YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- I'd like to share with you the remarkable history of the UH-1N Iroquois, commonly referred to as the "Huey." More specifically, I'd like to share the story of tail number 69-6614, a time-tested and dependable workhorse that will be commemorated as a static display here at Yokota Air Base this fall. For over five decades, this aircraft has served across multiple conflicts, continents and diverse missions in support of U.S. military operations.
The story begins during the Vietnam War. On Nov. 21, 1970, the 20th Special Operations Squadron, known as the "Green Hornets," received the very first UH-1N models at Cam Ranh Bay, Republic of Vietnam. These helicopters replaced the older single engine P-model Hueys and quickly proved themselves with their improved reliability and increased firepower. By Jan. 20, 1971, the Green Hornets had fully transitioned to the new N-model Huey, flying dangerous combat missions across Vietnam.
In the first three months alone, they executed 670 combat missions, totaling over 2,881 flight hours, expending over 1.4 million rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, 3,500 rockets and over 6,600 rounds of 40mm grenades in support of ground forces. They supported U.S. Army Special Forces patrols, flew search-and-rescue missions and even carried Gen. Creighton Abrams, the commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam. Tail 6614 was part of that historic transition, flying in an era when helicopters were redefining modern warfare.
The Huey also became a lifeline, flying hundreds of medevac missions. One such occasion occurred at Ban Me Thout. A soldier gravely wounded by a claymore mine was flown through the night in poor weather by a UH-1N crew that volunteered for the dangerous mission. Their direct flight to Cam Ranh Bay for emergency brain surgery saved his life.
The Huey name is forever tied to heroism and valor. Very few stories embody that legacy - more than that of Capt. James P. Fleming, a Huey pilot with the 20th Special Operations Squadron. During his tour in Vietnam, Fleming earned the Medal of Honor, a Silver Star and the Distinguished Flying Cross when he answered the desperate call for help from a six-man Special Forces reconnaissance patrol that was in imminent danger of being overrun by heavily-armed hostile forces.
Despite knowing that one helicopter had already been shot down by intense enemy fire, Fleming flew to their rescue, placing the lives of others above his own. With extraordinary skill, he balanced his Huey on the edge of a riverbank, its tail boom hanging precariously over the open water. The patrol, pinned down by enemy fire, could not reach his aircraft which forced him to withdraw. Low on fuel and fully aware of the mortal danger, Fleming chose to return. Once more he executed the same perilous maneuver, holding his helicopter in the exposed position while hostile rounds shattered his windscreen.
Unmoved by his own peril, Fleming refused to leave a single man behind. He remained steadfast under fire until the patrol boarded his helicopter, then he lifted off through a storm of enemy bullets to carry them back to safety. His profound courage and selfless devotion to his fellow Airmen went far beyond the call of duty, exemplifying the highest values of the U.S. Air Force. Capt. James P. Fleming's valor remains a testament not only to his own character but also to the enduring spirit of Huey crews, whose courage and sacrifice defined the U.S. campaign in Vietnam.
After the war, in 1972, tail 6614 returned to the United States and was assigned to the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field in Florida. A decade later, from 1983 to 1985, it took on a very different mission during Operation BAT. In this joint effort to stem the flow of drugs from South America through the Bahamas into the United States, Hueys provided critical airlift and surveillance support. Operating from bases in the Bahamas, tail 6614 flew hundreds of over-water missions, transporting Bahamian police and U.S. drug enforcement agents to remote islands to intercept smugglers. These high-stakes missions directly contributed to the capture of more than 1.5 billion dollars in drugs and equipment before they could reach American soil. That is the equivalent of more than 5.9 billion dollars today.
By the late 1980s, tail 6614 moved west to Nevada, supporting nuclear test site operations at Indian Springs, now known as Creech Air Force Base. Its missions included escorting nuclear convoys, transporting security teams and supporting survival training for aircrews preparing for worst-case scenarios.
Meanwhile, a new chapter for the Huey had begun in the Pacific on Jan. 23, 1980, when UH-1Ns began arriving at Yokota Air Base. The fleet came to be known as the "Orient Express." They offered a faster, safer alternative to Tokyo's gridlocked traffic. They ferried generals, senators and diplomats through Tokyo's skies, evacuated patients across the Kanto Plains and provided search and rescue coverage for U.S. forces in the region. They even carried Vice President Dan Quayle during his 1989 visit and members of President Reagan's staff during the 1986 Economic Summit in Tokyo. When a fire tore through the USS Midway in 1990, Yokota UH-1N crews rushed to carry badly burned sailors to hospitals, once again proving their worth as a medical evacuation platform.
