Fallen Hero's / Duchy 41 / 38th ARRS Det 1 / HH-43

20 September 1965

Duchy 14

Det. 1 38th ARRS

HH-43 #62-4510

Lt. Martins HH-43 was shot down in the recovery of Essex 04 a F-105 that had crashed in North Vietnam. The three crew of the Huskie were captured, but Lt. Martin evade his captors & made his way to Laos, but was captured by the Pathet Lao. He escaped from the Houy Het Prison camp in Central Laos with six others, & evaded capture for 17 days with a US Navy pilot LTJG Dieter Dengler. Tragically Lt. Martin was killed by a villager in Laos, & LTJG Dengler was rescued 5 days later. For his courageous action & devotion to duty he received the Air Force Cross for his heroism.

Co-pilot- 1Lt. Duane W. Martin

 

The Air Force Cross is presented to Duane Whitney Martin, First Lieutenant, U.S. Air Force, for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force as Pilot of an HH-43B helicopter over North Vietnam on 20 September 1965. On that date, Lieutenant Martin participated in an extremely hazardous attempted recovery of a downed pilot. The mission required a flight of over 80 miles, mostly over hostile controlled territory. Evaluation of the environment in which the downed pilot was located indicated that maximum performance would be demanded from each crew member if successful recovery was to be effected. Without hesitation and complete disregard for his own safety, and though exposed to intensive hostile ground fire, Lieutenant Martin performed with courage and professional precision in a supreme effort to rescue a fallen comrade. Lieutenant Martin's courageous action and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the American fighting man under attack by an opposing armed force. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of hostile forces, First Lieutenant Martin reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.

A lot of reports put the callsign at Dutchy, however, as you can see from this official document it was actually Duchy. A huge thanks to Johan Ragay for this document.