Submitted Photo This Minot Air Force Base photo of a base UH-1N Huey helicopter is shown during a 54th Helicopter Squadron Heritage Huey flight on May 11. This aircraft with tail number 23 is painted in heritage colors to honor its service during the Vietnam War.

Vietnam veteran Austin Gillette of White Shield remembers one of his first rides on a helicopter was from Cua Viet Base to Da Nang on Nov. 25, 1968.

“Choppers delivered (a) hot meal while on Operation Meade River,” he recalled. He said the helicopters “were always a great sight.”

“Puff, the Magic Dragon Gunship was also a welcome sight and sound,” he said. This was the Douglas AC-47 Spooky, the first in a series of fixed-wing gunships developed by the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War, according to historical information.

Gillette, a Marine, served with 2/4-2/26 Amtracs Platoon.

Vietnam War veterans remember the rhythmic, thumping sound of the UH-1N Huey helicopter in the war zone.

To honor its service during the Vietnam War, a UH-1N Huey with tail number 23, now assigned to Minot Air Force Base, got a heritage restoration paint job. It was painted the dark green and dark tan camouflage colors.

The first end model of UH-1N was delivered to the Department of Defense on Sept. 11, 1970. The now Minot AFB helicopter, No. 623 or 23, was delivered to the Air Force on Nov. 30, 1970, according to Maj. David Operchal, assistant chief of Standards and Evaluation with the 54th Helicopter Squadron at the Minot base.

Operchal said many Hueys are still in service.

The Hueys’ present mission includes providing security and support for Minot missile fields in North Dakota and other states.

He said the process to paint 23 in the heritage scheme was former Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein’s initiative to revitalize the squadrons. Since Minot AFB’s No. 23 was in depot maintenance in North Carolina at the time, it was decided to paint it while there.

Helicopters have been assigned to Minot AFB longer than B-52s and intercontinental ballistic missiles, according to Operchal.

The U.S. Air Force will replace its long-serving UH-1N Hueys with the new MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters. The Air Force recently announced it is deferring the procurement of the new helicopter until fiscal year 2023 due to delays with certifying the MH-139A.