Posted on Feb 24, 2018

Airman wins Medal of Honor for action on this day - Feb 24, 1969 - HISTORY.com

SP5 Mark Kuzinski

4.61K

31

13

15

0

After a North Vietnamese mortar shells rocks their Douglas AC-47 gunship, Airman First Class John L. Levitow throws himself on an activated, smoking magnesium flare, drags himself and the flare to the open cargo door, and tosses it out of the aircraft just before it ignites. For saving his fellow crewmembers and the gunship, Airman Levitow was later awarded the Medal of Honor. He was one of only two enlisted airmen to win the Medal of Honor for service in Vietnam and was one of only five enlisted airmen ever to win the medal.

Airman wins Medal of Honor for action on this day - Feb 24, 1969 - HISTORY.com

Posted from history.com

Posted in these groups: Vietnam service ribbon

Vietnam War American history logo

American History F3af5240

Military History Timthumb2.php

Medal of Honor

Posted 7 y ago

Responses: 7

5

0

CW5 John M.

Posted 7 y ago

AKA Spooky or Puff the Magic Dragon. Seen ‘em in action. Awesome at night.

(5)

Comment

(0)

CW5 John M.

7 y

MSgt Robert "Rock" Aldi - flew in a commercial DC3 from NY to Frankfurt, Germany as a kid in 1956. I thought it was a “rocket ship because of the “tail dragger” slope. Never got above 8-10K feet. Had a profound effect on my future goals.....

(0)

Reply

(0)

CW5 John M.

7 y

At night, when they arrived out in the AO, they flew with no running lights - never saw it until it started “lighting things up”.

(0)

Reply

(0)

3

0

LTC John Griscom

Posted 7 y ago

One of the other five enlisted Airmen:
Staff Sergeant Henry E. Erwin, Army Air Forces, Koriyama, Japan, April 12, 1945
For locating and ejecting a burning phosphorus smoke grenade from a B-29 cockpit during a raid on Koriyama, Japan. The burns nearly killed him and left him badly disfigured.
Met his son who was an Alabama politician.

(3)

Comment

(0)