A labor of love for U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Michael Aguirre of the California Army National Guard and his dedicated team of retired aviator volunteers came to fruition on Saturday, May 4, at Joint Forces Training Base (JFTB) when they rolled out a restored Vietnam-era, Bell UH-1M Iroquois Helicopter – more commonly known as a “Huey” — for permanent display on the installation.
The aircraft is displayed alongside a yet-to-be restored Vietnam era Bell Cobra AH-1 Attack Helicopter in front of the installation’s Fiddler’s Green Pub on Yorktown Avenue.
The Iroquois served in a variety of utility roles and was the U.S. Army’s first gunship. The Los Al “Huey” was built by Bell Aircraft in 1966 in Fort Worth, Texas, and saw extensive service in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War – surviving combat damage in May 1970.
Following the war, the aircraft was transferred to the California Army National Guard where it provided yeoman service from October 1972 through December 1975.
“We undertook this restoration project about six years ago, working weekends and dedicating any other available free time when we could bring together at least three people to work on the project,” recalled Aguirre. “Our volunteers included several former Army Aviators who had served in the Army Aviation Support Facility, plus members of the JFTB Department of Public Works. Time was limited and money was tight, but our goal was to have the helicopter on display before I retired from the Army at the end of August. We did it!
“It was also really cool to see the turnout of legacy Army Aviators on hand when we placed the helicopter on display,” Aguirre continued. “Some of them had retired out of Los Al, some of them had flown in Vietnam, and all of them had a connection to our ‘Huey’ in one way or another. For them that helicopter now serves as a living symbol of their military service to our country.”
For additional information, please contact Col. (CA) Richard Lalor at (562) 795-2096 or via email at richard.w.lalor2.nfg@mail.mil, or Senior Airman Crystal Housman at (805) 458-3825 or via email at crystal.c.housman.mil@mail.mil,
Photo by Louis Katz
