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| MEDAL OF
HONOR RECIPIENT |
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| NAME: |
Michael
J. Novosel |
| RANK: |
Chief
Warrant Officer |
| ORGANIZATION: |
82d
Medical Detachment, 45th Medical Company,
68th Medical Group |
| PLACE: |
Kien
Tuong Province, Republic of Vietnam |
| DATE: |
2
October 1969 |
| ENTERED
SERVICE AT: |
Kenner,
Louisiana |
| BORN: |
3
September 1922, Etna, Pennsylvania |
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| CITATION |
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| For
conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in
the action at the risk of his life and
beyond the call of duty. CWO Novosel, 82d
Medical Detachment, distinguished himself
while serving as commander of a medical
evacuation helicopter. He unhesitantly
maneuvered his helicopter into a heavily
fortified and defended enemy training
area where a group of wounded Vietnamese
soldiers were pinned down by a large
enemy force. Flying without gunship or
other cover and exposed to intense
machinegun fire, CWO Novosel was able to
locate and rescue a wounded soldier.
Since all communications with the
beleaguered troops had been lost, he
repeatedly circled the battle area,
flying at low level under continuous
heavy fire, to attract the attention of
the scattered troops. This display of
courage visibly raised the morale, as
they recognized this as a signal to
assemble for evacuation. On 6 occasions
he and his crew were forced out of the
battle area by the intense enemy fire,
only to circle and return from another
direction to land and extract additional
troops. Near the end of the mission, a
wounded soldier was spotted close to an
enemy bunker. Fully realizing that he
would attract a hail of enemy fire, CWO
Novosel nevertheless attempted the
extraction by hovering backward. As the
man was pulled on board, enemy automatic
weapons opened fire at close range,
damaged the aircraft and wounded CWO
Novosel. He momentarily lost control of
the aircraft, but quickly recovered and
departed under withering enemy fire. In
all, 15 extremely hazardous extractions
were performed in order to remove wounded
personnel. As a direct result of his
selfless conduct, the lives of 29
soldiers were saved. The extraordinary
heroism displayed by CWO Novosel was an
inspiration to his comrades in arms and
reflects great credit on him, his unit,
and the U.S. Army. |
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