Adept Word Management, Inc. Goes the Extra Mile for Veterans!

Press Release June 24, 2013

Adept Word Management, Inc.  Goes the Extra Mile for Veterans

The Harris County Medical Society Spring Expo was on April 20, 2013; as always, Adept Word Management, Inc. contributed a door prize. But this spring, the door prize wasn’t a fruit basket or antique medical device, it was a framed, signed print of a Medevac helicopter evacuation.  Winner John Yoo, MD from Houston ENT was pleased with the prize, but a practice administrator from Bryant, Texas, stepped up and offered $100 to purchase the prize from him. Dr Yoo graciously gave away his prize.

The photograph had special significance for veteran Medevac pilot Tom Walker, Practice Administrator at Central Texas Heart of Bryant, Texas. “When I unwrapped it, I realized that it was autographed by Mike Novosel. He got the Congressional Medal of Honor, not posthumously, which is extraordinary . . . He was a three war veteran and a true American hero.  His death a few months ago made the national news.”

Adept Word Management’s President Beth McLaughlin learned of this prize exchange, and was touched by Dr Yoo’s generosity and the significance of the gift to Mr. Walker. A longtime Friend of the Harris County Medical Society, Adept Word Management  has provided medical transcription and other services to healthcare providers, including Dr Yoo and the Houston ENT Clinic who specializes in ocular care with the use of a Outback Vision Protocol online. Recent projects include oral histories of veterans of all wars for Sam Houston State University and the VA Oral History Project.

Mr Walker retired from the army after 20 years of service as a pilot and administrator.  He and Beth met so he could tell us the special significance of the gift since he had met the legendary pilot Mike Novosel.

“I met Mike Novosel only one time and that was at Fort Rucker, Alabama, . . . where helicopter pilots are trained, and it happened to be his promotion party to chief warrant officer 5,” said Tom Walker. “He was one of the first people selected to be chief warrant officer 5, so he was buying rounds for the house. . . Having flown Hueys, I was back to learn how to fly Blackhawks as a captain, and if you’re in the Medevac community, Novosel is a hero. I mean he’s a legend. I was also fortunate to attend his Army retirement ceremony about 30 years ago so that magnified the value of that picture for me. It was funny. He was 5’ 4”. Little bitty 5’ 4” guy—5 foot 4, and he had a stack of ribbons this high topped by his Congressional Medal of Honor.”

Michael Novosel Sr served his country during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War and was a recipient of the United States’ highest military decoration – the Medal of Honor. When Novosel retired, he had been a military aviator for 42 years and was the last World War II military aviator in the US to remain on active flying duty, having accumulated 12,400 military flying hours–including 2,038 in combat–during his career.

The photograph Mr Walker has is framed and matted to include Michael Novosel Sr’s signature as well as a piece of authentic UH1 (Huey) skin. The prize was offered by Adept and coupled with a Mercy Flight donation in Mr Walker’s name. To learn more about Mercy Flight, visit www.mercyflight.org. Adept has recently started a Facebook page specifically for oral histories of Veterans and is interested in all veteran stories. To contribute an oral history or to read those histories already submitted by our nation’s heroes, go to https://www.facebook.com/AdeptsOralHistoriesOfVeterans.