On April 11, 1966, two helicopters from the 38th Rescue Squadron were dispatched to extract a pinned down Army unit near Cam My, Vietnam. On board stood Airman 1st Class William H. Pitsenbarger, and with 300 rescue missions under his belt, he was no stranger to combat.
Upon reaching the LZ, he was lowered through the trees to the ground where he attended to the wounded before having them lifted to the helicopter by cable. After securing 6 men, he remained on site, waiting for a second load.
As one of the helicopters lowered its litter basket, it was hit by enemy fire. The pilot realized he had to get the helicopter away from the area as soon as possible. Instead of climbing into the litter basket so he could leave with the helicopter, Pitsenbarger elected to remain with the Army troops under enemy attack and he gave a "wave-off". With heavy mortar and small-arms fire, the helicopters couldn't return to rescue the rescuer.
For the next hour and a half, and despite being wounded 3 separate times, Pitsenbarger rescued soldiers under fire, tended to wounded men, gathered ammunition from the dead and then joined the others with a rifle to hold off the Viet Cong.
Pitsenbarger was killed by Viet Cong snipers later that night. When his body was recovered the next day, one hand still held a rifle and the other clutched a medical kit.
Although he sacrificed his life, his actions saved the remainder of his men, earning him the Air Force Cross; which would later be upgraded to the MOH. #hero #stayzero #zerofoxtrot #vietnamwar