| |
Commander
Colonel Hanferd J. "Rusty" Moen, Jr., took command
of the Air Force Reserve's 939th Rescue Wing, Portland, Ore.,
in February 1998, not long before the call came: a light aircraft
had never reached its destination.
Two
HH-60 Pavehawk helicopters with 12 Reserve aircrew members
and pararescue jumpers immediately joined a search on July
31, 1998, for the private plane carrying three passengers.
One chopper spotted the small plane on the side of a mountain,
upside down in some trees. The specialized rescuers jumped
into action, saving the woman passenger and her two-year-old
child. The pilot, husband and father of the two other passengers,
died in the crash.
That
spectacular rescue "kind of set the course," Moen
said. "This was not an ordinary Reserve unit."
A
string of rescues followed. Many in the rugged mountain terrain
of the Pacific Northwest, and others in the cold waters of
the Pacific Ocean. "It's eerie to send your PJs [pararescue
jumpers] into the dark, over the cold ocean more than 1,000
miles off the coast of California for a rescue," Moen
said. "But it just demonstrates the depth and breadth
of talent these guys have. The sense of pride these individuals
have; they eat sleep and breathe their jobs, and they're damn
good at it." read
more . . . .
|
|
