After four years of effort, hard work and dedication, the Martin County Veterans Memorial Committee has restored Cobra 327 to its former glory. This internationally famous helicopter is now on public display at the Martin County Veteran Memorial Park as a reminder of the dedication of our Veterans of county, state, country and our allies who have served in our Armed Forces.

On August 1, MDVA Commissioner Larry Herke attended a dedication event for the Bell Cobra Helicopter 327, an important addition to the Martin County Veterans Memorial. Acting Deputy VA Secretary Pamela Powers was also in attendance.

On June 24, 2019, the Bell AH-1F Cobra helicopter arrived in Fairmont on a flatbed semi from California. But that was three years into the effort that required the Martin County Veterans Memorial Committee to incorporate into a 501(c) organization, find a sponsor and raise funds to support the purchase of the helicopter. 

The history of this helicopter includes U.S. Army crews flying the Cobra in combat missions in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos during the Vietnam War. These missions of combat, recon and armed escort resulted in bullet holes riddling the helicopter 12 times. After a repair, the Cobra was put back in action. At the battle of Lan Son 719, in Laos, the pilot and gunner took on a devastating projectile in the hydraulic system. Members of the South Vietnamese ARVIN assisted in their rescue and they all made it back alive. Cobra 327 was again put to the test for Kern County, California fire department. Strapped with a 380-water tank and infer-red sensors, it fought night fires, maneuvering in the tightest spots that earned this machine the title of “The SNAKE.”

At the August 1 event, Commissioner Herke recalled his experience with a Cobra. “As I was concluding my assignment as the Officer in Charge of the Aviation Brigade at Holman Field in St. Paul, I was treated to an ‘honor rotation’ on a Cobra,” he said. “This includes the pilot cutting the engine causing a rapid descent. If you’ve ever been in an elevator that seems to be dropping too fast, it’s similar to that – but worse. I had both a knot in my stomach and a lump in my throat, but the pilot expertly achieved a soft landing.”

Herke also congratulated the Martin County Veteran Memorial County on the successful completion of this project. 

The committee’s next project is creating statues of a combat patrol made up of a WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, and present-day soldiers in their proper uniforms and weapons, to represent the men and women who sacrificed their lives for this great country.