This Day in History: Duane Hackney's Air Force Cross

On this day in 1993, a recipient of the Air Force Cross passes away.  It’s been said that Duane D. Hackney “made a habit” of heroism during the years that he served in Vietnam.

Indeed, he was one of the most decorated heroes of that war, receiving multiple Distinguished Flying Crosses, Air Medals, and the Silver Star—to say nothing of the prestigious Cheney Award.

Hackney enlisted in the Air Force right after high school. At the time, he had just one request. “He asked that he be put in a situation where he could save lives rather than take them,” his son Jason later explained. Thus, Hackney found himself training to be a pararescue jumper.

He excelled at it and was soon on his way to Vietnam.

Hackney would become something of a legend because of the number of rescues he made. Nevertheless, he is best known for the mission that he flew on February 6, 1967.

Then-Airman Second Class Hackney was traveling aboard a Sikorsky HH-3E helicopter, nicknamed the “Jolly Green Giant” because of its green and brown camouflage. These helicopters traveled in pairs, with one “low bird” swooping down to make a rescue and the other “high bird” staying nearby in case help was needed. Hackney’s Jolly Green 05 was the low bird that day. Along with Jolly Green 36, the two helicopter crews were looking for a pilot who had been shot down near Mu Gia pass.

That downed pilot, Capt. Lucius L. Heiskell, had gone radio silent, presumably because enemy search parties were near his location.

Hackney was lowered into the jungle on his forest penetrator, and he began looking for Heiskell. He found footprints, but he could not find Heiskell himself.  Reluctantly, he turned back when the helicopters were forced to leave because of the weather.

Heiskell was able to break radio silence a few hours later, and the crews of Jolly Greens 05 and 36 jumped in their helicopters, ready to try again.

Fortunately, they found him more easily this time. Hackney went down into the jungle once again, hoisting the injured pilot onto his forest penetrator so the two men could be pulled back up into Jolly Green 05. But just when it seemed that the rescue would be successful, all hell broke loose.

“I was bending over [Heiskell] doing a medical evaluation when flak hit us,” Hackney later explained. “There was smoke and flames everywhere.” He could see that the helicopter wouldn’t make it. Hackney grabbed his own parachute, shoving it on to Heiskell. He didn’t know whether he’d be able to find another for himself, but it didn’t matter.

Having provided for the pilot, Hackney began groping around in the smoke, looking for another parachute. He had just found one and was starting to buckle it on when another round of anti-aircraft fire hit the helicopter, blowing him out the door.

He barely remembers what happened next but apparently fell about 250 feet with his parachute still opening as he crashed into the trees. Would you believe he survived that fall? The crew of Jolly Green 36 was able to rescue him.

Unfortunately, no one else aboard Jolly Green 05 survived.

Hackney was badly injured, and he had some fairly serious burns. When he finally got to medical care, one of the medics at first thought he was dead. Hackney jerked awake, blinking and trying to look alive! “That really scared me,” he admitted.

The Airman would later receive an Air Force Cross, the second-highest military decoration in the Air Force. He was the first living—and second ever—recipient of that honor.

Naturally, he didn’t think he’d done anything special.

“Duane was very humble,” his wife Carole explained. “He never understood what all the fuss was about.  His attitude was, that was his job.” 

Rest in peace, sir.

Primary Sources:

• Cheryl Dennison, I Knew Him as “Dad”: A Son’s Memory of a Humble Hero (My City Mag.; Nov. 2, 2015)

• Heroic Flint Native Named to Aviation Hall of Fame (Flint Journal; Feb. 1, 2009) (p. A3)

• John L. Frisbee, Valor: USAF’s Most Decorated PJ (Air Forces Mag., March 1, 1989) (reprinted HERE)

• John T. Correll, A Habit of Heroism (Air Forces Mag., Jan. 1, 2010) (reprinted HERE)

• Sikorsky HH-3E Jolly Green Giant (National Museum of the United States Air Force)

• Theron A. Newell, Boyish Looking Hero Wears Rare Medal (Daily Independent Journal; Nov. 29, 1967) (p. 25)

• Youngest Air Force Hero is Feted by 3 Cities for Bravery Under Fire (Daily Republic; Feb. 15, 1968) (p. 14)