More detail on this person: It is with immense
sadness that the Army Aviation Warfighting Center
announces the loss of a great Army Aviation hero,
Medal of Honor recipient CW4 (Ret.) Michael J.
Novosel. Mr Novosel died in the early hours of
Sunday, April 02, 2006 at Walter Reed Army
Medical Center after an extended illness.
He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism
on October 2, 1969. Novosel received word of
wounded South Vietnamese soldiers pinned down
by a large enemy force. Flying without air cover,
he encountered ground fire so intense it forced
him away six times. Courageously, he completed
15 hazardous extractions. On the last, just as a
wounded soldier was pulled into the aircraft, the
enemy unleashed a hail of fire directly at
Novosel. Wounded, he momentarily lost control of
the aircraft, but recovered and flew to safety. In
all, he saved 29 men. He was nominated for and
later received the Congressional Medal of Honor
for these actions.
In March 1970, a UH-1 helicopter piloted by
Novosel's son was shot down. The senior Novosel
heard the "Mayday" call from 15 minutes away.
With assurance from the aircraft commander that
his son's crew had survived the crash and found
shelter, Novosel completed his own mission before
flying to their aid. The younger Novosel returned
the favor seven days later when his father was
shot down. Just 19 at the time, Mike Jr. flew to
his father's rescue.
While Novosel's heroism as a combat pilot is well
documented in the Army Aviation community, he
will be remembered to many as a soft spoken
gentleman who, even in retirement, made himself
available to lecture at the Warrant Officer Career
College and he also became a Senior Tactical
Adviser in the Warrant Officer Candidate Program
at Fort Rucker.
The Aviation Soldiers serving throughout the world
express their deepest sympathy to Mr. Novosel's
family.
"CW4 Mike Novosel was an extraordinary patriot
who showed all Americans what it means to serve.
He was an incredibly genuine person, who loved to
talk with the generations of Soldier Aviators who
followed about what it means to truly put your
life on the line for one another and to never
leave a fallen comrade behind. His gallantry and
loyalty to his fellow Soldiers is an example we
will all strive to live up to. His loss is felt
not only by his family and the Army Aviation
community, but by all those who knew and loved
him," said Brig. Gen. E. J. Sinclair, Commander,
U.S. Army Aviation Warfighting Center.
"I first met Mike Novosel as a brand new Army
aviator. I was in awe of his bravery and the
stories I had heard, but what inspired me at the
time, and what has stayed with me all these years,
was Mike's quiet, matter-of-fact, "follow-me"
example. Chief Novosel was the type of man who is
just as heroic in the classroom and in the hangar
and in the club and walking the flight line as he
is on the battlefield. When I last saw Mike he was
at Walter Reed, clearly ailing, but making his way
amongst the wards visiting our injured Soldiers
from Iraq and Afghanistan. Sometimes the
soldiering defines the man -- in Mike's case, the
character of the man defined what it means to be a
Soldier. He will be missed by his entire extended
Army family, and me personally," said Gen Richard
Cody, Vice Chief of Staff of the Army.
Biographical Information
Born September 3, 1922 and raised in Etna, Pa.,
Novosel became an aviation cadet in the U.S. Army
Air Forces when he was 19 years old. After earning
his commission and pilot wings on December 15,
1942, he instructed in the North American AT-6
Texan at Laredo Army Air Field, Texas. By
December 1944, Novosel had logged more than 800
hours in the Consolidated B-24 Liberator
supporting aerial gunner training. Then, he went
to Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, to qualify in
the Boeing B-29 Superfortress.
In July 1945, following crew training in New
Mexico, Novosel left for Tinian Island in the
Pacific where he flew four combat missions with
the 58th Bombardment Wing (Very Heavy). After
the end of World War II, he flew two missions to
drop food to Allied prisoners of war in Japan.
During the Japanese surrender ceremony on the
USS Missouri, Novosel commanded a B-29 in a
462-ship fly-over. He then took command of the
99th Bombardment Squadron (Very Heavy) and
remained in the Pacific until the fall of 1947.
Following his service in World War II he was
assigned to Eglin AFB, Florida, where he was a
B-29 test pilot. In 1949, Novosel left active duty
and joined the Air Force Reserve. He was recalled
to active duty during the Korean War, at the grade
of Major and attended the Air Command and Staff
School.
