Posted in

Staff Sgt. Greggory Swarz saving the world

by Jonn Lilyea••19
Airman's Medal

airman's medal

Chief Tango sends us a link to the story of Staff Sgt. Greggory Swarz, an electrical environmental systems specialist of the 492nd Aircraft Maintenance Unit when he was at Los Llanos Air Base, Spain when an F-16 crashed;

After pulling a second French Airman to safety, Swarz ran toward the wreckage again. Dragging the third Airman away, exhaustion began to set in, and he stumbled. When Swarz called for help, two Liberty Airmen came and helped bring the French Airman out of harm’s way.

The third Airman lost his right hand in the crash. Swarz pulled his belt from his uniform to use as a tourniquet, saving his life by stemming the loss of blood.

“When Staff Sgt. Swarz needed to respond to save the lives of those three French Airmen, he did, and he didn’t hesitate,” said Col. Robert Novotny, 48th FW commander. “And when we decided Staff Sgt. Swarz deserved recognition for his actions, we asked the 3rd Air Force staff, the USAFE team, the Air Force Personnel Center and the Secretary of the Air Force’s Office to act quickly – and they did; processing his medal in only ten days so we could present it to him in front of his colleagues at their annual awards banquet.”

It’s nice to see the services get something right once in a while when a service member does something worth recognition. Sergeant Swarz’ actions is why they created that medal in the first place.

You might also like

A 21st Century Ace?

Air Force Security Forces airman arrested for lighting cop car on fire during “protests” – was wearing AF gas mask while doing it

Air Force vet quits Food Lion job after being told his American Flag COVID mask offended someone

19 thoughts on “Staff Sgt. Greggory Swarz saving the world”

  1. Well done, SSgt Swarz. Damn well done.

    And yes, it’s nice to see the process work as intended. We all know all too well that doesn’t always happen.

    1. I’m thrilled when the good guys are awarded. I received a gift from my long lost brother who I found living in France. A picture of my papa in his Dutch Military Uniform for me a priceless piece of truth. When hitlers insanity hit The Netherlands aka Holland, my papa made a decision to join the Amsterdam Freedom Fighters at age 13. Pa and his Jewish buddy went to Davids house and found his parents gone. Neighbors said they were taken by truck to the railroad station. Running home, my grandparents went back to find pictures, etc. Hearing a baby cry they found baby Simone hidden in a clothes basket. Grandpa said the mother had just enough time to hid the baby, knowing Davis would come home and find her. My grandma just lost her baby and with the help of doctor and false birth certification she was raised until Holland was liberated. David took Simone to Israel.

      Both boys joined the AFF and got orders from the U.S. Military. They did thing pa shared with me after we were smuggled into America in 1959.
      After the war and after he served in the Military he joined the Israeli Massod looking for nazis in hiding. The nazis in hiding only knew my papas nickname”DA Gek” aka the idiot. For the safety of our family we were brought to America. My papa never saw or heard from his family. All my life I heard what horrible things nazis did along with revenge of the Fighters. I wrote a book about everything but have not yet shared. Just before papa died he revealed I had a other brother and his name and birthdate. I found him a year later. In 1978-79 my father was honored by now Rabbi David as A RIGHTEOUS GENTILE BY NATIONAL HOLLAND in Arnhem, Holland. Smuggled into Holland by both American Military and Israeli Massod. That’s another story.
      I want to thank the American Military for fighting in WW2 to stop hitlers insanity. GOD BLESS AMERICA❤

      1. My last name is
        van der Puijl. It was changed to Puyl by the Dutch Military. I am in the process of having my name reinstated. The background they gave us that we were Indonesian refugees and my papa was a timekeeper. What’s a timekeeper? LOL

      2. That’s an incredible story, Yolanda. Thank you for coming here to share that with us. Good luck with your book! I hope you get that published.

  4. Very well done, SSgt. Swarz!

    Can anyone tell me about the image on the medal itself? I would like to understand the symbolism.

    2. Medal Description

      This medal was designed and sculpted by Thomas Hudson Jones of the Institute of Heraldry. On the obverse of the circular medal is the figure of the Greek god Hermes, son of Zeus, resting on one knee. He has just released from his open hands an American Bald Eagle, shown rising into flight. Within the raised rim of the medal, is the inscription Airman’s Medal in raised letters. The reverse of the medal, has a raised outer edge and bears the inscription, For Valor above a space for the recipient’s name which is within a stylized laurel wreath open at the top and tied at the bottom.

      The Airman’s Medal is unique in that its shape does not follow the octagonal shape of its counterparts, the Soldier’s Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Medal and the Coast Guard Medal. It had been established practice heretofore to design military decorations with a distinctive shape, so that they would not be confused at a distance with service or campaign medals, which are always circular in shape. The reason for this is because the design was originally approved for use as The Air Force Distinguished Service Medal.

      1. Hermes in the Iliad is the bringer of good luck, and is often considered to be a benefactor to us mere mortals…

        I always found that amusing because he’s also supposed to the God of Thieves…

          1. Kudos to you SSGT Swarz !!

            A Priapus Medal is what should have been awarded to Spec8 Moerk instead of the ARCOM.

    1. I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure it ain’t three. Maybe it crashed near ground crew.

    2. It crashed into the flightline at Los Llanos Air Base in Spain. Eleven people were killed, both Greek pilots and nine French airmen on the ground and around twenty people were injured. In addition to the Greek F-16D, four French aircraft were destroyed and two more severely damaged.

Comments are closed.