Gerald O . Young Gerald Orren Young ( May 1930 – June 6 , 1990 ) was a United States Air Force officer and a recipient of the U . S . military ' s highest decoration — the Medal of Honor — for his actions in the Vietnam War . Biography . Born on May 9 , 1930 , in Chicago , Illinois , Young joined the Air Force from Colorado Springs , Colorado . During the war he served as a captain in the 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron , a helicopter unit operating out of Da Nang Air Force Base , Republic of Vietnam . On the night of November 8 – 9 , 1967 , Young ' s aircraft was one of two HH - 3E Jolly Green Giant helicopters sent to extract five survivors of a U . S . Army Special Forces reconnaissance team in Laos . The extraction site was known to be hot , surrounded by a well - disciplined , crack North Vietnamese Army ( NVA ) battalion . Two helicopters had already been shot down and destroyed in the area . Illuminated by a C - 130 Hercules dropping LUU - 2 parachute flares , " Jolly 29 " made a pickup of three survivors before being driven off by intense enemy fire . Young , piloting " Jolly 26 " , then attempted to pick up the remaining two survivors , both now wounded . Fighting was intense both in the air and on the ground . A U . S . Air Force para - rescueman aboard Young ' s aircraft , Larry W . Maysey , jumped from the helicopter and ran down a steep slope , rescuing the two remaining men . " Jolly 26 " was now being hit with small arms fire . Just after Maysey had helped both survivors safely on board , a rocket - propelled grenade ( RPG ) struck the number one engine , fatally crippling the craft . The engine exploded , inverting the helicopter , which rolled and skidded down a deep ravine and burst into flames ; Young and one other man survived the crash and escaped the burning wreckage . Despite severe wounds , Young evaded capture for seventeen hours until being rescued later that day . For these actions , he was awarded the Medal of Honor . The para - rescueman , Maysey , was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross . Young reached the rank of lieutenant colonel before leaving the Air Force in 1980 . Aged 60 at his death , he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County , Virginia . Medal of Honor citation . For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty . Capt . Young distinguished himself while serving as a helicopter rescue crew commander . Capt . Young was flying escort for another helicopter attempting the night rescue of an Army ground reconnaissance team in imminent danger of death or capture . Previous attempts had resulted in the loss of 2 helicopters to hostile ground fire . The endangered team was positioned on the side of a steep slope which required unusual airmanship on the part of Capt . Young to effect pickup . Heavy automatic weapons fire from the surrounding enemy severely damaged 1 rescue helicopter , but it was able to extract 3 of the team . The commander of this aircraft recommended to Capt . Young that further rescue attempts be abandoned because it was not possible to suppress the concentrated fire from enemy automatic weapons . With full knowledge of the danger involved , and the fact that supporting helicopter gunships were low on fuel and ordnance , Capt . Young hovered under intense fire until the remaining survivors were aboard . As he maneuvered the aircraft for takeoff , the enemy appeared at point - blank range and raked the aircraft with automatic weapons fire . The aircraft crashed , inverted , and burst into flames . Capt . Young escaped through a window of the burning aircraft . Disregarding serious burns , Capt . Young aided one of the wounded men and attempted to lead the hostile forces away from his position . Later , despite intense pain from his burns , he declined to accept rescue because he had observed hostile forces setting up automatic weapons positions to entrap any rescue aircraft . For more than 17 hours he evaded the enemy until rescue aircraft could be brought into the area . Through his extraordinary heroism , aggressiveness , and concern for his fellow man , Capt . Young reflected the highest credit upon himself , the U . S . Air Force , and the Armed Forces of his country .