William R. Caldwell — Spare 617

He brought a burning C-130 home so his wounded crew could live.

April 15, 1972. An Loc was surrounded and starving for ammo. Capt. William R. Caldwell and the crew of C-130E Spare 617 went in low with 27,000 pounds of it.

Enemy fire tore the Hercules apart. Two engines wrecked. Cargo on fire. Flight engineer TSgt. Jon Sanders killed. Copilot and navigator wounded. In the back, SSgt. Charlie Shaub fought through scalding air, cut the burning pallets loose, and watched them explode after they left the airplane.

Bailout was possible. Caldwell refused. The wounded could not jump. He flew the stricken Herk toward Tan Son Nhut. A third engine quit on approach. The gear would not drop. Shaub, already burned, directed A1C Dave McAleece as they hand-cranked it down. Caldwell put her on the runway and saved the rest of his crew.

He and Shaub received the Air Force Cross. He stayed with the airplane so his men could live.

Valor is in you. Set it free.