US Air Force Col. Bernard Fisher - Medal of Honor Recipient during the Vietnam War

Welcome back everyone.  On today’s episode of Duty & Valor, you’ll hear the story of a man who would become an accomplished pilot and volunteer for service in Vietnam.  A man who would be recognized for valor on multiple occasions during the war.  A man who landed on a damaged runway surrounded by enemy forces to save a downed pilot.  This is the story of Medal of Honor recipient US Air Force Col. Bernard Fisher.

Bernard Fisher, who would go by Bernie, was born on January 11th, 1927 in San Bernardino, CA, the second oldest of five children.  His family moved to Clearfield, UT where he spent most of his childhood.  When World War II started, Bernie was too young to enlist, so he was forced to wait.  By 1945 he was finally old enough and he enlisted in the US Navy, but by this point, the war was winding down and he didn’t see any combat.  He remained in the Navy until 1947, before he returned to UT to continue his education.  He attended Boise State Junior College and then the University of Utah, and he joined the Idaho Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps.

He received his commission into the Air Force in 1951, prior to finishing his studies.  After pilot training, he piloted jet fighters for the Air Defense Command until 1965 when he volunteered for service in Vietnam.

While serving in Vietnam, Bernie flew 200 combat missions in an A-1E Skyraider for the 1st Air Commando Squadron.  Unlike the jets he piloted earlier, the Skyraider was a single prop combat aircraft that was used for close air support.  The advantage that this aircraft had over jets of this era, is that their slower speeds allowed them to remain above a battlefield for longer periods of time, in what is called loiter time.  The Skyraider’s loiter time coupled with 4 20mm cannons and 6,500lbs of ordinance made it an excellent aircraft to support combat operations on the ground.

On the 10th of March, 1966, Bernie, who was now a Major, flew out of his home base on a bombing and strafing mission, but he didn’t get far before he was diverted to aid a beleaguered Special Forces Camp in the A Shau valley near the Laos border.  The camp had been under siege by 2,000 North Vietnamese soldiers since the day prior.  By the time Maj. Fisher arrived to aid the camp, the North Vietnamese had surrounded the US forces and isolated them from a nearby airstrip.  

Other A-1’s were there before Maj. Fisher arrived and they were circling the valley above the cloud cover as they attempted to find a hole so they could dive in to support the US forces.  Eventually a hole opened up which allowed Maj. Fisher, his wingman, and two other A-1 pilots to fly down.  The North Vietnamese had positioned anti-aircraft batteries and heavy machine gun emplacements along the mountains surrounding the valley, and the day prior, the US lost an AC-47D gunship in the valley and three of six crew members were killed.

As the planes entered the valley, they faced intense fire from the ground and from the mountainsides.  At times, the A-1’s had to fly so low due to the low cloud cover that the North Vietnamese were firing on the aircraft from an elevated position as they made their attack runs.  

During a third strafing run against the enemy, one of the A-1’s was hit by anti-aircraft fire.  This A-1, piloted by Maj. Dafford “Jump” Myers, burst into flames.  As he later said, “I’ve been hit and hit hard”.  As he was flying so low, Maj. Myers was too low to bail out.  The only option left to him was to make an emergency landing on the airstrip.  Maj. Myers dropped the remaining bombs and external fuel tank.   He did all he could to control his landing, but his plane was so heavily damaged and smoke obscured his visibility, so he had to use landmarks to line up his approach.  During his descent, Maj. Fisher also helped guide him in the best way he could, but Maj. Myers’ aircraft burst into flames as it hit the runway.  The crash was bad so the other pilots were amazed to see Maj. Myers escape the fiery wreck and they were equally astounded to see him race towards a nearby embankment to hide from the nearby enemy forces.

Maj. Fisher quickly received word that a rescue attempt was launched.  This solace only lasted briefly for the pilots in the air.  The situation on the ground was getting worse.  The North Vietnamese, who were 200 yards from Myers, continued their assault and they would soon find the downed pilot.  After waiting for ten minutes, the inbound helicopter was nowhere in sight, so Maj. Fisher came up with a plan to save Maj. Myers himself.  

Though the runway was filled with debris and heavily damaged from mortar fire, he decided to land.  After confirming the length of the runway, which was shorter than the optimal landing distance of an A-1, he decided to prepare to land anyway.  He wanted to come in as light as possible so he dropped his remaining bombs on the enemy to the west of the runway, which also kept them from advancing on Myers.    

In his first attempt to land, Maj. Fisher realized that he was coming in too fast for the runway, which was actually shorter than its reported length.  In what must have been a heartbreaking moment for Myers, who thought rescue was impossible, he waved at Maj. Fisher just as he gave his A-1 full power and became airborne again.  Once in the air, he turned his plane around and approached in the opposite direction.  

Due to his flying skills, and maybe some divine intervention, he was able to land this time.   After skidding for some distance, he came to a stop off the end of the runway, all while facing heavy fire.  He turned his plane around on the grass and began slowly making his way back as he was looking for Maj. Myers.  Moments later, he spotted Myers running towards the aircraft.  Myers didn’t get far before he fell.  Fearing that he was shot, Maj. Fisher set his brakes and unstrapped himself to go and get him when he saw Myers get up and continue his sprint towards the aircraft. 

Seconds later Maj. Fisher lost sight of Myers and was about to exit his plane when he spotted him in his rearview mirror climbing onto his wing.  Myers dove head first into the cockpit and couldn’t right himself without the help of Maj. Fisher.  He grabbed his flight suit and helped Major Myers sit up straight.  

Maj. Fisher then turned the plane around and had to maneuver around debris and large holes as he gained speed and took off, with only feet to spare.   As the single seat plane with two men aboard gained altitude, the men of the camp cheered at what they had just witnessed.  During their flight back to safety, Maj. Fisher said that they “couldn’t help turning to each other and laughing all the way home.”

The day prior to this rescue mission, Maj. Fisher had been awarded the Silver Star for valor while supporting the same battle.  But on this day he earned much more.  On January 19th, 1967, President Lyndon Johnson bestowed the Medal of Honor upon Maj. Bernard Fisher. 

Maj. Fisher remained in the Air Force until 1974 when he retired as a Col.  He spent his retirement years in Idaho with his wife Realla.  

Col. Fisher died on August 16th, 2014 in Boise, ID and is buried at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery there. 

Thank you for listening, and if you enjoyed this week's show, we kindly ask that you follow us and leave a review and 5-star rating. Links to the sources for today's show can be found in the show notes, as well as at dutyandvalor.com. And join us next week where we’ll tell you the story of another true American hero.