Presidential pilot, soldier, politician. An Army Chief Warrant Officer in May 1973, Bean was ferrying seven Secret Service agents to Grand Cay, Bahamas, to join President Richard M. Nixon on a moonless, overcast night when a faulty altimeter led to the helicopter clipping the wavetops, flipping and sinking. Despite swallowing many mouthfuls of jet-fuel-thickened water, he dove repeatedly to the stricken chopper, rescuing his copilot, flight engineer and six of the seven Secret Service agents. The seventh, J. Clifford Dietrich, drowned. Bean was awarded the Soldier's Medal, the highest peacetime award a member of the military can earn, the non-combat rough equivalent of the Medal of Honor. He also was awarded the Secret Service Honor Award and the American Legion Aviator Valor Award. A two-term Vietnam War combat veteran, he also earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, the Air Medal with 17 oak leaf clusters and the "V" device for valor. He also served as helicopter pilot for President Gerald R. Ford. First elected to public office in 1976, he served as state Senator from Caddo Parish from 1991 to 2003 when health issues forced his retirement. The ingested jet fuel eventually caused his kidneys to fail, leading to his death.
Presidential pilot, soldier, politician. An Army Chief Warrant Officer in May 1973, Bean was ferrying seven Secret Service agents to Grand Cay, Bahamas, to join President Richard M. Nixon on a moonless, overcast night when a faulty altimeter led to the helicopter clipping the wavetops, flipping and sinking. Despite swallowing many mouthfuls of jet-fuel-thickened water, he dove repeatedly to the stricken chopper, rescuing his copilot, flight engineer and six of the seven Secret Service agents. The seventh, J. Clifford Dietrich, drowned. Bean was awarded the Soldier's Medal, the highest peacetime award a member of the military can earn, the non-combat rough equivalent of the Medal of Honor. He also was awarded the Secret Service Honor Award and the American Legion Aviator Valor Award. A two-term Vietnam War combat veteran, he also earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star, the Air Medal with 17 oak leaf clusters and the "V" device for valor. He also served as helicopter pilot for President Gerald R. Ford. First elected to public office in 1976, he served as state Senator from Caddo Parish from 1991 to 2003 when health issues forced his retirement. The ingested jet fuel eventually caused his kidneys to fail, leading to his death.
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