Feb. 16, 2007

Educators hope DVD of historical helicopter’s final journey lands in schools throughout the nation

Educators from Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District are collaborating on a national effort to utilize video footage of the Huey 091 helicopter’s Final Journey Home to create an instructional DVD for schools throughout the country.  Final Journey Home was the Huey 091’s six-week trip to a final resting place in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

During the journey, Huey 091 visited each of the nation’s military academies, several elementary and secondary schools, and several national cemeteries and monuments. The 091 Journey was created and originated by a group of American Airline pilots, many of whom had flown Hueys during their military service.  American Airlines employees captured over 80 hours of video footage, chronicling every stop, activities and speeches, as well as landmarks passed along the way.

GCISD’s involvement in the Huey’s historical journey began in the fall of 2002, when a history teacher at Grapevine Elementary became aware of a Huey helicopter that had recently been refurbished to its original flying condition after being shot down during the Vietnam conflict.  Her interest in this aircraft led to its three visits to the campus. On the first trip, the Huey carried Principal Jim Calvin and General Richard E. Stephenson, U.S.A. (ret.), who landed the aircraft for the first time since his flying days in Vietnam.  The second landing at the school was on Veteran’s Day, 2003, when the Huey carried GCISD’s superintendent at the time, Dr. Kevin Singer, along with six distinguished veterans who shared their personal stories with students.  The Huey’s third visit to GES on Feb. 19, 2004, marked the first stop on the Huey 091’s Final Journey Home tour, ending in Washington, D.C. where it was to become the single largest artifact in The Price of Freedom exhibit in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. 

At a special ceremony on March 19, 2004, when America’s Huey 091 landed on the Mall in Washington, D.C., ownership of the helicopter was officially transferred from the Fort Worth Air Command Museum to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Information on The Price of Freedom website gives this historical information:

“Nearly 4,000 Bell UH-1 Iroquois helicopters, nicknamed “Hueys,” served during the war. This Huey, with tail number, 65-10091, was deployed to Vietnam in 1966 and served with the 173rd Assault Helicopter Company, known as the “Robin Hoods.” It returned to the United States and continued to fly until 1995, when it was decommissioned and acquired by the Texas Air Command Museum. In 2002, 091 became the centerpiece of a documentary film and a tour of reconciliation and remembrance that brought Vietnam veterans and their stories to people across the nation.”

Not wanting the historical significance of this Huey’s last journey to be lost, the GCISD educators, along with the 091 Committee, plan to create Final Journey Home, an instructional DVD for schools to use throughout the country.

“It is our belief that providing schools and students the opportunity to see and to hear first-hand accounts from significant events in our nation’s past will paint a picture of and define concepts such as citizenship, patriotism, responsibility, and the price of freedom in ways that traditional methods may not accomplish,” explains Jim Calvin, GES principal.  

American Airlines is a major sponsor of this educational DVD project. Among the pilots and all other employees at American Airlines many have been touched in some way by a Huey.  The Final Journey Home tour was funded by American Airlines, The Allied Pilots Association, Bell Helicopter and DynCorp.

“We believe this DVD will be a tool that can be utilized from elementary to secondary levels in ways that will be easy for teachers to embrace and for students to enjoy thoroughly the engaging and interactive instructional opportunities that may inspire them to create tools and technologies that could impact the world in the years to come. We at GCISD are excited about the opportunity to see this project get off the ground in much the same way we witnessed the Huey take flight, and we look forward to the connections that will be made as we continue to partner with other schools throughout the country as well as businesses that see the significance of this project.”

Members from the committee working on this project are traveling to Colorado in order to view the unveiling of a monument designed to honor Huey 091.  “Each stop that members of the committee make to attend such events will add to the momentum and significance of this project,” said Calvin. “We look forward to the development of a finished product that will become a resource like none other.”American’s Huey 091 Final Journey Home website includes historical information and photos about the Huey, photos from its journey, sponsors and committee members listings and the latest news.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Jim Calvin, GES Principal, 817/251-5735