Laurence Rosen MD

Captain Laurence Rosen entered active duty in 1969. He volunteered to go to rotary wing (helicopter) pilot school. He was transferred to Southeast Asia - Republic of South Viet Nam and was assigned as a MEDEVAC (Dustoff) pilot to the 326th Medical Battalion, 101st Airborne Division.

His exploits have been written about in magazines and books, especially his rescue of 25 wounded soldiers of the Ripcord Fire Support Base as it was being overrun by the North Vietnamese Army. It took Captain Rosen to fly in and out the same way 5 times to complete the rescues. On the last extraction, his "chopper" was riddled with bullets from a NVA soldier's AK-47 severely wounding his co-pilot and killing his crew chief. For his bravery, he was nominated for a Medal of Honor.

His decorations include the Silver Star Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal, 18 Air Medals, Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Medal. Viet Nam Campaign Medal, Vietnamese Civil Action Medal 1st Class, Viet Nam Service Medal, and Army Aviators Badge.

Upon his return from Viet Nam, he was assigned to the Military Assistance to Safety and Traffic (MAST) as the operations office for a pilot program combining military and civilian participants.

Upon his leaving the US Army, he entered medical school and became an anesthesiologist.