Robert Louis Horst
Chief Warrant Officer-CW2 - Dustoff 107
Killed In Action 07 April, 1972
21 Years Old, Married, Born June 20, 1950, From Springfield Missouri.
His Tour Of Duty Began on June 10, 1971.
Casualty was on April 07, 1972 in Binh Long, South Vietnam.
Hostile action, small arms fire. Body was recovered.
Panel 02W - Line 131
"Greater Love Hath No Man Than To Lay Down His Life For His Brother"
The following account was written by Captain Bruce Nelson, Operations Officer.
TWO WEEKS LEFT IN COUNTRY
...a heroic evacuation pilot continues the Dustoff tradition
After 21 years, this article gives me an opportunity to pay long-overdue tribute to CW2 Robert L. Horst, the last medical evacuation aviator to lose his life due to combat action in Vietnam. As Flight Operations Officer for the 159th Med. Det. (HA) and one of the Long Binh Dustoff IP's I gave Bob his local area orientation and first checkride when he got to Long Binh in spring '71. We also flew several missions together during his first few months with the unit. He was an intensely dedicated, mission oriented pilot with the true aviator's love of flight and was respected by his fellow pilots and co-workers for his knowledge, maturity and flying skills. Bob gave his life so that others could live, and his name will always be remembered on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington and on the Dustoff Crew Member Memorial at the Army Medical Department Museum at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.
On the afternoon of April 7, 1972, Highway 13 near An Loc in the III Corps Tactical Zone, was the scene of intense fire fights, guerilla attacks, and NVA rocket and mortar barrages. An ARVN convoy was making its way up the highway when it came under enemy ambush - three American advisors were among those trapped by the attack. All of the convoy's vehicles were either destroyed or captured; the American advisors and one ARVN officer were wounded, but managed to escape and radio for help. About 1400 hours, a medical evacuation aircraft from another unit answered their call, but ran into intense ground fire and had to withdraw from the area. An aircraft from Long Binh Dustoff made a second rescue attempt, accompanied by Cobra gunships. Once more, heavy fire from the ground prevented a successful rescue, and the approach had to be abandoned; the Dustoff medic was wounded in the leg. Although hit by numerous rounds, the aircraft managed to land at a nearby fire base and subsequently fly back to Long Binh.
At Long Binh, CW2 Bob Horst (DUSTOFF 107) talked with the returned pilots and determined that a successful rescue of the three advisors could still be accomplished. After convincing his detachment commander to grant him mission clearance, CW2 Horst got his crew together, explained the situation and got a "thumbs up" from all of them. Cobra gunships, a C-130 Spectre gunship, and VNAF Skyraiders "prepped" the area prior to DUSTOFF 107's arrival. After making a high-altitude reconnaissance, CW2 Horst began his approach while the gunships concentrated on suspected enemy positions. He maintained constant radio communication with the wounded advisors who used a green pen flare to try and identify their position. During the approach, the Skyraiders flanked DUSTOFF 107 and worked over the tree lines on either side of the highway. As CW2 Horst leveled out just above the highway and hovered toward the advisors' presumed location, he continued to try and pinpoint their position by radio. Crew chief SP4 Tom Pierce remembers looking out the right side of the aircraft directly into the face of an NVA machine gunner in the tree line. The enemy gunner's surprise was apparently enough to spoil his aim...his rounds all fell short of the helicopter. The aircraft continued hovering down the highway - the wounded advisors were nowhere in sight. It was beginning to get dark, and the NVA decided to take advantage of the reduced visibility to intensify their attack. SP4Pierce and medic SP4 Robert Nicholas called out that extremely heavy fire was directed toward both sides of the Aircraft. As the helicopter completed a 180 degree turn, it came under even heavier small arms fire and rocket attack. CW2 Horst and co-pilot WO1 Stephen Purchase, knew that they had used all of their resources in attempting the rescue, but they continued to try and reach the advisors. As the enemy attack on 107 grew even more intense, WO1 Purchase saw that CW2 Horst had been hit, and he took control of the aircraft. As he started a left break and climb out over the surrounding trees, Purchase and Pierce discovered that Horst's feet were interfering with the tail rotor pedals. Pierce began immediate mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and with the help of Nicholas, removed Horst from the AC's seat and placed him on the main cabin floor. Nicholas continued efforts to revive him, but CW2 Horst had died instantly from a bullet wound to the chest. WO1 Purchase flew the aircraft to nearby Lai Khe where he attempted to land, but attracted heavy enemy machine gun fire. The Cobras had stayed on-station with 107 and accompanied him back to Lai Khe. Although their ammunition was already expended, they made dry runs over the airfield to inhibit ground fire to allow Purchase to land. The aircraft was inspected and was found to have taken hits in the mast, man rotor blade, tail rotor and fuel cell. Another Long Binh Dustoff aircraft was dispatched to Lai Khe to take the crew to the 24th Evacuation Hospital, where Horst was pronounced dead on arrival. After DUSTOFF 107's departure from the area, the American advisors called in air strikes around their position. They were subsequently rescued by an OH-6A from the 1st Cav, whose pilot later indicated that the air strikes were what kept the advisors alive and allowed their extraction.
The tragic irony of the attempted evacuation by DUSTOFF 107 is that Bob Horst had only two weeks left in-country prior to DEROS...and April 7 was the last day he was scheduled to fly. For his heroism and gallantry during this rescue attempt, CW2 Horst was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. He was also awarded the Silver Star for his actions in the successful evacuation of an American helicopter crew and ten ARVN soldiers from a burning aircraft under intense enemy fire, in December, 1971. He was buried in the Springfield, Missouri, National Battlefield Cemetery, and is the last Vietnam veteran to be interred there.
Bob Horst was an outstanding example of the 1400 commissioned and warrant officer aviators who were assigned as medical evacuation pilots in Vietnam and who shared a common ideal: unswerving dedication to saving lives during combat, under adverse conditions and at great risk to their own personal safety. As one of the 88 pilots who lost their lives during evacuation missions, his courage and sacrifice are a tribute to everyone who served in Southeast Asia, regardless of Service, rank, or duty position.