Lowered from a helicopter near Dong Hoi, North Vietnam, Air Force pararescueman Duane Hackney of Flint grabbed a downed pilot.



Just as the two reached the door, the helicopter caught fire from an enemy round. Hackney removed his parachute, put it on the wounded pilot and pushed him out of the chopper.



The airman lunged for a spare parachute just as the aircraft exploded. The chute barely had time to open before Hackney hit trees, then dropped another 80 feet and landed on a crevasse ledge.



It was Feb. 6, 1967. Hackney was 19 years old. By the time he retired as a chief master sergeant in 1991, he had flown more than 200 combat missions and received more than 70 medals and awards, becoming the most decorated enlisted man in Air Force history.Now the Beecher High School graduate, who died in 1993 at age 46, is about to receive another honor: induction into the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame.

Did you know?

In addition to the late U.S. Air Force Pararescueman Duane Hackney, the Flint area has had its share of noteable aviation connections. Here are a few:

• The Flint Aviation Co. built about a dozen aircraft here from 1917-19. Flint Aviation's Sidney S. Stewart (a driving force behind the creation of Bishop Airport) and World War I aviator Lt. John L. Hunt later built a twin-engine plane here, first flown in 1930, but couldn't market it successfully as three-engine airplanes took over.

• In 1927, young Flint schoolteacher Mildred Doran was one of 10 fliers to die during a California-to-Honolulu airplane race -- a trek that would have made her the first woman to cross the Pacific in a plane. Doran was lost at sea along with pilot Augie Pedlar, who taught flying in Flint, and their navigator. Doran Tower, an unusual, windmill-shaped building raised in her memory near a small airfield in Grand Blanc Township, was razed in 1973.

• Trans-Atlantic solo flier Charles Lindbergh flew his "Spirit of St. Louis" over Flint in 1927. In an early celebrity product endorsement, Lindbergh also lent his fame to promote Flint-made AC spark plugs.

• Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, a 1928 Flint Central High School graduate who died in 1991, helped design the top-secret U-2 and SR-71 Blackbird spy planes for the U.S. military. When he retired in 1974, Lockheed Corp. said Johnson had worked on more than 40 aircraft, more than half of which were his original designs.

• At least two U.S. astronauts have local roots: Mike Bloomfield, a Lake Fenton graduate; and Donald R. McMonagle, a Hamady High School graduate. Both Air Force veterans flew space shuttle missions.

Source: Flint Journal archives



He will join Charles Lindbergh, Iven Kincheloe and other aviators and astronauts with Michigan roots in the hall, at the Air Zoo museum in Portage near Kalamazoo.



"Duane Hackney was a go-getter," said Dan Hamill, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who participated in a search and rescue exercise under Hackney's leadership.



"You could tell this was a guy who doesn't sit around. He's deserving of any recognition."



Past honors include the Air Force Cross, Silver Star, Purple Heart and four Distinguished Flying Crosses. Two years ago, Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio named its training facility the Hackney Training Complex.



Hackney's story is featured in Air Force training manuals. He has a permanent display at the Military and Space Museum in Frankenmuth and his own lengthy Wikipedia entry.



What would he think about enshrinement in the Hall of Fame?



"Duane was very humble," said his widow, Carole Hackney Bergstrom of Williamsport, Pa. "He never understood what all the fuss was about. His attitude was, that was his job."



Embraced as a hero upon his return from Vietnam in 1967, Hollywood gave him the star treatment. Hackney had a speaking part on an episode of "I Dream of Jeannie" and an interview on "The Ed Sullivan Show." He also did a round of talk shows, including "The Tonight Show" and "The Joey Bishop Show."



Hackney even appeared as a bachelor on "The Dating Game."



In 1967, Gen. Howell M. Estes Jr. sent a private plane to Bishop International Airport and flew the entire Hackney family to Washington, D.C. The occasion was a ceremony to give Hackney the Cheney Award, said a sister, Janice Hackney of Grand Blanc Township.



"I remember we had a private dinner at the Pentagon," said Hackney, then a teenager. "We were very proud of him, but we were also very fearful for his life."



Duane Hackney accepted the accolades showered on him grudgingly, said his twin sister, Dianne Elford of Wesley Chapel, Fla.



"He told me, 'The real heroes are the ones who died for our country -- not me,'" she said.



Growing up in Flint, Hackney was an outdoorsman who enjoyed fishing, hiking and canoeing, Elford said. He was a fun-loving guy who liked to play and tease -- especially Elford, though he was also protective of both sisters.



Without a lot of money for college, Hackney and a buddy enlisted in the military after high school. Hackney knew he was probably in line for the draft, but that wasn't his only motivation.



"We grew up loving our country -- patriotism was a big thing in our family," Elford said.



Their father, Glendon Dale Hackney, was a decorated soldier in the Korean War, once throwing himself on a hand grenade to save fellow soldiers, Elford said.



Like father, like son. Three days after reporting for duty, Duane Hackney flew his first combat mission, during which he was injured by a .30-caliber slug in his leg. To avoid being grounded by the medics, he didn't report the incident.



Hackney was courageous in his rescue efforts, but he made it known that he was no cheerleader for war.



"I have always been a conscientious objector," he told a reporter in 1991. "I didn't want to kill people, and I never killed anyone. I wanted to save them. I hate war. It's nothing but legalized murder."

Hall of Fame ceremony

• What: Ceremony inducting Vietnam War hero Duane Hackney of Flint into the Michigan Aviation Hall of Fame. The public is welcome.

• Where: The Air Zoo museum, 6151 Portage Road in Portage.

• When: Black tie reception and dinner begin at 5 p.m. April 18.

• Cost: $50 per person.

• Details: (269) 382-6555.



His pararescue career ended in 1980 while training for mountain rescues in Europe. During the mission, Hackney fell 90 feet while working on sheer ice on a mountain. The accident left him with many serious injuries, including a broken hip and clavicle and a fractured skull.



Two weeks later, Hackney suffered a heart attack. In 1989, he underwent a triple bypass. In 1991, he left the military to manage a security firm.



He died two years later after a heart attack following a workout at a gym. His son, Jason Hackney -- now a teacher in Pennsylvania -- was 9 years old.



The procession at Duane Hackney's funeral in Flint was five miles long and featured a flyover by Air Force craft. Ceremonies honoring Hackney's service took place over a full week.



"The pride I feel for my brother is immeasurable," said Elford, born 20 minutes before her twin was. "When he died, I felt like I had lost my left wing.



"I miss him so much."