This morning, 10 of F3 Louisville’s toughest pax showed up to Seneca Park to pay tribute to the crew of USAF Combat Rescue helicopter, Jolly 51.
The origin of the Jolly callsign dates back to the Vietnam war, when Air Force search and rescue crews utilized the HH-3E helicopter, nicknamed The Jolly Green Giant, to rescue downed pilots from the jungles of Southeast Asia. The green feet symbol adopted by Air Force PJ’s also owes its origins to the Vietnam war, when Jolly Green helicopters would land in rice patties and grass fields, leaving behind huge impressions that looked like giant green footprints from the air.
Jolly 51 was the call sign of a U.S. Air Force HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter that crashed on March 15th, 2018 in western Iraq near the Syrian border while supporting Operation Inherent Resolve (the fight against ISIS).
While navigating to their LZ, the helicopter struck what is known as a “fly trap” – a series of thick metal cables strung between gigantic steel towers. These fly traps were an anti-aircraft obstacle erected by the Saddam regime prior to operation Iraqi freedom some 15 years earlier.
The crash resulted in the deaths of all seven airmen aboard, making it one of the deadliest incidents involving U.S. military aircraft in recent years. Three of those on board were Air Force Pararescue jumpers.
These 3 PJ’s and the 4 crew members of Jolly 51 were positioning themselves to launch combat search and rescue missions in support of their fellow airmen flying sorties over enemy territory. They died embodying the Pararescue motto,“That Others May Live.”
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