Valor Friday

Lt. j.g. John Koelsch

Today’s Valor Friday piece is going to be cribbed from Navy Times.

During the Korean War, Lt. j.g. John Koelsch, equipped with a promising new helicopter, dedicated his service to rescuing downed pilots. Koelsch’s most notable sortie ultimately cost him his life, but through his actions, the pilot he risked his life to save survived.

Koelsch was born on Dec. 22, 1923, in Chelsea, England, where his father worked as an international banker in London. In 1924, Koelsch and his parents returned to New York and settled in Briarcliff Manor in 1928.

After enrolling at Princeton University in September 1941, Koelsch enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve on Sept. 14, 1942, and qualified as an airman with an ensign’s commission on Oct. 16, 1944.

Koelsch served as a torpedo bomber pilot in the last months of World War II and was promoted to lieutenant junior grade on Aug. 1, 1946. He then returned to Princeton to complete his education in 1949.

Up until then, Koelsch had envisioned a career in law, but when North Korea invaded South Korea on June 25, 1950, he transferred to the regular Navy. After training in the new Sikorsky HO3S-1 helicopter, he was assigned in August 1950 to naval utility squadron UH-1 at Naval Air Station Miramar, California, and from there to the aircraft carrier Princeton off the Korean coast.

When Koelsch’s unit completed its tour of duty, he asked to remain for another one, declaring that rescuing downed pilots as his mission. He then joined UH-2, which operated from Q-009, the former landing ship tank LST-488 converted to a helicopter support ship.

“He was always ready for any rescue mission, no matter how dangerous, and he let this be known,” a fellow officer said. “If anything happened, he wanted to be a part of it.”

During his time on helicopters, Koelsch designed a device to expedite recovering downed airmen from freezing winter conditions. He got a chance to use his “horse collar” floating sling hoist on June 22, 1951, when he and Aviation Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class George Neal rescued Ensign Marvin Nelson Jr. from Wonsan harbor after North Korean antiaircraft fire forced him to bail out of his Vought F4U-5 fighter.

On July 3, Q-009 got a report that Capt. James Wilkins of a Marine fighter squadron went missing while on a four-plane armed reconnaissance mission. Wilkins’ F4U-4B fighter was hit by North Korean antiaircraft fire, forcing him to bail out over the coast.

It was late, and darkness would soon be falling over what were already overcast conditions, but without hesitation, Koelsch and Neal set out in their helicopter, determined to find and recover the lost Marine.

In spite of the poor visibility and at least one enemy hit to their helo, Koelsch and Neal located Wilkins, severely burned and with a twisted knee, near Yondong in what the latter later called “the greatest display of guts I’ve ever seen.”

The terrain was too mountainous for a landing. Using his “horse collar” to hoist up Wilkins, Koelsch was hovering over Wilkins when his helicopter was struck several more times and crashed into a mountain.

Carrying Wilkins, Koelsch and Neal managed to evade enemy forces for nine days before they were captured at a coastal village. As they were being marched through town, Koelsch communicated with one of their captors, pointing out Wilson’s injuries and convincing him to separate Wilson from the trio for medical treatment.

Koelsch’s treatment, however, would be different. He succumbed to dysentery and malnutrition on Oct. 16, 1951.

But the airman Koelsch had died trying to save ultimately survived to make it home. Wilkins and Neal were subsequently awarded the Prisoner of War Medal after they were released. Neal also received the Navy Cross for his actions in rescuing Wilkins.

Wilkins and Neal testified, alongside other American prisoners, to Koelsch’s consideration and helpfulness toward his fellow prisoners of war. Koelsch was noted as uncooperative while under North Korean interrogation, even while his health was deteriorating under isolation and torture.

On Aug. 3, 1955, Koelsch’s mother received her son’s posthumous Medal of Honor — the first awarded to a helicopter pilot.

Koelsch was interred in Arlington National Cemetery. In 1955, the Navy christened the destroyer escort Koelsch in his honor.

If you’re having trouble envisioning the HO3S helicopter, it was the naval designation for the Sikorsky H-5.

Sikorsky HO3S-1 of HU-1 takes off from USS New Jersey (BB-62) off Korea 14 April 1953

The H-5 was a very late-WWII development of the trailblazing Sikorsky H-4 Hoverfly. It only served for about ten years. While soon replaced by the more recognizable Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw, the H-5 proved the immeasurable value of the helicopter in the rescue of stranded aviators.

Medal of Honor
Korean War
Service: United States Navy
Rank: Lieutenant, Junior Grade
Batallion: Helicopter Utility Squadron 1 (HU-1)
Division: U.S.S. Princeton (CV-37)
Action Date: July 3, 1951

The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pride in presenting the Medal of Honor (Posthumously) to Lieutenant, Junior Grade John Kelvin Koelsch (NSN: 0-424476), United States Navy, for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Helicopter Utility Squadron ONE (HU-1) attached to the U.S.S. Princeton, in action near Wonsan, North Korea, on 3 July 1951. Although darkness was rapidly approaching when information was received that a marine aviator had been shot down and was trapped by the enemy in mountainous terrain deep in hostile territory, Lieutenant, Junior Grade, Koelsch voluntarily flew a helicopter to the reported position of the downed airman in an attempt to effect a rescue. With an almost solid overcast concealing everything below the mountain peaks, he descended in his unarmed and vulnerable aircraft without the accompanying fighter escort to an extremely low altitude beneath the cloud level and began a systematic search. Despite the increasingly intense enemy fire, which struck his helicopter on one occasion, he persisted in his mission until he succeeded in locating the downed pilot, who was suffering from serious burns on the arms and legs. While the victim was being hoisted into the aircraft, it was struck again by an accurate burst of hostile fire and crashed on the side of the mountain. Quickly extricating his crewmen and the aviator from the wreckage, Lieutenant, Junior Grade, Koelsch led them from the vicinity in an effort to escape from hostile troops, evading the enemy forces for nine days and rendering such medical attention as possible to his severely burned companion until all were captured. Up to the time of his death while still a captive of the enemy, Lieutenant, Junior Grade, Koelsch steadfastly refused to aid his captors in any manner and served to inspire his fellow prisoners by his fortitude and consideration for others. His great personal valor and heroic spirit of self-sacrifice throughout sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

Lieutenant Koelsch’s resistance as a POW was part of the inspiration for the American Code of Conduct, adopted in 1955. Which we were all expected to learn in basic training, and to adhere to should we ever be captured. It was this Code of Conduct that helped guide the heroic resistance of a generation of men captured in Vietnam and subjected to years of brutality. Men like Rocky Versace, Lance Sijan, Bud Day, Leo Thorsness, James Stockdale, and Donald Cook.

Category: Historical, Korea, Medal of Honor, Navy, Search and Rescue, Valor, We Remember