Capt. Mary Jennings, an HH-60G Pave Hawk co-pilot for the 129th Rescue Squadron, receives a Purple Heart from Maj. Gen. Dennis J. Lucas, commander of the California Air National Guard, during a ceremony Dec. 6 in Santa Clara.
Photo by Staff Sgt. Kim Ramirez

Capt. Mary Jennings, an HH-60G Pave Hawk co-pilot for the 129th Rescue Squadron, received the Badge of Military Merit, also known as the Purple Heart, from Maj. Gen. Dennis J. Lucas, commander of the California Air National Guard, during a Dec. 6 ceremony in Santa Clara, Calif.

Jennings had recently returned from deployment to Afghanistan, where she was wounded by enemy forces during the rescue of three injured American Soldiers. Her rescue helicopter had launched July 29 from Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, en route to a convoy that had fallen under attack after striking an improvised explosive device.
 
“We couldn’t see any enemy fire as we arrived on scene,” said Maj. George Dona, pilot of the Pave Hawk that Jennings co-piloted. “We were in voice contact with the Soldiers on the ground and we could hear over their radios that they were under distress.”  

The Soldiers were taking cover from hidden enemy positions on the western side of the convoy. Dona and Jennings’ helicopter took immediate fire upon first landing. They dropped off two pararescuemen, or PJs, then took off right away. 

“One shot actually came directly into the cockpit and pretty much destroyed the entire co-pilot windshield,” Dona said. “Captain Jennings took shrapnel, and there was blood instantly all over her side.”
 
The pararescue-team lead from the 71st Rescue Squadron, assigned to the 23rd Wing at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., stayed on the aircraft after the first landing to ensure Jennings was alright, while the rest of his team deplaned to collect the patients. The Pave Hawk flew about a mile south to escape enemy fire and guarantee that both the helicopter and crew were in good enough condition to continue the save, Jennings said.
 
“The helicopter was determined fully functional,” she said. “We couldn’t bring ourselves to return home without the patients.”
 
Despite the danger it faced, the crew returned to the scene after getting a call from the PJs, who said they were ready to haul out the three patients.
 
“Again, as soon as we landed, we took immediate fire. We landed next to the patients, and the PJs were already moving them in,” Dona said. “We took constant fire, and [after] about 20 rounds to the backside of the helicopter, the systems started to deteriorate slowly.”

Jennings told Dona, who was on the controls, to hold the helicopter on the ground through the fire as she watched the PJs load the patients onto the helicopter.
 
“There were people yelling, lights flashing and people screaming through the radios, all while dodging bullets,” Jennings said. “Major Dona had a lot of patience and confidence in his team to stay on the ground through all the chaos. His amazing pilotage skills saved all our lives.”

About 30 seconds after takeoff, the back cabin was full of fuel, hydraulics were leaking and systems were not working correctly. Jennings flipped the fuel-selector to cross-feed between the two fuel tanks and keep the engine from flaming out. This was a huge factor in keeping the helicopter airborne, Dona said.
 
“As I enabled the second tank, I saw it was ticking down to zero as well,” Jennings said. “We needed to land. It was a decision to either crash three miles away or land two miles away.”
 
The crew made the right decision. After landing the helicopter about two miles south of the convoy attack, the crew shut down and quickly secured a perimeter to protect the patients. A nearby helicopter landed next to them and loaded all patients and as many crew members as possible before departing.

As if the heroic actions of Jennings and Dona weren’t enough, Master Sgt. Steven Burt also showed extreme valor. While PJs were loading patients onto the OH-58D Kiowa and the crew was being exfiltrated onto the skids of their cover ships, one of the pararescuemen called for help. Burt ran through a rain of fire to help, Jennings said.
 
“He totally put his life on the line,” she said. “I’m extremely proud of my crew’s heroism.”
 
Looking back on the incident, Jennings said she is thankful for her crew and their bravery.
 
“In a country where rocket-propelled grenades are used everywhere, it was amazing that no one had an RPG. Everything was covered in fuel, including ourselves.” she said. “It was nothing short of a miracle that we survived.”

Jennings is greeted by her mother at Moffett Federal Airfield, Calif., after returning home in September from a three-month deployment to Afghanistan.
Photo by Tech. Sgt. Ray Aquino