Retired Lt. Col. David Hetzel

Photo By Tech. Sgt. Jamal Sutter | U.S. Air Force retired Lt. Col. David Hetzel poses for a photo June 9, 2015, at his home in Tifton, Ga. During the Vietnam War, Hetzel worked evacuations for Operation Babylift, a U.S government plan that transported more than 3,300 Vietnamese orphans out of the country. He was also the last Air Force major to fly out of Vietnam at the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, which ended the 30-year-long war. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jamal D. Sutter)  

JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, UNITED STATES

11.05.2015

Story by Staff Sgt. Jamal Sutter 

1st Combat Camera Squadron         

JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. - Retired Lt. Col. David Hetzel is a Bakerton, West Virginia, native who commissioned at the University of West Virginia. He began his active-duty Air Force journey at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, as an air-police officer in 1959. During his 25-year career, he served numerous positions including officer in-charge of the Department of Defense Sentry Dog School in Lackland AFB, Texas, and Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps instructor in Tucson, Arizona.

During the Vietnam War, he and other members of his team conducted evacuations for Operation Babylift, which was a 10-day, U.S-led effort that transported more than 3,300 Vietnamese orphans out of the country. The team worked around the clock and loaded evacuees onto C-130s and C-141s every 20 to 45 minutes. By the time his work and mission were complete, Hetzel was the last Air Force officer to fly out of Vietnam at the Fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975.

After retiring, he moved to Tifton, Georgia, with his wife and has since served as a Tifton City councilman. Currently, he spends much of his time to nonprofit organizations devoted to making Tifton a better place for the future.

• Date Taken: 11.05.2015
• Date Posted: 11.05.2015 21:48
• Story ID: 181110
• Location: JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, US
• Hometown: BAKERTON, WEST VIRGINIA, US