01/17/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BhhVXDQAg/?mibextid=wwXIfr
In 1964, Michael Novosel was 41 years old, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force Reserve, and a veteran pilot who had flown bombers in World War II. He had done his time.
But when the Vietnam War ramped up, Novosel wanted to help. He went to the Air Force, but they told him he was too old to fly fighter jets. They turned him down.
Novosel didn't accept that. He walked across the street to the Army recruiter. The Army was desperate for helicopter pilots. They told him if he was willing to resign his commission and start over as a Warrant Officer, he could fly.
He didn't hesitate. He traded his silver oak leaves for a flight suit and headed to Vietnam to fly "Dustoff"—unarmed medical evacuation helicopters.
On October 2, 1969, in the Kien Tuong Province, a unit of South Vietnamese soldiers was surrounded by a massive enemy force. They were being decimated. The enemy fire was so intense that the ground troops couldn't move, and gunships couldn't get a clear shot.
Novosel, now 47 years old, arrived in his helicopter. Without gunship cover and without hesitation, he dove his unarmed helicopter directly into the enemy kill zone. The Viet Cong opened up; machine gun fire ripped through the fuselage of his helicopter.
Novosel landed, loaded the wounded, and took off. He dropped them at safety and turned around to go back. He did this 15 times.
During one extraction, an enemy soldier stood up in the tall grass just 30 yards away and fired an AK-47 directly at the cockpit. The bullets shattered the plexiglass, sending shards flying into Novosel’s face and legs. A sniper round destroyed his airspeed indicator.
For two hours, the "Old Man" played chicken with death. By the time the fuel light came on and the last run was made, he had personally saved 29 soldiers who would have otherwise died that afternoon.
Michael Novosel eventually flew two tours in Vietnam. In a twist of fate, he served in the same unit as his own son, Michael Jr. They became the first father and son to fly combat missions together in the same unit in U.S. history. At one point, they even saved each other during a mission.
When he received the Medal of Honor, he was the oldest pilot to do so.
