For their heroism during the Mayaguez operation, Air Force helicopter crewmen and forward air controllers were awarded 92 medals.This included four of the just 10 Air Force Crosses that have been earned since Vietnam.rnAir Force Cross recipients were:rn1. First Lt. Donald R. Backlund, the pilot of Jolly Green 11. Backlund's rescue helicopter pulled out the contingent of marines that had been trapped all day on the east beach after the helicopters that delivered them had been shot up.rn2. First Lt. Richard C. Brims, the pilot of the CH-53 Knife 51. Brims and his crew extracted 70 marines from Koh Tang, including the last group, which was rescued after dark and under tremendous enemy fire.rn3. SSgt. Jon D. Harston, a flight mechanic aboard Knife 31, which was shot down into the water. Harston, shot in the leg, was in about four feet of water when he returned for his M16 and helped several marines through the flames to safety. He pulled two injured marines to deeper water where the survivors were rescued by USS Wilson.rn4. Capt. Roland W. Purser, pilot of the rescue helicopter Jolly Green 43. Purser made repeated runs to the heavily defended island over the course of 16 consecutive hours, and during one sortie brought out 54 marines.
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机译：由于在Mayaguez行动中的英勇精神，空军直升飞机机组人员和前空中管制员获得了92枚奖牌，其中包括自越南以来获得的10个空军十字勋章中的四个。第一快活的唐纳德·R·巴克伦德中尉是乔利·格林11号的飞行员。巴克伦德的救援直升机撤出了整整一天被困在东滩的海军陆战队。 CH-53刀的飞行员首先是理查德·C·布里姆斯中尉。51.布里姆斯和他的工作人员从唐岛撤出了70名海军陆战队，包括最后一批，他们是在黑暗中和在巨大敌人的火力下营救的。 SSgt。乔恩·哈斯顿（Kon D. Harston），是31号刀上的飞行机械师，被击落在水中。回到他的M16时，哈斯顿腿部被枪击，身处约四英尺深的水中，并帮助数名海军陆战队员通过火势到达安全地点。他将两名受伤的海军陆战队拉到更深的水域，威尔逊号营救了幸存者。救援直升机乔利·格林（Jolly Green）的飞行员罗兰德·普瑟斯上尉43.普瑟尔连续16个小时不断奔赴防御严密的小岛，并在一次出击中带走了54名海军陆战队员。
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