Duane D . Hackney Duane D . Hackney ( June 5 , 1947 – September 3 , 1993 ) , of Flint , Michigan , a United States Air Force Pararescueman , was the most decorated airman in USAF history and the recipient of 28 decorations for valor in combat and more than 70 awards and decorations in all . He served in the Air Force from 1965 to 1991 , retiring as a Chief Master Sergeant . A recipient of the Air Force Cross , he was the first living enlisted man to receive the medal , and at the time of its award he was its youngest recipient . Biography . Three days after reporting for duty , Hackney flew his first combat mission . Somewhere on that mission , a . 30 - caliber slug buried itself in his leg . To avoid being grounded by the medics , he had one of his PJ friends remove the slug with a probe . That incident set the tone for the more than 200 combat missions he was to fly during his three and a half years of Vietnam duty , all as a volunteer . Five times in the months ahead , his helicopter was shot down . He doesn ' t recall how often he went down into the jungle looking for survivors or how many lives his medical training helped him save . As he became a legend in the rescue world , he earned four Distinguished Flying Cross es , not for flying a certain number of missions but for specific acts of heroism , and 18 Air Medal s , many for single acts of valor . Then came the Air Force Cross , for which he was the first living recipient , the Silver Star , the Airman ' s Medal , the Purple Heart , and several foreign decorations . Hackney ' s most celebrated mission was on February 6 , 1967 , when two HH - 3 helicopters , Jolly Green 05 and Jolly Green 36 , launched from the 37th ARRS at Da Nang Air Base , Republic of Vietnam . They were attempting the recovery of a downed O - 1F pilot , Nail 65 , near the Mu Gia Pass , North Vietnam . After Airman Hackney made one unsuccessful trip to the ground in search of the pilot , both Jollys returned to base due to foul weather . Later in the day , the helicopters launched again and located the survivor . Airman Hackney was lowered to the ground , and after securing the survivor into the Stokes litter , both were lifted out . No sooner did they reach Jolly 05 ' s door when ground fire erupted . As they raced to exit the area , the helicopter was hit with a 37 mm anti - aircraft round and caught fire . With complete disregard for his own welfare , Airman Hackney removed his parachute and placed it on the survivor . He lunged to grab another one from storage as the helicopter , a growing , blazing fireball , arched across the sky . In an instant , it exploded , just as Airman Hackney slipped his arms through the harness . He was blown out of Jolly 05 by the explosion . Dangling from the harness , he managed to pull the ripcord and the chute opened just as he hit the trees , where he plunged a further 80 feet and came to rest on a ledge in a crevasse . He narrowly avoided capture while enemy troops jumped across the crevasse , mere feet above . Jolly 36 immediately made a run in to locate any survivors , and , when it arrived , found only burning wreckage . . . and Duane Hackney waving his arms for pickup . He was the only survivor . Hackney went on to receive more than 70 individual awards becoming the most decorated enlisted man in Air Force history . He was the winner of the Cheney Award for 1967 . The Cheney award is given annually to a member of USAF for an act of valor , extreme fortitude , or self - sacrifice in a humanitarian interest performed in conjunction with aircraft . Upon his return from Vietnam in 1967 , Hackney was deployed to the 41st Aerospace Rescue & Recovery Squadron ( 41st ARRS ) at Hamilton Air Force Base , in Marin County , California . Shortly after the awarding of his Air Force Cross on September 9 , 1967 , Hackney made a guest appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show . In 1991 he retired as a Chief Master Sergeant . Death and legacy . Duane D . Hackney died of a heart attack on September 3 , 1993 . He was 46 years old . In June , 2006 , the training facility at Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio was renamed the Hackney Training Complex . The facility has space to train up to 1 , 200 people , and a staff of 50 . His widow , Carole Hackney Bergstrom , said about the dedication : " I just wish he could see this . I think he ' d really be proud of what he did . He would tell you , ' All this stuff wasn ' t necessary . I was just doing my job . ' " In 2009 , Hackney was inducted into the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame . Military awards and decorations . Air Force Cross citation . The text of Hackney ' s Air Force Cross citation reads : The President of the United States of America , authorized by Title 10 , Section 8742 , United States Code , takes pleasure in presenting the Air Force Cross to Airman Second Class Duane D . Hackney ( AFSN : 16827003 ) , United States Air Force , for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force while serving with the 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron , 3d Air Rescue and Recovery Group , DaNang Air Base , Vietnam , as a Paramedic ( Pararescueman ) on an unarmed HH - 3E Rescue Helicopter near Mu Gia Pass , North Vietnam , on 6 February 1967 . On that date , Airman Hackney flew two sorties in a heavily defended hostile area . On the first sortie , despite the presence of armed forces known to be hostile , entrenched in the vicinity , Airman Hackney volunteered to be lowered into the jungle to search for the survivor . He searched until the controlling Search and Rescue agency ordered an evacuation of the rescue crew . On the second sortie , Airman Hackney located the downed pilot , who was hoisted into the helicopter . As the rescue crew departed the area , intense and accurate 37 - mm . flak tore into the helicopter amidships , causing extensive damage and a raging fire aboard the craft . With complete disregard for his own safety , Airman Hackney fitted his parachute to the rescued man . In this moment of impending disaster , Airman Hackney chose to place his responsibility to the survivor above his own life . The courageous Pararescueman located another parachute for himself and had just slipped his arms through the harness when a second 37 - mm . round struck the crippled aircraft , sending it out of control . The force of the explosion blew Airman Hackney through the open cargo door and , though stunned , he managed to deploy the unbuckled parachute and make a successful landing . He was later recovered by a companion helicopter . Through his extraordinary heroism , superb airmanship , and aggressiveness in the face of hostile forces , Airman Hackney reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force . Publications . The Pararescue Association . ( 1996 ) . Airman Second Class Duane D . Hackney pg . 112 : Fine Books Publishing Company , LLC Charlotte , NC . Library of Congress Number : 94 - 061879