20 Nov 2022

Fallen Hero's Index






I've put together a table so you can find the details of the fallen hero's by just clicking the callsign. If it doesn't have a callsign then just click the ? & that will go to the correct page.

DATE

CALLSIGN

UNIT

AIRCRAFT & SERIAL #

20 Sep 1965
38th ARRS Det. 1
HH-43B
#62-4510
11 Apr 1966
38th ARRS Det. 6
HH-43 
#63-9711
28 Oct 1966
38th ARRS
HH-43B   
#62-4511
6 Feb 1967
38th ARRS
HH-3E 
#65-12779
9 Nov 1967
37th ARRS
HH-3E 
#66-132279
7 Feb 1968
38th ARRS Det. 9
HH-43 
#62-4525
9 Jun 1968
37th ARRS
HH-3E 
#67-14710
28 Sep 1968
38th ARRS Det. 13
HH-43 
#?
5 Oct 1968
37th ARRS
HH-3E 
#65-12782
10 Oct 1968
38th ARRS
HH-43B   
#58-1845
25 Dec 1968
40th ARRS
HH-3E 
#64-14230
8 Oct 1969
55th ARRS
HH-53C 
#67-14496
28 Jan 1970
40th ARRS
HH-53B 
#66-14434
15 Apr 1970
37th ARRS
HH-3E 
#66-13280
30 Jun 1970
40th ARRS
HH-53C 
#68-8283
25 Nov 1971
37th ARRS
HH-53C 
#68-10366
27 Mar 1972
40th ARRS
HH-53C 
#68-10359
6 Apr 1972
37th ARRS
HH-53C 
#68-10365
14 Jun 1973
40th ARRS
HH-53C 
#68-10362
22 Oct 1973
41st ARRW Det. 13
HH-3E 
#67-14708
13 Jun 1978
102d ARRS
HH-3E 
#69-5800
26 Feb 1979
33d ARRS
HH-53C 
 #69-5787
29 Jul 1982
1551st FTS
HH-53C 
#69-5792
7 Apr 1984
39th ARRW Det. 15
CH-3E 
#?
15 Jan 1985
6594th TG
HH-53 
#68-10355
14 Aug 1987
55th ARRS
MH-60G 
#81-23647
1 Sep 1988
129th ARRS
HH-3E 
#65-12781
14 Mar 1989
33d ARRS
HH-3E 
#67-14719
30 Oct 1991
106th RQW
HH-60G 
#88-26110
29 Oct 1992
55th SOS
HH-60G 
#88-26116
6 Oct 1994
33d RQS
HH-60G 
#91-26404
3 Sep 1998
66th RQS
HH-60G 
#91-26359
HH-60G 
#88-26105
23 Mar 2003
41st RQS
38th RQS
HH-60G 
#97-26778
20 Oct 2004
59th ERQS
66th RQS
HH-60G 
#87-26014
11 May 2005
512th RQS
HH-60G 
#82-23728
9 Jun 2010
66th RQS
HH-60G 
#89-26201
7 Jan 2013
56th RQS
HH-60G 
#86-26109
5 Aug 2013
33d RQS
HH-60G 
#91-26354
14 Mar 2018
106th RQW
38th RQS
308th RQS
HH-60G 
#92-6466

TOML
If you have anything to share please contact me via email at usafjollygreen@gmail.com

USAF / Jolly Green Sprout / 33rd RQS / 56th RQS / 55th HMU / Jolly Green Patch

The History of the Sprout Patch
This is a chronological History of the patches used by crews that were incorporated the Sprout design in the patches. Three units have use the Sprout on their patches, these are the  33rd ARRS/RQS, the 55th HMU & the 56th RQS. These are the patches & more details about them.

