History brings patient care full circle

by Sandra Pishner
446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

8/3/2012 - MCCHORD FIELD, Wash. -- Seriously injured in an eight-story fall from a hotel ledge in Thailand, 17-year-old Kurt Krusekopf was airlifted on a Reserve aeromedical evacuation flight for life-saving care. That was 37 years ago, yet that mission is memorialized in the history of the 446th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron.

Maj. Maryjane Baska, a 446th AES Medical Service Corps officer, came across an old article and letters of appreciation concerning the mission while sifting through historical documents in various boxes in the squadron. That history includes squadron predecessors 40th AES and 69th AEF.

"I'm set for mandatory retirement in March," said Baska, "and I told Colonel (Janette) Moore-Harbert (446th AES commander) that the one thing I wanted to leave was a digitized history of the unit."

As a self-proclaimed history nut, Baska felt too much "stuff" gets lost as people retire and didn't want the squadron's corporate knowledge to fade away, including this mission.

The Krusekopf family had been in Laos in 1975 when they were quickly evacuated from the country, as detailed in a 1975 news article about Kurt's devastating accident. Reading about Laos reminded Baska of her first life reality check of caring for a gunner involved in the 1975 Mayaguez incident, the last official battle of the Vietnam War. This set her to wondering about patients she has been involved with over the years and what happened to them. Although Kurt wasn't her patient, Baska decided to see if she could find him after coming across his story in the squadron's archives.

"In the original article, it stated that Kurt wanted to be a vet. Not many 17 year olds follow through and complete their dreams," said Baska, who serves as a Pastor in New Jersey. "I Googled him, got an e-mail address, and said 'nothing ventured, nothing gained' and sent the e-mail. This was the one and only time in 38 years that I had the chance to find a patient. And when I got an e-mail address for him on the first website I opened, I just had to smile, and wonder, if it really could be him."

And indeed it was, as Kurt responded quickly to the query Baska sent.

The text of the e-mail Baska received back:

"I am Kurt Krusekopf, the 1975 air evac patient flown from Bangkok, Thailand to Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. The fall from a hotel balcony in Bangkok occurred following our forced evacuation out of Vientiane, Laos. I have fuzzy recollections of the trip leaving out of Utapao, with layovers in Clark, Guam, Long Beach, Altus, and finally Tinker. The air evac and many service individuals along the way helped save my life. Thank you."

The e-mail goes on to describe Kurt's recovery at a hospital in Oklahoma City and his appreciation for the airlift and the allowance to have his mother travel with him. He also expressed that while unaware, he was not surprised to hear his dad had written to the Pentagon expressing the family's appreciation for the support of the U.S. Air Force.

So, did 17-year-old Kurt follow his dream of becoming a veterinarian as Baska wondered?

His e-mail goes on to say:
"What happened to me? I became a veterinarian. My work is in public health, food safety and meat inspection. I live with my family in College Station, Texas. Recently my work took me to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to teach meat inspection to Viet Nam officials. Incredible how the world changes in 37 years. I appreciate your time and effort to make contact. Your thoughtfulness makes the world a little smaller and a lot warmer."

Inspired by this exchange, Baska continues to wade through the mountains of documents holding the history of the 446th AES, including the inherited history of air evacuation units that evolved to make up today's 446th AES.