US Bases Name Changes: Ft Rucker rename Fort Novosel after CWO4 Michael J. Novosel

[havoc]

U.S. commission recommends renaming nine Army bases to strip Confederate legacy (yahoo.com)

FILE PHOTO: Flags and a monument are seen at the entrance to Fort Benning in Columbus
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Congressionally mandated commission announced on Tuesday its recommendations for changes to the names of nine U.S. Army bases that currently honor the Confederacy and Confederate leaders.The recommended changes, if implemented, would name bases in honor of Black, Hispanic and female American heroes, including Mary Edwards Walker, the only woman to win the Medal of Honor for her service as a surgeon during the Civil War. They are:

* Fort Benning, Georgia – rename Fort Moore after Lieutenant General Hal and Julia Moore.

* Fort Bragg, North Carolina – rename Fort Liberty after the value of liberty.

* Fort Gordon, Georgia – rename Fort Eisenhower after General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower.

* Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia – rename Fort Walker after Dr. Mary Walker

* Fort Hood, Texas – rename Fort Cavazos after General Richard Cavazos

* Fort Lee, Virginia – rename Fort Gregg-Adams after Lieutenant General Arthur Gregg and Lieutenant Colonel Charity Adams

* Fort Pickett, Virginia – rename Fort Barfoot after Technical Sergeant Van T. Barfoot

* Fort Polk, Louisiana – rename Fort Johnson after Sergeant William Henry Johnson

* Fort Rucker, Alabama – rename Fort Novosel after Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael J. Novosel, Sr.

The commission, which has no power to change the names on its own, said it will complete a written report for Congress by Oct. 1. Under previous legislation passed by Congress, the Pentagon will be required to implement changes by 2024, it said.

The United States has been re-examining its history and removing segregationist symbols across the country following the May 25, 2020, murder of George Floyd, a Black man killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis.

That re-examination has extended to the U.S. military, which quickly issued a de facto ban on displaying the Confederate flag at U.S. military installations. Congress then passed legislation requiring changes to base names, despite fierce opposition from then-President Donald Trump.

Confederate flags and base names can be offensive to many Americans, who see them as reminders of the enslavement of Black Americans and a symbol of white supremacy.



CW4 Michael J. Novosel, Sr. (militaryhallofhonor.com)

CW4 Michael J. Novosel, Sr.ID: 1042

• Biography
• Awards, Medals, Badges
• Photos
• Remembrances
• Tributes

First Name: Michael
Last Name: Novosel
Birthplace: Etna, PA, USA
Gender: Male
Branch: Army (1784 - present)
Home of Record: Kenner, LA Middle Name: J.
Date of Birth: 03 September 1922
Date of Death: 02 April 2006
Rank: Chief Warrant Officer 4
Years Served: 1941-1955, 1963-1985




Michael J. Novosel, Sr.
Engagements:
• World War II (1941 - 1945)
• Vietnam War (1960 - 1973)

Biography:Michael J. Novosel, Sr.
Chief Warrant Officer, U.S. Army
Medal of Honor Recipient
Vietnam War

Chief Warrant Officer (CW4) Michael J. Novosel, Sr. (3 September 1922 - 2 April 2006) was a retired U.S. Army soldier who was a recipient of the U.S. military's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor. Novosel's service to his country spanned three wars - World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

Michael J. Novosel was born on 3 September 1922 in the Pittsburgh-area town of Etna, PA. He was the son of Croatian immigrants, and grew up during the Great Depression fluently speaking both his parents' tongue, and English. At the age of 19, Novosel joined what was then the Army Air Corps. That was just ten months prior to Pearl Harbor, and by 1945, he was a Captain flying B-29 Superfortress bombers in the war against Japan. He left the service for a brief time due to reductions in force after the war and settled in Fort Walton Beach, FL, to raise his family.

