Nixon after his release from captivity in North Vietnam; accompanying Thorsness were his wife, Gaylee, and his mother.

Captain Hilliard A. Wilbanks, February 24, 1967

Hilliard Almond Wilbanks was awarded a posthumous Air Force for his extraordinary heroism while aiding South Vietnamese troops on the ground. On February 24, 1967, Captain Wilbanks was a forward air controller in an unarmed Cessna O- 1 "Bird Dog" aircraft. He was about 100 miles north of Saigon, and was flying reconnaissance for a South Vietnamese Ranger battalion near Dalat, . Wilbanks discovered hostile units concealed on two hilltops. He promptly called in helicopter gunships by radio and alerted the South Vietnamese advancing into the area. Realizing that Wilbanks had thwarted their ambush, the enemy attacked him with a barrage of mortar, machine gun, and automatic weapons fire. Much of the enemy fire hit Wilbanks while he was marking enemy positions with white phosphorus rockets for the gunships. He also opened fire with an M- 16 rifle that he carried in his plane when he spotted South Vietnamese troops that were pinned down and about to be overrun. Wilbanks fired out of the side window of his O-1 aircraft, which distracted Figure 15: Then Major Thorsness (left) at Takhli, early 1967, the enemy troops and momentarily slowed their advance. credit: Air Force.

Figure 16: Then Colonel Thorsness receives the Medal of Honor from President Nixon, credit: .

20 JOMSA The outnumbered Rangers were able to withdraw as the gunners in the area. Young again concealed himself in attackers diverted their fire against Wilbanks low-flying the dense foliage and continued to evade the enemy aircraft. Despite the repeated strikes from enemy fire on throughout the day despite the increasing pain from his his plane, Wilbanks continued to cover the withdrawal. bums. After 17 hours, Young was finally rescued by a On his third pass, however, Wilbanks was severely helicopter that he attracted with his radio and by firing wounded and crashed in the battle area. tracers with his revolver. He then immediately informed his rescuers of the position of his fellow crew member. The South Vietnamese managed to rescue Wilbanks Young was awarded the Medal of Honor by President from the wreckage of his plane, but he died while being Lyndon B. Johnson in a Pentagon ceremony on May 14, evacuated to a hospital. For his heroic support of the 1968.30 South Vietnamese, Wilbanks was posthumously awarded Conclusion the Medal of Honor. The presentation was made to his widow by Secretary of the Air Force Harold Brown at the Pentagon on January 24, 1968.29 Despite its relative youth (when compared to its Army and Navy counterparts), the Air Force version of the Medal of Captain Gerald O. Young, November 8-9, 1967 Honor already has a rich and varied histol:¢. The story of its design alone is a fascinating one and this, when combined Shortly before midnight on November 8, 1967, Captain with the relatively few recipients, just 14 airmen, means Young, who was piloting an HH-3E "Jolly Green that the decoration arguably is the rarest of all United Giant" rescue helicopter, was dispatched to evacuate the States gallantry awards. The author thanks the Institute of survivors of an Army reconnaissance team. The soldiers Heraldry for assistance in preparing this article and OMSA were surrounded and about to be captured in enemy-held member Mel Mueller for his help in obtaining photographs territory in Laos; two helicopters had already been lost of the Air Force Medal of Honor. trying to rescue them. Endnotes Young and his crew were flying as backup for another helicopter on this night operation. The first aircraft 1. Letter, Colonel John E. Horne, USAF Personnel Services Division, managed to pick up three members of the team before to Lieutenant Colonel. J. T. French, Army Quartermaster General Heraldic Officer (QMGMCO), subject: Establishment of extensive battle damage forced it to withdraw. The Distinctive Air Force Decorations, February 9, 1961. commander of the helicopter informed Young that intense 2. Lette~; Colonel John E. Home, USAF Personnel Services Division, enemy fire meant that it would be all but impossible to to Lieutenant Colonel Whiting, QMGHO, subject: Designs for rescue the two soldiers left behind. New Air Force Medal of Honor, September. 14, 1961. 3. Letter, Lieutenant Colonel. J.T. French, QMGHO to Chief of Staff, Ignoring the danger to himself and his crew, however, U.S. Air Force, subject: 1st Indorsement, Designs for New Air Force Medal of Honor; November 28, 196t. Young guided his helicopter down into the flare-lit 4. Ibid. darkness, touching down on a slope not far from the two 5. Ibid. The "U.S. ten-cent coin" referenced in this letter is the so- soldiers. Both wounded, they were loaded aboard under called "Mercury" dime, which featured the profile of Mercury on heavy attack with enemy troops closing in. As Young’s its obverse. While this dime had been replaced in 1946 by a new ten-cent coin honoring Franklin D. Roosevelt, both coins were still aircraft moved forward for takeoff, it was fired on at in circulation in the early 1960s, and those individuals involved in point-blank range. The result: it plunged downward and the design process apparently believed that any Liberty profile they crashed in flames in an upside-down position. used would be too similar to that of Mercury and that this would someho~v diminish the prestige of the new Medal of Honor. This Young dropped out of a cockpit window and rolled down logic, however, seems flawed. the slope, his parachute afire. Although badly burned, he 6. Letter (2d Indorsement), from Colonel Russell G. Pankey, Chief, Personnel Services Division, USAF to Lieutenant Colonel Whiting, extinguished the flames and helped another crew member, QMGHO, subject: Designs for new Air Force Medal of Honor, who had also escaped. Young then tried to reach his January 15, 1962. burning helicopter but was driven back by the intense 7. lbid. heat. When enemy troops approached the crash scene, he 8. Memo from Elizabeth Will, Chief, Heraldic Specialist Office, for led them away from wounded crewman he had rescued, Commanding Officer, Institute of Heraldry, subject: Air Force Medal of Honor, May 4, 1962. who was now hidden in the underbrush. 9. Ibid. 10. Letter, David E. Finley, Chairman, Commission of Fine Arts, to At dawn, Young reached a cleared area and, using flares Colonel Harry D. Temple, Commanding Officer, Institute of and radio signals, helped to pinpoint his location with Heraldry, September 25, 1962. flares and radio signals. He broke contact, however, 11. Memo from Benjamin W. Fridge, Special Assistant for Manpower; Personnel and Reserve Forces, Department of the Air Force, to when he realized that he was being used as bait by enemy Eugene M. Zuckert, Secretary of the Air Force, May 1, 1963.

