By Sam Oleson
John Duffy, who flew the Sikorsky HH-3E helicopter during the Vietnam War, will present about his experiences in the Jolly Green Giant as part of the EAA Aviation Museum Speaker Series on Thursday, February 19, at 7 p.m.
John’s military service began in February 1954, when he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and was subsequently sent to Chanute Air Force Base in Illinois for testing. After being accepted into navigation training, John was shipped to Lackland AFB and then Ellington AFB, both in South Texas. In 1955, John was commissioned as a second lieutenant, earned his USAF navigator wings, and was assigned to the 100th Air Refueling Squadron at Robins AFB in Georgia.
For the next five years, John flew as a navigator on KC-97 air refueling tankers, serving across the globe in locations like England, Greenland, Saudi Arabia, and others. As part of the Strategic Air Command, the 100th ARS was responsible for refueling bombers such as the B-52 during the height of the Cold War. After his five-year commitment as a navigator concluded, John decided it was time for a change of course, applying to Air Force pilot training.
Now a first lieutenant, John began USAF pilot training in 1959 at Bartow AFB in Florida. John began his primary training in the T-34 before transitioning to the T-28 after a few months. After a move to Greenville AFB in Mississippi, John started training in the T-33 jet trainer and earned his pilot wings in January 1960. From there, John chose to fly helicopters, training in the H-19 at Stead AFB in Nevada. Finally, after a year and a half of pilot training, John joined an operational unit at Sawyer AFB in Michigan, flying the HH-43 Huskie.
In 1962, John was shipped off to Harmon AFB in Newfoundland, Canada, serving as the commander of the base’s rescue detachment, continuing to fly the HH-43. After three years in Newfoundland, John transferred to Orlando AFB in Florida and was put in charge of standardization for the HH-43, visiting helicopter detachments around the country, giving checkrides, and verifying operational readiness. Additionally, he was part of a team that established the combat configuration for the new HH-53.
While at Air Rescue headquarters in Orlando, John volunteered to go to Vietnam and was assigned to the first squadron to fly the Jolly Green Giant in combat, attending ground school at Sikorsky headquarters and completing combat crew training at Eglin AFB in Florida. In December 1967, John transferred to Udorn Air Base in northeastern Thailand.
John served as the standardization pilot for HH-53s out of Udorn and flew his first combat mission in January 1968. Missions for HH-53 crews typically involved two helicopters flying close to strike zones in Laos and North Vietnam in the event any strike aircraft were damaged or shot down and airmen needed to be rescued in hostile territory. John’s tour ended in December 1968 and he returned to the U.S. for his new assignment at Eglin, where he served as a program manager and test pilot for an HH-53 all-weather/night recovery system, which came to be known as the Pave Low series. John then transferred to Military Airlift Command headquarters at Scott AFB in Illinois, where he was in charge of procuring equipment for the Air Rescue Service. After 20 years of service, John retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in April 1974.
Thursday’s presentation is free for EAA members and youths, and just $5 for nonmembers.
If you’re unable to attend, all Speaker Series presentations are recorded and will be available to members to watch here at a later date.