Novosel joined the U.S. Air Force Reserves and went back on active duty to again serve his country during the Korean War. He left the service again in 1953 and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve in 1955. In 1963, Novosel was working as a commercial airline pilot when a deep sense of patriotism called him to return to active military duty. By then, he was 41 and the Air Force did not have space for any more officers in the upper ranks. It was then that Novosel made the decision to give up his rank of lieutenant colonel in the Air Force to join the Army and fly helicopters as a chief warrant officer with the elite Special Forces Aviation Section.

He served his first tour in Vietnam flying medevac helicopters (Dustoff) with the 283rd Medical Detachment. His second tour in Vietnam was with the 82nd Medical Detachment. During that war, Novosel flew 2,543 missions and extracted 5,589 wounded personnel, among them his own son, Michael J. Novosel, Jr. (the following week Michael J. Novosel, Jr. returned the favor by extracting his father after being shot down).

On the morning of 2 October 1969, Novosel set out to evacuate a group of South Vietnamese soldiers who were surrounded by the enemy near the Cambodian border. The soldiers' radio communication was lost and their ammunition expended. Without air cover or fire support, Novosel flew at low altitudes while under continuous enemy fire. He skimmed the ground with his helicopter, while his medic and crew chief yanked the wounded men on board. He completed 15 hazardous extractions, was wounded in a barrage of enemy fire and momentarily lost control of his helicopter that day, but when it was over, he had rescued 29 men. Novosel completed his tour in March 1970. In 1971, then Pres. Richard Nixon placed the nation's highest award for valor in combat, the U.S. Medal of Honor, around Novosel's neck.

Medal of Honor

Rank and organization: Chief Warrant Officer, U.S. Army, 82d Medical Detachment, 45th Medical Company, 68th Medical Group.

Place and date: Kien Tuong Province, Republic of Vietnam, 2 October 1969.

Entered service at: Kenner, LA. Born: 3 September 1922, Etna, PA.

Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. CWO Novosel, 82d Medical Detachment, distinguished himself while serving as commander of a medical evacuation helicopter. He unhesitatingly maneuvered his helicopter into a heavily fortified and defended enemy training area where a group of wounded Vietnamese soldiers were pinned down by a large enemy force. Flying without gunship or other cover and exposed to intense machinegun fire, CWO Novosel was able to locate and rescue a wounded soldier. Since all communications with the beleaguered troops had been lost, he repeatedly circled the battle area, flying at low level under continuous heavy fire, to attract the attention of the scattered friendly troops. This display of courage visibly raised their morale, as they recognized this as a signal to assemble for evacuation. On 6 occasions he and his crew were forced out of the battle area by the intense enemy fire, only to circle and return from another direction to land and extract additional troops. Near the end of the mission, a wounded soldier was spotted close to an enemy bunker. Fully realizing that he would attract a hail of enemy fire, CWO Novosel nevertheless attempted the extraction by hovering the helicopter backward. As the man was pulled on aboard, enemy automatic weapons opened fire at close range, damaged the aircraft and wounded CWO Novosel. He momentarily lost control of the aircraft, but quickly recovered and departed under the withering enemy fire. In all, 15 extremely hazardous extractions were performed in order to remove wounded personnel. As a direct result of his selfless conduct, the lives of 29 soldiers were saved. The extraordinary heroism displayed by CWO Novosel was an inspiration to his comrades in arms and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

Novosel was inducted into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame in 1975. When he retired as the senior warrant officer with the Warrant Officer Candidate Program in 1985, he had been a military aviator for 42 years and was the last World War II military aviator in the U.S. to remain on active flying duty. Novosel accumulated 12,400 military flying hours, including 2,038 in combat during his career. Upon his retirement, he received a rare honor for a living hero when the main street at Fort Rucker, AL was renamed "Novosel Street." He also received his final award, the Distinguished Service Medal during his retirement ceremony.

While residing in Enterprise, AL, Novosel remained active in the military community during his retirement. He frequently was invited as the honored guest for military lectures and ceremonies spanning the entire country to share his unique insights, even until the final weeks before he died. He co-piloted the liftoff of the In the Shadow of the Blade mission in 2002. His book, Dustoff - The Memoir of an Army Aviator, was published in 1999.

