Posthumous MOH for service in Vietnam

Flight Journal, Jun 2001 by Kaplan, Ron

The hallowed halls of the Air Force Museum have witnessed many important gatherings, but perhaps none has been more somber and significant than that which took place in its "Modern Flight" gallery on December 8, 2000. The Medal of Honor (MOH)the nation's highest military honor-was awarded posthumously to Airman 1st Class William H.

Pitsenbarger, a native of Piqua, Ohio, for the heroic actions that cost him his life more than three decades ago.

During a battle on April 11, 1966, outside Saigon, Airman Pararescue Jumper (PJ)

Pitsenbarger-a trained medic and survival specialist-- led others with great valor while treating wounded soldiers on the ground. During helicopter evacuations of the wounded, he insisted on remaining to expedite the recovery operation by his HH-43 Pedro, one of the mission's two rescue choppers.

As the firestorm raged, Pitsenbarger's hovering chopper took many hits; and its crew had to eventually cut its litter loose and abandon the evacuation. Throughout the relentless sniper and mortar attacks, Pitsenbarger was seen treating the wounded, distributing arms and ammunition and returning enemy fire. He was wounded three times, but a fourth strike proved fatal; this courageous airman died at about 7:30 that night. Of the 134 soldiers caught in the battle, only 28 survived relatively unscathed.

For his actions that day, Pitsenbarger, who completed more than 250 rescue missions, posthumously became the first Air Force enlisted man to be awarded the Air Force Cross. But it has taken all these years and the efforts of fellow PJs, reports from survivors and the diligence of several senior Air Force officials, who collected sufficient documentation for the Defense Department, to rightfully award Pitsenbarger the highest military accolade, the MOH.

A packed gallery of military officials, MOH recipients and guests solemnly watched as Secretary of the Air Force, F. Whitten Peters, presented the airman's father, William F. Pitsenbarger, with his son's Medal of Honor. -Ron Kaplan