In honor of Veteran’s Day, the Museum would like to recognize CW3 Raymond Usher, a Carolinas aviator and veteran of the US Army.
Courtesy of Raymond C. Usher
Growing up on rural dairy farms in North and South Carolina, Raymond Usher was inspired to join the US Army to better himself. “When I turned 17 and a half, I tried to get my folks to sign me up because I had quit school in eighth grade–a big mistake,” recalled Usher. “I felt like the only way I could get my education and get squared away was to get my high school GED and join the Army.”
After basic training at Fort Jackson in Columbia, SC, Usher resisted deployment with an artillery unit headed for Germany, insisting instead on paratrooper school. “I wanted to be a paratrooper,” said Usher. “We lived on the edge of Fort Bragg and I would see them jumping.” He successfully graduated from paratrooper school, going on to make jumps out of “everything from helicopters, the [DHC-2] Beavers, the C -130s, and the C -119s.” He later served in the Dominican Republic and Germany.
US Army Photo | Courtesy of Raymond C. Usher
After his initial enlistment, Usher had a brief stint as a civilian mechanist before returning to the Army to become a pilot. “I knew I was going to Vietnam. That is what I had trained for this whole time,” Usher reflected. He first flew UH-1 Hueys before returning for a second tour flying OV-1D Mohawks. “I volunteered to go back because I knew I was going back, but I wanted to go back in fixed-wing,” he said. “I wanted the dual rating. I’d had enough of helicopters.” As a Mohawk pilot, Usher was based at Tuy Hoa, often flying two-hour nighttime reconnaissance missions to secure vital information about enemy troops.
Courtesy of Raymond C. Usher
Usher departed the Army in 1981 with two bronze stars and 23 air medals, including one with a V Device for valor. He later became a pilot with the Saudi Arabian oil company Aramco before returning to North Carolina to work for Piedmont Airlines. Usher eventually became Chief Pilot at MedCenter Air, an air ambulance service based in Charlotte, NC, helping them to develop a fixed-wing flight program.
Speaking about his military service, Usher said, “If I had to do it again, I would do it twice. I enjoyed it that much. Because it made me a better person and I felt like I had done something for my country.”
The OV-1D Mohawk
Used exclusively by the Army, the OV-1 Mohawk increased capability for around-the-clock battlefield surveillance and target acquisition by electronic, visual, and photographic means. The OV-1 was designed to be a light attack and observation aircraft, although most Mohawks were only equipped with machine guns and rocket-pods for self-defense. The Mohawk was the Army’s first all-weather, fixed-wing short take off/landing aircraft, capable of quick takeoffs from unimproved runways as short as 800 feet. Carrying two crew members in side-by-side seating, the aircraft has bubbled windows to enhance pilot visibility, giving a ‘bug-like’ appearance to the cockpit.
SAM’s Mohawk
Sullenberger Aviation Museum Collection
The Museum’s OV-1D Mohawk (s/n 62-5890) served in both Vietnam and South Korea. This aircraft was stationed at Vung Tau Republic of Vietnam Air Base in the late 1960s serving with the 73rd Surveillance Aviation Company. It supported combat operations by performing visual and photographic reconnaissance in South Vietnam. In the 1980s, this aircraft served with the 3rd Military Intelligence Battalion, stationed at Camp Humphreys, South Korea. Mohawks at Camp Humphreys were used to keep constant surveillance on North Korean activity along the Demilitarized Zone. The Museum purchased this OV-1D Mohawk (s/n 62-5890) in flyable condition from the US Army surplus office in 1996. The Museum maintained the aircraft in flyable condition and regularly participated in airshows until the late 2000s. SAM’s Mohawk is now on static display in the Outdoor Plaza.