JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
Edward Iannuccilli came to Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston July 7 to see his son, Michael, promoted to lieutenant colonel. Little did he know that he, too, would be honored.
After administering the oath of office to Lt. Col. Michael Iannuccilli, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan, commander, U.S. Army North (Fifth Army), called Spec. 4 Edward Iannuccilli forward. Buchanan thanked him for his service then presented him the Silver Star, the Army’s third highest award for valor, which he earned April 7, 1970 in Vietnam.
The elder Iannuccilli was a combat medic on an urgent medical evacuation mission to pick up wounded soldiers. The U.S. infantry unit on the ground was engaged with an unknown number of enemy and receiving small arms and mortar fire. As the pilot hovered over the unsecured landing zone, preparing to land, he was shot and killed. The helicopter crashed, trapping the pilot and co-pilot inside.
Spec. 4 Iannuccilli, the only crew member not seriously injured in the crash, tried to rescue the two pilots from the burning airframe. As ammunition inside the aircraft began to explode, he made several attempts to kick out the window to no avail. Fearing for Iannuccilli’s safety, Soldiers tried to prevent him from continuing his rescue.
Undeterred, he finally broke the window and the co-pilot crawled through the hole. With the co-pilot safely away from the fiery crash, Iannuccilli crawled through the hole into the cockpit to rescue the pilot. Finding no signs of life, the medic tried to recover the pilot’s body only to find it pinned in the wreckage. He retreated only when the flames and exploding rounds became too dangerous for him to continue.
Iannuccilli then turned his focus to the injured men on the ground, providing first aid until another MEDEVAC arrived to remove the injured infantrymen and Iannuccilli’s crew. He continued caring for the injured during the flight to Tay Ninh.
The Silver Star, approved years ago but never presented, wasn’t the only surprise the elder Iannuccilli received in San Antonio. The co-pilot he rescued that day 47 years ago, Ted Howard, attended the ceremony along with other members of his unit, 159th Dustoff.