On Oct. 1, 1993, helicopter operations at Yokota Air Base were reorganized under the newly activated 459th Airlift Squadron and in 1995, tail 6614 officially joined the fleet in Japan. Over the years, it has taken on missions ranging from distinguished visitor airlift to humanitarian operations. One especially unique mission occurred in 2003, when a Huey crew carried a premature newborn in a life-support incubator from a hospital in Yokohama to Yokota Air Base. Despite short notice and very little time to prepare, the Huey crew braved through poor weather, navigating with nothing more than a hand-drawn map to reach a makeshift landing zone in an unfamiliar area of Yokohama. They successfully located and landed on a baseball field behind the hospital. It was the only space available since no helipad was present. Awaiting them there was a Japanese ambulance standing by with the baby. The crew loaded the baby and incubator into the helicopter and delivered the child safely back to Yokota Air Base, where an awaiting aircraft carried the baby onward to California for life-saving care.
In 2011, tail 6614 was once again at the center of history. Following the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck northeastern Japan, the Hueys of the 459 AS were called into action during Operation TOMODACHI. In the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant disaster, concerns mounted over a potential radiation leak that threatened to contaminate an already devastated region. To determine the extent of the damage, the U.S. Air Force deployed numerous aircraft, including the 459th's UH-1N fleet, to conduct reconnaissance and low-level radiation mapping over the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. These 24-hour around the clock missions provided both U.S. and Japanese leaders the critical data they needed to make life-saving decisions. They carried rescue teams into devastated areas, delivered humanitarian supplies to survivors and relocated Navy personnel from contaminated zones. They may have been a small part of the overall response, but their role in providing real-time data and flying critical support missions was invaluable to both the Japanese and U.S. governments. Though small in number, their role was vital in helping bring stability and hope in the midst of catastrophe.
Since their arrival at Yokota Air Base in 1980, the Hueys of the 459 AS have supported the transportation of some of the most distinguished VIPs to visit Japan. From local commanders to the President of the United States, Vice Presidents, Secretaries of Defense and Chiefs of Staff, the Huey was the trusted link between the United States and Japan. That mission continued faithfully for decades, until the squadron flew its final distinguished visitor mission on Aug. 23, 2025.
In its final years, the Huey found its greatest purpose once again in saving lives. While continuing to support the DV airlift mission, they shifted their primary mission to aeromedical evacuation and on Dec. 15, 2023, the 459 AS revived the UH-1N Air Ambulance program. The mission was simple, but profound: to save lives. With its medium-lift capability and unmatched reliability, the Huey could carry patients to and from Yokota Air Base to medical facilities across the Kanto Plains. From that day forward, the 459 AS expanded medical care for not only the military personnel and dependents of Yokota Air Base, but all U.S. Status of Forces Agreement members across the Kanto Plains region of Japan to include Combined Arms Training Center, Camp Fuji, where over 15,000 U.S. Marines attend training at Japan's largest live fire range annually. What once took three or more hours by vehicle, could now be accomplished in just thirty minutes by air - a time difference that could mean life or death.
The crews stood ready around the clock, holding 24-hour alert, 365 days a year. From the moment the call came, they could be airborne within the hour, and when it mattered most, they delivered. Since the UH-1N casualty evacuation mission resumed in 2023, the Huey has transported 15 urgent case patients between its first alert on Dec. 28, 2023, and its last on Aug. 21, 2025.
The 459 AS held their final alert on Aug. 29, 2025. With that mission, the Huey closed its last chapter at Yokota Air Base, not with fanfare, but with the same quiet courage and steadfast devotion that had defined its service for more than five decades.
From the jungles of Vietnam, through drug interdiction in the Caribbean, to its final days in the skies over Japan, tail 69-66 14 has carried soldiers, diplomats, patients and even newborns. It has been a gunship, a guardian and a lifeline. More than just a machine, it is a witness to history and a symbol of the enduring spirit of the Huey legacy.