Diagnosed with a recurrent cancer in November 2005, he had undergone a series of highly successful treatments at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. The cancer tumor had been greatly reduced in December 2005 and January 2006. In February 2006, Novosel concluded chemotherapy and other treatments and waited to regain strength in preparation for surgery on 7 March. His prognosis appeared excellent. Despite new and innovative procedures to reduce trauma, he never fully recovered from the shock of the surgery.

Medals and Awards

Medal of Honor
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Flying Cross with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters
Bronze Star Medal with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster
Purple Heart Air Medal with Valor "V" & bronze numeral "25"
Army Commendation Medal
RVN Cross of Gallantry w/ Gold Star RVN Armed Forces Honor Medal, 1st Class
Army Master Aviator Wings
Air Force Command Pilot Wings

Note: CW4 Novosel was the first person to ever be awarded both Army Master Aviator Wings and Air Force Command Pilot Wings.

Honors

• Novosel was inducted into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame in 1975.

• Upon his retirement, he received a rare honor for a living hero when the main street at Fort Rucker, AL was renamed "Novosel Street."

• His book, Dustoff - The Memoir of an Army Aviator, was published in 1999.

• He co-piloted the liftoff of the In the Shadow of the Blade mission in 2002.

Death and Burial

Chief Warrant Officer Michael J. Novosel, Sr. died on 2 April 2006 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA, with full military honors on 13 April 2006. His grave is located at Section 7A, Lot 178-C.

[SASless]

I shall always call them by their names when I was there....and this touchy feely horse **** of re-writing history and praying to the new God of Wokism can kiss my rosy red rear end!

Besides that....I care not for the re-naming crusade.

When will they decide to remove Iron Mike from Fort Bragg....as he is plainly modeled from a White Guy.

Where does this end?

The Confederate Flag flew over Slavery for four years....and is now no longer acceptable.....but the US Flag flew over slavery for over a hundred years....yet it is acceptable....for now anyway.

Lets face it....the Confederacy existed...it is part of your history as is the Civil War and everything that is related to it.

[gums]

Salute!

I had the distinct honor of having a long conversation with Mike Novosel SR one day when his son, Jr, opened a bar abd grill in Ft Walton Beach back about 20 years ago.

My oldest son was with me and I was glad he could be in the presence of a true hero.

That night we opened the eaterie and another MoH guy was there = Bud Day. Wow!

If you read the whole story about Novosel's mission for the Moh you will be amazed.

The best part of the Novosel family history is his son got assigned to same unit down in Four Corps and Mike senior rescues his son one day - they were flying the Dustoff medical missions and the bad guys didn't pay a lotta attention to the "rules".

Gums sends...

[SASless]

Gums,

My beef is not with Novosel being one of the people having a base named after them.....it is the reason behind it that chafes my butt.

Fort Bliss was named for a LtCol who participated in removing the Cherokee and Seminole Indians to the Indian Territories....and he gets a pass.

I could go down a list of bases that are named after people with similar "racist" backgrounds.

Do we re-name Washington as Ol'George owned Slaves?

How about Fort Sam Houston .....he was very much into owning Slaves and supporting Slavery.....and Fort Sam Houston is the Army Medical Training Base in Texas.

We have colleges and universities named for Slave Owners....and for Confederate Officers....so should they change their names too?

[Lonewolf_50]

Given my rotary wing bias, I am not going to be against naming a military fort that is the heart of Army helicopters after a stud helicopter pilot.


While I generally agree with SAS on the woke idiocy, I do have a modest proposal:
Don't rename Fort Lee, but if you must then consider perhaps another famous Lee.
Lighthorse Harry. A hero of the American Revolution.

(Yes, SASless, I know about Mother Rucker and delivered a Blackhawk or two there ...)
Side note: CW4 Novosel is from the same part of the country my dad is from, albeit seven years older than Dad

[gums]

Salute!

I concur with SAS and Wolf. When the bases and fields were named many things were different WRT politics.

