Michael J . Novosel Michael J . Novosel , Sr . ( September 3 , 1922 - April 2 , 2006 ) of Enterprise , Alabama served in the United States military in three wars : World War II , the Korean War and the Vietnam War . He flew the B - 29 Superfortress bomber in World War II . In order to serve in the Vietnam War , he gave up the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve to become a chief warrant officer in the Army . For his bravery in conducting a medical evacuation under fire in this conflict , he was awarded the United States ' highest military decoration , the Medal of Honor . Biography . He was born in Pittsburgh - area town of Etna , Pennsylvania , the son of Croatian immigrants , and grew up during the Great Depression . At the age of 19 , Novosel joined what was then the Army Air Corps . That was just ten months prior to Pearl Harbor , and by 1945 , he was a captain flying B - 29 Superfortress bombers in the war against Japan . He left the service for a brief time due to reductions in force after the war was over and settled in Fort Walton Beach , Florida , to raise his family . Novosel joined the U . S . Air Force Reserves and went back on active duty to again serve his country during the Korean War . He left the service again in 1953 and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve in 1955 . In 1963 , Novosel was working as a commercial airline pilot when he decided to return to active military duty . By then , he was 41 and the Air Force did not have space for any more officers in the upper ranks . Novosel made the decision to give up his rank of lieutenant colonel in the Air Force to join the Army and fly helicopters as a chief warrant officer ( CW4 ) with the elite Special Forces Aviation Section . He served his first tour in Vietnam flying medevac helicopters ( Dustoff ) with the 283rd Medical Detachment . His second tour in Vietnam was with the 82nd Medical Detachment . During that war , Novosel flew 2 , 543 missions and extracted 5 , 589 wounded personnel , among them his own son , Michael J . Novosel , Jr . ( the following week Michael J . Novosel , Jr . returned the favor by extracting his father after he was shot down ) . On the morning of October 2 , 1969 , he set out to evacuate a group of South Vietnamese soldiers who were surrounded by the enemy near the Cambodian border . The soldiers ' radio communication was lost and their ammunition expended . Without air cover or fire support , Novosel flew at low altitude under continuous enemy fire . He skimmed the ground with his helicopter , while his medic and crew chief yanked the wounded men on board . He completed 15 hazardous extractions , was wounded in a barrage of enemy fire and momentarily lost control of his helicopter , but when it was over , he had rescued 29 men , for which he would be awarded the Medal of Honor . Novosel completed his tour in March 1970 . When Novosel retired as the senior warrant officer with the Warrant Officer Candidate Program in 1985 , he had been a military aviator for 42 years and was the last World War II military aviator in the U . S . to remain on active flying duty . Novosel accumulated 12 , 400 military flying hours , including 2 , 038 in combat . While residing in Enterprise , Alabama during his retirement , Novosel remained active in the military community . He frequently was invited as an honored guest for military lectures and ceremonies across the nation . He co - piloted the liftoff of the " In the Shadow of the Blade " mission in 2002 . His book , " Dustoff - The Memoir of an Army Aviator " , was published in 1999 . Diagnosed with a recurrent cancer in November 2005 , he underwent a series of highly successful treatments at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington , D . C . The cancer tumor was greatly reduced in December 2005 and January 2006 . In February 2006 , Novosel concluded chemotherapy and other treatments and waited to regain strength in preparation for surgery on March 7 . His prognosis appeared excellent . Despite new and innovative procedures to reduce trauma , he never fully recovered from the shock of the surgery . He died on April 2 , 2006 , and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors on April 13 . Honors . In 1971 , President Richard Nixon placed the nation ' s highest award for valor in combat , the Medal of Honor , around Novosel ' s neck . Among his many other awards , Novosel received the Distinguished Service Cross ( which was later upgraded to the MOH ) , Distinguished Service Medal , Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leaf Clusters , Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster , and the Purple Heart . He was inducted into the Army Aviation Hall of Fame in 1975 . Upon his retirement , he received a rare honor for a living hero when the main street at Fort Rucker , Alabama was renamed " Novosel Street . " He also received his final award , the Distinguished Service Medal , during his retiring ceremony .