Larry W. Maysey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Larry Wayne Maysey
May 18, 1946(1946-05-18) – November 9, 1967 (aged 21)
SGT Larry Wayne Maysey
Place of birth	Chester, New Jersey
Place of death	near Khe Sanh, Laos
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Air Force
Years of service	1967
Rank	Sergeant
Unit	37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, DaNang, Republic of Vietnam
Battles/wars	Vietnam War
Awards	Air Force Cross

Sergeant Larry Wayne Maysey was a United States Air Force Pararescueman who was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross, the Air Force's second-highest decoration (after the Medal of Honor).

On 8 November 1967 two HH-3E Jolly Green Giants were launched on a night mission to extract five survivors of a Special Forces reconnaissance team. The site was known to be hot, surrounded by a well-disciplined, crack North Vietnamese Army (NVA) battalion. A Vietnamese Air Force (VNAF) and a U.S. Army helicopter had already been shot down and destroyed. Illuminated by a C-130 flare ship dropping LUU-2 parachute flares, Jolly 29 made a pickup of three survivors before being driven off by intense enemy fire. Jolly 29, with heavy battle damage, lands at the USMC outpost of Khe Sanh. Jolly 26 attempted to pick up the remaining two survivors, both now wounded. Fighting, both in the air and on the ground, was intense. Maysey jumped from the safety of Jolly 26, and ran down a steep slope rescuing the two remaining men. Jolly 26 was now being hit with small arms fire. Just after Maysey had helped both survivors safely onboard, an RPG (rocket propelled grenade) struck the number one engine, fatally crippling the craft. The engine exploded, inverting the aircraft, which rolled and skidded down a deep ravine and burst into flames; a pilot and one other man survive the crash. Maysey received the Air Force Cross posthumously. The pilot Captain Gerald Young was rescued later that day and subsequently awarded the Medal of Honor.

The Pararescue Association. (1996). Sergeant Larry W. Maysey pg. 106: Fine Books Publishing Company, LLC Charlotte, NC. Library of Congress Number: 94-061879

[edit] Air Force Cross citation

Sergeant Larry W. Maysey distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an opposing armed force as an HH-3E Rescue Specialist in Southeast Asia on 9 November 1967. On that date, Sergeant Maysey attempted the night extraction of a ground reconnaissance team after his helicopter had been severely damaged. Two other helicopters had been shot down and a third extensively damaged in previous attempts. During the rescue attempt, Sergeant Maysey unhesitatingly exposed himself to the hail of hostile fire to assist wounded survivors into the helicopter. The hostile forces closed in quickly, and as the damaged helicopter departed, it was shot down. Though his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of the enemy, Sergeant Maysey reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.