Captain James Green being airlifted from his crash site by a Sikorsky YR-4 helico...HD Stock Footage

The Color of History
Sep 18, 2026

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Captain James Green being airlifted from his crash site by a Sikorsky YR-4 helicopter in Shingbwiyang, Burma during World War 2

Men carry injured US Army Air Force Jungle Rescue Pilot Captain James Green from hospital tent to completed MEDEVAC landing zone in Shingbwiyang, Burma during World War II. Green had been injured in a crash of his helicopter. Dr. Underwood talks on hand radio as men sight an incoming Sikorsky YR-4 helicopter. Engineer sets off smoke flare. Helicopter lands and men hold it. Men carry Captain Green on litter to the helicopter and he shakes hands with Pilot Lieutenant Raymond Murdock. Dr. Underwood gives Green an injection in his arm. Men put Captain Green in the helicopter and it takes off. Men cheer and shake hands with Dr. Underwood. This is an early example of one of the first helicopter MEDEVAC (Medical Evacuation) flights in a combat zone. Prior to this MEDEVAC flight, this particular helicopter, a Sikorsky YR-4, had been dismantled at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio on January 17, 1945, loaded on a C-54 transport, and flown to the North Burma theater of operations. It was reassembled and flown by Capt. Frank Peterson, USAAF, on January 26, 1945 to evacuate wounded weather observer Private Howard Ross from a 4,700 foot mountain ridge in the Naga hills of Burma. Location: Shingbwiyang Burma. Date: April 4, 1945.

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