Dedication to Duty: Captain Jay Dirnberger

Captain Jay Dirnberger served with pride and distinction as a combat helicopter pilot, flight leader and operations officer in Vietnam in 1968. He was awarded the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Air Medal with 22 Oak Leaf Clusters and Vietnamese Cross for Gallantry with Silver Star. When Lieutenant Dirnberger arrived in Vietnam on January 1, 1968, he was assigned to the 1st Calvary Division, Alpha Company, 227th Assault Helicopter Battalion, stationed at Camp Evans, north of Hue and just a few miles from the Demilitarized Zone. The 1st Cavalry was an airmobile division with 20,000 men and nearly 450 helicopters–the most firepower and mobility of any division-size unit in Vietnam.

Capt. Dirnberger flew a UH-1H “Huey” helicopter. It was manned by a crew of four- a pilot, co-pilot, crew chief and gunner, with the crew chief becoming a gunner when airborne. A machine gun was mounted on each side. It flew at up to 130 miles per hour and altitudes of up to 10,000 feet– “but got a little wobbly when you got up there.” Its tanks held three and one-half hours of fuel. A Huey could carry 1300 to 1500 pounds- seven fully armed American soldiers or ten Vietnamese. About 10% of the 58,000 American lives lost in Vietnam were helicopter crews. Over 12,000 helicopters were used in Vietnam and more than 5.000 were destroyed. Being a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War was a high risk and harrowing assignment undertaken only by the courageous.

Captain Dirnberger recorded an interview for the Library of Congress Veterans History Project during a reunion of his Vietnam unit in Nashville, TN in 2018 and portions of that interview will be part of his presentation to the RMA. Following his military service he had a career in New York City as an investment portfolio manager. Now retired, Captain Dirnberger lives in Westport where he is active on the Boards of the Westport Museum and the Westport Playhouse. He volunteers as a school mentor in the international community of Bridgeport and is a Past President of the Y’s Men of Westport/Weston.