WASHINGTON — A restored Coast Guard HH-52A Seaguard helicopter is dedicated into the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., during a ceremony Thursday, April 14, 2016.
The HH-52A helicopters served in the Coast Guard for 26 years and are credited with saving more than 15,000 lives. One notable case involved the rescue of 1,200 people by multiple HH-52A helicopter crews following Hurricane Betsy in 1965. The crew of tail number 1426 saved 22 lives from a burning tanker ship outside the entrance to Galveston Bay, Texas, in 1979.
The ceremony was part of a year-long celebration of the centennial anniversary of Coast Guard aviation, which traces its roots to 1916 when Elmer Stone became the first Coast Guardsman to complete the U.S. Navy’s aviation training program.
(U.S. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 2nd Class Patrick Kelley)
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