Theme and basic page
design by Bob McNeil.
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The
history of Pararescue began in August of 1943, when 21 persons bailed out of a disabled C-46
over an uncharted jungle near the China-Burma border. So remote was the
crash site that the only means of getting help to the survivors was by paradrop. Lieutenant Colonel Don Fleckinger and two medical corpsmen
volunteered for the assignment. This paradrop of medical corpsmen was
the seed from which the concept of Pararescue was born. For a month
these men, aided by natives, cared for the injured until the party was
brought to safety. News commentator Eric Severeid was one of the men to
survive this ordeal. He later wrote of the men who risked their lives to
save his: "Gallant is a precious word; they deserve it".
From this event the need for
a highly trained rescue force was found; thus, the Pararescueman was
brought into being. Rescues since then have occurred in virtually every
corner of the world. Since that first rescue, many airmen, soldiers, and
civilians have had first hand experience that when trouble strikes,
Pararescuemen are ready to come to their aid. Some of the most inspiring
stories originating from the conflict in Southeast Asia involved heroic
deeds performed by Pararescuemen. They risked their lives flying over
hostile territory to find friendly forces needing aid. Daily,
Pararescuemen volunteered to ride a rescue hoist cable into the
Vietnamese jungle to aid wounded infantrymen and injured pilots, whose
aircraft had been shot down. The Air Force awarded nineteen Air Force
Crosses to enlisted personnel during the South East Asian conflict; ten
of the nineteen were awarded to Pararescuemen.
 Pararescuemen provided
medical treatment for injured and wounded men picked up from the
jungles. These deeds are still performed daily, even in time of peace.
Distinctive recognition came
to Pararescuemen in early 1966. General John P. McConnell, then Air
Force Chief of Staff, approved the wearing of the maroon
beret. The
beret symbolizes the blood sacrificed by Pararescuemen and their
devotion to duty by aiding others in distress. To Pararescuemen living
up to their motto, "That Others May
Live," is a daily reality. The formal training of a
Pararescueman is a never ending program. They continually strive to
perfect procedures while constantly searching for new techniques.
 A
major development in Pararescue was the combination of parachuting with
scuba techniques. When ready to jump, the scuba equipped Pararescuemen
carries as much as 170 pounds of equipment. One of the most dramatic
events involving Pararescue scuba action was at the termination of the
Gemini 8 space flight. When the decision was made to halt the mission
due to difficulties encountered by Astronauts David Scott and Neil
Armstrong, rescue forces on alert at stations in the Far East went into
action. A rescue crew from Naha Air
Base, Okinawa, flew to the predicted splashdown area and arrived in time
to see the spacecraft hit the water. Three Pararescuemen
parachuted into the ocean and had flotation equipment attached within 20
minutes. The Pararescuemen stayed with the astronauts until a Navy
destroyer arrived three hours later to take them all aboard. Pararescuemen provided
continued support to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's
(NASA) Skylab missions. Presently, Pararescuemen are providing rescue
support to the space shuttle
program. Pararescuemen have constantly
trained to remain responsive to NASA's needs. The primary purpose of
Pararescue is to save lives. The work of the Pararescuemen is an
important phase of the rescue concept. For example, in a two week
period, Pararescuemen were called upon to aid two Russian transport
merchant seamen in two different areas. The first mission involved a
badly burned sailor on a Russian transport vessel in the Atlantic, 700
miles from the nearest land. Two Pararescuemen, stationed in the Azores
were flown to the Russian ship. They parachuted near the ship and
treated the sailor until the ship reached port days later saving his
life. Two weeks later another distress call from a Russian ship was
relayed. This time the ship was a fishing vessel in the Pacific Ocean
off the Oregon Coast. A team of three Pararescuemen from Portland
parachuted into the Pacific. They treated the Russian sailor for serious
back and head injuries caused by a fall. When the ship was close enough,
a coast guard vessel picked up the sailor and took him ashore to a
hospital. In 1989, Pararescuemen were
instrumental in recovering and treating injured motorists at a collapsed
section of highway following a devastating earthquake in the San
Francisco, California area. Pararescuemen were the only rescue people
"on-scene," who would volunteer to crawl between sections of
collapsed highway to access conditions and recover casualties. In
recognition of the selfless dedication to saving lives president Bush
personally recognized the heroic actions of these men. More recently, Pararescuemen
were among the first U.S. combatants to parachute into Panama during
operation "Just Cause" (1989). Their combat medical expertise
was heavily utilized during this short, intense operation. In fact,
using specially modified vehicles dubbed "Rat-Vees," they
recovered and cared for the majority of the U.S. casualties that
occurred on the two Panamanian controlled airfields that were taken by
the initial invasion forces. Recently, Pararescuemen were
tasked with rescue missions involving downed aircrew members and injured
combatants during United Nations operation "Desert Storm."
This action for the liberation of Kuwait again proved the value of the
Air Force Pararescueman. Among the missions performed by Pararescue was
the rescue of a downed F-14 navigator
in a very hostile area;
 involving
the destruction of enemy forces in very close proximity to the survivor.
Pararescue also provided extensive support for airlift operations
providing humanitarian relief to Kurdish refugees fleeing into northern
Iraq. Most recently, Pararescuemen
were involved in the struggle to capture Somalia leader Mohammed Fhara
Aidid. Assigned jointly with Army Rangers, PJ's were tasked to operate
in a Search and Rescue (SAR) role on Army helicopters. After the initial
assault began, two Army helicopters were shot down, PJ's responded to
the scene to assist survivors and treat the wounded. The helo crashes
were in the middle of a battle zone. The PJ's, along with a Combat
Controller and additional Army Rangers, were inserted into the
firefight, removed injured personnel from further danger and
administered life saving emergency medical treatment. As a direct of
their actions, the mission was completed and many lives were saved in
the process. These things we do ...."That Others May Live."
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