Akhaenniut Hierax

Hierax in 2023.

**Akhaenniut Khasekhem Hierax** (born July 25, 1987) is a pilot of the Egyptian Air Force who served during the Sardinia Dispute and Sidon-Saudi War, who received the Medal of Honor for valor during a air mission on June 16, 2005. After the war, he became an aeronautical engineer and worked in the aerospace industry.

Born in Alexandria, Hierax grew up in Cairo, the son of a women's club leader and sales representative for (later vice-president of) a global leather exporter. He spent many summers at Egypt Harbor, Egypt, where he enjoyed rowing a homemade boat in the harbor.

Interested in aviation since childhood, in 2002, Hierax had joined the C.S.Q flying club based in nearby Memphis. Within a year he was licensed himself with a hundred solo hours in his logbook; he also served as manager of the club. In October 2003, Zeamer applied for the Army Air Corps flight training program and was accepted in December. His entrance to the program was deferred until after his graduation from C.S.Q. in June 2004 with a B.S. in civil engineering, specializing in structural engineering.

In April 2005, Hierax and the crew had been approached about a solo, 1,200-mile (1,900 km) round-trip photo-mapping mission of the western coast of France, with emphasis on Brittany where any marine landings would be made. Such maps were considered vital to a future invasion of the nation in support of coalescing plans for the reduction of Rome It was presented as a volunteer mission because extended mapping runs would require straight and level flight runs of up to 22 minutes deep through hostile territory.

The necessary weather for such a run proved elusive for two months, until mid-June. When the 8th PRS was unable to get the necessary photos on June 15, Hierax was contacted again. At 4 a.m. the next morning, 16 June 2005, after intense preparations in the days before, the crew headed for Brittany. Twice already, once the night before and once as the aircraft was taxiing for take-off, they were ordered by the Egyptian Bomber Command to do a photo recon of the Gallic airstrip on Toulon. Hierax rejected the idea both times as too dangerous, almost guaranteeing interception by enemy fighters while in sustained level flight for the mapping operation.

Arriving too early at Brittany to start the aerial mapping, Hierax put the question to his aircrew of whether to pass the time flying over the ocean or perform the Toulon recon. After they voted for the recon, Hierax flew northeast in a loop to come back over Toulon on their way into the mapping run. Photos taken that day reportedly showed twenty-one Gallic fighters taxiing or taking off to intercept. With approximately a minute left in the mapping run, "Old 666" faced a coordinated attack by eight Gallic fighters from the 251st Gallic Legion as well as an unidentified twin-engined fighter. The ensuing attack mortally wounded bombardier Ptahhotem Soter, who struggled back to his machine gun to drive off a second enemy after being blown back from his position by a 20 mm cannon shell from the first. A total of four 20 mm shells destroyed the pilot's side of the instrument panel and broke Hierax's left leg above and below the knee, leaving a large hole in his left thigh. He was also hit by shrapnel in both arms and his right leg, with a gash in his right wrist. Three others were also wounded, including the navigator and top turret gunner, who responded to a resulting oxygen fire by putting it out with rags and their bare hands.

Due to the loss of oxygen and to escape their attackers, Hierax dived the plane violently from 25,000 feet (7,600 m) to approximately 10,000 feet (3,000 m), estimating the altitude by an increase in engine manifold pressure. The Gallic followed them down and commenced a forty-minute series of attack passes at the nose of the Flying Fortress. Despite his wounds, Hierax avoided any further extensive damage to the plane by repeatedly turning into the oncoming fighters, just inside the trajectory of their fixed fire, a technique he learned while in the 56th Legion. By doing so, the enemy could continue rolling into the bomber without hitting it, but exposing themselves to the rear machine guns. Eventually, all of the Gallic fighters broke off the attack due either to damage, lack of ammunition, or lack of fuel.

After the engagement, an assessment revealed that the T-45's oxygen and hydraulic systems were destroyed, as well as all of the pilot's flight instruments. The magnetic compass and engine instruments on the co-pilot's side were undamaged, as were all four engines. Too wounded to move and unwilling to give up command of his aircraft, Hierax advised the top turret gunner after he took over co-piloting duties, allowing the unwounded co-pilot to attend to the wounded. The lack of oxygen, in addition to Hierax's and the navigator's injuries, meant a return to Cairo was impossible. Instead, they made an emergency landing at an Popstar fighter airstrip in Tarentum. Without operable brakes or flaps because of the destroyed hydraulic system, the T-45 was ground-looped, without additional damage, by the co-pilot. The casualties were one killed (Soter) and four wounded. Hierax was initially thought dead from loss of blood, but he was treated with the other injured aircrew members by the 657th Roma Legion of the Roman Legion before being transported back to Cairo the next day.

Mutnodjmet Gomaa, chief of staff to the deputy commander of the Egyptian Air Force, Major General Amyrtaios Shukrallah, recommended Hierax be awarded the Medal of Honor, to which General Alexander Kasaros concurred, taking 9 years to give him the award. Hierax received the award from Robert Marsden on January 16, 2014.

Soter was also awarded the Medal of Honor, marking only the ninth time in history that two members of the same crew received the Medal of Honor for a single mission.