UH-1 Huey Helicopter to be Returned to Static Display Today

The static display UH-1 Huey Helicopter at the San Angelo Vietnam Veterans Memorial near Mathis Field has been located and will soon be back atop its stick for everyone’s viewing enjoyment.

The copter was removed from its display mount in January to be refurbished. At the time, the local Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 457 President Tom Bright said just repainting the old Huey would cost $12,000. Someone had parked a barbecue grill underneath the static display on the night of the 4^th of July fireworks show at Lake Nasworthy, he said. The smoke and heat had badly damaged the old bird.

The Vietnam Veterans do not own the copter, the U.S. Government does, and loaned it to the group for the static display. The group is responsible for its upkeep.

The copter was taken down and stored in a Ranger Aviation hanger since July 2016. John Fields, owner of Ranger, said the helicopter was due for a new coat of paint anyway. Fields said the Huey now has gloss paint rather than the flat camouflage paint this time. “Gloss paint will do a better job of sealing it for the weather,” he said. Ranger donated the use of the hanger, paint and labor at cost.

The helicopter had been on static display for two decades. The memorial was established on May 17,1997. The UH-1H (serial number 65-09889) was built in 1965 (hence the “65” in the serial number), and served in theater of the Vietnam War from July 1966 until December 1969. It is called a “slick” bird because it has no outside weapons pylons.

To defray the cost of establishing the memorial, brick pavers were sold to donors. According to Bright, those pavers were stained by oil and grease from the July 4^th barbecuers. He is not sure if the stains will ever be completely removed.

The old copter will go back up on its “stick” sometime today, according to Fields. He said the vets found a crane traveling through the area and the crane operator agreed to give them a good deal. Wind permitting, expect the crane to be in operation Friday afternoon putting the old Huey back in its rightful place.

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Correction: The helicopter was taken down January 2017 for the restoration. We corrected the story as we originally stated it was removed last summer.