Sikorsky Helicopter Is Official White House Ornament For 2019

STRATFORD, CT — A moment in presidential history with a Stratford connection will be represented on Christmas trees across America this year. The official 2019 White House Christmas ornament is the Sikorsky H-34 helicopter.

In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower used a Marine UH-34 made by Sikorsky to travel from Newport, Rhode Island, to Washington on urgent business, becoming the first president in office to use helicopter transportation, according to Sikorsky, which is based in Stratford.

"This event marked a significant development for both the White House and the helicopter industry," according to the company.

Eisenhower embraced the capability of the Sikorsky helicopter, the company said, and even wrote a personal letter to Igor Sikorsky, founder of Sikorsky Aircraft, to recognize the 20th anniversary of the first flight of a helicopter in the United States. Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, has built every presidential helicopter from the Eisenhower administration to present day, according to the White House Historical Association.

"As we develop the next U.S. Presidential helicopter, the VH-92A, the men and women of Lockheed Martin proudly build on our more than six decades of providing safe and secure transport for this no-fail mission. We are honored to celebrate this legacy by supporting this year’s White House Christmas Ornament,” Sikorsky President Dan Schultz said in an association news release.

The White House Historical Association has been designing and manufacturing the official White House Christmas ornament since 1981. All ornament sales support the nonprofit, nonpartisan mission of the association to protect, preserve and provide public access to the history of the White House.

The ornament can be purchased for $22.95 at shop.whitehousehistory.org.