PORTAGE, Mich. — It took one minute, and a few rounds of ammunition, to shoot down the “Huey” helicopter during the Vietnam War. Now, decades later, it's taken three years to restore it and turn it into an art exhibit.
“When I was imagining on the tailbone area of the aircraft, was bringing to life maybe some memories that soldiers would’ve had on their minds, thinking about back home rather than the war,” said artist and Kalamazoo native Steve Maloney. “Maybe their girlfriend, or their car, or mom’s apple pie.”
Tuesday, the Air Zoo introduced the Take Me Home Huey Project, an art exhibit that shares the stories and struggles of those who served on it. Maloney said two crew members died when it was shot down on Valentines Day 1969. The exhibit, he believes, is a great way to remember their service and the other 2.7 million people who fought during the war.
“It’s really to welcome home those guys that never got a welcome home,” said Maloney during an interview at the Air Zoo. “Those soldiers were spit on. One guy said they threw rocks at us when we got to the airport. We changed out of uniform and then we went home. And we were forgotten.”
The exhibit’s goal, Maloney said, is to make sure no one is forgotten. He made sure every helicopter squadron was printed on the Huey.
“It’s a healing project,” said Vietnam veteran Karl Renz III. “I mean it really is. We have a lot of veterans come by and find their units on the wall.”
Renz worked on the project and helped restore the helicopter. He battles post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and can attest to the fact that it helps veterans heal.
“I was right at the edge of putting a gun,” said Renz, pausing mid-sentence. “I been that way for a while. When I got involved in this, it’s just, I don’t worry about it anymore.”
He said his family noticed the change in him too. The exhibition, he thinks, is prompting people to talk about the war and the impact it had on veterans.
“A lot of them are very emotional,” said Maloney about veterans. “A lot of them are letting some of those feelings out. So it's a healing helicopter really. And that it's mission.”
The helicopter art exhibit has been touring the country since last Veterans Day, making its way to the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. and then to the Ford Museum in Michigan. It’ll be on display at the Air Zoo in Portage until September. Maloney said it's also being featured in its own documentary of the same name. They’re in the process of pitching it to networks in hopes that’ll it air soon.
“Everywhere we’ve come, even here, when we pulled downtown there were people that just stopped an got out of their cars,” said Renz. “I mean it is healing and it does.”
