John Levitow John Lee Levitow ( November 1 , 1945 – November 8 , 2000 ) was a United States Air Force ( USAF ) loadmaster who received the Medal of Honor for exceptional heroism during wartime . He was awarded the Medal of Honor for an incident on February 24 , 1969 , while he was serving on board a Douglas AC - 47 Spooky gunship of the 3d Special Operations Squadron USAF . He became the lowest ranked serviceman in the Air Force to receive the Medal of Honor , the United States military ' s highest honor . Biography . Born in Hartford , Connecticut , He originally intended to join the United States Navy , but changed his mind and joined the USAF in June 1966 . His first job was civil engineering , then he cross - trained into the loadmaster career field . On February 24 , 1969 , Levitow was asked to fill in for the regular loadmaster on an armed AC - 47 call sign " Spooky 71 " . It was Airman Levitow ' s job to set the ejection and ignition timer controls on Mark 24 magnesium flares and pass them to the gunner for deployment . These flares were metal canisters long that would burn at 4000 degrees , illuminate with the intensity of two million candlepower and burn for two and a half to three minutes . " Spooky 71 " was flying night missions near the Tan Son Nhut Air base area when Long Binh came under attack . As the crew of " Spooky 71 " manned their aircraft patrolling the area , the pilot Major Kenneth Carpenter had seen muzzle flashes outside Long Binh Army Base . The pilot threw the AC - 47 and its eight - man crew into a banked turn to engage the Viet Cong in the Tan Son Nhut Air Base area . On the pilot ' s command , Levitow and the gunner began deploying flares through the open cargo door . Levitow set the timers and handed a flare to the gunner , who held it with his finger through the pull ring attached to the safety pin . Suddenly , " Spooky 71 " was jarred by a tremendous explosion . A North Vietnamese Army ' s 82 - millimeter mortar shell hit the right wing and exploded inside the structure , raking the fuselage with flying shrapnel . Everyone in the back of " Spooky 71 " was wounded , including Levitow who was hit by shrapnel and concussion that he was quoted as saying " felt like being hit by a two - by - four . " The blast also jarred the flare from the gunner ' s hands , pulling the safety pin from the canister as it did so and arming the fuse . Despite 40 wounds in his back and legs , Levitow saw the loose flare , its fuse burning with clouds of smoke , rolling amid ammunition cans that contained 19 , 000 rounds of live ammunition . When the flare exploded it would detonate the ammunition and burn a hole through the floor to the aircraft ' s control cables below . Through a haze of pain and shock , unable to stand up , and fighting the aircraft ' s 30 - degree bank angle , Levitow crawled to the flare and threw himself upon it . Hugging it to his body , he dragged himself back to the rear of the cabin and pushed it through the open cargo door an instant before it ignited , saving the aircraft and its crew . When the aircraft finally returned to the base , the extent of the damage became apparent . The AC - 47 had more than 3 , 500 holes in the wings and fuselage , one measuring more than three feet long . Levitow received the Medal of Honor from President Richard Nixon on , May 14 , 1970 , on Armed Forces Day . Levitow died of cancer on November 8 , 2000 . He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia . His grave can be found in section 66 , site 7107 , map grid DD / 17 . The John Levitow Award is the highest honor presented to a graduate of Air Force Enlisted Professional Military Education ( PME ) , including Airman Leadership School , NCO Academy , and the Senior NCO Academy . Medal of Honor citation . Rank and organization : Sergeant , U . S . Air Force , 3d Special Operations Squadron . place and date : Long Binh Army post , Republic of Vietnam , 24 February 1969 . Entered service at : New Haven , Conn . Born : 1 November 1945 , Hartford , Conn . Citation : For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty . Sgt . Levitow ( then A1c . ) , U . S . Air Force , distinguished himself by exceptional heroism while assigned as a loadmaster aboard an AC - 47 aircraft flying a night mission in support of Long Binh Army post . Sgt . Levitow ' s aircraft was struck by a hostile mortar round . The resulting explosion ripped a hole 2 feet in diameter through the wing and fragments made over 3 , 500 holes in the fuselage . All occupants of the cargo compartment were wounded and helplessly slammed against the floor and fuselage . The explosion tore an activated flare from the grasp of a crewmember who had been launching flares to provide illumination for Army ground troops engaged in combat . Sgt . Levitow , though stunned by the concussion of the blast and suffering from over 40 fragment wounds in the back and legs , staggered to his feet and turned to assist the man nearest to him who had been knocked down and was bleeding heavily . As he was moving his wounded comrade forward and away from the opened cargo compartment door , he saw the smoking flare ahead of him in the aisle . Realizing the danger involved and completely disregarding his own wounds , Sgt . Levitow started toward the burning flare . The aircraft was partially out of control and the flare was rolling wildly from side to side . Sgt . Levitow struggled forward despite the loss of blood from his many wounds and the partial loss of feeling in his right leg . Unable to grasp the rolling flare with his hands , he threw himself bodily upon the burning flare . Hugging the deadly device to his body , he dragged himself back to the rear of the aircraft and hurled the flare through the open cargo door . At that instant the flare separated and ignited in the air , but clear of the aircraft . Sgt . Levitow , by his selfless and heroic actions , saved the aircraft and its entire crew from certain death and destruction . Sgt . Levitow ' s gallantry , his profound concern for his fellowmen , at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of the U . S . Air Force and reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of his country .