A Waldoboro native, honored for rescuing 11 German soldiers in Afghanistan, April 2, 2010, was chosen to exhibit the Army’s UH-72 Lakota light utility helicopter at this year’s Berlin Air Show, Sept. 11-16.
Chief Warrant Officer Jason LaCrosse received the Silver Star and the German Gold Cross for his efforts in that rescue mission.
The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the U.S. armed forces. LaCrosse was also named the Army Aviator of the year in 2010.
According to the website militarytimes.com, LaCrosse was serving as an instructor pilot for the 5th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment, stationed in Kunduz, northern Afghanistan as part of a German reconstruction team when German paratroopers were ambushed by the Taliban about five miles southwest of the city.
“Within 15 minutes of being alerted about the wounded, Chief Warrant Officer LaCrosse and three crewmembers took off for the rescue,” the online article states. “His helicopter came under heavy fire from machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades as it approached the landing zone. They landed in a field to establish verbal communication with German ground forces, but again came under fire.
“Despite warnings that the original landing zone was too hot, Chief Warrant Officer LaCrosse decided to attempt another landing. They loaded the first patient onto the helicopter and took him to Kunduz, then returned to the battle to rescue the second soldier. Again, they encountered heavy fire from the enemy on approach.
“Under friendly suppressive fire Chief Warrant Officer LaCrosse successfully landed and the crew rescued another of the wounded German soldiers.
“When they got back to Kunduz they learned that an improvised explosive device (IED) had struck a German infantry mobility vehicle and four more German soldiers needed to be rescued.
“Because of timing issues, Chief Warrant Officer LaCrosse decided to refuel before picking up the four wounded Germans. Then he and two medevac aircraft landed and the four wounded soldiers were evacuated to Kunduz without further incident.”
LaCrosse, now stationed in Hohenfels, Germany, is an instructor pilot for the Lakota. Along with a maintenance test pilot, he was selected to do a static display at this year’s show.
The army has 10 of these helicopters in Germany, with the rest used for training, medical evacuation and opposing force support for ground troops, Lacrosse said in a telephone call from Berlin, Sept. 14.
He said he has been flying for the Army for 11 years and that, as difficult as it is to learn to fly helicopters, “Once you learn how to fly them it’s like riding a bike.”
LaCrosse said he would be back to flying Black Hawk helicopters again in a year and a half.
In his 20 years in the Army, LaCrosse has been deployed to combat in Afghanistan three times, and to Iraq once.
He said the air show is both a trade show for business owners and an opportunity for members of the public to see the equipment, and that it is similar to Boston-Portsmouth Air Show at Pease Air Force Base last July.
“This is my first one, actually,” LaCrosse said. The show is open from 9 a.m. – 7 p.m. and LaCrosse spends those hours showing the helicopter to many of the 235,000 visitors to the event.
“Your throat tends to dry out quickly,” LaCrosse said. He said he spends time, after the show closes for the day, meeting members of other air crews.
“We’ve built good camaraderie,” he said. “It’s an international air show. We go out and talk with all the pilots. We’ve met a lot of different people. It’s been great.”
While in Berlin, LaCrosse was scheduled to meet Gen. Philip Breedlove, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa, and of the Air Component Command at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany.
Breedlove is also director of the Joint Air Power Competence Centre in Kalkar, Germany.
LaCrosse was also introduced to U.S. Ambassador to Germany Philip Murphy and Sergei Sikorsky, the son of helicopter and aviation pioneer, Igor Sikorsky.
LaCrosse said he maintains his ties to Maine, most recently visiting in July, when he took his family to see the Red Sox play against the Yankees.