Vol. 62, No. 2 (March-April 2011) 21 12. Memo for Sculpture Division, Institute of Heraldry, from Opal V. Patriot: The Life and Wars of Colonel Bud Day. New York: Little, Landrum, subject: Distinctive Air Force Medal of Honor, April Brown, 2007. 3, t964. 19. www.af.mil/infornaation/heritage (Merlyn H. Dethlefsen) 13. Title 10, United States Code (U.S.C.), Section 8741; Air Fome 20. Borch, endnote 15, above. Instruction 36-2803, Air Force Awards and Decorations P~vgram, 21. www.af.mil!infon’nation/heritage (James P. Fleming) June 15, 2001, Notes 2, 3. 22.http://www.af. mil/information/heritage/person. t4. Department of Defense Manual 1348.33-V1, Manual of Militaw asp?dec=&pid=123006517 (Joe M. Jackson) Decorations and Awards: General Infoi7nation, Medal ofHono~; 23. www.af.mil/infonnation/heritage (William A. Jones III) and Defense/Joint Decorations and Awards, November 23, 2010, 24. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net!jllevitow.htm 15-16. 25. Airman First Class William H. Pitsenbarger, "Wright Patterson Air 15. For the story of Etchberger’s heroism, see Fred L. Borch, "Tribute: Force Base Museum,; www.nationalmuseum.af.mit/factsheets/ Richard Etchberger - A secret hero finally gets his due," Viemam, factsheet.asp?id=1126; Fred L. Borch and Jeffrey B. Floyd, The February 2011: 58-59. Ah’Force Cross: A Histow ofExtraordinaw He~vism,2004 : 84-85 16. http://www.af, mil/information/heritage/person. 26.http://www.af. mit/information/heritage/person. asp?dec=&pid=123006513 (Bernard F. Fisher); see also, Bernard asp?dec=&pid= t 23006523 (William Pitsenbarger) Fisher and Jerry Bmxowman, Beyond the Call ofDuty: The Stow 27.http://www.af.mil/information/heritage/person. ofan American He~v, 2004. asp?dec=&pid=123006524 (Lance Sijan) 17. http://ww~v.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/PopTopics/MOH-bios/Bennett. 28. http://ww~v.pownetwork.org/bios/t/t031 .htm (Leo K. Thorsness) html (Steven L. Bennett) 29.http://www.af.mil/information/heritage/person. 18. www.pmvnetwork.org/bios/d!d051.htm (Day, George Everett). For asp?dec=&pid=123006530 (HilliardA. Wilbanks) more on Day, see his autobiography, Return with Honor (Arizona: 3 0.http://www.af. mil/information/heritage/person. Camplin Museum Press, 1991). See also, Robert Coram, American asp?dec=&pid=123006535 (Gerald O. Young)

BOOK REVIEWS

For Military Merit: Recipients of the by bibliography, this volume is a must for any collector or Fred Borch. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 2010.351 individual with an interest in the Purple Heart and an pages; 50 illustrations; notes, bibliography and index. excellent companion piece to his Sea Service Medals $34.95. (with Charles D. McDowell).

Fred Borch’s latest literary endeavor, For Militancy Reviewed by Dean S. Veremakis Merit, is a worthwhile addition to anyone’s medal reference library as well as an interesting historical read. With nine chapters to cover one of the most The Decorations and Awards of Audie L. Murphy coveted and misunderstood military awards, Fred has and Alvin C. York: The U.S. MtTitary’s Most Notable done an eminently successful job to clear away much of Infantryman. 2nd edition, by Eric R. Caubarreaux. the fogginess that has surrounded this medal for many CreateSpace, 2010. Softcover, 74 pages, ISBN: 978- years. 145-384-7497. $26.95.

Chapter one is a nice, clearly written discussion of the Long-time OMSA member Eric Caubarreaux has history of the Purple Heart. Highlighted in specific produced a fine monograph on the military and civilian sections, I found the one on award criteria to have a decorations, awards, and badges earned by two of the wealth of information and one I refer to for clarification U.S. Anny’s most highly decorated infantryman: Audie on a regular basis. Leon Murphy and Alvin Cullum York. As the author explains in his preface, many books have been written Five chapters are devoted to sample profiles of soldier, about both men, but none have focused exclusively on sailor, coast guard, marine and airmen recipients. their military awards. Rounding out the work are the three remaining chapters dealing with Purple Heart awards to civilians, celebrities Consequently, those looking for biographies of and families. Murphy and York will not find them in this book. What they will find in its pages, however, is a Fifty photos of individual recipients and engraving complete history for each man, details on promotions, styles are placed appropriately throughout the work and and a comprehensive listing of the U.S. and foreign tie nicely with their respective individual profiles. decorations, medals and badges awarded to each

Nicely formatted, fully footnoted and with an excellent Continued on page 40

22 JOMSA