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<p>HAZLE TWP. &#8212; To some, it may be just a helicopter.</p><p>To Charles Bechtel and fellow Vietnam veterans, the UH-1H &#8212; fondly known as a Huey &#8212; was a lifeline in the battlefield.</p><p>&#8220;You knew that no matter how difficult it was, they would be coming back to get you,&#8221; said Bechtel, a Hershey resident and member of the all-volunteer Liberty War Bird Association who served in the 1st Cavalry (Airmobile) Division as an infantry platoon leader during Vietnam.</p><p>His group will bring one of the restored choppers to Hazleton Airport on Saturday to give veterans and members of the general public a chance to experience what it was like to fly in one.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s really kind of an emotional experience for all of us,&#8221; Bechtel said. &#8220;We spent a lot of time in Hueys.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s almost like a visit to the black wall,&#8221; Bechtel added, referencing the The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.</p><p>The visit of Huey 823 will support the Berwick VFW and surrounding veterans&#8217; organizations.</p><p>Huey 823 spent two years in Vietnam and still has the repaired bullet holes as proof of service. It now looks just as it did in Vietnam when it supported the 170th Assault Helicopter Company, a release from the association said. It is based in Lancaster County.</p><p>There are about five restored Hueys flying in the U.S. today, the statement added.</p><p>It required 500 sponsors &#8212; many of them veterans&#8217; organizations &#8212; who donated $100 to $113,000 to get Huey 823 flying again.</p><p>It also required several years of work by about 25 volunteers, Bechtel said.</p><p>&#8220;It really was a labor of love,&#8221; he added.</p><p>The group will start doing flights at 10 a.m. for the vets&#8217; organizations and open it to the public at 11 a.m.</p><p>Memberships are $80 and that includes a membership card, a Huey pin, a quarterly newsletter and a flight in the iconic helicopter at 80 knots with the doors open, as soldiers did in 1968/69 while approaching a hot landing zone.</p><p>&#8220;The Huey literally changed the way the Army would fight and it was the workhorse of the battlefield,&#8221; the group&#8217;s statement added. &#8220;It also reduced the death rate from wounds to its lowest level, at that time, since it quickly evacuated wounds soldiers to the closest aid station or field hospital.&#8221;</p><p>Visit <a href="https://www.libertywarbirds.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">www.libertywarbirds.com</a> for more information. </p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Huey 823, a restored UH-1H helicopter, seen here, will be visiting the Hazleton Airport on Saturday, Aug. 3 </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_ttl080319helicopter.jpg</photo0><caption0>Huey 823, a restored UH-1H helicopter, seen here, will be visiting the Hazleton Airport on Saturday, Aug. 3 </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Roger DuPuis</p><p>rdupuis@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Restored Vietnam ‘Huey’ helicopter visiting Hazleton Airport on Saturday