About Air America News Image Library Feature Stories CAT/Air America Archival Collections Members Information Web Updates Search Air America Site Map Other Topics Sick Call In Memoriam In Remembrance Newspaper Articles Reunion Info Reunion Photo Galleries Reunion Articles and Stories

Home Page : News: Newspaper Articles

Last Updated March 23, 2005

Former CAT Pilot Receives Honor from French Government

By NORMA MARTINEZ, Managing Editor, The Rockport Pilot

All the details about an event which took place more than 50 years ago are not well-remembered, but the friends who were right alongside him in that mission, some who died then and some who died later, are not forgotten.

Rockport resident Nelson Duke has been living quietly in his home in the Rockport Country Club since 1992. He didn't have any idea he and his comrades, CAT pilots, would be recognized this year with the Insignia of Knights of the Legion of Honor for missions they flew at Dien Bien Phu.

The honor was presented in Washington at the French Embassy by Jean-David Levitte, Ambassador of France to the United States.

Duke is a native of Clinton, MD, a small town south of Washington D.C. He graduated from high school there and also attended the University of Maryland before joining the United States Navy. He became a U.S. Navy pilot at age 19 and flew numerous types of planes all over the U.S., Europe and the Pacific. He received the Air Medal as Aircraft Commander during the Berlin Airlift and also flew the Korean Airlift. He was released from military service in 1954.

In 1954, he evacuated refugees out of Hanoi to Haiphong and flew 12 missions over Dien Bien Phu. Those missions were as a member of the Civil Air Transport (CAT), a private, civilian company for which he worked about six months in 1954.

The dangerous missions lasted from March to May of that year, during which time 15,000 French paratroopers were surrounded by 50,000 well-armed Vietnamese who controlled Dien Bien Phu.

The French sought aid from the United States, who did not want to become involved in another war.

The situation was solved by using the civilian CAT pilots. Duke and 36 other men, almost all World War II veterans, then began flying daily missions to drop personnel, as well as food, ammunition, artillery pieces, tons of barbed wire and other supplies, to the French troops under siege.

The pilots flew Air Force C-19s with French markings on the back. Duke recalls he was "working for a living," back then and was familiar with the country, having flown over Asia quite a bit.

He said while they were "aware" of the dangers of being shot down, it wasn't foremost in their minds. Getting supplies to the surrounded troops was vital and it was something which needed to be done.

What Duke remembers most is the camaraderie among the pilots. He knew some of them prior to beginning to fly the missions, and the others he got to know during their time in Teran, Indochina. They flew missions every day, Duke said.

He also remembers the two pilots, James McGovern and Wallace Buford, who were shot down and killed just the day before the fall of Dien Bien Phu.

"McGovern was sort of a famous character," Duke remembered. The news of the two was "pretty distressing," but it didn't stop the other pilots from completing their missions that day.

Levitte noted in his address not everything was always going smoothly between the American crews and the French. At one point, the French commander complained CAT crews were not following instructions, but it was due to a misunderstanding as CAT crews did not speak French and the French air control personnel spoke no English.

The language barrier was overcome by employing British Legionnaires after which it was reported CAT crews were participating in the airlift with much spirit thus getting respect from the French crews flying the airdrop missions.

Levitte said, "We will never praise enough the CAT pilots who performed extraordinary feats at Dien Bien Phu. They risked their lives and managed to complete a total of 682 airdrops under heavy enemy fire between March 13 and May 6, 1954."

As he presented the insignias he noted they are "in recognition of your extraordinary achievements and tireless efforts in the performance of duty, the President of the French Republic has decided to confer you the Legion of Honor with the rank of knight."

The Legion of Honor was created by Emperor Napoleon in 1802 to recognize services rendered to France, on the basis of personal merit.

Duke brushes off the words "hero" and "heroic" when referring to his role as a CAT pilot.

He admits to being pleased, surprised and honored to receive the award and called Levitte a "charismatic gentleman."

Even more than the award, however, Duke was pleased to see his comrades, many who he hadn't seen since the missions were flown.

He noted, "I was surprised to see they looked like old men."

Duke said he has kept in close contact with two of them and they were recently together for a reunion.

"We've always felt pretty close (to each other)," Duke noted. And with only seven pilots left of the original 37, they have even more reason to stay close. Not only do they share this latest honor bestowed upon them by the French government, but they alone share the memories of what happened over the skies of Indochina.