![Vietnam vets meet after 50 years. [wikimedia commons/public/SFC James K. F. Dung, Public domain]](https://images.dailycaller.com/image/width=960,height=411,fit=cover,f=auto/https://cdn01.dailycaller.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/UH-1D_medevac_loads_wounded_during_Operation_Wahiawa-e1717352532610.jpg "Vietnam vets meet after 50 years. [wikimedia commons/public/SFC James K. F. Dung, Public domain]")
Fifty-four years after he was saved by a helicopter pilot in Vietnam, Michigan veteran Dave Berlinhoff finally met the man who saved him Saturday, FOX2 reported.
The pilot, Dave Luetkenhaus, a certified hero who saved 1,000 lives, led the medevac mission that picked up Berlinhoff after his lower body had been severely damaged by a rocket-propelled grenade during a battle in 1970, according to FOX2.
Berlinhoff, who eventually had his leg amputated, told FOX2, “Without him, I wouldn’t be here. I owe him everything.” (RELATED: Korean War Vet With Shrapnel In Leg Receives Purple Heart After 73 Years)
“It was first thing in the morning,” Berlinhoff said, recalling the day he was hit. “There was a tremendous explosion and a flash of light. I remember being in the air and felt the thump when I came back down … I don’t know how long it was, from when they radioed in for a medevac, it didn’t seem like long.”
Due to bad conditions that made it risky to fly that day, Luetkenhaus’ medevac team could have turned down the mission, but he and his crew refused to leave their fellow soldiers behind, FOX2 reported.
“My name would be on the black marble wall in Washington, D.C., and nothing that I have produced in the last 54 years would exist if not for his courage and skill as a helicopter pilot. He is the leading character in this story. I was just another grateful rescue,” Berlinhoff said.
Dan Creed, another soldier who was there that day, said that Berlinhoff had an opportunity to leave Vietnam early and that Leutkenhaus had decided to extend his tour 6 months to train pilots, according to FOX2.
“These two men are cut from the same cloth,” Creed said, “as far as duty and selfless service. I am very proud to know them both.”
In fact, it was Creed who brought the two men together after five decades after Berlinhoff told him at a reunion two years ago that he wanted to thank the pilot who saved his life, FOX2 reported.
Creed, who lives near the National Archives, was able to track down Leutkenhaus by finding the call sign of the pilot flying the medevac that day, learning his real name and locating where he lived, according to the outlet.
Creed facilitated a meeting between the two veterans on FaceTime before they met face to face at Berlinhoff’s house Saturday, FOX2 reported.
“It’s the opportunity of a lifetime that very few injured soldiers get,” Berlinhoff said.
