Bernard Fisher, the first USAF member to receive the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam war has passed away at the age of 87.
After a Skyraider in his flight crash landed on a disused airstrip under attack by the enemy, he landed his aircraft to retrieve the pilot.
http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=16679
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_F._Fisher
His A-1E is now on display at the NMUSAF.
I had the honor of working with him at a small commuter airline in the late 70s. One day, I flew with him to Salt Lake City for lunch.
He was a fine guy, quiet and very family oriented. He was the last guy you’d ever guess was a fighter pilot, let alone a Medal of Honor winner.
RIP, Sir
By: D1566 - 19th August 2014 at 09:22
Remarkable men.
RIP
By: Bager1968 - 19th August 2014 at 07:36
On March 10, 1966, he led a two-ship element of Skyraiders to the A Shau Valley to support troops in contact with the enemy. Six “Spads” were striking numerous emplacements when the A-1 piloted by Major D. W. “Jump” Myers was hit and forced to crash-land on the airstrip of a CIDG-Special Forces camp. Myers bellied in on the 2,500-foot runway and took cover behind an embankment on the edge of the strip while Fisher directed the rescue effort. Since the closest helicopter was 30 minutes away and the enemy was only 200 yards (180 m) from Myers, Fisher quickly decided to land his four-seat A-1E on the strip and pick up his friend. Under the cover provided by the other A-1s, he landed in the valley, taxied to Myer’s position, and loaded the downed airman into the empty seat. Dodging shell holes and debris on the steel-planked runway, Fisher took off safely despite many hits on his aircraft by small-arms fire.
The rescue at A Shau was similar to an event that occurred on August 4, 1944 during World War II. On that date, Captain Richard “Dick” Willsie’s P-38 was damaged by flak near Ploieşti, Romania. After both engines failed, Willsie crash-landed but was rescued from capture when Flight Officer Dick Andrews landed his P-38 on the field, squeezed Willsie into the cockpit, and flew back to base. By remarkable coincidence, both Willsie and Andrews were also involved in the A Shau rescue. Willsie was the commanding officer of the 602nd Air Commando Squadron to which Myers was assigned, and Andrews flew top cover during the entire rescue.
I’ll bet Andrews and/or Willsie had mentioned the WW2 incident to the other pilots in their unit before this incident.
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August 19, 2014 at 1:46 am