Foil: 6 Panel: Distinguished Flying Cross Society Column: 1 Line: 2

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
Ms. Sharon E. Koenig

Darell’s love of aviation began when he was old enough to look up whenever an aircraft flew over.
As a youth, he spent many years in Scouting and was a member of Air Explorer Squadron 1, sponsored by the Ent Air Force Base Officer’s Club in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Enlisting in the U.S. Army in July, 1967, he completed Basic Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana and was then assigned to Fort Wolters, Texas in October of 1967 where he began Warrant Officer Flight Training in helicopters.
He graduated as a United States Army Aviator after completing Advanced Flight Training at Fort Rucker, Alabama, in August of 1968.
Warrant Officer 1 (WO1) Koenig was then assigned to the 17th Aviation Group in Viet Nam where he was further assigned to the 192nd Assault Helicopter Company stationed at Phan Thiet, Republic of Viet Nam. Darell was assigned to the Gun Platoon flying UH-1C Huey Gunships, callsign “Tigershark 33”.
Sometime in February, 1969, Darell had the duty of flying Stand-by for any U.S. or Republic of South Viet Nam troops needing Helicopter Gunship support. His Light Fire Team was “Scrambled” when a convoy was ambushed north of Phan Thiet on Highway One. Arriving at the ambush site, there was a heated fire fight in progress and friendly casualties were increasing. Locating an enemy machine gun position, WO1 Koenig began placing MiniGun fire which destroyed the machine gun. In the process of attacking the machine gun, his Helicopter Gunship came under fire from two other machine guns which knocked out the electrical and hydraulic systems of the UH-1C. Continuing the mission, the wing man provided covering fire and the two doorgunners silenced the remaining machine guns. The problem then was whether to land the helicopter near the ambush site or attempt to fly it back to the airfield. The ambush was broken up, but the location of other enemy units was not known so the decision was made to fly back to the home airfield. The emergency procedures called for a “Run-On Landing” at 35 Knots or faster. This means a runway was needed; however the Phan Thiet Runway was being renovated and couldn’t be used. This left a narrow dirt taxi-way between helicopter revetments as an emergency landing stip. The helicopter was successfully landed and numerous bullet holes were counted, including those from a .50 caliber machine gun. This mission resulted in his being awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He served with the 201st Aviation Company during his second tour in Viet Nam 1972-73.
His Army flying career continued until 1987, with assignments flying CH-47 Chinooks in Colorado, Hawaii, the Sinai Desert, and Europe. During this 20-year Army Career, Darell served as the Aviation Safety Officer for numerous units and received awards for this service.
After retiring from the U.S. Army, he worked in Aviation and Ground Safety for government contractors and commercial aircraft manufacturers until retiring in 2005.