US Air Force Col Joe Jackson: Vietnam War Medal of Honor Recipient

Welcome back everyone! 

Before I tell you today's main story, I want to share the Medal of Honor story of US Air Force Major Charles Loring, which was pulled from the Duty & Valor YouTube channel.

On November 22, 1952 in Korea, Maj. Charles Loring was leading a flight of four F-80 jets on a close support mission, when he received orders to dive-bomb enemy gun positions that were relentlessly targeting friendly ground troops. After confirming the target's location, Maj. Loring initiated his dive. Despite facing intense and precise enemy fire, he pressed on with the attack.

As his aircraft was struck by enemy fire at around 4,000 feet, Maj. Loring made a deliberate decision. Instead of pulling out, he adjusted his course and aimed his plane directly at the enemy gun emplacements on a ridge. With a controlled maneuver, he sacrificed his life by crashing his aircraft into the enemy position, completely destroying it and eliminating a significant threat to friendly ground forces. Major Charles Loring’s selfless act of heroism saved countless lives and for this he was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

That was the incredible story of Major Charles Loring, a true hero who gave his life to protect others, and his legacy lives on through the lives he saved that day.

Now on today’s main story, we honor the incredible heroism of Colonel Joe Jackson, a man whose bravery during the Vietnam War, where he flew straight into enemy fire to rescue fellow airmen, earned him our nation’s highest military honor.  This is his story.   

Joe was born on March 14, 1923 in Newnan, GA to parents Jim and Effie Jackson.  Shortly after graduating high school, Joe chased his dream of becoming an aircraft mechanic and enlisted in the Army Air Corps in March 1941.  

After basic and technical training Joe served as the crew chief of a B-25 Mitchell bomber.  One day he replaced a sick flight engineer on a training flight.  While in the air, the plane’s right engine caught on fire.  The pilot was unable to put out the fire and he turned to Joe for help.  Joe was able to instruct the pilot how to extinguish the flames, saving the bomber and the crew.  Joe later said that what transpired on that flight made him want to become a pilot.

He was accepted into the Aviation Cadet Program and graduated in April 1943 as a newly commissioned 2LT.  He then became a gunnery instructor at Eglin Field in FL and flew the P-40 Warhawk and the P-63 Kingcobra for the remainder of WWII.  

Lt. Jackson didn’t fly combat missions during the war, but was sent to Germany at the end of the war, where he flew the P-47 Thunderbolt during the occupation.     

By the time the Korean War started Major Jackson was serving as the Operation and Executive Officer for the 524th Fighter Squadron.  During the war he flew the F-84 Thunderjet on 107 combat missions and received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, which means he received the Air Medal for four separate acts of heroism or meritorious achievement .  Following the Korean War, Major Jackson was credited with developing navigation and landing techniques which were used by pilots during poor weather.  He also developed a method for throwing or tossing bombs from fighter aircraft.  This maneuver, where a pilot pulled upward as it released its bombs, gave the bombs an increased forward velocity which increased its capability. 

Major Jackson was also one of the first U-2 spyplane pilots and was instrumental in planning aerial reconnaissance of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

In August 1967, Jackson, now a Lt Col, volunteered to go to Vietnam.  There he was assigned to the 311th Air Commando Squadron and flew 298 combat missions in the C-123 Provider transport plane during the war.  Of these 298 combat missions, one stands out as a legacy defining one for Col. Jackson.

On May 10, 1968 North Vietnamese forces attacked the special forces camp at Kham Duc in the central highlands of Vietnam near the Laos border.  The fierce attack continued for days and the camp was nearly overrun by May 12, so the order was given to deploy all available air assets to evacuate the camp.  

By this point over 140 aircraft were under the control of Air Force General William Momyer after a “Grand Slam Emergency” was declared.  This Grand Slam Emergency gave him full control of all Air Force, Marine, and Navy fixed wing, as well as all Army rotor-wing aircraft, in South Vietnam.  But even with all these aircraft attacking the North Vietnamese forces, it failed to stop the attack on the camp.

An Army UH-1 Huey helicopter and a forward air control O-2 Skymaster were shot down while observing the battle raging beneath them.  Shortly after, an Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter arrived to assist in the evacuation.  It took direct anti-aircraft fire and exploded on the runway, shortening the useful length of the runway which was needed for evacuations.  Soldiers of the Army 70th Engineer Battalion tried using a forklift to move the wreckage off the runway, but it also caught on fire.  They then assembled one of their previously disassembled bulldozers and pushed the Chinook off the runway while under heavy mortar fire.      

While the engineers were clearing the runway, an Air Force A-1 Skyraider, a single seat attack aircraft, piloted by Major James Swain was shot down near the camp perimeter. 

Though American and allied South Vietnamese forces were putting up a good fight, the assault continued.  Around midday, a C-130 piloted by Lt. Col. Daryl Cole landed fully loaded.  During the landing a tire blew and caused significant damage to his wing tanks.  Even before the plane came to a stop, it was rushed by Vietnamese civilians who had taken cover in ditches lining the runway.  As they rushed aboard, the crew were unable to unload the cargo.  As they were under heavy fire, Col Cole made the decision to get airborne.  The plane was now overloaded and the blown tire was slowing the plane down.  He wasn’t able to gather enough speed, so he aborted the take off attempt.  

