Veterans check out a newly restored Huey helicopter at the Vietnam Era Museum and Educational Center in Holmdel. The Huey sat in a field at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst for two decades before the restoration effort. I n a fitting tribute to the veterans who once depended on her, a newly restored Huey helicopter has landed at the Vietnam Era Museum and Educational Center in Holmdel.
The chopper, which served two tours in Vietnam and was restored over the last 14 months by a team of veterans, will stand as a permanent testament to the New Jersey soldiers who served in what is known as the “Helicopter War.”
“To the troops on the ground, the site and sound of the Huey meant help was coming,” Roy Budd, trustee of the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Foundation, said during a May 7 dedication ceremony.
“They brought supplies, they brought relief, they brought us out of harm’s way. Whatever capacity we served … we remember that overwhelming sense of relief and gratitude. We’re here today to share that memory of our own experience with this icon of that era.”
Vietnam War veteran Jim Hixon of Dunellen hugs Superbowl champion and Bronze Star recipient Rocky Bleier during the ceremony. The Huey spent two decades sitting in a field at Joint Base McGuire-Dix- Lakehurst before foundation member Ken Gurbisz took possession of it last year, with the goal of creating a memorial at the museum.
Gurbisz and a team of fellow veterans, including some younger soldiers recently home from Iraq and Afghanistan, spent 3,000 man-hours sanding, painting and replacing parts over the last year.
With the aid of countless local businesses, contractors and individual donors, the foundation simultaneously began work on a new plaza in front of the museum to display the finished chopper.
Both were officially dedicated during the 23rd annual New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Remembrance Day ceremony last week, drawing hundreds of veterans, supporters, family members and dignitaries to the museum near PNC Bank Arts Center.
Among them were members of the 116th Assault Helicopter Company, otherwise known as the Hornets, who had originally flown the now-restored Huey in Vietnam and reunited in New Jersey for the ceremony.
Al Sever, a member of the Hornets, told an emotional story of his experience coming home from the war, when the moon landing trumped coverage of Vietnam and local newspapers referred to hundreds of deaths as “light casualties.”
“We lived through it,” he said, addressing his fellow Hornets and the veterans in the crowd. “It was tough. It was a tough war, but I salute you guys.”
Telling the stories of the 200,000 New Jersey veterans who served during the Vietnam era — many of whom were publicly derided after returning home — is a central theme of both the museum and the plaza.
Throughout the ceremony, veterans and dignitaries stressed the importance of correcting the historical record, separating the politics of the war from the courage and sacrifice of those who served.
Rocky Bleier, a four-time Superbowl champion with the Pittsburgh Steelers and a recipient of the Bronze Star, told his own story of being wounded by a grenade in Vietnam while aiding a fellow company, and being evacuated on a Huey.
Due to strong antiwar sentiment at home, however, Bleier said stories like his were impossible to tell, sometimes for decades.
“We returned at a time when our stories were muffled,” he said. “So, Remembrance Day becomes very important. It’s the stories that we have that need to be told, so that future generations understand.”
Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, the mother of three boys, including one currently enrolled in the U.S. Air Force Academy, said the veterans who served in Vietnam exemplified the best of their generation. She highlighted the need for that example to live on.
“It may be a little late, but this is our way of saying thank you,” she said.
The completed Huey, which features working LED lighting and a sound system that mimics the chopper’s distinctive whir, is anticipated to be both a draw and an educational tool for the thousands of area students and day-trippers who tour the museum with the foundation’s volunteer guides every year. “We’re going to have to start extending the tours a little longer, so we can get some of the lessons in,” Gurbisz said.
The interior of the helicopter also features the names of the 229 New Jersey veterans who died during air operations in Vietnam, alongside a plaque honoring 13 more service members who died fighting the war on terrorism.
“We honor them along with our own casualties, because they are all our brothers and sisters in arms,” Gurbisz said.
Thanks to all the donated helicopter parts collected during the restoration effort, the foundation is also planning to install a working Huey flight simulator at the museum sometime down the road, Gurbisz said.
Those interested in supporting the foundation and the museum may purchase a personally engraved paving stone at the Huey plaza. Details are available at www.njvvmf.org.
Skip Amundson, representing American Legion #348 in Brick Township, kicked off the giving with a $1,500 donation to the foundation at the conclusion of the ceremony.
“I wish I could give you more,” he said. “I’ve been here many times. I’ve walked up this little hill on numerous occasions. When I came here today and walked up that hill, I almost lost my breath.”