33d Aerospace Rescue & Recovery Squadron 
Detachment 13
These are the first patches that had the design of the sprout instead of the Jolly Green Giant. It was used by Detachment 13 of the 33rd ARRS, the main Squadron based at Kadena AB Japan & the Detachment was based at Osan AB, South Korea. The sprout was used as the Squadron thought it was the baby of the main Squadron, as it had minimal crew & only a few HH-3's, so it seemed logical to use the Sprout design. Made for the unit in 1979 and at the time the Detachment had 9 crewmembers.
The crews on the det also had nametags made like the ones below, the top being a member of the det, and the bottom one being one of their wives, as the wings have a love heart in the middle. So far EVERY patch I've seen is different, so I suspect that each patch was individually hand made, so they'll all be different.



33rd Rescue Squadron
Move on a couple of decades & again the Sprout was used again with the 33rd again.
It does have a story that between 1995-2000 it was intended for the Sprout patch to be worn with anyone coming into the Squadron who was not fully qualified had to wear it until they got checked out. Unfortunately the idea never took on but the patches still exist today. Some thought these were made for the children of the Squadron but now you know the true story of why they were originally made.

56th Rescue Squadron
Roll on yet another couple of decades & moved half way around the world to Europe, & you find the 56th RQS using the design, although its not sure why they used the  Sprout design.
This was the first patch that was made by crews assigned to the 56th HMU at RAF Lakenheath, England. This was made for the crew that worked on HH-60G Pavehawk helicopter #89-26212. The patch was made in January 2018 on the on base Hobby Shop at RAF Lakenheath & was reportedly made in very low numbers, reportedly as low as single figures.

56th Rescue Squadron
HH-60G #89-26205

HH-60G #89-2606

HH-60G #89-26208

HH-60G #89-26212
The second batch that were made all were made in February 2018, again by the 56th HMU, & again on the on base Hobby Shop. These were made for the crews of HH-60G's #89-26205, #89-26206, #89-26208 & #89-26212. The patches were only a month after the first one was made (212), however the design had changed, this time with the numbers of the aircraft being closer together & all of them having JOLLY GREEN embroidered on them. The 56th RQS actually had another HH-60G, this being 91-26353, however I don't think a patch was ever made for this specific Pavehawk. Mentioning 353 it is interesting to note this was the first HH-60G from the Squadron to move to Aviano, this taking place in mid April 2018, with the rest of the helicopters moving in May 2018.

56th Rescue Squadron
HH-60G #89-26212

HH-60G #89-26212
Roll on to the Summer of 2018 & these final two patches were made, & again were made by the 56th HMU, on the on base Hobby Shop, & again the design had been changed. This time the changes incorporated a head on white silhouette of a HH-60G & the removal of JOLLY GREEN from that patch.
If you have a colour one to trade or sell be very interested in hearing from you.

55th Helicopter Maintenance Unit
This really is a superb patch & is the most colourful of the sprout designs, this being the designed by Sgt. Scott Reitz from the 55th HMU. The background is the Arizona state flag as the 55th are based at Davis-Monthan AFB. Its from a unit that provides a key role for the men & women in the Jolly Green Giant role, & history. The sprout was used due to the maintenance guys thinking that they are the stepchildren of aviation industry, however I would say that they play a vitally important role in keeping the Squadron flying. The patch was made in September 2018 & 200 were made in total. The manufacturer was wovenlabelZ of Shanghai, China.

56th Rescue Squadron
HH-60G #89-26205
This is the latest sprout patch to be made, this again from the 56th RQS, for HH-60G #89-26205. It was made by TJ embroidery when the Squadron already left Lakenheath for Aviano. It differs from the first 205 patch in a couple of ways. Firstly & the most obvious indication is that it doesn't have JOLLY GREEN embroidered on the patch. This goes along the design of the first original one made in January 2018 for 212, however there are subtle differences. The first is that it is smaller in size than the original, this version being 9.2cm high. Less obvious are the hook & loop being different from the originals & finally the smile on the giant more U than V. Finally I'm not sure this one was used by anyone on the Squadron, as it came out after the Squadron had left Lakenheath & may have been a copy made of the patch. If you know any differently please let me know & I'll change the blog to reflect this.
And here is a sprout doll that was given to all of the new fathers on the 48th RQS during 1995-1997 by Eric. (See the comments section below)

If you have any additional information about this patch please contact me & I´ll get back to you.
Thanks👣