The civilians and cargo were offloaded and the air crew worked to remove the blown tire.  After some time they attempted another takeoff with only the aircrew and three Air Force Combat Control Team Members.  This time they were successful.

Two other C-130’s were able to land and between them and a number of  helicopters, they evacuated 145 people.  Three more C-130’s arrived to aid in the evacuation but were told to not attempt to land.  Later in the afternoon, evacuation efforts continued.  Major Bernard Bucher was able to land his C-130, even after being hit multiple times.  After 183 women and children were on board, Major Bucher took off heading North from the camp.  What he wasn’t aware of was that enemy forces were massed in that area.  His plane was hit by ground fire and crashed a mile from the runway.  In addition to all of the civilians aboard, one Army officer and all five aircrew were killed.

Repeated attempts were made to rescue the remaining 600 people at the camp, with varying levels of success.  On one attempt a C-130 flown by Lt Col. Joen Delmore took heavy fire on its approach and hit the Chinook that had crashed earlier in the day, but Col. Delmore was able to guide his plane off the runway to keep it usable. 

Successive rescues evacuated nearly all of the military and civilian personnel.  As they believed all had been rescued, Lt. Col. Jay Van Cleeff was ordered to fly in the three Combat Controllers that had been rescued earlier in the day.  Though Col. Van Cleeff communicated that the camp was nearly empty; he was ordered to reinsert the men.  After the three men, Major John Gallagher, Technical Sgt Morton Freedman, and Staff Sergeant James Lundie ran back towards the camp, Col. Van Cleef waited for evacuees.  After two minutes, no one came to the aircraft, so he decided to take off.   

Shortly after, another pilot reported that the camp had been completely evacuated and could be destroyed by circling bombers.  Hearing this, Col. Van Cleeff jumped on his radio and told them that he had just reinserted the three Air Force personnel.  

The Combat Control Team went from building to building throughout the camp to ensure it was clear.  After confirming that it was, they raced towards the runway but there was no aircraft waiting to fly them away, forcing them hide in a ditch.  Unfortunately, their radio had been destroyed and they couldn’t communicate their position.  While taking cover in the ditch, the three men engaged attackers who had set up a machine gun near one of the crashed planes and destroyed it.  

Multiple planes were sent to fly over the camp and locate the men, but they had no success.  The order came in to Lt Col Alfred Jeanotte to land his C-123 and look for the men.  With a fighter escort, he was able to land safely on the runway.  Not seeing them, he quickly took off to avoid being a sitting target for anti-aircraft fire.  As his plane raced down the runway, the three men ran from the ditch and frantically chased the aircraft.  With the plane making no attempt to slow down, they realized they weren’t spotted and they ran back to cover.  As Col Jeanotte took off and banked left, his aircrew spotted the men racing back to the ditch, but they couldn’t attempt another rescue as the plane was now low on fuel.

This is where Col. Jackson returns to the story.  As the only plane in the area that could attempt the rescue, he approached at 9,000 feet and dove at a steep angle towards the runway.  Even though he was coming in at a high rate of speed for his C-123, he decided to not reverse his propellers to help him stop.  Doing so would cut off both of his engines, and he didn’t want to take the time to have to restart them.  

As he skidded to a stop, the three men raced to the aircraft and jumped aboard.  Col. Jackson then saw an enemy 122mm rocket land and skid to within ten meters of his plane, but luckily it didn’t explode.  He taxied around the ordnance, so he didn’t accidentally detonate it, and took off under heavy enemy fire.  He was able to get airborne and make it safely back to Da Nang Air Base.  The next day, 60 B-52 bombed the camp to destroy anything of value and to keep it from being used by the enemy.  

For his actions that saved the three men, Lt. Col. Joe Jackson was presented the Medal of Honor on Jan. 16. 1969 by President Lyndon Johnson.

The three men that were aboard Col. Jackson’s plane during the evacuation also received decorations.  Co-pilot Maj. Jesse Campbell received the Air Force Cross and TSgt Edward Trejo and SSgt Manson Grubbs each received Silver Stars.  

Following the war he worked at the Pentagon and the Air War College at Maxwell AFB in Alabama before retiring from the Air Force on December 31, 1973 as a full bird Colonel.

After retiring he moved to Washington State and worked for Boeing until retiring from that job in 1985.  The years after his military service were highlighted by his work feeding the needy and giving inspirational speeches about leadership.  

On Jan. 13, 2019, Col. Joe Jackson passed away at the age of 95 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.  

Colonel Joe Jackson exemplified the courage and selflessness that define true heroism. In the face of overwhelming danger, he chose to act not out of obligation, but out of an unwavering commitment to save others. His legacy reminds us that bravery is not the absence of fear, but the resolve to do what is right, even when the odds seem insurmountable.   

Thank you for listening to this episode of Duty & Valor. If you enjoyed this episode and our show in general, please like, follow, and share our show wherever you’re listening.  You can also support the show directly at patreon.com/dutyandvalor or by becoming a member of our Duty & Valor YouTube community. 

To read more about this week’s hero, check out the sources used in today's episode in our show notes and at dutyandvalor.com.

Remember, we release new episodes on the Duty & Valor YouTube channel on Fridays at 5 pm. On our channel, we also release daily YouTube shorts that highlight our Nation’s heroes, many of whom haven’t been featured on the show yet.

Please join us for our next episode, where we'll be sharing the inspiring story of another American hero who served with pride and lived with humility.