Duane D. Hackney
Then came the Air Force Cross, for which he was the first living recipient, the Silver Star, the Airman's Medal, the Purple Heart, and several foreign decorations.After Airman Hackney made one unsuccessful trip to the ground in search of the pilot, both Jollys returned to base due to foul weather.Hanging from the harness, he pulled the ripcord and the chute opened just as he hit the trees, where he fell a further 80 feet and came to rest on a ledge in a crevasse.Jolly 36 immediately made a run in to locate any survivors and found only burning wreckage, with Hackney waving his arms for pickup.The Cheney Award is given annually to a member of USAF for an act of valor, extreme fortitude, or self-sacrifice in a humanitarian interest performed in conjunction with aircraft.[3] Upon his return from Vietnam in 1967, Hackney was deployed to the 41st Aerospace Rescue & Recovery Squadron at Hamilton Air Force Base, in Marin County, California.Shortly after the awarding of his Air Force Cross on September 9, 1967, Hackney made a guest appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show.On the first sortie, despite the presence of armed forces known to be hostile, entrenched in the vicinity, Airman Hackney volunteered to be lowered into the jungle to search for the survivor.The force of the explosion blew Airman Hackney through the open cargo door and, though stunned, he managed to deploy the unbuckled parachute and make a successful landing.