Cantigny Memorial: My First Flight in a Helicopter

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My first flight on a helicopter was in 1978.  I flew 300 miles from Wiesbaden Air Base in Germany to Cantigny, France, for a ceremony marking the 60^th Anniversary of a World War I battle in that town.  Several American veterans of the battle joined French veterans to mark the Allied victory in the little French town. 

We flew in UH1 “Huey” helicopter. The flight was on a clear, beautiful spring day.  We flew at 1,000 feet of altitude. In those days before the strict safety requirements of the modern Army, we were allowed to fly with the door open sitting on the floor, facing sideways with our feet hanging to the side out of the aircraft. 

When we crossed the border from Germany to France, we went from flying over little towns and deep forests to flying over roads lined by trees. The trees were in perfect lines for a mile or more along the side of straight roads.  The new leaves and the very straight lines looked lovely as we sped along above the rolling farm country. 

Cantigny is northeast of Paris so we did not pass over any major cities. The entire village turned out for the ceremony.  It was the first World War I ceremony I had attended.  It was an honor to watch the veterans, most in their late 70s and early 80s stand to attention and salute the flags, then talk among themselves about the war they fought at the beginning of the century.

After the ceremony, I flew back on a twin-engined plane that had an open seat.  My next helicopter flight would not be for another 30 years, in 2009, when I flew in a Blackhawk helicopter from Camp Adder to Al Kut in Iraq. 

In late October I returned to the village for the first time in 41 years.  The monument dominates the very small town.  The important battle that helped change the course of the war is well documented and honored in the center of town.