The Airman's Medal (AmnM) is a military award and decoration of the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

and

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only independent space force. Along with its sister branch, the U.S. Air Force, the Space ...

for personnel who distinguish themselves by heroism involving voluntary risk of their life not involving actual combat with an armed enemy of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The medal was established on 6 July 1960 and is awarded to those service members or those of a friendly nation who, while serving in any capacity with the U.S. Air Force or U.S. Space Force. The performance must have involved personal hazard or danger. The Airman's Medal was authorized on 10 August 1956 to replace the

U.S. Army's The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

Soldier's Medal The Soldier's Medal is an individual decoration of the United States Army. It was introduced as Section 11 of the Air Corps Act, passed by the Congress of the United States on July 2, 1926., Appendix 5, p. 126. The Army' Soldier's Medal is equiv ...

which had also been awarded to qualifying Air Force personnel since 26 September 1947. According to Air Force Instruction 36–2803, The Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, Personnel Council approves or disapproves recommendations for Airman's Medals requiring

Secretary of the Air Force A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

final approval and determines upon approval, entitlement to 10 percent increase in retirement pay for the Airman's Medal when awarded to enlisted members for extraordinary heroism. The Airman's Medal is equivalent to the Army's

, the

Navy and Marine Corps Medal The Navy and Marine Corps Medal is the highest non-combat decoration awarded for heroism by the United States Department of the Navy to members of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The medal was established by an act of Congr ...

, and the

Coast Guard Medal The Coast Guard Medal is a decoration of the United States military that is awarded to any service member who, while serving in any capacity with the United States Coast Guard, distinguishes themselves by heroism not involving actual conflict with ...

. Additional awards of the Airman's Medal are denoted by

oak leaf clusters An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a speci ...

. The first recipient of the Airman's Medal was Captain John Burger, U.S. Air Force, who was awarded the medal at

MacDill Air Force Base MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...

, Florida, on 21 July 1960, for heroism performed on 9 September 1959.

Notable recipients

* Paul K. Carlton Jr., for his rescuing several people after

American Airlines Flight 77 American Airlines Flight 77 was a scheduled American Airlines domestic transcontinental passenger flight from Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, to Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California. The Boe ...

, which crashed into

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

during the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...

Adam Kinzinger Adam Daniel Kinzinger (; born February 27, 1978) is an American politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for . The district covers eastern Rockford, Illinois, Rockford, most of Rockford's suburbs, and ...

, for saving the life of a woman who was being attacked by her knife-wielding boyfriend. *

Michael Landsberry Michael Terrence Landsberry (January 20, 1968 – October 21, 2013) was an American math teacher, Marine veteran, and Nevada Air National Guardsman who had served in the war in Afghanistan. During the Sparks Middle School shooting, he unsuccessf ...

, for his actions during the

Sparks Middle School shooting The Sparks Middle School shooting occurred in Sparks, Nevada, on October 21, 2013. Two people, including the perpetrator, were killed, and two others were injured. Sparks Middle School is part of the Washoe County School District. Shooting On ...

, including reasoning with the shooter and protecting several students. * William H. Pitsenbarger for aiding and defending a unit of soldiers pinned down by an enemy assault during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Before his death he helped save over 60 men in the battle. *

Spencer Stone Spencer John Stone (born August 13, 1992) is an American former United States Air Force staff sergeant. In August 2015, Stone, along with friends Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler and three other passengers, as well as an off-duty conductor, ...

, for disarming a terrorist during the

2015 Thalys train attack On 21 August 2015, a man opened fire on a Thalys train on its way from Amsterdam to Paris. Four people were injured, including the assailant. French, American and British passengers confronted the attacker and subdued him when his rifle jammed. ...

. * Col Paul Sowada and Phillip Michael Sowada, who rescued three people from drowning off the beach at Vandenberg Airforce Base on Christmas Day, 1997. The three swimmers were caught in a dangerous rip tide and were being swept out to sea. They are also the only father/son duo to be awarded the medal for the same act of valor.

References

{{USAF decorations Awards and decorations of the United States Air Force Awards established in 1960 Courage awards