This Day In History: February 24

Changing the day will navigate the page to that given day in history. You can navigate days by using left and right arrows

After a North Vietnamese mortar shells rocks their Douglas AC-47 gunship, Airman First Class John L. Levitow throws himself on an activated, smoking magnesium flare, drags himself and the flare to the open cargo door, and tosses it out of the aircraft just before it ignites. For saving his fellow crewmembers and the gunship, Airman Levitow was later awarded the Medal of Honor. He was one of only two enlisted airmen to earn the Medal of Honor for service in Vietnam and was one of only five enlisted airmen ever to receive the medal.