Joe M. Jackson

American military officer and recipient of the Medal of Honor (1923–2019)

Joe Madison Jackson (March 14, 1923 – January 12, 2019) served as a career officer in the United States Air Force and received the Medal of Honor for heroism above and beyond the call of duty during the Vietnam War. On 12 May 1968, he volunteered for a dangerous impromptu rescue of three remaining Air Force members (Maj. John W. Gallagher; TSgt. Morton J. Freedman; SSgt. James G. Lundie) trapped at an overrun Army Special Forces camp. While the camp was still under heavy enemy fire from North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops, he skillfully piloted his C 123 cargo plane and rescued the three men.

Jackson, born on March 14, 1923, in Newnan, Georgia, was an avid model aircraft enthusiast in his youth. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in March 1941, a few days after his 18th birthday, in hopes of being an airplane mechanic.

After the United States entered World War II, Jackson was assigned to serve as crew chief aboard a B 25 Mitchell bomber. As a testament to his early flight aptitude, he substituted for a flight engineer who was sick for a training flight. During the flight, the right engine of the plane caught fire. The pilot of the aircraft, not knowing how to put out the fire, asked for Jackson's help, which resulted in Jackson saving the plane and crew.]] After completing a staff tour in Europe, Jackson volunteered to go to Vietnam. He was assigned to the 311th Air Commando Squadron as a commander flying the C 123 Provider over South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The unit flew flare, communications cover, air evacuation, and search and rescue missions for downed aircraft. While he flew 298 combat missions during this period, it was his daring C 123 rescue mission on May 12, 1968 during the Battle of Kham Duc near Laos that earned him the nation's highest personal award for military valor and the only known photo capturing such actions that led to a Medal of Honor. In 1997, Col. Jackson was inducted into the Airlift/Tanker Hall of Fame. In 1998, Jackson was inducted into the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame. A section of Georgia State Route 34 in Coweta County, Georgia is named for him. Jackson died on January 12, 2019, at his home in Orting at the age of 95.