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Citation to accompany the award of the Air Force Cross to Senior
Airman Jason D. Cunningham
The President of the United States of America, authorized by
Title 10, Section 8742, U.S.C., awards the Air Force Cross to
Senior Airman Jason D. Cunningham for extraordinary heroism in
military operations against an opposing armed force while
serving as a Pararescueman near the village of Marzak in the
Paktia Province of Afghanistan on 4 March 2002. On that proud
day, Airman Cunningham was the primary Air Force Combat Search
and Rescue medic assigned to a Quick Reaction Force tasked to
recover two American servicemen evading capture in austere
terrain occupied by massed Al Qaida and Taliban forces. Shortly
before landing, his MH-47E helicopter received accurate
rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire, severely disabling
the aircraft and causing it to crash land. The assault force
formed a hasty defense and immediately suffered three fatalities
and five critical casualties. Despite effective enemy fire, and
at great risk to his own life, Airman Cunningham remained in the
burning fuselage of the aircraft in order to treat the wounded.
As he moved his patients to a more secure location, mortar
rounds began to impact within fifty feet of his position.
Disregarding this extreme danger, he continued the movement and
exposed himself to enemy fire on seven separate occasions. When
the second casualty collection point was also compromised, in a
display of uncommon valor and gallantry, Airman Cunningham
braved an intense small arms and rocket-propelled grenade attack
while repositioning the critically wounded to a third collection
point. Even after he was mortally wounded and quickly
deteriorating, he continued to direct patient movement and
transferred care to another medic. In the end, his distinct
efforts led to the successful delivery of ten gravely wounded
Americans to life-saving medical treatment. Through his
extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, aggressiveness in the
face of the enemy, and in the dedication of his service to his
country, Senior Airman Cunningham reflected the highest credit
upon himself and the United States Air Force.
Note: Jason is the only PJ to have
received the Air Force Cross since the Vietnam War. He was also
the first PJ killed in action since the Vietnam War. |
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Senior Airmen Jason
Cunningham was killed in action during Operation Anaconda on the Takhur Ghar
mountain range, Afghanistan. He died doing what he wanted to do most, saving
lives. “I don’t want to kill people. I want to save them,” Cunningham said in a
story published in Airman Magazine” in February 2000. It’s just what he did on
that bloody Afghan hillside. His MH-47 helicopter was shot down when it
attempted to land a rescue force. With him were three other USAF airmen, 19 Army
Rangers and the MH-47 crew of five. The USAF element of the rescue force
consisted of a second PJ, SSgt Keary Miller, a Combat Controller SSgt Gabe Brown
and SSgt Kevin Vance TACP. After the crash landing, the surviving rescue force
ran off the ramp into a hail of fire. Several were immediately killed or
wounded. Most of the rescue force set up a security perimeter around the crashed
helicopter. The PJs and Ranger medics remained inside the helicopter which they
converted into a casualty collection point. Just when things seemed as if they
couldn’t get worse, enemy fire increased including incoming mortar rounds that
bracketed the Chinook.
About four hours
after the helicopter hit the ground, Cunningham decided the cargo compartment
had become too dangerous for his patients. Using a small sled-like device, he
dragged the wounded troops to a safer spot away from the aircraft. In doing so,
he crossed the line of enemy fire seven times. Shortly thereafter, Cunningham’s
luck ran out. An enemy round hit him just below his body armor. The bullet
entered low from the right side and traveled across his pelvis, causing serious
internal injuries. Despite his worsening condition, he continued to treat
patients and advise others on how to care for the critically wounded.
In the early afternoon,
commanders back at Bagram Air Base directed that no more rescue attempts be
risked until darkness. It was a decision made to save lives, and it probably
did. But it sealed Cunningham’s fate. Seven hours after he was hit, the other
medics began to perform CPR on Cunningham. They continued for 30 minutes, until
it was clear nothing more could be done. He died two hours before rescue
helicopters arrived.
As a result of Cunningham’s
extraordinary heroism, his team returned 10 seriously wounded personnel to
life-saving medical care. Jason did everything he could do – and
lived up to the PJ motto “That Others May Live.”
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