In any case, changing Rucker to Novosel does not bother me as much as some other changes. If it makes the "woke" folks cease and desist from erasing American history, then let them rename some pissant places.

Gums sends...

[Asturias56]

Anyone checked on Washington DC and Washington State? He was anti English for start...............

[fdr]

Originally Posted by havoc

Note: CW4 Novosel was the first person to ever be awarded both Army Master Aviator Wings and Air Force Command Pilot Wings.
Honors

• Novosel was inducted into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame in 1975.
• Upon his retirement, he received a rare honor for a living hero when the main street at Fort Rucker, AL was renamed "Novosel Street."
• His book, Dustoff - The Memoir of an Army Aviator, was published in 1999.
• He co-piloted the liftoff of the In the Shadow of the Blade mission in 2002.

Death and Burial

Chief Warrant Officer Michael J. Novosel, Sr. died on 2 April 2006 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA, with full military honors on 13 April 2006. His grave is located at Section 7A, Lot 178-C.

A worthy rename for a location that is familiar with the name.

Mike Srs son was also an army UH1 helicopter pilot, Mike Jr, and he, unfortunately, died at age 60, in 2009, a month after being diagnosed of cancer. Same rank as his father. One of the main roads at the former Ft Rucker was already named after his father.

Both father and son shred the same callsign in VietNam, Dustoff 88.

Mike Novosel, Jr. is the only pilot to fly in the same helicopter unit with his father in combat! Born in 1949 at Eglin AFB, Florida, Novosel grew up around pilots and aircraft. As a teenager, he took every opportunity to be down on the flight line. In 1968, at the peak of the war in Southeast Asia, he graduated from high school in North Carolina and, at 19, enlisted in the Army. After basic training, he reported to Fort Wolters, Texas, for flight school and trained in the same flight in which his father had served as a contract instructor earlier. Novosel graduated, received appointment to warrant officer one, and earned his wings on 15 December 1969. It was exactly 27 years after his father had earned his wings! He volunteered for duty in Vietnam and, when he arrived, requested assignment to the 82nd Medical Detachment. With his father’s approval, he joined the unit. His father gave him a "dollar ride," an auto-rotation check, an "in-country" flight evaluation, and then cleared Novosel, Jr. to fly the Bell UH-1 "Huey." The two Novosels suspended a normal father-son relationship for the next few months, but, when Novosel, Sr. completed his tour, his son flew him to the departure processing base. In July 1970, Novosel, Jr. became an aircraft commander and inherited his father’s call sign, "Dustoff 88." In a year tour, he flew 1,736 missions, earned 37 air medals, and rescued more than 2,500 allied airmen, sailors, and soldiers. He returned to the States as a chief warrant officer (CWO-2), married, and was assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. After serving at Pusan, Korea, he flew the "Huey" and the Bell OH-58 Kiowa with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bliss, Texas. Posted to Fort Rucker, Alabama, Novosel earned an associate degree in Aviation Safety and then went to the 377th Medical Detachment at Camp Walker, Korea. In 1981, he returned to Fort Rucker as a flight instructor and earned a degree in Professional Aeronautics from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. Next, he was Aviation Safety Officer for 2nd Infantry Division in Korea and then became a classroom teacher and instructor pilot back at Fort Rucker. After assignment to the 12th Aviation Brigade in Germany, Novosel’s final duty was Installation Safety Officer at Fort Bragg; he retired as a CWO-4 in 1991 with over 5,500 flying hours. In a varied second career, he has flown spotting missions for fishing fleets in the south Pacific, crop dusted, and hauled timber. Since 1991, Novosel has flown support for offshore oil exploration and drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico. With almost 11,000 hours, he pilots the Bell 407, a state-of-the-art machine, for Air Logistics. He now divides his time between the oil platforms and his home and wife, Margaret, in Florida.

2 guys that deserve accolades

[SASless]

It seems the US Navy has its own problems in naming ships.

