 in Philip, South Dakota, but he was raised in the state of Washington. As he neared the end of high school, Brady fielded multiple football scholarships from schools in the northwest. Unfortunately for him, the girl he was dating committed to Seattle University, which didn’t even have a football team. Brady decided to follow her to Seattle University anyways, dropping his scholarship offers to be able to stay with her.
Brady later learned that ROTC was mandatory at the school, and thus his military career began. Despite the fact that his father and one of his uncles had served in World War II, he wasn’t enthusiastic about ROTC. In fact, he hated it. He didn’t like wearing the uniform, he didn’t like calling other students “sir” around campus, and at that time, he didn’t want to make a career out of the military. Brady was eventually kicked out of the program, but the same woman who brought him to Seattle in the first place, who was now his wife, convinced him to try to finish ROTC. The program let Brady return, and he successfully finished. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Medical Service Corps.
On his second tour in Vietnam, then Major Brady was stationed at Chu Lai Air Base, just south of Da Nang. He served as a helicopter pilot in the 57th Medical Detachment, tasked with evacuating wounded no matter what the conditions. The 57th’s call sign, “Dustoff” became one of the most famous call signs in the war.
Early on January 6th, 1968, then Major Brady was awakened for an emergency mission. Two wounded Vietnamese soldiers were stranded in the densely fogged mountains near his base in Chu Lai. This cloud cover was a double edged sword, providing cover from enemy fire, but making it almost impossible for pilots to navigate. At that time, Brady was the only Huey pilot who could fly in it. By turning his aircraft sideways and hovering slowly along the valley trail, he blew away the fog with the backwash of his rotor blades. This cleared a path, and allowed Brady to reach the stranded men.
As his crew loaded the two Vietnamese soldiers, Brady received word of more wounded on the radio. 70 wounded Americans were only 50 meters away and in need of evac. Two previous aircraft had attempted to rescue them, but had been shot down in the process. Continuing to navigate through the dense fog using his unique technique, Brady and his Dustoff crew flew in the direction of their allies. On their way, they flew right over an unsuspecting enemy unit, who was too stunned to react. Brady’s team arrived at the LZ and began evacuating the injured Americans. Other pilots had intended to help, but they weren’t able to navigate the fog, so it was all up to Brady. On his third trip to the LZ, Brady’s ship was hit, forcing him to fly up through the clouds and out of enemy sight. When they were out of danger, the Dustoff crew quickly evaluated the ship mid-air and determined they were ok to attempt another landing. Brady successfully landed the Huey through the clouds, gathering a 3rd group of wounded and transporting them to the hospital. At the hospital, Brady and his crew learned that enemy fire had severely damaged the ship's controls, and they were barely hanging together. Brady’s crew boarded a new Huey and immediately made their way back to the LZ a 4th time, successfully transporting more wounded to safety.
Then, Brady’s team received yet another request, this time to rescue an American platoon trapped in a minefield. Another Huey had already attempted to pull them out, but it set off a mine after touching down, forcing it to retreat. When Brady and his crew arrived, Brady saw the marks left by the previous aircraft when it touched down. He knew that if he landed in that exact spot, he’d avoid landing on any mines— but the downdraft of his rotor blades could still set off any others nearby. With incredible precision, Brady landed right where the last Huey did, and luckily, no others were set off. Brady’s crew chief and medic sprung into action, running through the minefield and dragging wounded soldiers onto the ship. On one of the trips, they hit an explosive, injuring both crew members and throwing shrapnel into the aircraft. Thankfully, both men were still healthy enough to load the rest of the injured onto the aircraft. Despite the damage received, Brady was then able to safely fly back to the hospital.
On October 9th, 1969, Major General Patrick Henry Brady was awarded the Medal of Honor. Major Brady evacuated a total of 51 seriously wounded men that day, and without his quick response & skillful navigation, many of them wouldn’t have made it.
The Medal of Honor podcast is a production of Evergreen Podcasts.
Nathan Corson is our executive producer and mixing engineer, Declan Rohrs is our associate producer, scriptwriter, and recording engineer, and I’m Ken Harbaugh.
We are proud to support the National Medal of Honor Museum. To learn more, and to support their mission, go to mohmuseum.org. Thanks for listening.
