It was 1985 and, as a junior captain, I found myself at Fort Rucker, Alabama, assigned as adjutant of the 1st Battalion, 1st Aviation Brigade, at the U.S. Army Aviation Center. On a cool spring day, I found myself walking past the post headquarters when a small, erect figure came toward me on the sidewalk. Striding purposefully, with an almost jaunty step, he snapped a crisp salute along with a friendly greeting. On his collar he wore “CW4” rank—the first I’d seen in my short career—along with the insignia of a master aviator.
As we passed, I noticed his nametag, which read “Novosel.” Moments later, as I crossed the street, I happened to glance up at the street sign. It read “Novosel Street.” Back at the unit, I asked the battalion executive officer, “Who is Chief Novosel, and why does he have a street named after him?” The XO burst out laughing. “You’ve gotta be the only person on Fort Rucker who doesn’t know about the chief!”
Living Legend
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael Novosel, still on active duty at age 63 and the senior warrant officer in Army aviation, was a living legend. Born and raised in Etna, Pennsylvania, the son of Croatian immigrants, he spoke no English until he began primary school. Enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Corps before Pearl Harbor, he rose to the rank of captain and flew the B-29 Superfortress in the Pacific, participating in the flyover of the surrender ceremony on the USS Missouri.
Later, during the Korean War, he was recalled to active duty to fly transport planes. In 1963, he held the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve while flying as a commercial airline pilot. As Vietnam began to heat up, he exchanged his rank for that of an Army warrant officer to fly helicopters. Then well into his 40s, by his own admission he expected to train new aviators—not fly in combat. But the Army had other ideas.
In 1965, Novosel participated in Operation Power Pack, the U.S. intervention in the Dominican Republic, flying in support of Special Forces. In 1966, he went to Vietnam for his first tour, flying “dustoff” missions as a medevac pilot in the UH-1H Iroquois “Huey” helicopter. In 1969, he returned for a second tour. Before he was finished, Novosel had flown 2,543 missions and evacuated more than 5,500 wounded soldiers, saving countless lives. Within one week, he rescued his son—also a dustoff pilot—and later, his son rescued him, after both had been shot down.
These exploits alone would have secured Novosel an honored place in Army aviation history, but his greatest deeds were yet to come. On Oct. 2, 1969, while flying with the 82nd Medical Detachment in Kien Tuong Province, Novosel was tasked to extract wounded South Vietnamese soldiers pinned down by a superior North Vietnamese force. Without gunship support, Novosel approached the friendly force six times, only to be driven away by intense ground fire.
Undeterred, Novosel traversed the landing zone at low altitude, ultimately rescuing 29 soldiers in 15 extractions, after refueling and returning to the fight multiple times.
On his last flight of the day, Novosel was wounded in the hand and leg by direct fire at close range, but successfully piloted his damaged aircraft and wounded passengers to safety. In June 1971, he received the Medal of Honor from President Richard Nixon in a White House ceremony.
Lasting Contributions
When he retired in 1985, Novosel had been a rated aviator for some 42 years and was the last World War II pilot on active duty. In his long career, Novosel amassed 12,400 flying hours, 2,038 of which were in combat. Upon his retirement, he had been awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal, three awards of the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Purple Heart and 64 Air Medals, along with numerous other awards, in addition to the Medal of Honor.
In October, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin accepted recommendations that included renaming Fort Rucker as Fort Novosel.
On several occasions, I was fortunate to meet Novosel at ceremonies at Fort Rucker. Modest and unassuming, his demeanor belied a warrior’s heart that carried him through three wars and made lasting contributions that still inspire soldiers today.
Even now, his story challenges us all to be more than we seem to be—and more than we think we can be. One day soon, our Army will be called on again to face a dangerous enemy. When it is, it can draw upon its past heroes to show the way.
Col. R.D. Hooker Jr., U.S. Army retired, is a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council, Washington, D.C. A career infantry officer, he commanded a parachute infantry battalion in Kosovo and the Sinai, and a parachute brigade in Baghdad. A former dean of the NATO Defense College, Rome, he also served as aide-de-camp to the secretary of the Army. His latest book is The Good Captain: A Personal Memoir of America at War.