There have been ships named for Civil War Heroes....Confederates and the Confederate Submarine "Hunley"....but those names have not been reassigned.

Lots of politics goes into the process....which should come as no surprise.

https://news.usni.org/2013/04/23/twe...-controversies

[Lonewolf_50]

Originally Posted by Asturias56

Anyone checked on Washington DC and Washington State? He was anti English for start...............

You say that like it's a bad thing.

Originally Posted by SASless

It seems the US Navy has its own problems in naming ships.
{snip the next bit} Lots of politics goes into the process....which should come as no surprise.
https://news.usni.org/2013/04/23/twe...-controversies

Remember what Admiral Rickover said about how submarines and other ships get named. When asked why we no longer have a USS Mako or a USS Shark (sea creatures that were sub names in WW II) Admiral Rickover's response was: "Fish don't vote."
As to politics: when the Los Angeles class submarine USS Corpus Christi (the city where my wife's family is from) was to be launched/christened, a bunch of Catholic wankers (and a few Protestants) ~ to include House Speaker Tip O'Neill, and calling themselves something like the Ad Hoc Corpus Christi Campaign ~ got all up in arms about how you can't name a warship after the Body of Christ. It's the name of a freaking city, and somehow they don't mind a city being named for the Body of Christ. Gutless SecNav, John Lehman, also a Catholic, eventually folded. The political compromise was to name it USS City of Corpus Christi but sadly, Arlo Guthrie didn't write a song for it.

Spoiler

 

 

My wife and her whole family are Catholic, and I eventually became one, but at the time of this political crap storm my general opinion on that pre-woke outrage was "Fkuc the Pope, all of his bishops, and anyone who looks like them!").

[SASless]

Having spent quite a bit of time around Lehman....there are a lot of stories that could be told...but shall not be even today.

Doing Protective Services Details for Cabinet Officials and very Senior Military Officers along with Foreign Dignitaries affords an interesting view of the lives of those folks.

[gums]

Salute!

Thank you FDR. Good stuff. The Novosels were quite a pair. Somewhere, maybe in Senior's book is the story about the father-son rescue mission(s).

What I found most interesting was sitting there for two hours with this guy who had flown B-29's over Japan when I was still in diapers!!!

Jr opened the bar and grill called the Flightline, and the outside was painted in aviation art. When he went west the new operators closed it after a brief time. The interior was filled with many picures of aviators and planes, plus Sr's MoH citation and a replica of his real medal.

Due to my timing, I met and flew with and taught many that became well-known and decorated. A few callsigns had instant recognition when things went south. None of us can forget Dustoff, Jolly, Sandy, Disco, Red Crown, just to name a few.
==================
So tonight I attend a dinner with the old farts that taught me things that saved me for another 20 years +/-. Our callsign for the 604th Air Commando Squadron was "Rap" The Vee complained that we were using "Dragon" and they had a unit that also wanted that callsign. So our Ops chief used a short form of his name, "Rapney". Our A-37's earned a great reputation for close air support and we were requested by name from U.S.Army units that had seen us before. I overlapped beginning of Mike Sr's tour and was back home when Jr showed up. I tink "SAS" and I also overlapped in '68.
See A-37 Association, Inc

Gums sends....

P.S. My callsign back then was given by my flight commander and I was youngest nugget in the squadron - 'Boy Wonder".

[sandiego89]

When you name bases and ships after people, you will always have controversy- people are imperfect.

I wish they would revert to place names, and traditional, non-people names.

The US Navy ahs a poor track record and I wish they would revert to historical names for Aircraft carriers. Bring back names like Saratoga, Ranger, Kittyhawk, Constellation, Independence, Hornet (I do not expect the museum Hornet to last much longer sadly).... The pending new JFK, Enterprise and Dorris Miller are appropriate but the Carl Vinson and John Stennis (and Murtha) should never have happened.

