The Courage of Captain Gerald O. Young

During the Vietnam War, Gerald O. Young served as a captain in the 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, a helicopter unit based at Da Nang Air Force Base in the Republic of Vietnam.

On the night of November 8–9, 1967, Captain Young was part of a mission to extract five U.S. Army Special Forces reconnaissance team survivors trapped in Laos. The extraction site was heavily contested, surrounded by a battalion of North Vietnamese Army forces. Two helicopters had already been shot down in the area. Illuminated by flares dropped from a C-130 Hercules, the first rescue helicopter, HH3E Jolly 29, successfully retrieved three survivors but was forced to retreat under intense enemy fire.

Young, piloting the second helicopter, HH3E Jolly 26, attempted to rescue the remaining two survivors, both of whom were wounded. Fierce fighting ensued both on the ground and in the air. Larry W. Maysey, a pararescueman aboard Jolly 26, heroically exited the helicopter, descending a steep slope under enemy fire to retrieve the survivors. As Maysey brought the men back aboard, Jolly 26 came under heavy fire, and a rocket-propelled grenade struck its number one engine. The explosion inverted the helicopter, which skidded down a ravine and burst into flames.

Despite severe injuries, Captain Young escaped the wreckage with another survivor. Over the next 17 hours, he evaded enemy forces until being rescued later that day. Young’s actions ensured that the other crash survivor was saved, and the bodies of the fallen were ultimately recovered.

For his extraordinary courage and determination, Gerald O. Young was awarded the Medal of Honor. Larry W. Maysey was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross for his selfless bravery.