MoH Winner Joe Jackson RIP

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randy
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MoH Winner Joe Jackson RIP

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Retired Col. Joe M. Jackson, a 33-year Air Force veteran who served in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam, and who received the Medal of Honor for action during the latter conflict, died Jan. 12, at the age of 95...

He went to Vietnam in 1967, flying the C-123 Provider with a Special Operations Squadron, building up to 298 combat missions.

On May 12, 1968, he volunteered to attempt the rescue of three airmen; a C-130 navigator and two combat controllers that had been left behind at Kham Duc, an airfield near the Laos border being used by Army Special Forces. It was about to fall to North Vietnamese regulars and Viet Cong, and was taking heavy ground fire from mortars, rockets, .50 cal. machine guns, and small arms fire.

The evacuation of troops from the airfield was largely complete, but the operation would claim seven aircraft lost to enemy fire, including a CH-47 wrecked halfway down the runway.

A previous C-123 attempting the rescue had nearly been shot down, as well. It had to leave because of low fuel, but was able to spot the three airmen needing evacuation. Jackson made an extremely steep approach to the field, evading heavy fire from the edge of the airfield, avoiding the wrecked helicopter and an unexploded rocket on the runway. He slowed to pick up the three men, escaping the field and returning to base without suffering any hits on his aircraft.
More details in this Air Force Magazine story.

I met Colonel Jackson when he spoke at a Dining In at my ROTC detachment just before I was commissioned. He is the first person, (and certainly the most senior Officer) I heard use the "What is best in life? To crush your enemies..." quote. This was before the first Conan movie put it into pop culture.

My memory was that he was a very gracious guy with a sense of humor. Like most true heroes he emphasized he was doing his job and reserved high praise for his crew and the guys on the ground that had the "scary" job.

RIP
...even before I read MHI, my response to seeing a poster for the stars of the latest Twilight movies was "I see 2 targets and a collaborator".
Precision
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Re: MoH Winner Joe Jackson RIP

Post by Precision »

randy wrote: Tue Jan 15, 2019 3:48 pm
My memory was that he was a very gracious guy with a sense of humor. Like most true heroes he emphasized he was doing his job and reserved high praise for his crew and the guys on the ground that had the "scary" job.

RIP
Most true heros, don't see themselves as heros. It never enters their mind that everyone else wouldn't also do it. They see a need, they have the means and they act.

Sometimes they succeed, sometimes not.
Sometimes they live, sometimes not.
Sometimes they are noticed, sometimes not.

But they always act and if their lives are examined closely, the action that was noticed was often NOT the first such endeavor. It just happened to be the one that got attention.
"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not." ~Thomas Jefferson
My little part of the blogosphere. http://blogletitburn.wordpress.com/
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