Vietnam veteran Billy Wietelman of Shawnee never asks for anything, according to his wife of 51 years, Dorthy. But recently he mentioned that he would like to have a ride on a helicopter.
As a four-time Purple Heart recipient, he has ridden in helicopters, such as the CH-46 and the “Jolly Green Giant” Sikorsky helicopter, but he never got to see the view.
“I flew in a helicopter several times and never got to see nothing from up high, like slow, I mean,” he said. “I’ve seen it off a jet, or jetliner, but I’ve never seen it from a helicopter.”
When his daughter, Billi Jean Wietelman heard his request, she posted it on Facebook, asking for someone to give him a ride in a helicopter.
“His last (Purple Heart) was when he was shot at Khe Sahn,” she wrote. “And they could not bring in/out any choppers. He had to wait until it was over.”
“My Dad doesn’t feel he is a Hero,” Billi added. “He is just a Marine who loves America.”
Billi’s post was shared by Jessie Newell, a former teacher and photographer. Wietelman spoke to Newell’s third- through 12-grade students at Epic Charter Schools.
Newell said the post on her Bird Nest Baby business page was shared over 100 times in the first 12 hours. There were several pilots who were interested in helping, but one from Ada, Danny Davis, “made it happen.”
Newell believes that people are looking for ways to help veterans and will act when given the chance.
On the morning of Feb. 19, Davis was ready with his helicopter at the Shawnee Regional Airport to make Wietelman’s dream come true. Davis said he’s been flying for 20 years, and his business owns three helicopters. They are usually busy checking power lines for utility companies.
“It’s just the opportunity to give back to someone that’s given so much to us,” said Davis. “I appreciate the opportunity. I never met him, never met any of them, but you know, it’s just a privilege and an honor to be able to give back to someone that’s sacrificed so much.”
Wietelman sat beside Davis in the cockpit and was accompanied on the ride by Billi, her son, Tobias, 5, granddaughter Tabitha Wietelman, and friend and Desert Storm Navy veteran Huey Quarrels, as well as Shawnee Mayor Ed Bolt.
Bolt said he had not planned to go on the ride, and it was his first time in a helicopter.
After circling Shawnee and the airport - one time at 120 miles per hour, Wietelman emerged and said it was a much smoother ride than he expected.
The ride has not been so smooth for Wietelman for much of his life. At age 17, he dropped out of high school to enlist in the U.S. Marines because “I was afraid the war was going to get over before I got to it.”
As an engineer in the Vietnam War, he drove a grader to build roads and clear brush.
“I hit three mines with the grader, and I was in the back of a truck when we hit a mine,” he said.
Wietelman believes one of the mines was command-detonated, meaning it was set off from a distance.
He also believes that he suffered a couple of concussions which caused him to have memory problems.
Wietelman earned two Purple Hearts and was sent home, but he said he went back and earned two more.
When told that he was a brave man, he said he was “just lucky.”
However, it was not lucky that he was exposed in Vietnam to the herbicide Agent Orange, which may have caused him to have three types of cancer: stomach, lung, and prostate. Most recently, he has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease.
“I mean, he truly has nine lives,” said Newell.
