Since the beginning of Vietnam War in 1965, only twenty-four enlisted men were awarded this medal. Twenty of these medals were awarded during the Vietnam War. Ten of these twenty were awarded to Pararescuemen. This is an extraordinarily large number considering that no more than seventy-five Pararescuemen served at any one time in Vietnam or Thailand.

Since the end of the Vietnam War only four additional Air Force Crosses have been awarded to an enlisted airman. Two of them went to Pararescuemen and two were awarded to a Combat Controller's. PJ Timothy Wilkenson received the Air Force Cross for action in Somalia. PJ Jason Cunningham and CCT John Chapman both received an AF Cross for action in Afghanistan. They both received the medal for heroism in the same battle and they both died within a few meters of each other. In 2009, Combat Controller Zachary Rhyner received the Air Force Cross for action in Afghanistan.

Technically one might state that CCT are not assigned to Air Rescue. To this webmaster, this is a moot point because since the advent of Special Tactics Teams, the line between air rescue and special operations has blurred. PJs and CCT assigned to an STS are dual tasked for both SAR and special operations missions. For that reason, PJs in Vietnam is proud to add these heroes of the honored recipients of the Air Force Cross listed on this website.