OPERATION AMIGO

[Music] on January 6th 1960 Marine helicopter Squadron 1 was directed to provide helicopter support for operation Amigo President Eisenhower's Goodwill tour of South America operation Amigo was as its name implies a mission of friendship before his departure the president outlined his reasons for undertaking this journey my friends early tomorrow I start a journey to several of our Latin American neighbors with three major major purposes in mind these are to learn more about our friends to the South to assure them again that the United States seeks to cooperate with them in achieving a fuller life for everyone in this Hemisphere and to make clear our desire to work closely with them in the building of a universal peace with Justice for the Marines assigned to Port operation Amigo planning began immediately Maps Publications and other data were consulted Landing sites were selected support requirements were determined and an advanced leaon party under Lieutenant Colonel VA Armstrong left for South America to make arrangements for the helicopter's arrival the helicopters and Personnel that would participate in operation Amigo were divided into three units task unit Bravo would provide support and Rio de Janeiro Charlie and Buenos arees and Santiago and Alpha in San Carlos Deo we arrived in Rio aboard the USS Plymouth Rock on the 16th of February a week before President Eisenhower left Washington our group was to debark Here Charlie and Alpha would stay on board until the ship reached montoo the helicopters were brought up and we took off for Santos Dumont airport our base of [Music] operation in the parking area signed us strict safety precautions were inforced as each aircraft underwent a thorough checkout and inspection this was done before each flight to ensure that the aircraft was in Peak mechanical condition we had 8 days before the president's arrival but during those 8 days we had to become thoroughly familiar with the roof we flew a number of flights over the area examined emergency landing sites and tested radio reception all along the Route we were now ready President Eisenhower arrived on the 24th of February he was greeted by President kuek and cheered by great crowds of flag waving Brazilians the Brazilians really caught the spirit of operation Amigo while in Rio the president made two helicopter trips High over the city he had an opportunity to see some of the landmarks of this modern Metropolis President Eisenhower's next stop would be buos arez immediately after the president's departure from Rio the helicopters of Bravo group took off for sa Paulo the first fuel stop on the way to monadale task units Alpha and Charlie had already arrived in mavo the mission of these aircraft was to provide support for the presidential party in Argentina and Chile during their short stay in mavo the helicopters were prepared for flight they were washed down and examined by maintenance Personnel then task unit Alpha left for S Carlos De baroi while Charlie proceeded to buar one of the pilots attached to Charley group was Captain BF Gordon coming into buenos Ares we landed at EAA airport there we had 4 days to prepare for the president's visit maintenance and Route checks occupied most of our time but we also flew indoctrination flights for a number of argentin officers they were very impressed by the military capabilities of the helicopter when President Eisenhower landed at EA airport he was welcomed to Argentina by president fondi after the ceremonies at the airport the two presidents and their parties boarded our helicopters and flew to the American Embassy later the president drove from the embassy to the Argentine Congress the enthusiasm of the people of BU spoke for itself a short 24 hours later presidents Eisenhower and fresi left buenos Aris for s caros De baroi in the andian [Music] Foothills Alpha unit had arrived in St Carlos 4 days earlier after a difficult Cross Country flight from mavale Captain JC Robinson piloted helicopter number one on this flight from mono to Buenos Aries was a routine flight but south of Buenos series the country is sparsely settled first we cross the Argentine papus the home of the GAO formerly Argentina was almost entirely dependent on the cattle industry and today it is still one of the Main Stays of the economy radio communication was often difficult because of the great distances between the transmitters local weather reports were often unobtainable airfields frequently like modern facilities but the trip went smoothly the weather was good and local officials were eager to cooperate one of the high points of our trip was the barbecue arranged by the airport manager at naquin the advanced liaison party under Colonel Armstrong had made careful arrangements for refueling on this route as on the other Cross Country flights this frequently meant pre-positioning fuel for the helicopters that were to follow from n King Alpha set out for San Carlos across the Patagonian desert Argentina's New Frontier beneath this Wasteland lie oil deposits Rich enough to make Argentina self-sufficient shortly after entering the Andes the helicopters passed over Lake trfu and landed at the summer Resort of St Carlos De barar the visit of presidents Eisenhower and fisi was a great event to the people of s Carlos after the ceremonies the two presidents flew to the hotel yao yao Colonel Armstrong the squadron commander was the president's pilot throughout operation Amigo it was here that President Eisenhower and fisi signed the joint Declaration of baralo during his stay the president made several helicopter flights and saw a great deal of the local scenery two days after they arrived both presidents were flown from the hotel grounds to baralo airport [Music] the next leg of president Eisenhower's Journey will take him to Santiago Chile task unit Alpha now started the long trip back to Mono where it would be Consolidated with Bravo [Music] unit while the president was in San Carlos to baralo task unit Charlie had made a transcontinental flight from buen arez to Santiago first day of our trip was very similar to Alpha's flight to baroi the Flying conditions were much the same and the land below was the flat cattle land of the pampus we left buenos Iris at 6:00 in the morning stopped to refuel at Honan and Mercedes and spent the night at Mendoza the next morning we took off for Santiago Chile [Music] we cleared usata pass at about 13,500 ft directly below the chist of the Andes marks the border between Argentina and Chile and above Mount aanga the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere over 23,000 ft coming down over the coastal plane would become the first military helicopter unit to cross the [Music] Andes President Eisenhower's visit to Chile was well timed this was the 150th anniversary of Chilean Independence and the presence of the president of the United States gave the Chilean people an additional reason for celebration standing beneath the mural depicting Chile's Discovery over 400 years ago President Eisenhower addressed the Chilean Congress he endorsed president alexandre's plea for disarmament and spoke about the need for international cooperation during his stay in Chile we flew the president to a Housing Development on the outskirts of Santiago these people have a special reason to welcome President Eisenhower the houses they live in were built in part by United States [Applause] [Music] Aid after the visit the presidential party returned to Santiago the next day the Marine helicopters flew them from the police academy grounds to the airport next stop mono the helicopters were then refueled and loaded for the return flight to [Music] Mono Landing in mavo the president of the United States was greeted by president nordon of Uruguay at the airport President Eisenhower praised the Democratic institutions of this nation the two chiefs of State then left the airport together thousands lined the streets along their route overhead other members of the president's party were airlifted to their various destinations as in the other countries he visited President Eisenhower spoke before a joint session of the Congress the next morning the presidential party boarded helicopters at the athletic field for a short flight to gas airport this day the 3rd of March marked the end of operation Amigo President Eisenhower was Homeward Bound this day also marked the end of flight operations for hmx1 16 days during which the South American Detachment established a creditable record 25,000 miles flown over four South American countries two Crossings of the high Andes Mountains total flight time 520 hours passengers carried 839 all missions were completed on schedule and without incident in this unique support of the presidential Mission operation [Music] [Applause] amigo