Wayne Fisk CMSgt Wayne Fisk was directly involved in the famed Son Tay POW camp raid and the rescue of the crew of the SS " Mayagüez " . When the " Mayagüez " was hijacked by Cambodian Communist forces in May 1975 , Fisk was a member of the assault force that successfully recovered the ship and the entrapped United States Marines . For his actions , he was presented with his second Silver Star . Concluding the " Mayagüez " mission , he was recognized as the last American serviceman to engage Communist forces in ground combat in Southeast Asia . In 1979 , he was the first Air Force enlisted recipient of the US Jaycees Ten Outstanding Young Men of America . In 1986 , he became the first director of the Air Force Enlisted Heritage Hall on Maxwell AFB - Gunter Annex . Biography . Chief Master Sergeant Wayne Fisk was born in Waldport , Oregon , on April 6 , 1945 , and raised on the Oregon Coast . In high school , Wayne was a member of the honor society , an award - winning cadet in the Alaska Civil Air Patrol , and he even turned down an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy to care for his terminally ill mother . In March 1966 , Fisk enlisted in the Air Force and was accepted for pararescue training . In 1967 , he served at Eglin AFB , Florida , until assigned to the 40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron ( 40th ARRS ) at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base , Thailand performing combat rescue missions in both Laos and North Vietnam . One year later , he transferred to Kindey AB , Bermuda , as a member of the Air Force primary recovery team for Apollo missions 8 , 9 , and 10 . After only 11 months in Bermuda , Fisk voluntarily returned to Southeast Asia for two more consecutive tours with the 40th ARRS . It was during this time that then - Staff Sergeant Fisk participated in the famed Son Tay POW Camp Raid in November 1970 and received the Silver Star for his actions . From 1972 to 1974 , he instructed at the USAF Pararescue School at Hill AFB , Utah , and was honored as the training wing ’ s outstanding NCO instructor . Fisk later returned to the 40th ARRS in Thailand as a Technical Sergeant and participated in Operation Eagle Pull , the evacuation of Phnom Penh , Cambodia . In May 1975 , when Cambodian communist forces hijacked the " Mayagüez " , Fisk , flying aboard " Knife 51 " , a 21st Special Operations Squadron CH - 53 , was a member of the assault force that successfully recovered the ship , attempted to rescue the crew , and liberated the entrapped US Marines . " Knife 51 " was the last helicopter to evacuate the Marines from Koh Tang and Fisk was the last Air Force serviceman to leave the ground having combed the beach for stragglers , Fisk received his second Silver Star for this operation . In January 1976 , he moved to Clark AB , Philippines , to be an Assistant Team Chief , Team Chief , and Acting First Sergeant for Det 1 , 33 Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service ( AARS ) . In 1979 , Fisk was honored as the first USAF enlisted man named to the US Jaycees Ten Outstanding Young Men of America , the Military Airlift Command ’ s Senior NCO of the Year , the US Air Force ’ s Outstanding Airman in the Philippines ; and a recipient of the Air Force Association ’ s Citation of Honor . In October 1979 Fisk worked at Headquarters , Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service , Scott AFB , Illinois , as the Pararescue Standardization and Evaluation Flight Examiner . After a parachute injury in 1980 , he left pararescue duty to serve as an instructor at the USAF Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy , Gunter AFS , Alabama . As a newly minted Chief Master Sergeant , Fisk led the effort to establish the USAF Enlisted Heritage Hall and later became the director . His final Air Force assignment came when he was assigned as the Operations Coordinator in the Defense Attache Office , Embassy of the United States of America , Ottawa , Canada . Fisk ’ s awards and decorations include the Silver Star with oak leaf cluster , the Defense Superior Service Medal , the Legion of Merit , the Distinguished Flying Cross with oak leaf cluster , the Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster , and the Air Medal with 17 oak leaf clusters . Chief Fisk is married to the former Angelina Arceo from the Philippines . According to some sources , he is the father of the Pararescue tradition of getting tattoos of green footprints on one ' s buttocks .