Since the last century, in war an in peace, in good weather and bad, the helicopter has proven itself overand over again when it has been used for military medical evacuations, for search and rescue missions, aswell as for simple transportation.Among the thousands who have flownon one of these aircraft have been U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsmen who didso as aircrew members, as patients, oras passengers. And between 1962 and2007 there were fifty-seven of these menwho lost their lives.All of these corpsmen were killed far from their homes in places that include Vietnam, Cambodia, Iraq, Afghanistan,in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans,and in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest and the American Southwest.The contents of Luminous Base tells the individual story of each man, with some ofthese accompanied by comments from family or friends. In addition to these stories there are sixteen other corpsmen that did not perish who provided their personal experiences. One of these is a female senior enlisted corpsman who flew medical evacuations in Iraq and went on to serve in Afghanistan as well. To provide a better appreciation for the corpsman and his work environs, this book provides an in-depth look at the evolution of the Navy's medical evacuation system, the levels of care from the battlefield to back home and the type of care provided at each level; the various helicopters used over the years, fromthe UH-34D to the Osprey; and a look atthe training opportunities that are offered to today's Navy Corpsmen.This is the first book to be written that offers such a unique collection of tales about Navy Corpsmen associated with helicopters who have all demonstrated such courage, and selflessness, and in some cases the ultimate sacrifice while serving their country.