Fifty-four years after being saved by a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, Michigan veteran Dave Berlinhoff finally met the man who saved him on Saturday, FOX 2 reported.
Pilot Dave Lutkenhaus, recognized as a hero for saving 1,000 lives, led the paramedic team that rescued Berlinghof after he was severely wounded in the lower body by a rocket-propelled grenade during combat in 1970. Fox 2.
Berlinhof, who ultimately had her leg amputated, told FOX 2, “Without him, I wouldn’t be here. I owe everything to him.” (Related article: Korean War veteran with shrapnel wound in leg receives Purple Heart 73 years later)
“It was first thing in the morning,” Berlinhof said, recalling the day he was shot. “There was a huge explosion and a huge flash. I remember being in the air and feeling the impact when I came back down to the ground… I don’t know how long it was, but it didn’t seem that long after I got the call over the radio for emergency medical help.”
Due to poor weather that made flying dangerous that day, Luetkenhaus’s ambulance team could have declined the mission, but he and his crew refused to leave their fellow soldiers behind, FOX 2 reported.
“My name would be engraved on the black marble walls of Washington, D.C., and none of what I’ve accomplished these last 54 years would exist without his courage and his skill as a helicopter pilot. He is the hero of this story. I was simply one of the rescuers to thank,” Berlinhof said.
Another soldier there that day, Dan Creed, said Berlinghoff had the opportunity to leave Vietnam early, while Leutkenhaus decided to extend his tour of duty by six months to train pilots, according to FOX 2.
“These two men are alike in terms of duty and selfless service,” Creed said. “I’m very proud to have known them.”
In fact, it was Creed who connected the two after 50 years together, when Berlinhof expressed his gratitude to the pilot who saved his life at a class reunion two years ago, FOX2 reported.
According to the media, Creed, who lives near the National Archives, was able to track down Leutkenhaus by finding the ambulance pilot’s call sign that day, learning his real name and tracking down his address.
FOX2 reported that Creed brokered a meeting between the two veterans over FaceTime before they met in person at Berlinhof’s home on Saturday.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that injured soldiers rarely get,” Berlinhof said.
