Original U.S. Vietnam War Wooden Helicopter Carving Presented to Captain Stanley S. Kraus by the People of Vinh Long, Vietnam in 1965 - Broken

Original Item. One-of-a-Kind. This is a really tremendous souvenir piece, a wood-carved helicopter presented to Captain Stanley S. Kraus by the people of Vinh Long, Vietnam in Grateful Appreciation in July 1965. In our research we found that Kraus had a long history in the U.S. Army, being stationed in Germany prior to the Vietnam War. Within his first year, he was awarded the Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters. When he returned home in 1967, he had been awarded the Air Medal with TWELVE Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Vietnamese Cross of Sallantry with Silver Star for serving as an Army Helicopter Pilot in Vietnam.

The carving is very well-done with small metal pieces like the rotor, landing gear, and the guns at the front. The plaque reads:

FROM
THE PEOPLE OF VINH LONG
VIETNAM
TO
CPT. STANLEY S. KRAUS
IN
GRATEFUL APPRECIATION
JULY 1965

One of the landing gear pieces has broken off of the base, and the other has snapped in half with half staying on the display board. Despite this, the helicopter will sit fine on the base for display, but it must be meticulously cared for. The base board measures 15¾ x 3¾” and with the helicopter it’s roughly 6¼” tall. The rotor has a roughly 18” span.

A fantastic piece that is broken but will display well.