Army veteran John Behr said evacuating servicemen in Vietnam “wasn’t about coping” with harrowing circumstances.
Rather, he and his crew were focused on the mission at hand.

“It was more like, ‘We have a job to do,’” said Behr, 72, of McDonough.

“When you have to pick somebody up who would have died if it wasn’t for helicopters, it made everything else go away.”
Behr was sworn into the Army on April 9, 1968, in the midst of the conflict in Vietnam.

However, he never aspired to be in the military when he was growing up in Staten Island, N.Y.

“It was the furthest thing from my mind until it became inevitable,” he said. “My parents couldn’t afford college, so I worked during the day and went to Fordham University at night. I was not carrying a full load, so I was not draft-deferrable.
“I enlisted with the purpose of becoming a helicopter pilot,” continued Behr. “In those days, if you weren’t in college, you were going to be drafted. I wanted to go in as a pilot rather than an infantryman.”

Behr served as a Dustoff medevac pilot in Vietnam from June of 1969 to June of 1970. He was part of the 54th Medical Detachment Helicopter Ambulance.

On three separate occasions, Behr’s duties took him just outside Vietnam’s Quang Ngai province. The first two times, he and his crew rescued people from “blasts” on the ground.

“The first time I went to the area, the aircraft got shot up so badly that we had to get another aircraft,” said Behr. “We got shot up in the first mission so bad, my pilot got shot. In the second mission, our aircraft got a couple of hits, but that was not unusual.”

In Behr’s third mission at Quang Ngai, he and his crew rescued people suffering from heatstroke.
“They hadn’t had water for five or six hours, and they were in the sun the entire time,” he said.

Behr earned four medals for valor during his service in Vietnam, including a Silver Star. The first medal, he said, came shortly after he became an aircraft commander. He and his crew were on a mission to support Marines in an area known as the Minuteman firebase.

“We picked up a Marine lieutenant,” said Behr. “While we were on the aircraft, the Marine told me, ‘I’ll get off and go into the treeline and bring the wounded people back.’ He goes into the treeline and comes back out. I’m watching the water around him get kicked around by bullets. He brings back two men.

“The second time, I could see blood on him, but I don’t know if it was his blood or the guy he was carrying,” said Behr. “Then we took those guys to the hospital. On our way, one of the guys told me that the lieutenant who was still on the ground was supposed to go back to the states the next day, but due to his dedication, he went back into a firefight to protect his men.”

Behr recommended the lieutenant for a medal in the wake of the mission, but said he never knew whether the medal was received. The mission also resulted in Behr receiving a medal of his own — the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Behr said he and his fellow servicemen didn’t seek recognition for carrying out their duties.
“It was the guys on the ground that we cared about,” he said.

Behr said his unit suffered casualties in Vietnam, but that none of them died while he was there.

“The year before I was there, an entire crew was lost,” he said. “The year after I was there, an entire crew was lost. We were very lucky.”

Behr also spent time at Chu Lai, a major base for Special Forces, Marines and the 23rd Cavalry Division. He said he and his men “stayed very busy” while there.

“The only thing is, we did it without guns,” said Behr. “We had no guns on the aircraft. We were allowed to carry a sidearm, but we were a medical unit.”

Behr exited Vietnam in 1970 at the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 2. He attended Auburn University before working in the business world for 20 years.

Behr then taught at Mt. Zion High School in Clayton County, then at Patrick Henry High School in Stockbridge. He remained there when the school became Excel Academy, and retired three years ago.

Behr said his experiences in Vietnam taught him a great deal about himself.

“All your experiences are who you become,” said Behr. “I’m proud of what I did. It showed me what I was capable of, which has made me able to do things I didn’t think I’d be able to do.”