I just wanted to pass along that a memorial service will be held for CW4 William L. Ruf (retired) on October 20th at the Fort Rucker Aviation museum at 10am. He passed away due to cancer on September 20th.
For the people who do not know, he would give all of the newly formed flight school classes an in-brief around the first week of our training in regards to Army Aviation and its beginnings. He talked for 4-hours straight but I would've listened to him for much longer. This man was a wealth of knowledge about aviation and life in general. It is ultimately sad to see him go and unfortunate he will not be around for future flight school classes. Below is an article about him if anyone is interested.
I was talking to him several years ago on the steps to 1-145th. He told me that was the only E-9 that he was aware of that went to Flt School. That right there, will tell ya a lot about the Man.
He was a regimental Sgt. Major of an infantry battallion in WWII and was taken POW shortly before he escaped and rejoined his troops.
He had a lot of incredible stories, one of the ones that stuck out was when he was shot down with small arms fire in Vietnam. He said he saw the guy who was shooting at him because he was out in the open in some rice paddy and instead of taking it to the ground and having the enemy come over and take them out once they were on the ground he made the enemy the LZ. Apparently the enemy didn't move and he brought it right down onto him. I believe he was flying the OH-6A at the time.
Ultimately, there were lesser known stories like the one above and the ones he was known for like the around-the-world tour with President Eisenhour. Either way, the man really did some cool things in a helicopter.
He had a lot of incredible stories, one of the ones that stuck out was when he was shot down with small arms fire in Vietnam. He said he saw the guy who was shooting at him because he was out in the open in some rice paddy and instead of taking it to the ground and having the enemy come over and take them out once they were on the ground he made the enemy the LZ. Apparently the enemy didn't move and he brought it right down onto him. I believe he was flying the OH-6A at the time.
That was my favorite Willie Ruf story. Someone who knew him well should write a book about him if there isn't one already. He had enough stories to fill 3 or 4 books.
I've got a feeling they'll name something at Rucker after him, the museum would be nice. The "William Ruf US Army Aviation Museum." Or maybe a street, 5th Ave would be a good candidate.
Please note, that Willie Ruf did not die of cancer, but rather died of surgical complications and a failure to recover from open heart surgery. He fought hard, but in the end decided to take a trip and see the world from above.
Willie Ruf was an amazing man who had many stories to tell and loved the Army until his last breath. I am sure there are many that could recite the stories
