Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
MENTONE – A Vietnam pilot spoke about his connection to Bell helicopters and how the aerospace industry changed the country in the 1960s.
Wil Davis, chairman of Gary Jet Center in Gary, grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., and was fascinated by aircraft, according to a video played about him before Davis spoke. He joined the Navy in 1966 and did pilot training in Pensacola, Fla. He was assigned to Helicopter Attack Squadron 3 based in Na Bha, Vietnam. While in Vietnam, Davis flew 425 missions and was awarded 21 Air Medals.
After the Vietnam War, Davis remained in the Navy and was assigned to a search and rescue crew. In 1969, he was deployed to the USS Franklin Roosevelt to fly search and rescue and do plane guard for carrier operations. In 1971, he transitioned to jet fighters, receiving orders to jet training in Mississippi. He became a flight instructor.
He then joined civilian life, opening an aerial spraying service and settling in Bluffton. He joined the Naval Reserves in 1975. He retired in 1988, with the rank of captain. He purchased a small regional airline called Direct Air. He then acquired the Gary Jet Center.
Davis said it was an honor to be at Rotors over Mentone and Mentone should be proud they were able to keep the legacy of Lawrence D. Bell alive. He stayed with “the Bell family, especially with the gun ship.”
When he started crop spraying in the area, one time he noticed a marker noting Mentone as Bell’s hometown. He flew what he called a Tomcat, which was Bell 47D model, and “we made a single cockpit over it and it was very efficient.” He thought he was successful in adapting the helicopter to his operations.
Davis said the aerospace industry played a significant part in the U.S.’s development in the 1960s. At that time, he said the culture was being torn apart with assassinations, drugs, riots and the Vietnam War being unpopular.
“But in December of ‘68, there was a launch of Apollo 8 and its mission was to fly around the moon and come back. And that was the precursor to Apollo 11, which went to the moon and brought the guys back,” he said.
Frank Borman, commander of Apollo 8, and crewmate Jim Lovell were under immense pressure to get the mission done. When the mission was done, Davis said Borman received a letter stating, “Thank you for saving 1968.” There was no name or address.
“What this was about is the Apollo 8 mission gave us credibility. We started looking around saying, ‘We can do better than this.’ It galvanized the country. And people don’t realize the significance of that because it had to work right because the mission had a tight schedule. President (John F.) Kennedy said we’re going to get there in this decade and we did,” Davis said.
He added he thought the country needed something to galvanize it now as there’s too much dissent right now. Dissent can be a good thing but it has to be productive too.
“So I hope you can understand what I’m saying when I said the aerospace industry with Apollo 8 brought our country together,” Davis said.
Also during Saturday’s event, select band members of Tippecanoe Valley High School played the national anthem and a patriotic song. Representative of American Legion Post 49 placed the flag. Brian Iddles, Bell Museum Board member, did the invocation.
All the veterans in attendance were recognized.
