Recognizing one and all who served in combat

The day in August 1970 when assault helicopter pilot Tim Callister arrived for his mission in Cambodia, a memorial was underway for some pilots who had been shot down. Only half had been rescued.

Soon, Callister, then 23, faced the same kind of danger when he flew into a hot zone, his Huey helicopter taking fire as he responded to a call for support from a transport helicopter that was under intense attack.

In a ceremony 40 years later in West St. Paul, Callister on Wednesday was formally presented with his Distinguished Flying Cross medal, the Bronze Star and a fistful of other medals that had been quietly slipped into his military file as pieces of paper during his U.S. Army service, from 1968 through 1971.

Outgoing state Sen. Jim Carlson presented the honors in a ceremony that both he and Callister said they hoped paid tribute to all veterans, including the many who risked or lost their lives in Vietnam. "I know others in my unit that did similar things and probably didn't get written up or nobody recognized it," Callister said. "And I'm sure if you went through all the units in Vietnam, there's folks who did that, not only helicopter pilots, but the guys on the ground, walking through the forest, getting shot at and shot. They're every bit as much and probably more the heroes than the pilots."

Nearly 40 people gathered on Wednesday, including fellow Vietnam pilot Pat Riley of Lakeland.

"There's a lot of bad sentiment about the war, but if you were over there, and your fellow soldiers were getting hurt, you went because you could help them, and they would have done the same thing for you," Callister said.

Callister, 63, of Eagan is a humble man. His wife, Barbara Callister, said it was good to see Tim get the medals after all these years.

"A lot of the Vietnam-era veterans didn't talk about the war when they came home because it was so unpopular, and they had to hide what they did," she said. "Now that they see the current veterans coming home and being celebrated, they're very happy that it is happening for them, but I wonder if there's not some feeling that they've buried that 'Gee, it's too bad we didn't get that too.'"

She said she hoped her husband's honors could be seen as saluting his era.

After Vietnam, Callister served in the Minnesota National Guard, where he met fellow pilot Riley. Callister went on to become airport director for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for 30 years and is now a consultant.

Among those at the ceremony at the Dakota County Western Service Center was Daniel McNamara of St. Paul. He served in the First Cavalry Division in Cambodia.

He'd never before met Callister, but on Wednesday, McNamara wanted to do something that he hadn't had the chance to do 40 years ago, when pilots like Callister flew at treetop level back and forth, shooting to suppress enemy fire so foot soldiers like McNamara could board transport helicopters.

"We always wanted to thank them for getting us out of trouble, and a lot of time when it was a hot pickup zone, where we're getting a lot of action, they'd come and get us anyway," McNamara said.

"The battalion commander told them they didn't need to come in and get us, because it was dangerous, but they came in anyway to get us out."

The thanks came from others as well, including Dakota County Commissioner Tom Egan, who expressed the board's gratitude to Callister and other veterans there.

Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Paul Anderson spoke of a nation built with the preservation of laws and liberty and the importance of remembering those who defend that.

The justice told Callister:

"That is why it's so important, even though we gather late to honor your service, because you are symbolic of so many others, so many of your comrades in Vietnam and other wars, who served this country."

Joy Powell • 952-882-9017