Marine Helicopter YN-19 was born at the Sikorsky Aircraft Plant in Stratford, CT, and delivered to the United States Marine Corps on Oct. 28, 1963. It served in Vietnam until June 1969 with the "The Flying Tigers" Marine Helicopter Squadron 361 on three different occasions.
This particular UH-34D was only one of 462 produced by Sikorsky and its primary role in Vietnam was troop insertion/extraction, cargo transport, and medical evacuation. Total production of the H-34 series and its civilian derivative, the S-58, was 1,800 aircraft.
After six years of dedicated service to the Marine Corps, YN-19 made it back to the U.S. in flying condition, to end up as a stripped shell in the custody of J.H. Helicopter Service in Cochise, AZ.
On July 2, 2001, a dedicated team, led by Al Weiss, purchased YN-19 and shipped it to New York, NY, to begin restoration. On Nov. 12, 2005, and more than 20,000 man hours later, YN-19 took to the air again to begin its new mission to preserve and promote the history of the UH-34D Marine Helicopter and those who flew, maintained, and supported it during war and peace.
This team will carry out its mission by traveling throughout the U.S., attending events and venues that will allow it to inform and educate people about the important role this helicopter and its crew members played.
For more information or to offer support visit www.freedomsflyingmemorial.org.