Novosel was promoted to Lt. Col. with the Air
Force Reserve in 1964 and requested active duty
for service during the Vietnam War. When informed
that the Air Force was over-strength in its senior
grades, he vacated his position with the Air Force
Reserves and accepted an appointment as a
Warrant Officer Aviator with the U.S. Army.
Returning to combat as a "dustoff" (medivac)
helicopter pilot, he served two tours in South
Vietnam, flying 2,543 missions in the Bell UH-1
Huey while airlifting nearly 5,600 medical
evacuees.
On October 2, 1969, Novosel received word of
wounded South Vietnamese soldiers pinned down
by a large enemy force. Flying without air cover,
he encountered ground fire so intense it forced
him away six times. Courageously, he completed
15 hazardous extractions. On the last, just as a
wounded soldier was pulled into the aircraft, the
enemy unleashed a hail of fire directly at
Novosel. Wounded, he momentarily lost control of
the aircraft, but recovered and flew to safety. In
all, he saved 29 men. He was nominated for and
later received the Congressional Medal of Honor
for these actions.
In March 1970, a UH-1 helicopter piloted by
Novosel's son was shot down. The senior Novosel
heard the "Mayday" call from 15 minutes away.
With assurance from the aircraft commander that
his son's crew had survived the crash and found
shelter, Novosel completed his own mission before
flying to their aid. The younger Novosel returned
the favor seven days later when his father was
shot down. Just 19 at the time, Mike Jr. flew to
his father's rescue.
Following his heroic service in Vietnam, he served
3 years at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, as chief
pilot for the Army's Golden Knights parachute
team. On occasion, he jumped with the team to
maintain proficiency.
Novosel's next assignment was at Fort Rucker
where he was an author and lecturer at the Warrant
Officer Career College until 1976. An assignment
in Korea as the Second Infantry Division's
Aviation Safety Officer followed. In May 1983,
Novosel was assigned new duties as the Aviation
Center Senior Training, Advising and Counseling
(TAC) Officer with the Warrant Officer Candidate
Program.
At the time of his retirement on February 28,
1985, Novosel was the last active duty military
aviator on flight status who had flown combat
missions in World War II. Known as the "Dean of
the Dustoff Pilots" Novosel was an aviator on
flight status for more than 42 years. He
accumulated 12,400 hours of military flying time
of which 2,038 were flown in combat.
Upon his retirement as a Chief Warrant Officer 4,
he received a rare honor for a living hero; the
main street of Fort Rucker became Novosel Avenue.
In 1992, he marched with other World War II
veterans across Red Square in Russia's
Victory-in-Europe Anniversary Parade. Novosel
participated in the documentary film project In
the Shadow of the Blade in 2002, during which more
than 50 Vietnam aviators piloted a UH-1 "Huey"
helicopter across the United States.
Mr. Novosel resided in Fort Walton Beach, Florida
but was a longtime Enterprise, Alabama resident.
He actively lectured on his autobiography,
Dustoff, The Memoir of an Army Aviator and was
featured in the recently published book A History
of Army Aviation, written by Dr. James Williams.
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site:
03/10/2024
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I returned from Korea in June '64 to an assignment
to Avn Co, 6th Special Forces Group. Shortly
after my arrival this old man with W-1 bars walked
in and introduced himself as Mike Novosel. We
became very good friends for the next year before
the 1st Cav was formed up for deployment to
Vietnam. Little Mike was a youngster I think in
high school. Mikes wife Ethel and my wife both
remained in Fayetteville, NC while I was deployed
to Vietnam and often visited with each other.
Mike did not get transferred to the 1st Cav but
did make it to Saigon latter. I managed to make
an in country R&R with another good friend Norman
G Taylor to Saigon and we spent the night with
Mike. He was on his first tour.
Mike was a good friend and I only spoke to him
once since Vietnam when he was in NOLA for a
Congressional Medal of Honor get together I called
him and visited with him for a few minutes but was
unable to get over to see him at the time. Mike
had a great sense of humor and was one of the
most pleasant folks I've ever been around. The
world could certainly use a lot more Mike Novosels
today.
One of the stories I remember him telling me was a
bombing run over Korea in a B-29. It was I think
a 16 hour round trip and when he got back they had
to lift him out of the aircraft and walk him
around to get his legs back under him again. He
was a consummate story teller and had some really
interesting and enlightening stories.
I didn't know Little Mike except as a kid so don't
have any thing to add to his life story other than
every time I heard something about him it was good
so he must have had much of his father in him.
From: Larry J Pearson CW3