[FWRWATPLX2]

What I would like to know, is my graduation from Fort Rucker, 23 March 1979, invalid, now that it is Fort Novosel? The thousands of Aviators who proudly graduated from Fort Rucker will their achievement(s) be changed in official Army records, from Fort Rucker to Fort Novosel? And, would anyone on this thread be aware that former Tuskegee Airmen taught at Fort Rucker? I wonder how they felt about the name of the fort named for Confederate Colonel Edmund Winchester Rucker they served upon.

Cannot erase history, somebody will remember, correctly.

Some interesting details here-
https://alabamanewscenter.com/2020/0...edmund-rucker/

[fdr]

Originally Posted by gums

Salute!

... The Novosels were quite a pair. Somewhere, maybe in Senior's book is the story about the father-son rescue mission(s).

What I found most interesting was sitting there for two hours with this guy who had flown B-29's over Japan when I was still in diapers!!!

Jr opened the bar and grill called the Flightline, and the outside was painted in aviation art. When he went west the new operators closed it after a brief time. The interior was filled with many picures of aviators and planes, plus Sr's MoH citation and a replica of his real medal.

Due to my timing, I met and flew with and taught many that became well-known and decorated. A few callsigns had instant recognition when things went south. None of us can forget Dustoff, Jolly, Sandy, Disco, Red Crown, just to name a few.

...
Gums sends....

P.S. My callsign back then was given by my flight commander and I was youngest nugget in the squadron - 'Boy Wonder".

I can see the attraction of Ft Walton Beach, in fact the whole emerald coast, it has its attractions... spring break notwithstanding. It is some of the best airspaces on the rock, Tyndall ATC particularly. One of the world's great beaches from Foley to St Joes. Hanging up your spurs can happen in worse places.

I think Jr's place has recently closed, which is a loss.

Changing the names does not have to be considered to be "WOKE" whatever that may denote, We stopped feeding Christians to the lions some time ago, and there wasn't much pushback on that, having an inclusive society, particularly when there is easy access to firearms would seem to be reasonable. Back in the day, I met some Tuskegee airmen, and they were regular guys, as are my friend's ex VNAF etc... names shouldn't define people, their actions and what they hold in their heart seems to be more relevant for giving the time of day to.

[Asturias56]

Originally Posted by Asturias56

Anyone checked on Washington DC and Washington State? He was anti English for start...............

Originally Posted by Lonewolf_50

You say that like it's a bad thing. "

In the modern world that alone could get you banned...............

[tdracer]

Originally Posted by Asturias56

Anyone checked on Washington DC and Washington State? He was anti English for start...............

Well, there has been a few people calling for Washington State to be renamed although so far it's just a small (but very vocal) minority. There was an op-ed in the Washington Post about a week ago by a student of George Washington University who wanted the name of the school changed because having it named after a one time slave holder was 'triggering'. Apparently it was totally lost on this snowflake that her editorial was being published by a paper named after that particular slave holder, located in a city named after that slave holder
Of course they could use the trick that King County used (King County is were Seattle and some of the surrounding communities are located). After it was determined that King County was named after a guy that owned slaves, they decided King County was named after Martin Luther King (ignoring the fact that it had been called King County well before MLK was even born). Maybe they could say Washington State was named after Booker T...
Sometimes I want to remind all those people intent on erasing history of that old nugget - 'Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it'.

[Lonewolf_50]

tdracer, you may be dealing with people whose perspective is based on staring at a phone and considering what they see on it to be Truth with a capital T.

they decided King County was named after Martin Luther King (ignoring the fact that it had been called King County well before MLK was even born).

As Ron White has said with some frequency: You can't fix stupid.

[melmothtw]

Lets face it....the Confederacy existed...it is part of your history as is the Civil War and everything that is related to it.

Nazi Germany existed and is part of our collective history, but I'm sure you would find it odd if the German armed forces named its bases Fort Himmler, Fort Mengele, etc.

[Asturias56]

All comes back to "when can you take a balanced view of historic personalities"

if you read the Daily Mail Napoleon is alive and well and waiting to invade the UK any any moment. A more balanced view would say he did bad things, good things and was a brilliant general. None of it is terribly relevant today but it still stirs up emotions