Below is a typed copy of a newspaper article.  My copy is too smudged to be reproduced here.  As soon as Lorinda finds her copy, we will consider replacing this article with a scanned copy of the original which also includes a picture of the rescuers if it is clear.

KWANG JU RESCUE SAVES 18 LIVES

Kwang Ju AB—Seven Korean soldiers and 11 civilians won’t soon forget the air rescue personnel at this base.  Their lives will be a constant reminder to them of the day they stared death in the face and were plucked from its grasp by four Americans. 

The Americans, Maj. William F Cunningham, Jr., Maj. Wayne I. Ritter, TSgt. Larry K.Henderson and SSgt. Kelsey R. Adams are assigned to Det. 10, 41 Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Wing here. 

The day the men were called into action was by no means an ideal one for rescue operations.  Heavy rain pelted the base and a shroud of fog forced closing of the air field.  Such a day is normally a paperwork day for a helicopter unit.

But at 8:36 AM, the paperwork was shoved aside when the rescue unit received a call from Lt. Col. Hesup S. John, safety officer for the Republic of Korea’s 1^st Fighter Wing here,

Col. John informed the rescue alert crew that some Korean Army Corps of Engineers troops were stranded on the top of a diesel shovel in the middle of the Hwang Yong River and that the river was rising rapidly.  The normally placid, sand-bar ridden river had been swollen by more than three inches of rain and had turned into a raging torrent. 

Despite the adverse weather conditions the rescuemen were off in a matter of minutes with Col. John along as guide and interpreter.

Minutes later, Maj. Cunningham, 33, of Columbus, Ohio, was hovering his HH-43B Huskie helicopter over the nearly-submerged piece of equipment.  He positioned the helicopter, with the assistance of his co-pilot, Maj. Ritter, 38, of Monteno, IL, about 18 feet above the men.

     Sgt Adams, 34, of Detroit, MI, a pararescue man, was lowered to the roof of the diesel cab where he assisted the Korean soldiers in putting on a rescue hoist.  One by one they were raised and helped into the chopper by Sgt. Henderson, 38, of Tampa, FL, the flight mechanic.

Four men were taken to safety first and then the other three along with Sgt. Adams.

After talking with the soldiers, Col. John learned that the men were taking fill from the river when they suddenly discover a “wall of water” gushing toward them. 

The diesel was eventually completely covered.  The depth of the river was estimated to have arisen 10 feet.

Upon returning to the base, rescue personnel noticed that one of the helicopter blades had been damaged.  As is the practice, immediate repairs were made in the event another rescue mission should be  called.  And it wasn’t long before one was called. 

At 1 PM Col. John called again.  This time 11 Korean civilian workers were trapped in a sandbar which was rapidly becoming smaller as raging waters deluged it.

The scene was only two miles downstream from the morning’s accident.  As the rescue men appeared over the area it appeared to them that the civilians were attempting to construct a makeshift raft and fighting the erosion of their tiny island with shovels, throwing dirt into rapidly disappearing edges of the sandbar.

The helicopter was positioned about one foot above the area with the right wheels over the island, the left ones over the water.  This allowed an open area on the sandbar for rescue operations.  Again, Sgt. Adams and Henderson guided Koreans into the chopper, using a hoist as a step.  Two trips were required to ferry the men to safety.

Referring to the rescue mission, Col. John said that all 18 men could very well have been lost in the swift waters had not help arrived in time. 

 This is one of many rescues that Kelsey was involved in.

Copyright Delores Adams 2/3/04

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