Chief Warrant Officer (W2) Ronald L. Tusi is one of Army Aviation’s most outstanding attack helicopter pilots.

One specific action best illustrates his tactical skills. On 15 April 1972 at An Loc, Vietnam, a number of enemy tanks had penetrated the friendly position and were within a few meters of the Republic of Vietnam Army’s Fifth Division Headquarters. As conditions deteriorated rapidly, U.S. advisors to the Division Headquarters urgently requested AH-1 Cobra support.

CW2 Tusi responded immediately and despite extremely intense antiaircraft fire, he single-handedly attacked the threatening enemy force, killing four tanks, damaging a fifth, and forcing the others to withdraw. At the time of his Hall of Fame induction, CW2 Tusi’s record of killing ten tanks with helicopters had never been equaled, and he was considered to be Army Aviation’s leading tank killer.

During five tours in the Republic of Vietnam, he earned the Distinguished Service Cross, four Silver Stars, eight Distinguished Flying Crosses, three Bronze Stars (one with “V” device), 67 Air Medals, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Gold Star, and the American Legion Aviation Award for Valor in 1972.

CW2 Tusi’s brilliant aviation career was cut short by his untimely death in a Cobra accident on the night of 6 August 1974. He was participating at the time in the dangerous “Night Owl” experiments which were used as a basis for today’s night fighting techniques.

 

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