History of the 1st Aviation Brigade During the Vietnam War
- Dec 4, 2025
- 6 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
History of the 1st Aviation Brigade during Vietnam. As a former Army Aviator, I have an affinity for the 1st Aviation Brigade and Fort Rucker, Alabama. I was stationed there twice, first as a student and then later as an instructor pilot. The 1st Aviation Brigade carries the nickname of the “Golden Hawks.” Makes sense when you look at the shoulder patch. The gold hawk represents aviation, and the sword is taken from the MACV patch, signifying their origins in the Vietnam War. Blue is the color of aviation, while the orange-gold and red hilt of the sword represent Vietnam.
The Golden Hawks are in the schoolhouse now, but this article is a short history of the 1st Aviation Brigade during the Vietnam War.
In 1965, as the U.S. Army's involvement in Vietnam rapidly grew, the universal use of
the helicopter in this new "frontless" war became obvious. The Army had to have a
means to maintain tactical and administrative control over all of its divisional and non-
divisional aviation assets in the country. It did this with the creation of the 1st Aviation
Brigade.
In April 1965, the USA Aviation Brigade (Provisional) was activated in Vietnam with the
existing 13th, 14th, 52nd, and 145th Aviation Battalions reporting to it. In August, it
became the 12th Aviation Group. Once it doubled in size, the 12th Aviation Group was
used as the basis to form the 1st Aviation Brigade in March 1966.
The Brigade served in Vietnam from May 1966 until March 1973. At its peak strength,
the 1st Aviation Brigade had over 4,000 helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft and approximately 24,000 soldiers assigned. The organization became so large that the brigade was organized into Aviation Groups. The Groups were then assigned Aviation Battalions and Companies, or Squadrons and Troops in the case of Cavalry units. The 1st Aviation Brigade was responsible for forty percent of the Army's helicopter assets and one hundred percent of its fixed wing assets in Vietnam. In 1969, the brigade carried more than six and a half million troops in more than 4 million sorties, flying more than one and a half million hours to accomplish this monumental mission. Units of the brigade performed brilliantly throughout the war and were instrumental in inventing and perfecting the art of helicopter warfare. Upon withdrawal from the Republic of South Vietnam, the Golden Hawks were sent to Fort Rucker, Alabama, to serve as a training brigade, where they are still stationed today.
During the Vietnam War, the 1st Aviation Brigade and its support units constituted the largest operational aviation brigade in the Army. As such, the Golden Hawks were involved in practically every operation of note during the conflict. However, Lam Son 719 stands out because it involved a heavy use of aviation assets, including the 1st Aviation Brigade. This Operation demonstrates both the successes and the failures in the use of helicopters during the unconventional war that was Vietnam. It is also demonstrative of the sacrifices made by the aircrews who manned them.
Operation Lam Son 719 involved a mass use of Army helicopters. The Operation took place from February 8th to March 25, 1971. Its mission was the coordinated insertion of South Vietnamese troops by air and armored units into Laos. While the ground troops were strictly South Vietnamese, the United States provided logistical, aerial, and artillery support. The intent of the operation was to drive the North Vietnamese regular army out of areas of Laos flanking the South Vietnamese border.
As United States forces were not allowed to operate on the ground inside Laos, the American portion of the mission was given the name Operation Dewey Canyon II. American lift helicopters ferried South Vietnamese troops into Laos. Helicopter gunships provided close air support for ARVN units and destroyed an estimated 88 North Vietnamese P-76 tanks. Unfortunately, the operation was considered a failure on the ground when the South Vietnamese forces took heavy losses in their withdrawal from Laos. Combined U.S./ARVN helicopter losses totaled 108 destroyed and 618 damaged.
During Lam Son 719, American helicopters had flown more than 160,000 sorties; 19 U.S. Army aviators were killed, 59 were wounded, and 11 were missing at its conclusion. Lam Son 719 itself incurred a great deal of controversy inside and out of military circles as to its efficacy and results. The operation served as a lessons learned report for the Army. None of which detracts from the hard work and courage of the aircrews who wore the Golden Hawks shoulder patch.
Today, the 1st Aviation Brigade is responsible for training aviation officers, warrant officers, and soldiers with a variety of aviation military occupational specialties. The Golden Hawks Brigade Headquarters and most subordinate units are stationed at the United States Army Aviation Center For Excellence, Fort Rucker, Alabama. The 1st Aviation Brigade commands three distinctly different battalions, each with a unique mission to train young soldiers and officers - 1st Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment, and the 1st Battalion, 145th Aviation Regiment, at Fort Rucker.
The Brigade is also the parent organization for the 2nd Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment
which conducts Unmanned Aircraft Systems Advanced Individual Training (drones) and
graduate-level training at the largest Unmanned Aircraft Systems training center in the
world located at Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Along with its many command responsibilities,
logistical support requirements, and administrative duties, the Brigade's primary mission
is to train and develop future aviation warfighting leaders.
Books by Jim Travis Broumley
The Boldest Plan is the Best
In the fall of 1941, as the U.S. Army scrambled to prepare for the war they knew was coming, a new kind of soldier was training with a new way of getting to the battlefield – the paratrooper. The first to deploy to England and the first to jump into combat, while their more celebrated airborne brothers were still training in the States. This is the story of the 509th PIB
The Bridge at El Djem
Tunisia, 1942
Paratroopers Lieutenant Jack Bell and lead scout Corporal Roland “Rube” Roubideaux might be the only survivors out of their platoon after a failed mission to blow up a bridge behind enemy lines. Now they're going back to finish the job, tagging along with a detachment of British SAS desert commandos.
The Avellino Jump
Avellino Province, Italy, 1943 Paratroopers Lt Jack Bell and Sgt Rube Roubideaux, jumped with their battalion behind German lines in Italy to take pressure off the Allies’ tenuous hold on the Salerno beachhead. But they are given an additional mission by Col Addington, the mysterious OSS officer. They need to complete their battalion’s mission while also getting an Italian scientist safely to American lines. But first they need to outwit a fanatic Nazi officer and an Italian playing both sides.
The War in VenafroNaples, Italy 1943 Lt Jack Bell is reunited with his cousin Nadia. The only problem: she is now the head of an organized crime family, and threatens to pull Jack and his friend Captain “Doc” Allen into her world to stop an American deserter from taking over. Meanwhile, friction grows between the veteran paratroopers and some of the new men, will everyone be able to work together to fight the Germans?
AnzioAnzio Italy, 1944 - 1LT Jack Bell and his fellow paratroopers prepare to make a beach landing in Italy. The problem is that the civilians in Naples know where they’re going before they do. Along with everything else, Jack is put in the position of escorting OSS officer Boyd Carter on a raid of a German held blockhouse to “capture” an old friend. Now Carter is wounded and Jack is a prisoner. Can Jack’s friends and their green platoon leader mount an unauthorized rescue?
Operation DragoonCpt Jack Bell and the rest of the 509th PIB jumped into Southern France as part of Operation Dragoon. Before the battalion can move out to attack the Germans in Le Muy, Maj Boyd Carter shows up with a mission for Jack. Rescue an Air Corps major, nine miles behind the lines and hidden by a group of French Resistance fighters. The Geronimos are outnumbered, but "Rube" Roubideaux has a plan to even the odds.
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